January 27, 2025 • 45 mins
SteelFlyers All Sports Network presents
Brought to you by steelflyers.com
The Hockey Writers Ink Eps. 187 "The Flyers are playing checkers while the rest of the league is playing chess!!!"
Relax the keyboard is off, the press box is closed, and the mic is just getting warmed up as the Guardian of the Blue paint turned writer is about to enlighten us!
The show where the writer is fresh off the presses and the ink is not dry.
Welcome to the Hockey Writers Ink, join Lance Green and Ron "SteelFlyers" as we bring you all the latest on the Philadelphia Flyers!
This week's talking points:
1. INTRO & THANKS
2. Flyers need to pull the trigger now
3. Fedotov and Ersson are the tandem in net
4. Phantoms
5. Wrap up
BIG THANKS to our friends Lower Case Blues for the awesome tunes:
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Get all your Hockey Writers Ink information at
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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs5gTIpBqPsoG-B_cPMLey0J68hxSouAN
https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-hockey-writers-ink
Also catch us at Sports Spyder - https://sportspyder.com/
Follow the show on X @HckyWritersInk
Your Host Lance Green on X @LanceGreen39
Co-Host SteelFlyers on X @SteelFlyers52
Please hit the "Like" and "Subscribe"
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-hockey-writers-ink--4748032/support.
Brought to you by steelflyers.com
The Hockey Writers Ink Eps. 187 "The Flyers are playing checkers while the rest of the league is playing chess!!!"
Relax the keyboard is off, the press box is closed, and the mic is just getting warmed up as the Guardian of the Blue paint turned writer is about to enlighten us!
The show where the writer is fresh off the presses and the ink is not dry.
Welcome to the Hockey Writers Ink, join Lance Green and Ron "SteelFlyers" as we bring you all the latest on the Philadelphia Flyers!
This week's talking points:
1. INTRO & THANKS
2. Flyers need to pull the trigger now
3. Fedotov and Ersson are the tandem in net
4. Phantoms
5. Wrap up
BIG THANKS to our friends Lower Case Blues for the awesome tunes:
Web: lowercaseblues.net
FaceBook: www.facebook.com/lowercaseblues/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lower_case_blues?utm_medium=copy_link
Get all your Hockey Writers Ink information at
https://steelflyers.com/links/hockeywritersink/
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs5gTIpBqPsoG-B_cPMLey0J68hxSouAN
https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-hockey-writers-ink
Also catch us at Sports Spyder - https://sportspyder.com/
Follow the show on X @HckyWritersInk
Your Host Lance Green on X @LanceGreen39
Co-Host SteelFlyers on X @SteelFlyers52
Please hit the "Like" and "Subscribe"
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-hockey-writers-ink--4748032/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to The Hockey Writers, Inc. The show where the
writer is fresh off the presses and the ink is
not dry relaxed, the keyboard is off and the press
boxes closed, with the mic is just getting warmed up.
Join your host Lance Green, the guardian of the blue
paint turned writer, and your co host Ron Steel Flyers
as we bring you all the latest on the Philadelphia Flyers.
(00:37):
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to the next episode of The
Hockey Writers, Inc. With your host Lance Screen.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
All right, guys, welcome back here to talk some flyers hockey.
It's been an the and some fantoms. Yeah yeah, so
it's been an up and down kind of thing with
the flyers. Don't really know where my motions are supposed
to be or where my mindset's supposed to be. They
(01:05):
need to make up their minds a little bit. Still.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Yeah you know, I'm with you. Yep, yep, I'll tell
you what man. First of all, thank you very much
folks for hopping on and checking us out and tuning
us in and if you like what we do, please
hit the like and subscribe. Man, We really appreciate that. Also,
big thanks and props the speaker for getting us out
to all of the podcasting platforms when all you have
to do is type in the Hockey Raiders ink and
we will pop up on your favorite platform. And I
(01:30):
have to do is give us a five star rating
and we'll be more than happy to accommodate you with
more wonderful content. So thank you very much for all
of your viewership and all of your subscriptions. Please hit
the like and subscribe. We really appreciate it. Lance. We
got another great one here lined up for you folks
here for sure. For sure, also got to say big
props and thanks to Jake and the boys at Lowercase
(01:54):
Blues for providing the great music. Man. You got to
be gone over there and check them guys out lowercase
blues dot They got swag on their site, they got
videos on their site, and they also got all of
their dates out there too, so be sure to check
them out lowercase blues dot Net. Check them out, all right, Lance,
Here we go, episode number one eighty seven, Episode one
(02:15):
seven and the Flyers are playing checkers while the rest
of the league is playing chess.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah so this I'm working on an article right now.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
About the totally stole it.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah yeah, so uh it's okay, it's a good it's
a good topic here to start with.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So I My mindset behind this is, of course, with
the big trade everybody's talking about right now of Miko
Rattman going to Carolina. Carolina made a big move, right
They traded Martin kas a good player, good young player,
(02:58):
not great, but good, and a couple of draft picks. Drury. Ye,
he's still what I consider a kind of prospect. He's
coming along, but not you know what I mean, It's
still not there yet, but he could he could develop
and he could be more. Right, But what did they
(03:18):
get back? They got back a guy who is a
perennial All Star. They got back a guy who one
hundred point player, forty goal scorer the past couple of years.
And they got back Taylor Hall, a former number one
overall pick. Okay, the experience there for the playoff push,
(03:39):
they made a first line steal. Yeah, they did rivals
anybody else's in the league, Okay.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
And that's exactly what Carolina needed was some of that
offense to help get them over to hump.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yep so and and Ratton is going to bring that Okay,
so great, you know the Carolina. Did you know I'm
a fan of their GM. I wrote articles in the
past saying that they need to replace Chuck Fletcher with him.
He's a former Flyers columnist writer, and you know he
(04:17):
did so well with his analytics and numbers and schemes
and stuff that he got hired by the Hurricanes and
now look at him. But with that, other teams are
doing this too, Steel. It is not the old days
where I used to take off on trade deadline day.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, like it was Christmas.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
I was just gonna sit there and I watched and
binge watched NHL Network to see all the trades on
trade deadline come rolling in, rolling in, rolling in. It's
not the case anymore, Stell. They don't do that anymore.
Teams are getting smarter. Right, why wait? Why wait until
now March seventh, I believe, right six weeks the Carolina
(04:59):
Hurricanes made a big move as well as some other
teams are starting to make some moves six seven weeks
out from the trade deadline in March seventh because they
want to win now. They want a better seed, they
want to secure a top seed, so they're playing you
know the teams that just squeaked in there, right, And
(05:20):
you know, I don't want to get down on Danny
Brier because Danny Brier has moved some mole hills, as
you just said to me before we started steal, He's
moved some mole hills in the Ivan Provooff deal. And
you know, he's gained a lot of assets in the
way of multiple draft picks. We potentially have three first
(05:43):
round draft picks and three second round draft picks this year,
so we're going to gain some assets. But are they
the right ones? Are they the game changing players that
you know, like Mishkoff, you know, and others that we
need that other team that have went through these type rebuilds,
the Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning,
(06:09):
the kind of lottery picks that's changed the face of
the franchise for a good number of years. Right, and
raised banners because lord knows, the Flyers haven't won a
championship in years, decades, decades, almost forty some fifty years.
(06:34):
All right, I want to see a championship in my lifetime.
And while Danny Breer has maneuvered that, he needs to
go out here and make some big moves steal. I think,
let me make this little point here and then I'll
hand it over to you, just see what you think
of this. But he needs to let go of some
(06:56):
of these players that he's held onto. He's had them
out as bait for so long, multiple seasons since he's
taken over in the Morgan Frost who was a twenty
seventh overall pick, Scott Lawton, who was a twentieth overall pick,
Joel Ferrabee who was a fourteenth overall pick, steal and
(07:17):
great their first round player, first round players. They they've
made themselves become NHL players. But mediocrity, steal is what
the Flyers have been dealing with for so long. Yeah,
like we were the same player, right, They're the same players.
We've had the same players. The team has been good
(07:39):
enough to win just enough games to get themselves out
of the draft lottery most years and lose just enough
not to make the playoffs. So mediocrity like cat, you
know what I mean, it's a catch twenty two. I'm
tired of being in that realm. And I thought, with
(07:59):
the rebuild old, we we do that, and we we
gain some more players like Mischikoff, but we traded back
to get a player who I like in Jet, but
we traded back even further to get him a pick
or two. But you know it's still a pick or two.
