Let’s start with the big club:
Jakub Voracek- It would free up cap space
Scott Laughton (When he resigns he’s an RFA)
Travis Konecny- It would have to be for a huge haul. I love TK, love his energy. I would like him to be a Flyer for life.
Michael Raffl- Low cap hit, and versatile
Prospects:
Wade Allison
Isaac Ratcliffe
Matthew Strome
German Rubtsov
Mikhail Vorobyev
Tanner Laczynski- ?…Only because we don’t know if he will sign his ELC or not. I have an interview next week with him, so I will shed some light on this situation.
Now I want to make this clear. I’m not saying they will, or they should be traded. But, if Fletcher makes a deal for an impact player, you have to give in order to receive, especially if he’s an already established NHL player. I love all these prospects, and at some point, the majority of them will pan out in the NHL I believe.
I think it’s a high probability that Fletcher flips the 11th pick for an upgrade on Defense. In this league, you have to give in order to receive. This would be one good way to upgrade the Defense. The Flyers need a Veteran top 4 Defenseman and one that can play with Ivan Provorov.
One player that may be traded is Shayne Gostisbehere. I love Ghost, and I want him to stay as I think he will right the ship. However, his contract coupled with his age makes him very appealing to other teams. The Flyers may not be able to obtain all they need to obtain via free agency and may have to go down this route. Fletcher did state on Monday everyone is “Tradeable.”
I believe one of Joel Farabee or Morgan Frost will make the big club in the Fall. Farabee knows what he has to do, and that is build muscle (Fill out). He could really do that by the time Training Camp begins. Frost needs to show he can push play more, and play at the pace of the game. These are some things he didn’t have to do much in the OHL, as Frost was far more superior than his competition.
The Flyers will sign Kevin Hayes to be a 2C, and this way they can slot the young Nolan Patrick into the 3C role. Patrick will eventually be a 2C, but he is just not there yet. This way it can reduce the amount of pressure on Patrick to succeed, thus growing him into the player everyone thought he would be when he was drafted.
I bet the Flyers would be interested in bringing Peter Laviolette as a Head Coach if Fletcher doesn’t fill the void before then. To be honest, I would steer clear of Laviolette. The Flyers already had his services, let’s start fresh on a clean slate. I like Laviolette as a person and Coach, but I wouldn’t open up those can of worms again. One interesting name that may hit the market according to TSN, is Mike Babcock. If the Toronto Maple Leafs lose in the first round of the playoffs again, rumor has it that Kyle Dubas may part ways with Babcock.
I love Ghost. He will right the ship next season, I believe it. His cap hit is low, and Ghost is young. However, I think Fletcher will move Ghost for a Top 4 Defenseman at the Draft. I think he fell out of good graces with the club late in the season, and it may be too late for him to prove his worth to this new regime. Sad to say, I love the kid. I hope I’m wrong on this one.
When talking about the next Flyers Coach Scott Gordon has to figure in somewhere. He would be the safe pick for sure, but I think they move on from him. They may place him back with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, as Gordon did say he would be willing to do that if the Flyers wanted to do that. It looks as though Fletcher wants a Defensive minded Coach, but one that is familiar with winning. Here is my list of potential candidates for the Head Coaching vacancy:
Todd Nelson
Sheldon Keefe
Darryl Sutter (If they can pry him out of retirement)
Dan Bylsma
Dave Tippett
Alain Vigenault
Scott Gordon
I think the Flyers want a Defensive minded Coach. After this season one cannot blame them for that. Hopefully, the next Coach has success with breakouts and transitioning out of our Defensive Zone more smoothly.
I think all of the players you mention have top 6 to bottom 12 potential. Pascal Laberge, unfortunately, is hurt again, and one can hope he can play sometime this weekend. The kid when healthy has been lighting it up.
Carsen Twarynski- Solid year, fast mobile skater, with bottom 9-bottom 12 potential.
German Rubtsov- 2nd Line to bottom 9 potential. I believe in this kid. When he is healthy for the Phantoms, he sure did place the biscuit in the basket for sure.
Pascal Laberge- The jury is still out on him. It’s not about his overall talent, it’s whether or not he can stay healthy. Right now I’d say Bottom 12 potential, solely because of injuries. However, I will not give up on him because he could be a solid NHL player in the future.
Connor Bunnaman- The kid has potted 19 goals thus far in his first Professional season. He couldn’t have asked for a better year. Bottom 9-Bottom 12 potential. However, if need be I believe he would eventually be able to slide onto the 2nd line if an injury occurred.
The cupboard is stacking up quite nicely for the 3rd and 4th lines in the future for the orange and black. These young prospects will continue to chomp at the bit to get a taste of the NHL.
Continued on the pages below.
