With the NHL Draft only a week away, Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers hope they are busy announcing some signings beforehand. For instance, the possible signing of Kevin Hayes, and some of our RFA’s. It will be a busy week for Fletcher and the Flyers, but let’s hope it turns out to be a good week. Without further delay, here are our answers to your questions.
Hayes would definitely have an impact on this current Flyers team. He should be able to pot 20 goals and chip in 35-40 assists. Remember, he potted a career high in goals with 25 under Alain Vigneault, so this go-around I would expect nothing different.
The good thing is Hayes knows a Vigneault system, so that could pay huge dividends in the locker room. Moreover, Hayes is a good penalty killer, which is an area of need for the orange and black. Let’s try to save Claude Giroux, and eventually Sean Couturier from wear and tear with killing penalties.
Hayes, Hayes, Hayes. Hayes knows a Vigneault system, so that could pay dividends in the locker room. Who better to have a voice and understand a new system, then a former player under Vigneault.
I also expect Couturier to really develop a voice. He has taken major strides with his game the past few seasons. Couturier looked like a leader for the Canadian squad at the IIHF Worlds about a month ago, so I expect that continue into the Flyers locker room next season.
Giroux, Coots, Konecny
Lindblom, Hayes, Voracek
Farabee, Patrick, JVR
Raffl, Laughton, Hartman
My gut feeling is that Fletcher uses the 11th pick in a trade for a top-four defenseman. In the event Fletcher keeps the pick, I could see the orange and black scooping up Cole Caulfield.
Amac will not be bought out, rather he will be stashed away with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, much like Matt Read was a few years ago. Fletcher hinted at the exit interviews that he wasn’t a fan of buyouts, but Fletcher did just state he’s unsure of buyouts at this time, “I don’t think we’ve made any decisions yet,” Fletcher stated a few days ago in a presser with the media.
With a trade for Trouba or Spurgeon, Shayne Gostisbehere will most likely be a team’s target. With that being said, here is a trade that would work for both the Winnipeg Jets and the Minnesota Wild:
Ghost, 11th pick, 2 prospects (Rubtsov, NAK or a Defensive prospect)
The Flyers would have to have a deal in place with Trouba for a trade like this to be possible, which makes it a little more difficult to pull off before draft day.
Moritz Seider is a solid right-handed defenseman. He will definitely be on the Flyers radar for sure. If the orange and black take a defenseman over a forward in the first round, Seider could very well be the guy over Victor Soderstrom.
This young man in Seider plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. It is a Professional Ice Hockey League that was founded in 1994. In addition, it is the highest Professional League for German hockey. Seider will be a good player and has climbed the ranks here as of late. He transitions well out of the zone, plays a sound game, and chips in offensively. I would not be upset by any means if the Flyers did draft Seider.
Dave Hakstol would not have the same success as Craig Berube. Berube has been around this league long time. He’s been an Assistant Coach at the AHL level, and of course the NHL level. Berube has learned so much from his previous Head Coaching tenure in Philadelphia, and he has garnered so much experience from that. All in all, this has led to his success with the St. Louis Blues.
Hakstol needs more experience, and with more experience comes better communication. One thing that lacked when Hakstol was Head Coach of the Flyers was communication. Some players did not know where they stood during or after the games, thus, of course, making them uncertain of themselves. Hakstol can be a good coach in the future, as he garners more experience. How many people really believed Berube could do what he did in St. Louis? In time, Hakstol may be able to do the same, if that opportunity ever comes about.
Shayne Gostisbehere had a down year last season. That played into his emotions throughout the course of the season, and he admitted that at the exit interviews. Ghost was down on himself because he knew he could be better. However, Ghost made a comment that the new regime held him back from joining the rush, whereas under the Hakstol regime he was given “Free Reins,” to jump offensively. Fortunately, under an Alain Vigneault system, he will be given more opportunity to jump offensively. I expect a rebound year and a career year at that. Ghost is so talented, that I think he will surpass his 2017-18-65 point total.
Ghost usually keeps to himself in the locker room. He’s usually laid back, and will answer any questions fired his way respectfully. I have never heard of a player, nor coach, ever complain about Ghost not listening, or being a problem. If this happens, then it happens away from the media.
I have not heard that the Flyers are interested in Erik Karlsson. Now that’s not to say they’re not, I honestly just have not heard it yet. A report came out yesterday that the San Jose Sharks are trying to work on a contract extension with Karlsson, so stay tuned to see what happens with that.
Voracek should not be traded at this particular time. He should remain with the Flyers until somebody else can prove that they could put up 60+ points each season. If the Flyers moved Voracek, who would then step up and produce offensively? If there was a Flyer that was capable of such on this roster right now as it stands, I would be all for moving Voracek at this time.
With that being said, if the right deal comes along, I’m listening if I’m Fletcher. However, Fletcher should wait for teams to contact him about Voracek’s services, rather than look to trade him. Let’s see how this next season plays out, Fletcher could always offload his contract at the Expansion Draft.
The Flyers will overpay for Kevin Hayes services. However, other teams would also overpay for his services. As it stands right now, Hayes is the second-best center available, via free agency. This means he’s going to get paid either way. Hayes, in my opinion, is worth $5 million, unfortunately, the market is dictating that he’s worth $6-7 million.
Absolutely no chance. Both of those players are going nowhere. If an offer arised for one of these players, their respective clubs (Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs) would match the offer without hesitation.
To start the season, the only prospects that may start the season with the big club are one of Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, or Isaac Ratcliffe. My sleeper prospect is David Kase from the Phantoms, unfortunately, I could see him or NAK being a late call-up if necessary. Connor Bunnaman just needs one more year of seasoning, then let’s see what he’s got. Bunnaman might be a late-season call-up, as well.
The game is changing so much, and so are some of the styles of goaltenders and players in general for that matter. There are still some stand-up goaltenders, such as Cole Brady from the Janesville Jets. Brady is 6’5,” and he likes to use his big frame to his advantage. He reminds me of former netminder in Tim Thomas. I had the pleasure of interviewing Brady this past week, as he might be a potential Flyers draft pick in next week’s draft.
Butterfly goaltenders seem to be the in now, and I think this may be due to the average height of an NHL goalie. According to wsj.com in 2015, “On average, NHL goalies this season stand 74.21 inches tall, or a little over 6-feet-2, and weigh in at 201.28 pounds, both all-time highs, according to Stats LLC. That’s 6% taller and 13.8% heavier than the average netminder in 1983-84, dwarfing the 4.9% improvement in save percentage goalies have made in that span.”
Carter Hart is a good butterfly goaltender, much like Dominik Hasek was in his prime. Hart stands at 6’2,” and Hasek stood at 6’1,” so in turn, the butterfly position suits them well to cover most of the net. Now getting back to a 6’5″Cole Brady, he covers the net well just by standing there. Brady is like a Hulk in the net with his size. Hopefully, this answers your question properly.
If the Flyers made an offer to an RFA like Mitchell Marner, for example. The Toronto Maple Leafs I’m sure would then possibly submit an offer to Ivan Provorov or Travis Sanheim. It’s just the nature of the business. Somethings are not forgotten by GM’s, so there would definitely be some payback for sure.
Fletcher would trade for the player’s rights before he submits an offer to an RFA, much like he did with Kevin Hayes. He can ill afford to get on the bad side of some GM’s, given the current state of the Flyers. It would be just bad business.
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.
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