(08:22):
You know, I just want to see them. The Flyers
have been winning and then they lose and win and lose.
If you're going to lose, let's lose. At one point
before this stretch run here that we've talked about, they
were losing and and I had my mindset where it was,
we're we're potentially close to a top five pick if
(08:42):
we keep this up. Let's sell these guys, these Scott Lawton's,
these Morgan Frost that are good players but not getting
us to the next level where we need to progress, right,
So let's let's get rid of them, get what we
can for them, and then you know, lose out. Let's
(09:04):
if we're gonna lose, let's lose. Why does it matter
if if we're gonna be twelfth overall, thirteenth overall team,
we're not getting into the playoffs, We're not being an
actual competitor. If we're gonna do it, lose out and
then they start winning, and then you know, you as
a fan just and me as a fan. Okay, we're
gonna win. We're gonna make a push to get in
these playoffs.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
And then about stumble.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, it just screws with my mind setting this right
that way for so long, steal.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
So let's start this therapy session, I mean, show off with.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
It needs to be. It needs to be.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Let's start off this therapy session by saying this, Yes,
you're right, Danny has moved to Molehills with the Ivan
prover offs and and and the Jamie Drives dales and
the cutter Gotier's and and all that other stuff and
and what he did in the draft. But now it's
time for dan Nebrier to move the mountains. Okay, we
(10:03):
we need those mountainous moves. Now. He's got draft capital, okay,
and he's got a dangling bait whether they want to
call it a not Rasmus Smister line, and is being
called about. There's other players that are being called about.
What are you're waiting for? Danny? Look, this team that
(10:28):
you basically is almost virtually the same team that you
had last year minus two guys. That's it. And you
mean to tell me that Walker and Mitch kaff are
that much of an influence on.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
This whole team this whole season.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
That it's changed the dynamic. No, the power play is
still crappy, the penalty kill is still suspect, the defense
is still suspect. You get offense on sporadics. The only
the only true true offense that you have is t
K and Mitch Kaff And you can't put all that
(11:07):
onto Mitchkoff's shoulder in a rookie year. You just can't.
You'll ruin him like Philadelphia has ruined so many other players.
I agree, Lance, this is the time. Now, do the deals, now,
make the moves now when it's the pot is fresh. Look,
(11:32):
just think of all the other draft picks that you
could acquire by getting rid of the Rasmus Fisto Linens,
the Scottie Lawton's, the Morgan Frost, the Bobby Brinks, the
pick them. But there's a roster of guys that this
team has that you could basically just move them around
(11:56):
and it wouldn't matter that they all play.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
The same kind of game. You could move guys up
and down the.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Lineup and it doesn't matter. Okay, there's no yeah, And
Twitterell' is like, oh, there's no first line, second line,
or anything else like that. Yeah, well then why does
this line start every game? Well? Okay, right, if you're
gonna make the moves to get rid of these players
that weren't even the players that you picked, that are
(12:26):
not progressing, not taking the next steps forward like we
thought they should, they've been given every opportunity to do so. Look,
I'm not saying that I would hate to get rid
of Joel Farrabee. I think he's a great guy, you
know what I mean? And and do I think he's
come around as a player. Yeah, but he's not worth
(12:47):
the money he's getting paid, do you know what I mean?
And that sours you on that player because he's a
good player, but he's not worth the money that he's making,
you know what I mean. So that kind of sour
on him, and that makes you want to get rid
of him because now he's an ugly contract even though
he's a good player and good for the team. Blah
blah blah blah blah blah, you know what I mean?
(13:07):
That whole kind of thing, right, same thing with Scott Lawton.
Look how many of these Scott Lawton guys do we have?
How many? Right?
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Oh, Scott Lawton, Noah, kids.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, paling up. You could just go down the list
and they're all you just can swap the in and
it doesn't matter. You need to have guys on the
team like Jet Lichenko and Mitch Koff that when they
swing their legs over the boards and their skates hit
(13:38):
the ice, the other teams jerk their heads to see
where they are because they're a threat. Nobody fears the Flyers. Nobody.
Nobody fears their goaltending. Nobody fears the power play because
it's non existent, and nobody fears the penalty kill because
that's almost non existent as well too. Okay, we don't
(14:01):
have offensive threat. So it's not like we're gonna walk
into a building all swag and all going, hey man,
we're gonna take you boys out because we'll just outscore you.
That's not the identity of this Philadelphia Flyers. Now. The
identity of this Philadelphia Flyers, as far as I'm concerned,
in my opinion, is we will outwork you, and we'll
(14:22):
grind you down to the nub and we'll eke out
a game or goal or whatever we have to in
order to win. But we're not taking you downtown. We're
not We're not going you know, back and forth on
a on a on a shootout or or you know,
run and gun. That's not that's not the Philadelphia Flyers.
That might be the offense they want to try to do,
(14:42):
but that's not the team that they have. You see
what I'm saying, right, So I absolutely agree Lance that
the mountains need to happen now this season because you're
you're in the third year now of a rebuild, okay,
and you have to have that turn the corner moment
(15:04):
where you go from Okay, we're not in the rebuild anymore. Now,
we're heading towards contention, right. You need to have that
watershed moment, and I think that needs to happen this
season for Danny Brier and the Philadelphia Flyers. They need
to pull the trigger and get rid of the dead weight,
and get rid of some of all the same players,
(15:25):
same player, same player, same player, and bring the guys
up from the fantoms and bring the guys in that
are out in the miners and bring these guys in
and see what you got in NHL competition games. Okay,
make your assessments, and then make your mountainous moves because
Danny Brier, you need to do that man in order
(15:47):
to because you can just be buffalo and perpetually in
a rebuild. For what do they are now fourteen years
now on their rebuild?
Speaker 2 (15:55):
When when did Hasse leave?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
You're okay, right, okay, you know how many years do
you need to be on a rebuild?
Speaker 1 (16:03):
No? See, rebuild means that you do it in a
relatively quick succession fashion and you turn around and now
you're in contention.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
Then we need that watershed moment.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
We need that mountainous move. We need that. We need
Danny Brier to move the mountain here and get us
to the promised land like he's promised, like Keith Jones
has promised. You know, I'm tired of the promises. Now
I need to see the actions. Okay, we've seen some
(16:34):
good things at least we know there's a plan in place.
But now we need to see the actions. We need
to see these things happen. We need to see the
triggers pooled on these players.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yeah, and I mean am I saying that I want
the Flyers to go out and get a twenty eight
year old, twenty nine year old Miko Rattman to change
the face of the Flyers. No, no, I don't think
that's the move we need to make. But it was
the move that the Keynes needed to make. They and
(17:08):
they were willing to make it and give up Nietzschez
to be able to to do so. All right, a
good young player, But that's the move they need to make.
Now we need to make these Morgan Frost Scott Lawton's
Joel Faerbee, even although I like him, Like Steele said,
you have to give something to get something, and they
(17:31):
need to pull the trigger on something. And you know,
the rumors all I hear is that the asking prices
on Scott Lawton is just too high for teams. And
I've heard even last year some teams even offered a
first round pick, but he wanted more.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
You'll be lucky to get that for him.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
More do you think you're gonna get from Scott Lawton?
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Right?
Speaker 2 (17:56):
For Scott, he's an NHL player, a good NHL but
he's been here for quite a long time and he's
not one of the players that's moving mountains to get
you to the next level. So let's get rid of
those players make room for others, like Steele said, that
are coming up in the miners, and to be honest,
(18:17):
there's not that many coming up in the miners. Devinci looks,
looks brighton, you know, Oliver Bank, Jett Lechenko, Okay, But
in the AHL, there's not that one guy that's tearing
it up, that's just fighting at the heels of anybody
right now, there's not. It's it's mediocre type guys that
(18:40):
are gonna be good players, but not great like you're
Morgan Frost, like you're Scott Lawton, like you're Theraby. Just
these middle of the road guys, because that's where we've
been drafting for consecutive years, in those teams to you
know whatever, early twenties picks, and it's not getting the
(19:02):
job done. So in what I would say to Danny Beer,
if you don't feel that you're getting that first round
pick or whatever for any of these players that you're
taking phone calls on and you're thinking about trading, which,
to be honest, you need to make a move anyway,
because all these guys are going to get pretty peeved
(19:23):
if they keep saying their name bat it around year
after year in the trade rumors and you're not coming
out and directly saying, no, this is our guy. We're
keeping them. Stop calling me about him. Obviously you're still
taking calls on him if you're not going coming out
and saying that. So in what I would say and
suggest is, if you're not getting what you want in
(19:44):
terms of draft capital, why don't you ask for already
drafted prospects that teams have. The teams that are coming
to call are guys on teams that have a need.
