I do believe this was the first time in NHL history that the two former Stanley Cup teams from the year prior, were ousted in Game 7 of Overtime the following playoff season. I do not recall this happening in my 28 years of watching the NHL religiously.
Fletcher I believe will trade for the rights of Jacob Trouba, who is a Restricted Free Agent with the Winnipeg Jets. I think this is the exact player that Fletcher hinted at with possibly submitting an offer sheet for. Brayden Point, Patrick Laine, and Mitch Marner will all be resigned by their respective clubs.
The last Restricted Free Agent to keep your eye’s on is Kasperi Kapanen. Fletcher could trade for his rights, as the Toronto Maple Leafs cannot resign everyone. Kapanen is the likeliest of all the Forward-Restricted Free Agents throughout the league to end up with the orange and black.
Targets for 2C:
Brock Nelson
Kevin Hayes
Joe Pavelski
Targets For Defense:
Tyler Myers
Anton Stralman
Erik Karlsson
Marc Methot
Jacob Trouba- Make an offer sheet as he’s an RFA
Jared Spurgeon- To acquire via trade
I believe the Flyers will dismiss “Lappy” and Kris Knoblauch of their duties. Terry Murray, Scott Arniel, Kjell Samuelsson, Scott Gordon, Kevin Dineen, and Joey Mullen are good candidates to replace them. Arniel has worked under Vigneault in the past, so there is familiarity there. Now the Flyers need to ask permission from the Washington Capitals to speak with Arniel, but he isn’t out of the question. Mullen shouldn’t have been terminated in my opinion when he was coaching the Power Play Unit, and Dineen might want to coach for Coach Q. However, until Dineen signs with the Florida Panthers, he is fair game in my opinion.
According to Jay O’Brien, he did say the Flyers were ok with his departure from Providence. O’Brien said in a Conference Call earlier this week that Philly was “OK” with his decision. He still would have 3 years of NCAA eligibility left, in case O’Brien wants to return to school at some point.
The only logical rationale I could see is that he is either unhappy with the coach, or it’s about playing time. Providence is a well-known hockey school, and a good one at that. This move shocks me, and I’m concerned about this for sure. I just don’t understand why a player would leave a renown hockey school to play elsewhere unless he or she was unhappy with the coach, or not getting enough playing time. This is all speculation at this point on my behalf, but I promise I will get the answer at Developmental Camp, when I can interview him one-on-one.
If you would like to see your questions submitted in our weekly mailbag. Just submit your question on our Facebook page or on Twitter using #Flyersmail. Thanks to all the fans for another great mailbag, and Let’s go Flyers. Without your support, we wouldn’t be here today.
Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
