JD about to peacock around like Dan Hilferty after talking to Jason Myrtetus on the street

So Torts lasted longer than Montgomery

We need someone connected with the team like Meltzer was. We don't need an opinion piece from someone. I can do that. We need more depth here.
- jd250

Monty fired. You called it. I guess the players tuned him out.

We need someone connected with the team like Meltzer was. We don't need an opinion piece from someone. I can do that. We need more depth here.
- jd250

Maybe the lineup of those type of writers doesn’t exist.

Much like the McGroarty trade, I wonder if Briere would trade for Jiricek. An offer like Bonk and a 2nd rd pick for Jiricek. For the Flyers. Jiricek is only a year older with the higher upside. CLB gets another RHD prospect and a pick for a player Waddell did not draft.

Much like the McGroarty trade, I wonder if Briere would trade for Jiricek. An offer like Bonk and a 2nd rd pick for Jiricek. For the Flyers. Jiricek is only a year older with the higher upside. CLB gets another RHD prospect and a pick for a player Waddell did not draft.
- Trox88

Excluding Cutter, when have the Flyers done a prospect for prospect trade within a few years of drafting them?

Would also depend on how Briere and the staff rank the two. Is Briere ready to move on one of his first picks without ever playing a game?

Excluding Cutter, when have the Flyers done a prospect for prospect trade within a few years of drafting them?

Would also depend on how Briere and the staff rank the two. Is Briere ready to move on one of his first picks without ever playing a game?
- furio16

For me, since the Flyers refused to strip it down and tank, the normal business goes out the door. If Briere views Jiricek as an elite talent, then to give up Bonk (good, but not elite prospect) should not matter. Certainly there is a question Jiricek is held in that high regard. He was on the board when Gauthier was the pick- Fletcher was the GM though.

I just find it hard to believe Briere just keeps accumulating draft picks and by sheer number of prospects drafted eventually builds a Cup contender. The free agent market quality will not get better with the cap in the upcoming years. Trades moving high value pieces has to be part of the plan.

For me, since the Flyers refused to strip it down and tank, the normal business goes out the door. If Briere views Jiricek as an elite talent, then to give up Bonk (good, but not elite prospect) should not matter. Certainly there is a question Jiricek is held in that high regard. He was on the board when Gauthier was the pick- Fletcher was the GM though.

I just find it hard to believe Briere just keeps accumulating draft picks and by sheer number of prospects drafted eventually builds a Cup contender. The free agent market quality will not get better with the cap in the upcoming years. Trades moving high value pieces has to be part of the plan.
- Trox88

They have plenty of picks to use to acquire NHL players who can help now and the in the future.

Who is out there and are they willing to part with them? Need to account what contact they are on as well.

The Flyers time line to contend is what exactly? You have core older guys locked up long term. Are they going to try to contend sooner than later?

Just can’t figure out what is the actual plan?

Ken,

Good job. It’ll take some time to refine things to fit the blog-style of a quick read but so far so good. Glad to have you on board. Remember, we’re all gonna be comparing you to Bill until your style becomes the standard here.

PS don’t be afraid to criticize the team and the coach.
- mikeyo27

I hear you. I do not know if Ken has ties to the Flyers organization, or the alumni like Bill had.

They have plenty of picks to use to acquire NHL players who can help now and the in the future.

Who is out there and are they willing to part with them? Need to account what contact they are on as well.

The Flyers time line to contend is what exactly? You have core older guys locked up long term. Are they going to try to contend sooner than later?

Just can’t figure out what is the actual plan?
- furio16

By re signing TK and if Sanheim has elevated to top pairing status along with Michkov here- '26-'27 season they should start being a playoff team. By that timeline, Luchanko is 20 yrs old and the 1st rd picks in this upcoming draft probably are not major contributors. The reason why I believe this timeline is because both TK and Sanheim will be around 30 yrs old. Very slim chance the Flyers win a.Cup in the first year they return to the playoffs. Ideally, the team needs to be a perennial playoff team while TK and Sanheim have multiple years left playing at a high level. Otherwise, it made no sense to re sign TK or not ask Sanheim to waive his NTC. Michkov will be 22 yrs old and a minimum point per game or better player. There just has to be more then drafting and developing with that timeline.

By re signing TK and if Sanheim has elevated to top pairing status along with Michkov here- '26-'27 season they should start being a playoff team. By that timeline, Luchanko is 20 yrs old and the 1st rd picks in this upcoming draft probably are not major contributors. The reason why I believe this timeline is because both TK and Sanheim will be around 30 yrs old. Very slim chance the Flyers win a.Cup in the first year they return to the playoffs. Ideally, the team needs to be a perennial playoff team while TK and Sanheim have multiple years left playing at a high level. Otherwise, it made no sense to re sign TK or not ask Sanheim to waive his NTC. Michkov will be 22 yrs old and a minimum point per game or better player. There just has to be more then drafting and developing with that timeline.
- Trox88

I do not see a playoff team by 2026/27. Way too many holes and question marks.

I do not see a playoff team by 2026/27. Way too many holes and question marks.
- furio16

Agreed with the team's current roster and trajectory of just drafting and developing. That can only be changed by aggressive trades for players who have underachieved, but have the potential to be better then what is currently on the roster. Its risky business to do these type of trades, but with no top 5 picks, these trades have to happen.

Thanks Ken and nice job! Although I do agree with some of the other posters in that it was a little long. I like the idea of a quick recap and then something a little more in-depth about a particular player or issue that stands out or needs to be addressed. Looking forward to seeing what the other bloggers have to offer too. Thanks again!