They need your guy. That's why they're calling for him,
(20:05):
calling for him because they're going to try to make
the playoffs, which means they already have the players in
place that they want to do so, so they think
and other guys that they drafted are just sitting there
waiting for their chance. So why not ask for more
of those type players? One, you already know that maybe
(20:28):
in the AHL or maybe after they've been drafted, they're
continuing their progression, and that's why you're still looking at
him and going, man, I like that kid. Second, they're
that much closer to being NHL ready to turn this
thing around anyway, like Steele said, and make it a
quicker rebuild. So if you're not getting what you want,
(20:50):
first ask regroup and see what else you can get,
because a lot of those guys were first and second
round talents that are proving themselves instead of a lonely
pick on a board that.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
May not proven, may not coodity so question mark.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
At least these guys are proving that they're they're worthy
of that pick that they had. You know, like you've
got the group and you've got to ask for something else,
you know. Still, I'm just this perpetual just mediocrity is
is mind numbing. And I've seen some other people and
(21:30):
maybe we're more out in the open with it because
we're passionate, you know, we're we're we're fans too as
well as you know the rest of you. But although
we cover the team, but you know, we're saying this
because something needs to happen, and we're not wearing those
rose colored glasses that some other people that cover this team,
(21:55):
you know, And we're not about to come out here
and say that everything's all hunky dory. And man, you know,
we like the players that we have. They're amazing, they're
good players, but they're not gonna get us over the.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Hump, and they're not what we need for right now.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Not what we need right now. They're not what we
need for the last ten years. What makes you think
they're gonna be what we need for the next two
or three before they retire.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
This is the other thing that I really think that
needs to be addressed here. You have all this draft capital.
If you're going to try and win and make the
playoffs this year, then you need to spend your draft
capital to get that number two overall pick or number
three overall pick, because otherwise you're gonna be picking at
(22:43):
the same spot you have been picking in for the
last couple of years. Right, So use like other you know,
another idea on top of what Lance is talking about.
Instead of getting already prospect ready players, why don't you
sweeten the pot by adding a player onto a deal
that could get you that number one pick this coming draft.
(23:06):
You know, hey, I'll give you my number, you know,
my number, my third first round pick, and Scott Lawton
and and blah blah blah. You know what I mean,
And make that be your deal, and and and then
and you're trading up to get the number one overall
pick or the number two overall pick. Look, as far
as I'm concerned, if you're not picking in the top three,
(23:28):
then everything else is I mean, for the most part,
once you get past the top three, everything else drops
off significantly. As far as your opportunities and chances for
success in the NHL, the top three players have an
average of eighty six percent of making it in the NHL.
When you go to the number fourth player, they have
(23:49):
a seventy six percent chance to fail. That's a big
jump from the top three down to the fourth player. Okay,
so that's what we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
As far as mountain, that's the mountain deal.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
You need. You need that first, second, third overall pick. Okay,
that's not a bust, but that's not gonna be. You
know that it's not gonna turn out to be the
last second overall pick that we had. You know what
I mean. You need to do your due diligence and
find the Look, all you have to do is give
us a call, Danny. We've broken down the top five
(24:27):
the defenseman, the top five forwards, and even all the
top players in all of the countries in the world
so far. But he just calls up, Well, We'll be
more than happy to help you out. Man. You know
what I'm saying, Right this is the kind of thing
that needs to happen for the Flyers. You need to
get more players like the Mitchikops, like the Jet Lachenkos.
(24:49):
You can't be trading back to get guys like that.
You need to be trading up to get guys like that.
You're not gonna find those guys at the end of
the draft. You're gonna find them at the beginning of
the draft. As far as I'm gon term for this year,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
And you're right, because if you look at it now
as it stands at the final game was today, the
Flyers would be picking around eighth right now, and it's
been going back and forth. They were up as close
as sixth and then have went back down to fourteenth
or fifteenth, which is their normal spot. But the other picks,
(25:25):
the Avalanche twentieth overall right now, that pick that we
got from them, the Oilers they're looking at around thirtieth
ninething like that. They're strong team. So, you know, is
a thirtieth first round pick really gonna change us in
the next two to three years? No, it's not. Is
(25:48):
the twentieth overall pick gonna do that? No, it's not.
Now we got multiple second round picks as well. So,
like Steele is saying here, in this draft, we cover
the team and our other podcast, prospect Watch a lot.
We cover all these junior teams all over the world,
and we've been studying, you know, prospects for years and
(26:12):
we talked to them on a regular basis. I think
there's four phenomenal game changing players in this draft.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Matthew schaferleg Matthew Shafer a defenseman, Porter Martone, Michael Misha
and James Haggins.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Those are the guys that are gonna be game changing
players in the next couple of years. Maybe I would
say maybe one or two of those have a chance
to play next season in the NHL. The other two
maybe the year after that. They may need another year
(26:55):
of college, they may need another year juniors, but they're
gonna be threats. So if the Flyers really really like
a guy, I don't know about you still, but I
would be willing if if I was Danny Brierre, to
trade whatever I needed to trade. You've got enough draft capital,
and hopefully he gains a bit more with getting rid
(27:18):
of some of these players we just talked about. Yeah,
to move up, to move up into the top five
and get one of these guys. Because if you throw
your eighth pick overall at somebody in the first, second, third,
and multiple other picks, maybe multiple other second round picks
to slide back a couple of spots, somebody like the
(27:42):
Buffalo Sabers, you know, good Grief, the the the Chicago
Blackhawks love picks for the.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
New York Island they're playing right.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Now, right you know, I think those those guys, the
Anaheim Ducks love picks. They might be willing to move
back a couple of spots if you throw enough picks
at them, or like you said, potential guys like a
Joel Farrabee. Give the eighth overall pick, the thirtieth overall
(28:15):
pick and Joel Farrabee for second overall, third overall. I
would do it on a heartbeat, and that's what the
fiyers need to do, and we would have multiple other
first and second picks, but you would gain a player
that is a game changer, another one to maybe center,
(28:38):
you know, Mishkov, where you would start to build a
legitimate first line. If you look at every successful dynasty
team type thing, they have at least a duo. Okay,
Mary they.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Line. They have at least a first line and then
a second line is but they have at least a
dedicated first line that has at least one or two
top all star type players on the Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Eric Lindross, John Leclair sound familiar like two legit players
to absolutely Price McDavid. You know you, you know, grief
man there. We need to make some big moves. I
(29:30):
think we got the cap still in our way. That's
gonna go away after the season a little bit. It's
going to alleviate some pressure that way.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
The cap is going to go up too.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
And the cap is also going to go up, that
is correct. So I think he can't be dangling that
same bait out there and expect different results or bigger
fish to come in to try to grab that bait.
That bait is getting old, it's getting stinky. No, he's
looking at it anymore, and they're starting to get less
(30:04):
and less for it. Yeah, because that thing's been dangled
out there way too long, exactly.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Time to time to reel that in and and and
put that on a different hook or you know something whatever.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Cast it back out a little something different, a little
little edgier, a little bit more. Oh, Man, that sucks,
But man, look at our return.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Throw Throw some more livelier bait out there instead of
stuff that's not really swimming around much. You know, Throw
some more livelier bait out there. You'll you'll you'll attract more,
and you'll probably get better calls and better offers, you
know what I mean, And then then you can make
your pick, and then you could do your thing. You know, look,
I get what he's trying to do. He's trying to
get he's trying to maximize everything he possibly can out
(30:51):
of each and every one of these players. And some
of these players you're just not going to be able
to do that. You're just not because they're to pass
any kind of prime or anything else like that. And
you need to start listening to what the deal is
that they're throwing at you. And maybe it's something where
you can say, oh, okay, well maybe you can take
(31:11):
this player and then we'll trade you for instead of
draft picks, will trade you for this player and get
a draft or a you know, a prospect that's ready
to step on the ice right now, you know what
I mean, That we can play down on the age
help for a couple of games until he gets his
feet wet and then bring him on up. You know
what I mean? That kind of thing if you want
to win now, This is the kind of moves you
(31:33):
have to make if you want to win in the future.
These are still the kind of moves you have to make.
If you're trying to tell me you're doing a rebuild
and yet you're not doing anything to help rebuild the team,
and you keep putting out the same team year after
year with only.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
Changing two players, that's not a rebuild.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
As far as I'm concerned. Okay, and I'm sorry I misspoke.
Three players are different now because the goaltending is completely
different as well too. Okay, And and that's the other
thing I wanted to get into here, just just a
little bit. I wanted to touch on it slightly that
we now finally have Fido, taf and Erson are now
(32:19):
the tandem in net and Alexi has been sent down
to the AHL because of cal Peterson is going to
be out for the next four to six weeks due
to injury. So Alexi's gonna get down there and play
a lot of minutes down there with the fans, which
is exactly what he needs. Okay, And and we're gonna
get Fido taf and we're gonna get Erson as the tandem,
(32:42):
uh for the Philadelphia Flyers going forward.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
I guess yeah, And on that, I think that was
the right move too.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
You know, Alexi is twenty three years old. He needs
time and net and you know, you look at what
Askolf is doing, and he was a much higher draft
pick and everything like that. He's been playing, improving himself
in the AHL and waiting for his chance, and he
(33:12):
got traded. Uh, so that he asked for a trade
because he was getting tired of being that but he's
proving himself and now you know, he's starting to get
that chance. And now you know, Alexi came in. He
played a couple of great games for the Flyers because
he was hype. He was excited to be in the NHL.
But when reality set back in and the ruling you know,
(33:36):
season went on, you know, his his goals against average
kept going up, his say percentage kept going down, and
his win percentage kept going down. So I think it
was a strong move. I think Ivan, you know, is
a is a professional. You know, he's he's He's done
it on a big stage in the KHL, he's won,
(33:59):
you know, the the Guardian Cup over there, he's won
MVP whatever, you know, the Vesno Trophy, their Ven Trophy
over there. He's more suited. He needs the playing time
as well, you know, I think that is going to
be best for him. The more games he has in there,
the more comfortable he's going to be. And we're starting
(34:21):
to see that. I think he is becoming more consistent
and more steady as he's getting the time in net.
And it's only going to be good for Arison and
Ivan uh not to have that third person at practice,
you know, taking up reps and practice as well. So
(34:43):
Alexi can go down there and be the star for
a little bit and prove himself worthy. And these two
older veterans, they're not old in any sense, but you know,
older than twenty three years old, and you know, they
can kind of take it and run with.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
It exactly exactly, you know what I mean. And so,
and I think that's a good move because that's gonna
really really help the fantoms. I'm having him down there
as well because of the cal Peterson injury, you know
what I mean, He's going to be out for four
to six weeks that's a pretty long injury. And having
(35:21):
Alexi down there is going to be good for the
Fantoms because it gives them a permanent type every night
backstop back there who's a good player and a good
goalie and just needs the minutes, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
So, yeah, they've been playing a little bit of the
carousel down there and different goaltenders, four or five different
goaltenders since he came to the NHL, and you know,
it'd be good to solidify for that defense as well,
to get used to playing with one guy in net
and really you know, being able to trust trust Tim
(36:00):
to make a stop and you know, everything like that.
And I just don't think they've had that consistently, you know, correctly,
of everybody else that's been running through there.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Yeah, the carousel, they they were starting to get it.
There was Cal Peterson and then he got hurt, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
And so yeah, Paterson is not a long term no, no, no,
in Philly, He's anyway. So I'd rather see somebody who's
you know, gonna be fighting you know, for legitimate see
you know, be in that rather than a guy who
were just waiting for his contract to expire. To boot
(36:38):
him out the door.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
So yeah, no, I'm with you. I'm with you, I'm
with you, with you. But speaking of that, let's dive
into a little bit of the Fantoms here. I do
want to talk about the Fantoms here a little bit,
and they have been on quite a little bender here
of late as well with the Fantoms, and I gotta
tell you, man, it's it's been. It's been really nice.
(37:01):
Last night they had a sellout crowd for the game
last night, you know what I mean. And they were
able to win that game last night as well too,
So random six three and one in their last ten games. Man, Look,
they have just been on a tear now. Ali Lucel
has been back now for two games. They've had a
(37:24):
Meo Andre come back from injury as well, and that's
really helped boost things too. Anthony Richard has come back
from injury as well. That's another big boost for them
now he's on his third game back as well, So
that's a big boost for the Phantoms and the reason
why six three and one in their last ten games.
(37:45):
And I'm absolutely one convinced that sending Alexi down to
the Fantoms was the best move all day long, because
that's gonna give him that ability to shine down there.
That's going to give him that ability to get the
(38:06):
trust of his defensive players, and it's gonna help.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
Him learn the small ice, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Look, we've seen that Fidotov was a little bit behind
on his where we thought he should be as far
as his comfortability with being on the small ice compared
to playing in the KHL, And we kind of saw
a little bit of that with Alexi and we know
that's part of what's going on because both of these
players have come from Russia and they play on the
(38:37):
big ice. So getting him down there with a lot
of minutes, a lot of games, getting him that experience,
I think is going to be a not only beneficial
to him, but I think it's going to be beneficial
to the fantoms as well too.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Yeah, I mean surely, Like I said that, I mean,
you've got cal Peterson played the majority of the games
with twenty four games so far this season, and you
know Parker has been down there and playing well when
when he's been asked to step in the net. But
you know, he's not a guy that's excuse me, gonna
(39:15):
thank you gonna jump in and do anything, you know,
as far as momentum to be an eventual flyer. Getting
a guy like coles Off to be able to go
into the net and and take over for cal and
solidify that position is only going to help that defense
is only gonna help out those breakouts, you know, and
(39:39):
and really gain a sense of you know, legitimacy in
in this realm because we got some offense down there
a little bit with Loxel Luxel and and you know,
Gosher and you know, and and and you got a
little bit thing going on the offensive side out of
(40:00):
the I think, but you know, getting those guys back
on defense as well, like Steell said, is is going
to be solid in terms of you know, just good
good play coming from this team and hopefully making another
playoff run and going a little bit farther gaining that experience,
(40:23):
that postseason experience.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
I mean looking at the you know, look when you
got the Bruins, the Bears, the Checkers and and and
the Penguins all in your division, that makes it for
for tough sledding, especially the Bears. Now is repeat Calder champions,
(40:46):
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
So it's right.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
Now currently they're in fifth. Yeah, okay, and and so
you need a little bit more in order to secure yourself.
What what they did last year was a while card
and then they won that first game and then they
they got into the the playoff battle with the Checkers
and they lost two games to one in that series.
(41:10):
But I am really liking what we're seeing from the Fantoms.
It just seems like they seem to be turning the corner,
even with the turnover of players that they've had over
the last couple of months, you know what I mean,
It just seems like they've they are starting to turn
(41:31):
the corner a little bit more than what I think
the Flyers are.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
For sure. I mean I like their coaching. You know,
I think it's always better suited for Ian Laperrier to
coach the youth. I think he gets across to them
rather well. They're more you know, open minded and willing
(41:56):
to listen than you know, some guy that's getting over
paid the NHL to you know, hurry back to his
model wife. And you know, I think that resonates with
with Laperier a little bit better and to be that
much of a better coach, and you know, Smith is
there as well. With him. You know, Jason was a
phenomenal player in the NHL, you know, and and I
(42:20):
think he's he's just been a blessing to do the
defencemen that are coming through our system as well. So
I really like what I'm seeing from them. They're they're coaching,
actually coaching the youth instead of just putting them out
there on the ice and trying to teach them up
right to be good professionals as well as human beings,
(42:44):
you know, exactly.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
And that's one of the reasons why we like what's
going on down there in the Phantom. So for sure,
for sure, well answer, I think we got another really
good one here, man. We we were able to cover
a lot of things. We think Danny has made the
mole has made the Molehill move, but now we need
to see them make the mountain moves. We've got finally,
I think we've got a solidification in net now, finally
(43:07):
where we've got Ivan Fodotov and Sam Erison are now
the tandem and net for the Flyers, with Alexi being
sent down to the Fantoms. I think the Fantoms are
starting to turn the corner here a little bit now
six three and one in their last ten games. They're
winning a lot more games now. They're starting to beat
those teams like the Checkers, like Springfields, like the Bears,
(43:28):
like the Penguins, like the Bruins. They're starting to beat
those teams now, you know, not necessarily on a regular basis,
but starting to be able to compete with those teams now.