The Flyers time line to contend is what exactly? You have core older guys locked up long term. Are they going to try to contend sooner than later?

Just can’t figure out what is the actual plan?
- furio16

I don’t really know what they are doing. If they don’t want to blow it up going after guys like Jiricek and Zegras are how you do it. But it’s looking like Briere is just trying to keep his job as long as possible and hope he drafts a contender from the middle.

So did Demko make Tocchet look good last season?

GM

MJL is Ken, Ken is MJL

Much like the McGroarty trade, I wonder if Briere would trade for Jiricek. An offer like Bonk and a 2nd rd pick for Jiricek. For the Flyers. Jiricek is only a year older with the higher upside. CLB gets another RHD prospect and a pick for a player Waddell did not draft.
- Trox88

Drysdale and Anaheims 2nd for Jiricek

Drysdale and Anaheims 2nd for Jiricek
- corduroy

I could get behind this.

GM

MJL is Ken, Ken is MJL
- wcorvette

I though MJL was really Bill's burner account. Now MJL is Ken. So, Bill is MJL and is now Ken? Perhaps Bill is a schizophrenic with multiple personality disorder.

I could get behind this.
- MBFlyerfan

Problem is that CBJ can't get behind this.

By re signing TK and if Sanheim has elevated to top pairing status along with Michkov here- '26-'27 season they should start being a playoff team. By that timeline, Luchanko is 20 yrs old and the 1st rd picks in this upcoming draft probably are not major contributors. The reason why I believe this timeline is because both TK and Sanheim will be around 30 yrs old. Very slim chance the Flyers win a.Cup in the first year they return to the playoffs. Ideally, the team needs to be a perennial playoff team while TK and Sanheim have multiple years left playing at a high level. Otherwise, it made no sense to re sign TK or not ask Sanheim to waive his NTC. Michkov will be 22 yrs old and a minimum point per game or better player. There just has to be more then drafting and developing with that timeline.
- Trox88

Your playoffs hinge on TK and Sanheim…I got news for you, neither player is getting any better. This is it. Unless this team gets some actual players, they aren’t making anything. These young guys outside of Michkov have been extremely disappointing. Frost, a former first rounder is just about worthless.

Problem is that CBJ can't get behind this.
- Letterkenney

Only to shove it off a cliff maybe.

Some quick thoughts. In 1975, there were 32 NHL and WHA teams. Europe was negligible as a prospect pool and the USSR was shut off. 32 pro teams drew talent from a pool of 239 million people, US and Canada combined. In reality this number was much lower because once you got towards the South, the infrastructure for growing hockey didn't exist the way it does now. I'm not going to bother guessing at that, because it isn't even needed; just know that number is a lot lower, probably by half.

In 2024, ignoring Europe since I don't want to scheme that out regionally, Russia, US, and CAN combine for 522 million people. 32 NHL teams draw players from that population pool of half a billion, and that's a lowball. People who read my nonsense in the past know where this is going.

In the 70s, the available talent was far lower. That's the brutal math of it. Half the population to draw from, and also the youth development programs weren't at full steam yet either; hell, the boilers had barely even fired up. Teams didn't assemble lineups with 1 or 2 scoring lines, followed by several filler lines who mostly tried to survive until the scorers could get back on, just because that was "honest" and "pure." It was necessity. There wasn't enough talent to do anything else while competing with an upstart league and everyone else in your own league.

Here in the 20s, with vastly better youth development and well over twice the population to draw from, there is enough talent. The best teams are often rolling 3 or 4 lines that will outscore their counterparts, instead of holding on until the top lines take the ice. The good teams are actively trying to compile the needed talent to do that. Building from the top down and pushing the dregs downwards into the minors.

The Flyers are not in the 2020s. The Flyers behave like it is 1975. They build teams like the talent needed doesn't exist. Like if someone isn't clearly good enough to be a top scorer on the team, then they are only going to get their team wrecked trying to do that so the best thing is to just turn them into defensive drones that survive their shifts, because that was frequently the nature of the skill gap in the 70s, which isn't the case anymore. They aren't even attempting to max out talent and have it trickle down the roster. They build like there is only enough talent to assemble one or two scoring lines. And the bottom half is for survival. Worse, they glorify that method that was rooted in scarcity that doesn't exist anymore.

It's unreal how outmoded their thinking is. They're living in another time, and their appraisal of that time is clouded by nostalgia for it as the "good old days" instead of the "trying to make do" days. They've carefully trained Briere to follow this thought process, too.

There just isn't any fixing this. There is no way that a front office that thinks like this is ever going to stumble into a winning roster. They're deliberately self-limiting themselves to emulate an extinct time of shortage, for no reason. It's like choosing to live like you're poor, while you have tons of money in the bank waiting to be taken, and while also lamenting that you're poor.

They've really gotta fire everyone. Because everyone of them is hypnotized by this nostalgia. And nothing is going to get better until they break free of the past and think like it's right now.

On a positive note, it is certainly a unique approach!

Bruins fire MJL's favorite modern NHL coach, Jim Montgomery. Montgomery as Bruins coach had a record of 120 wins, 41 losses, and 23 loser points, and .715 winning percentage. It's called Bruins

Only to shove it off a cliff maybe.

- MBFlyerfan

Not Waddell's style. He did well in NC building a perennially good team. And, he did trade some players that many thought were very surprising. Maybe Jiricek is one of those. But he wants value back and I don't see JD and a 2nd as that value. If he agrees to that, then is probably says more about Jiricek than it does the Flyers trade assets.