So that's that only bodes well for them too, you know, man.
So we're looking forward to any articles coming out here. Man,
we can't wait to see the next articles. Be sure
to go over to steal Flyers dot com slash link
slash Hockey Writers Inc. To check out all the latest
(43:50):
and greatest from the Hockey Writers Inc. Guys here for sure,
for sure, you know the Batman and Robin of Philadelphia
Flyers podcasts. See like to say, big prop and thanks
to all the Facebook groups out there for allowing us
to put all of our content on your pages and
for allowing us to put our shows and post all
of our things out there. And we really appreciate your
(44:11):
feedback and we love the back and forth and the
comments you guys make. Man, we really appreciate that. So
keep it coming and keep it coming big. Thanks to
Speaker for all you do and getting us out there
to all the podcasting platforms. All you have to do
is type in Hockey Writers Inc. On your favorite platform.
We will come up give us a five star rating
now would be great. If you like what we do,
hit the like and subscribe. This is Ron, your co
(44:31):
host from Hockeywriters Inc. At steel Flyers dot com. Joining
me was Lance Screen, the host with the most yes.
Speaker 2 (44:39):
Sir, I am ready to dive inn I'm going to
finish this article here and get this thing out, so
you know be looking for that especially.
Speaker 1 (44:49):
Oh man, oh man, oh man. I can't wait, can't wait,
can't wait. Thank you all for joining us on episode
number one eighty seven of the Hockey Writers Inc. And
we will catch you all on the next episode. Food
Welcome to The Hockey Writers, Inc. The show where the
writer is fresh off the presses and the ink is
not dry relaxed, the keyboard is off and the press
boxes closed, with the mic is just getting warmed up.
Join your host Lance Green, the guardian of the blue
paint turned writer, and your co host Ron Steel Flyers
as we bring you all the latest on the Philadelphia Flyers.
(00:37):
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to the next episode of The
Hockey Writers, Inc. With your host Lance Screen.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
All right, guys, welcome back here to talk some flyers hockey.
It's been an the and some fantoms. Yeah yeah, so
it's been an up and down kind of thing with
the flyers. Don't really know where my motions are supposed
to be or where my mindset's supposed to be. They
(01:05):
need to make up their minds a little bit. Still.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Yeah you know, I'm with you. Yep, yep, I'll tell
you what man. First of all, thank you very much
folks for hopping on and checking us out and tuning
us in and if you like what we do, please
hit the like and subscribe. Man, We really appreciate that. Also,
big thanks and props the speaker for getting us out
to all of the podcasting platforms when all you have
to do is type in the Hockey Raiders ink and
we will pop up on your favorite platform. And I
(01:30):
have to do is give us a five star rating
and we'll be more than happy to accommodate you with
more wonderful content. So thank you very much for all
of your viewership and all of your subscriptions. Please hit
the like and subscribe. We really appreciate it. Lance. We
got another great one here lined up for you folks
here for sure. For sure, also got to say big
props and thanks to Jake and the boys at Lowercase
(01:54):
Blues for providing the great music. Man. You got to
be gone over there and check them guys out lowercase
blues dot They got swag on their site, they got
videos on their site, and they also got all of
their dates out there too, so be sure to check
them out lowercase blues dot Net. Check them out, all right, Lance,
Here we go, episode number one eighty seven, Episode one
(02:15):
seven and the Flyers are playing checkers while the rest
of the league is playing chess.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah so this I'm working on an article right now.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
About the totally stole it.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah yeah, so uh it's okay, it's a good it's
a good topic here to start with.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So I My mindset behind this is, of course, with
the big trade everybody's talking about right now of Miko
Rattman going to Carolina. Carolina made a big move, right
They traded Martin kas a good player, good young player,
(02:58):
not great, but good, and a couple of draft picks. Drury. Ye,
he's still what I consider a kind of prospect. He's
coming along, but not you know what I mean, It's
still not there yet, but he could he could develop
and he could be more. Right, But what did they
(03:18):
get back? They got back a guy who is a
perennial All Star. They got back a guy who one
hundred point player, forty goal scorer the past couple of years.
And they got back Taylor Hall, a former number one
overall pick. Okay, the experience there for the playoff push,
(03:39):
they made a first line steal. Yeah, they did rivals
anybody else's in the league, Okay.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
And that's exactly what Carolina needed was some of that
offense to help get them over to hump.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yep so and and Ratton is going to bring that Okay,
so great, you know the Carolina. Did you know I'm
a fan of their GM. I wrote articles in the
past saying that they need to replace Chuck Fletcher with him.
He's a former Flyers columnist writer, and you know he
(04:17):
did so well with his analytics and numbers and schemes
and stuff that he got hired by the Hurricanes and
now look at him. But with that, other teams are
doing this too, Steel. It is not the old days
where I used to take off on trade deadline day.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, like it was Christmas.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
I was just gonna sit there and I watched and
binge watched NHL Network to see all the trades on
trade deadline come rolling in, rolling in, rolling in. It's
not the case anymore, Stell. They don't do that anymore.
Teams are getting smarter. Right, why wait? Why wait until
now March seventh, I believe, right six weeks the Carolina
(04:59):
Hurricanes made a big move as well as some other
teams are starting to make some moves six seven weeks
out from the trade deadline in March seventh because they
want to win now. They want a better seed, they
want to secure a top seed, so they're playing you
know the teams that just squeaked in there, right, And
(05:20):
you know, I don't want to get down on Danny
Brier because Danny Brier has moved some mole hills, as
you just said to me before we started steal, He's
moved some mole hills in the Ivan Provooff deal. And
you know, he's gained a lot of assets in the
way of multiple draft picks. We potentially have three first
(05:43):
round draft picks and three second round draft picks this year,
so we're going to gain some assets. But are they
the right ones? Are they the game changing players that
you know, like Mishkoff, you know, and others that we
need that other team that have went through these type rebuilds,
the Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning,
(06:09):
the kind of lottery picks that's changed the face of
the franchise for a good number of years. Right, and
raised banners because lord knows, the Flyers haven't won a
championship in years, decades, decades, almost forty some fifty years.
(06:34):
All right, I want to see a championship in my lifetime.
And while Danny Breer has maneuvered that, he needs to
go out here and make some big moves steal. I think,
let me make this little point here and then I'll
hand it over to you, just see what you think
of this. But he needs to let go of some
(06:56):
of these players that he's held onto. He's had them
out as bait for so long, multiple seasons since he's
taken over in the Morgan Frost who was a twenty
seventh overall pick, Scott Lawton, who was a twentieth overall pick,
Joel Ferrabee who was a fourteenth overall pick, steal and
(07:17):
great their first round player, first round players. They they've
made themselves become NHL players. But mediocrity, steal is what
the Flyers have been dealing with for so long. Yeah,
like we were the same player, right, They're the same players.
We've had the same players. The team has been good
(07:39):
enough to win just enough games to get themselves out
of the draft lottery most years and lose just enough
not to make the playoffs. So mediocrity like cat, you
know what I mean, it's a catch twenty two. I'm
tired of being in that realm. And I thought, with
(07:59):
the rebuild old, we we do that, and we we
gain some more players like Mischikoff, but we traded back
to get a player who I like in Jet, but
we traded back even further to get him a pick
or two. But you know it's still a pick or two.
(08:22):
You know, I just want to see them. The Flyers
have been winning and then they lose and win and lose.
If you're going to lose, let's lose. At one point
before this stretch run here that we've talked about, they
were losing and and I had my mindset where it was,
we're we're potentially close to a top five pick if
(08:42):
we keep this up. Let's sell these guys, these Scott Lawton's,
these Morgan Frost that are good players but not getting
us to the next level where we need to progress, right,
So let's let's get rid of them, get what we
can for them, and then you know, lose out. Let's
(09:04):
if we're gonna lose, let's lose. Why does it matter
if if we're gonna be twelfth overall, thirteenth overall team,
we're not getting into the playoffs, We're not being an
actual competitor. If we're gonna do it, lose out and
then they start winning, and then you know, you as
a fan just and me as a fan. Okay, we're
gonna win. We're gonna make a push to get in
these playoffs.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
And then about stumble.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, it just screws with my mind setting this right
that way for so long, steal.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
So let's start this therapy session, I mean, show off with.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
It needs to be. It needs to be.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Let's start off this therapy session by saying this, Yes,
you're right, Danny has moved to Molehills with the Ivan
prover offs and and and the Jamie Drives dales and
the cutter Gotier's and and all that other stuff and
and what he did in the draft. But now it's
time for dan Nebrier to move the mountains. Okay, we
(10:03):
we need those mountainous moves. Now. He's got draft capital, okay,
and he's got a dangling bait whether they want to
call it a not Rasmus Smister line, and is being
called about. There's other players that are being called about.
What are you're waiting for? Danny? Look, this team that
(10:28):
you basically is almost virtually the same team that you
had last year minus two guys. That's it. And you
mean to tell me that Walker and Mitch kaff are
that much of an influence on.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
This whole team this whole season.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
That it's changed the dynamic. No, the power play is
still crappy, the penalty kill is still suspect, the defense
is still suspect. You get offense on sporadics. The only
the only true true offense that you have is t
K and Mitch Kaff And you can't put all that
(11:07):
onto Mitchkoff's shoulder in a rookie year. You just can't.
You'll ruin him like Philadelphia has ruined so many other players.
I agree, Lance, this is the time. Now, do the deals, now,
make the moves now when it's the pot is fresh. Look,
(11:32):
just think of all the other draft picks that you
could acquire by getting rid of the Rasmus Fisto Linens,
the Scottie Lawton's, the Morgan Frost, the Bobby Brinks, the
pick them. But there's a roster of guys that this
team has that you could basically just move them around
(11:56):
and it wouldn't matter that they all play.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
The same kind of game. You could move guys up
and down the.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Lineup and it doesn't matter. Okay, there's no yeah, And
Twitterell' is like, oh, there's no first line, second line,
or anything else like that. Yeah, well then why does
this line start every game? Well? Okay, right, if you're
gonna make the moves to get rid of these players
that weren't even the players that you picked, that are
(12:26):
not progressing, not taking the next steps forward like we
thought they should, they've been given every opportunity to do so. Look,
I'm not saying that I would hate to get rid
of Joel Farrabee. I think he's a great guy, you
know what I mean? And and do I think he's
come around as a player. Yeah, but he's not worth
(12:47):
the money he's getting paid, do you know what I mean?
And that sours you on that player because he's a
good player, but he's not worth the money that he's making,
you know what I mean. So that kind of sour
on him, and that makes you want to get rid
of him because now he's an ugly contract even though
he's a good player and good for the team. Blah
blah blah blah blah blah, you know what I mean?
(13:07):
That whole kind of thing, right, same thing with Scott Lawton.
Look how many of these Scott Lawton guys do we have?
How many? Right?
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Oh, Scott Lawton, Noah, kids.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, paling up. You could just go down the list
and they're all you just can swap the in and
it doesn't matter. You need to have guys on the
team like Jet Lichenko and Mitch Koff that when they
swing their legs over the boards and their skates hit
(13:38):
the ice, the other teams jerk their heads to see
where they are because they're a threat. Nobody fears the Flyers. Nobody.
Nobody fears their goaltending. Nobody fears the power play because
it's non existent, and nobody fears the penalty kill because
that's almost non existent as well too. Okay, we don't
(14:01):
have offensive threat. So it's not like we're gonna walk
into a building all swag and all going, hey man,
we're gonna take you boys out because we'll just outscore you.
That's not the identity of this Philadelphia Flyers. Now. The
identity of this Philadelphia Flyers, as far as I'm concerned,
in my opinion, is we will outwork you, and we'll
(14:22):
grind you down to the nub and we'll eke out
a game or goal or whatever we have to in
order to win. But we're not taking you downtown. We're
not We're not going you know, back and forth on
a on a on a shootout or or you know,
run and gun. That's not that's not the Philadelphia Flyers.
That might be the offense they want to try to do,
(14:42):
but that's not the team that they have. You see
what I'm saying, right, So I absolutely agree Lance that
the mountains need to happen now this season because you're
you're in the third year now of a rebuild, okay,
and you have to have that turn the corner moment
(15:04):
where you go from Okay, we're not in the rebuild anymore. Now,
we're heading towards contention, right. You need to have that
watershed moment, and I think that needs to happen this
season for Danny Brier and the Philadelphia Flyers. They need
to pull the trigger and get rid of the dead weight,
and get rid of some of all the same players,
(15:25):
same player, same player, same player, and bring the guys
up from the fantoms and bring the guys in that
are out in the miners and bring these guys in
and see what you got in NHL competition games. Okay,
make your assessments, and then make your mountainous moves because
Danny Brier, you need to do that man in order
(15:47):
to because you can just be buffalo and perpetually in
a rebuild. For what do they are now fourteen years
now on their rebuild?
Speaker 2 (15:55):
When when did Hasse leave?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
You're okay, right, okay, you know how many years do
you need to be on a rebuild?
Speaker 1 (16:03):
No? See, rebuild means that you do it in a
relatively quick succession fashion and you turn around and now
you're in contention.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
Then we need that watershed moment.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
We need that mountainous move. We need that. We need
Danny Brier to move the mountain here and get us
to the promised land like he's promised, like Keith Jones
has promised. You know, I'm tired of the promises. Now
I need to see the actions. Okay, we've seen some
(16:34):
good things at least we know there's a plan in place.
But now we need to see the actions. We need
to see these things happen. We need to see the
triggers pooled on these players.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yeah, and I mean am I saying that I want
the Flyers to go out and get a twenty eight
year old, twenty nine year old Miko Rattman to change
the face of the Flyers. No, no, I don't think
that's the move we need to make. But it was
the move that the Keynes needed to make. They and
(17:08):
they were willing to make it and give up Nietzschez
to be able to to do so. All right, a
good young player, But that's the move they need to make.
Now we need to make these Morgan Frost Scott Lawton's
Joel Faerbee, even although I like him, Like Steele said,
you have to give something to get something, and they
(17:31):
need to pull the trigger on something. And you know,
the rumors all I hear is that the asking prices
on Scott Lawton is just too high for teams. And
I've heard even last year some teams even offered a
first round pick, but he wanted more.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
You'll be lucky to get that for him.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
More do you think you're gonna get from Scott Lawton?
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Right?
Speaker 2 (17:56):
For Scott, he's an NHL player, a good NHL but
he's been here for quite a long time and he's
not one of the players that's moving mountains to get
you to the next level. So let's get rid of
those players make room for others, like Steele said, that
are coming up in the miners, and to be honest,
(18:17):
there's not that many coming up in the miners. Devinci looks,
looks brighton, you know, Oliver Bank, Jett Lechenko, Okay, But
in the AHL, there's not that one guy that's tearing
it up, that's just fighting at the heels of anybody
right now, there's not. It's it's mediocre type guys that
(18:40):
are gonna be good players, but not great like you're
Morgan Frost, like you're Scott Lawton, like you're Theraby. Just
these middle of the road guys, because that's where we've
been drafting for consecutive years, in those teams to you
know whatever, early twenties picks, and it's not getting the
(19:02):
job done. So in what I would say to Danny Beer,
if you don't feel that you're getting that first round
pick or whatever for any of these players that you're
taking phone calls on and you're thinking about trading, which,
to be honest, you need to make a move anyway,
because all these guys are going to get pretty peeved
(19:23):
if they keep saying their name bat it around year
after year in the trade rumors and you're not coming
out and directly saying, no, this is our guy. We're
keeping them. Stop calling me about him. Obviously you're still
taking calls on him if you're not going coming out
and saying that. So in what I would say and
suggest is, if you're not getting what you want in
(19:44):
terms of draft capital, why don't you ask for already
drafted prospects that teams have. The teams that are coming
to call are guys on teams that have a need.
They need your guy. That's why they're calling for him,
(20:05):
calling for him because they're going to try to make
the playoffs, which means they already have the players in
place that they want to do so, so they think
and other guys that they drafted are just sitting there
waiting for their chance. So why not ask for more
of those type players? One, you already know that maybe
(20:28):
in the AHL or maybe after they've been drafted, they're
continuing their progression, and that's why you're still looking at
him and going, man, I like that kid. Second, they're
that much closer to being NHL ready to turn this
thing around anyway, like Steele said, and make it a
quicker rebuild. So if you're not getting what you want,
(20:50):
first ask regroup and see what else you can get,
because a lot of those guys were first and second
round talents that are proving themselves instead of a lonely
pick on a board that.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
May not proven, may not coodity so question mark.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
At least these guys are proving that they're they're worthy
of that pick that they had. You know, like you've
got the group and you've got to ask for something else,
you know. Still, I'm just this perpetual just mediocrity is
is mind numbing. And I've seen some other people and
(21:30):
maybe we're more out in the open with it because
we're passionate, you know, we're we're we're fans too as
well as you know the rest of you. But although
we cover the team, but you know, we're saying this
because something needs to happen, and we're not wearing those
rose colored glasses that some other people that cover this team,
(21:55):
you know, And we're not about to come out here
and say that everything's all hunky dory. And man, you know,
we like the players that we have. They're amazing, they're
good players, but they're not gonna get us over the.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Hump, and they're not what we need for right now.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Not what we need right now. They're not what we
need for the last ten years. What makes you think
they're gonna be what we need for the next two
or three before they retire.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
This is the other thing that I really think that
needs to be addressed here. You have all this draft capital.
If you're going to try and win and make the
playoffs this year, then you need to spend your draft
capital to get that number two overall pick or number
three overall pick, because otherwise you're gonna be picking at
(22:43):
the same spot you have been picking in for the
last couple of years. Right, So use like other you know,
another idea on top of what Lance is talking about.
Instead of getting already prospect ready players, why don't you
sweeten the pot by adding a player onto a deal
that could get you that number one pick this coming draft.
(23:06):
You know, hey, I'll give you my number, you know,
my number, my third first round pick, and Scott Lawton
and and blah blah blah. You know what I mean,
And make that be your deal, and and and then
and you're trading up to get the number one overall
pick or the number two overall pick. Look, as far
as I'm concerned, if you're not picking in the top three,
(23:28):
then everything else is I mean, for the most part,
once you get past the top three, everything else drops
off significantly. As far as your opportunities and chances for
success in the NHL, the top three players have an
average of eighty six percent of making it in the NHL.
When you go to the number fourth player, they have
(23:49):
a seventy six percent chance to fail. That's a big
jump from the top three down to the fourth player. Okay,
so that's what we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
As far as mountain, that's the mountain deal.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
You need. You need that first, second, third overall pick. Okay,
that's not a bust, but that's not gonna be. You
know that it's not gonna turn out to be the
last second overall pick that we had. You know what
I mean. You need to do your due diligence and
find the Look, all you have to do is give
us a call, Danny. We've broken down the top five
(24:27):
the defenseman, the top five forwards, and even all the
top players in all of the countries in the world
so far. But he just calls up, Well, We'll be
more than happy to help you out. Man. You know
what I'm saying, Right this is the kind of thing
that needs to happen for the Flyers. You need to
get more players like the Mitchikops, like the Jet Lachenkos.
(24:49):
You can't be trading back to get guys like that.
You need to be trading up to get guys like that.
You're not gonna find those guys at the end of
the draft. You're gonna find them at the beginning of
the draft. As far as I'm gon term for this year,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
And you're right, because if you look at it now
as it stands at the final game was today, the
Flyers would be picking around eighth right now, and it's
been going back and forth. They were up as close
as sixth and then have went back down to fourteenth
or fifteenth, which is their normal spot. But the other picks,
(25:25):
the Avalanche twentieth overall right now, that pick that we
got from them, the Oilers they're looking at around thirtieth
ninething like that. They're strong team. So, you know, is
a thirtieth first round pick really gonna change us in
the next two to three years? No, it's not. Is
(25:48):
the twentieth overall pick gonna do that? No, it's not.
Now we got multiple second round picks as well. So,
like Steele is saying here, in this draft, we cover
the team and our other podcast, prospect Watch a lot.
We cover all these junior teams all over the world,
and we've been studying, you know, prospects for years and
(26:12):
we talked to them on a regular basis. I think
there's four phenomenal game changing players in this draft.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Matthew schaferleg Matthew Shafer a defenseman, Porter Martone, Michael Misha
and James Haggins.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Those are the guys that are gonna be game changing
players in the next couple of years. Maybe I would
say maybe one or two of those have a chance
to play next season in the NHL. The other two
maybe the year after that. They may need another year
(26:55):
of college, they may need another year juniors, but they're
gonna be threats. So if the Flyers really really like
a guy, I don't know about you still, but I
would be willing if if I was Danny Brierre, to
trade whatever I needed to trade. You've got enough draft capital,
and hopefully he gains a bit more with getting rid
(27:18):
of some of these players we just talked about. Yeah,
to move up, to move up into the top five
and get one of these guys. Because if you throw
your eighth pick overall at somebody in the first, second, third,
and multiple other picks, maybe multiple other second round picks
to slide back a couple of spots, somebody like the
(27:42):
Buffalo Sabers, you know, good Grief, the the the Chicago
Blackhawks love picks for the.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
New York Island they're playing right.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Now, right you know, I think those those guys, the
Anaheim Ducks love picks. They might be willing to move
back a couple of spots if you throw enough picks
at them, or like you said, potential guys like a
Joel Farrabee. Give the eighth overall pick, the thirtieth overall
(28:15):
pick and Joel Farrabee for second overall, third overall. I
would do it on a heartbeat, and that's what the
fiyers need to do, and we would have multiple other
first and second picks, but you would gain a player
that is a game changer, another one to maybe center,
(28:38):
you know, Mishkov, where you would start to build a
legitimate first line. If you look at every successful dynasty
team type thing, they have at least a duo. Okay,
Mary they.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Line. They have at least a first line and then
a second line is but they have at least a
dedicated first line that has at least one or two
top all star type players on the Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Eric Lindross, John Leclair sound familiar like two legit players
to absolutely Price McDavid. You know you, you know, grief
man there. We need to make some big moves. I
(29:30):
think we got the cap still in our way. That's
gonna go away after the season a little bit. It's
going to alleviate some pressure that way.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
The cap is going to go up too.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
And the cap is also going to go up, that
is correct. So I think he can't be dangling that
same bait out there and expect different results or bigger
fish to come in to try to grab that bait.
That bait is getting old, it's getting stinky. No, he's
looking at it anymore, and they're starting to get less
(30:04):
and less for it. Yeah, because that thing's been dangled
out there way too long, exactly.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Time to time to reel that in and and and
put that on a different hook or you know something whatever.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Cast it back out a little something different, a little
little edgier, a little bit more. Oh, Man, that sucks,
But man, look at our return.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Throw Throw some more livelier bait out there instead of
stuff that's not really swimming around much. You know, Throw
some more livelier bait out there. You'll you'll you'll attract more,
and you'll probably get better calls and better offers, you
know what I mean, And then then you can make
your pick, and then you could do your thing. You know, look,
I get what he's trying to do. He's trying to
get he's trying to maximize everything he possibly can out
(30:51):
of each and every one of these players. And some
of these players you're just not going to be able
to do that. You're just not because they're to pass
any kind of prime or anything else like that. And
you need to start listening to what the deal is
that they're throwing at you. And maybe it's something where
you can say, oh, okay, well maybe you can take
(31:11):
this player and then we'll trade you for instead of
draft picks, will trade you for this player and get
a draft or a you know, a prospect that's ready
to step on the ice right now, you know what
I mean, That we can play down on the age
help for a couple of games until he gets his
feet wet and then bring him on up. You know
what I mean? That kind of thing if you want
to win now, This is the kind of moves you
(31:33):
have to make if you want to win in the future.
These are still the kind of moves you have to make.
If you're trying to tell me you're doing a rebuild
and yet you're not doing anything to help rebuild the team,
and you keep putting out the same team year after
year with only.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
Changing two players, that's not a rebuild.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
As far as I'm concerned. Okay, and I'm sorry I misspoke.
Three players are different now because the goaltending is completely
different as well too. Okay, And and that's the other
thing I wanted to get into here, just just a
little bit. I wanted to touch on it slightly that
we now finally have Fido, taf and Erson are now
(32:19):
the tandem in net and Alexi has been sent down
to the AHL because of cal Peterson is going to
be out for the next four to six weeks due
to injury. So Alexi's gonna get down there and play
a lot of minutes down there with the fans, which
is exactly what he needs. Okay, And and we're gonna
get Fido taf and we're gonna get Erson as the tandem,
(32:42):
uh for the Philadelphia Flyers going forward.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
I guess yeah, And on that, I think that was
the right move too.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
You know, Alexi is twenty three years old. He needs
time and net and you know, you look at what
Askolf is doing, and he was a much higher draft
pick and everything like that. He's been playing, improving himself
in the AHL and waiting for his chance, and he
(33:12):
got traded. Uh, so that he asked for a trade
because he was getting tired of being that but he's
proving himself and now you know, he's starting to get
that chance. And now you know, Alexi came in. He
played a couple of great games for the Flyers because
he was hype. He was excited to be in the NHL.
But when reality set back in and the ruling you know,
(33:36):
season went on, you know, his his goals against average
kept going up, his say percentage kept going down, and
his win percentage kept going down. So I think it
was a strong move. I think Ivan, you know, is
a is a professional. You know, he's he's He's done
it on a big stage in the KHL, he's won,
(33:59):
you know, the the Guardian Cup over there, he's won
MVP whatever, you know, the Vesno Trophy, their Ven Trophy
over there. He's more suited. He needs the playing time
as well, you know, I think that is going to
be best for him. The more games he has in there,
the more comfortable he's going to be. And we're starting
(34:21):
to see that. I think he is becoming more consistent
and more steady as he's getting the time in net.
And it's only going to be good for Arison and
Ivan uh not to have that third person at practice,
you know, taking up reps and practice as well. So
(34:43):
Alexi can go down there and be the star for
a little bit and prove himself worthy. And these two
older veterans, they're not old in any sense, but you know,
older than twenty three years old, and you know, they
can kind of take it and run with.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
It exactly exactly, you know what I mean. And so,
and I think that's a good move because that's gonna
really really help the fantoms. I'm having him down there
as well because of the cal Peterson injury, you know
what I mean, He's going to be out for four
to six weeks that's a pretty long injury. And having
(35:21):
Alexi down there is going to be good for the
Fantoms because it gives them a permanent type every night
backstop back there who's a good player and a good
goalie and just needs the minutes, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
So, yeah, they've been playing a little bit of the
carousel down there and different goaltenders, four or five different
goaltenders since he came to the NHL, and you know,
it'd be good to solidify for that defense as well,
to get used to playing with one guy in net
and really you know, being able to trust trust Tim
(36:00):
to make a stop and you know, everything like that.
And I just don't think they've had that consistently, you know, correctly,
of everybody else that's been running through there.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Yeah, the carousel, they they were starting to get it.
There was Cal Peterson and then he got hurt, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
And so yeah, Paterson is not a long term no, no, no,
in Philly, He's anyway. So I'd rather see somebody who's
you know, gonna be fighting you know, for legitimate see
you know, be in that rather than a guy who
were just waiting for his contract to expire. To boot
(36:38):
him out the door.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
So yeah, no, I'm with you. I'm with you, I'm
with you, with you. But speaking of that, let's dive
into a little bit of the Fantoms here. I do
want to talk about the Fantoms here a little bit,
and they have been on quite a little bender here
of late as well with the Fantoms, and I gotta
tell you, man, it's it's been. It's been really nice.
(37:01):
Last night they had a sellout crowd for the game
last night, you know what I mean. And they were
able to win that game last night as well too,
So random six three and one in their last ten games. Man, Look,
they have just been on a tear now. Ali Lucel
has been back now for two games. They've had a
(37:24):
Meo Andre come back from injury as well, and that's
really helped boost things too. Anthony Richard has come back
from injury as well. That's another big boost for them
now he's on his third game back as well, So
that's a big boost for the Phantoms and the reason
why six three and one in their last ten games.
(37:45):
And I'm absolutely one convinced that sending Alexi down to
the Fantoms was the best move all day long, because
that's gonna give him that ability to shine down there.
That's going to give him that ability to get the
(38:06):
trust of his defensive players, and it's gonna help.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
Him learn the small ice, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Look, we've seen that Fidotov was a little bit behind
on his where we thought he should be as far
as his comfortability with being on the small ice compared
to playing in the KHL, And we kind of saw
a little bit of that with Alexi and we know
that's part of what's going on because both of these
players have come from Russia and they play on the
(38:37):
big ice. So getting him down there with a lot
of minutes, a lot of games, getting him that experience,
I think is going to be a not only beneficial
to him, but I think it's going to be beneficial
to the fantoms as well too.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Yeah, I mean surely, Like I said that, I mean,
you've got cal Peterson played the majority of the games
with twenty four games so far this season, and you
know Parker has been down there and playing well when
when he's been asked to step in the net. But
you know, he's not a guy that's excuse me, gonna
(39:15):
thank you gonna jump in and do anything, you know,
as far as momentum to be an eventual flyer. Getting
a guy like coles Off to be able to go
into the net and and take over for cal and
solidify that position is only going to help that defense
is only gonna help out those breakouts, you know, and
(39:39):
and really gain a sense of you know, legitimacy in
in this realm because we got some offense down there
a little bit with Loxel Luxel and and you know,
Gosher and you know, and and and you got a
little bit thing going on the offensive side out of
(40:00):
the I think, but you know, getting those guys back
on defense as well, like Steell said, is is going
to be solid in terms of you know, just good
good play coming from this team and hopefully making another
playoff run and going a little bit farther gaining that experience,
(40:23):
that postseason experience.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
I mean looking at the you know, look when you
got the Bruins, the Bears, the Checkers and and and
the Penguins all in your division, that makes it for
for tough sledding, especially the Bears. Now is repeat Calder champions,
(40:46):
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
So it's right.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
Now currently they're in fifth. Yeah, okay, and and so
you need a little bit more in order to secure yourself.
What what they did last year was a while card
and then they won that first game and then they
they got into the the playoff battle with the Checkers
and they lost two games to one in that series.
(41:10):
But I am really liking what we're seeing from the Fantoms.
It just seems like they seem to be turning the corner,
even with the turnover of players that they've had over
the last couple of months, you know what I mean,
It just seems like they've they are starting to turn
(41:31):
the corner a little bit more than what I think
the Flyers are.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
For sure. I mean I like their coaching. You know,
I think it's always better suited for Ian Laperrier to
coach the youth. I think he gets across to them
rather well. They're more you know, open minded and willing
(41:56):
to listen than you know, some guy that's getting over
paid the NHL to you know, hurry back to his
model wife. And you know, I think that resonates with
with Laperier a little bit better and to be that
much of a better coach, and you know, Smith is
there as well. With him. You know, Jason was a
phenomenal player in the NHL, you know, and and I
(42:20):
think he's he's just been a blessing to do the
defencemen that are coming through our system as well. So
I really like what I'm seeing from them. They're they're coaching,
actually coaching the youth instead of just putting them out
there on the ice and trying to teach them up
right to be good professionals as well as human beings,
(42:44):
you know, exactly.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
And that's one of the reasons why we like what's
going on down there in the Phantom. So for sure,
for sure, well answer, I think we got another really
good one here, man. We we were able to cover
a lot of things. We think Danny has made the
mole has made the Molehill move, but now we need
to see them make the mountain moves. We've got finally,
I think we've got a solidification in net now, finally
(43:07):
where we've got Ivan Fodotov and Sam Erison are now
the tandem and net for the Flyers, with Alexi being
sent down to the Fantoms. I think the Fantoms are
starting to turn the corner here a little bit now
six three and one in their last ten games. They're
winning a lot more games now. They're starting to beat
those teams like the Checkers, like Springfields, like the Bears,
(43:28):
like the Penguins, like the Bruins. They're starting to beat
those teams now, you know, not necessarily on a regular basis,
but starting to be able to compete with those teams now.
So that's that only bodes well for them too, you know, man.
So we're looking forward to any articles coming out here. Man,
we can't wait to see the next articles. Be sure
to go over to steal Flyers dot com slash link
slash Hockey Writers Inc. To check out all the latest
(43:50):
and greatest from the Hockey Writers Inc. Guys here for sure,
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(44:11):
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hit the like and subscribe. This is Ron, your co
(44:31):
host from Hockeywriters Inc. At steel Flyers dot com. Joining
me was Lance Screen, the host with the most yes.
Speaker 2 (44:39):
Sir, I am ready to dive inn I'm going to
finish this article here and get this thing out, so
you know be looking for that especially.
Speaker 1 (44:49):
Oh man, oh man, oh man. I can't wait, can't wait,
can't wait. Thank you all for joining us on episode
number one eighty seven of the Hockey Writers Inc. And
we will catch you all on the next episode. Food
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