Bill Meltzer: Flyers Daily: 10 Questions for 2023-24 Season

Bill Meltzer: Flyers Daily: 10 Questions for 2023-24 Season
- bmeltzer

Thanks Bill

I posted here several times that Risto was vastly improved last season and was challenged to prove it other than the eye test. I posted here several times that Torts and Shaw deserve credit for fixing Risto and was told "Risto will never be fixed" and Torts is archaic. Well to all of you Risto/Torts haters out there (Yes I'm talking to you MJL most of all), read it and weep!

https://theathletic.com/4...lyers-rasmus-ristolainen/

Bill Meltzer: Flyers Daily: 10 Questions for 2023-24 Season
- bmeltzer

Felix is really irrelevant at this point. Organizational depth. Coach has little faith in him. Felix imo has a spot to lose and will play a lot more than peeps think is how
I see it. Now granted he will have to perform. I am not all that sold in him yet as he was ok last year at the nhl level. Nothing outstanding.

How many more "leaders" does this team?

What I wonder is when does ex selke get disgusted when he sees how bad this team will be the next x amount of years.

Did Sanheim play any minutes with Gudas?

I posted here several times that Risto was vastly improved last season and was challenged to prove it other than the eye test. I posted here several times that Torts and Shaw deserve credit for fixing Risto and was told "Risto will never be fixed" and Torts is archaic. Well to all of you Risto/Torts haters out there (Yes I'm talking to you MJL most of all), read it and weep!

https://theathletic.com/4...lyers-rasmus-ristolainen/
- jd250

paywall.

So I assume it is a piece saying how good he is as a player. Then if that's the case should be easy to move no?

Do they get credit for Sanheim regressing? Any credit for not getting tony d to play some after the first 2 months? Any credit for ivan staying stagnant at best?

Risto had worse defensive results than Braun last season, and Braun retired at the end of it.

Re goaltending: it all depends on Hart. Is he getting suspended? Is he getting traded by October? By mid season? At the deadline? Or, is he getting extended?

Until the above is sorted out, it’s hard to figure out the Flyers goaltending, but here’s my guess:

Hart-starts the season as the #1, is traded in January

Sandstrom- starts the season as the backup, finishes as the backup

Ersson- starts the season as the Phantoms #1, joins the Flyers in January and, if they make the playoffs, is sent back down to be the Phantoms playoff #1

Petersen: spends the entire season in LHV

ClaudeFather
Today @ 9:17 AM ET
You should never pay a goalie beyond his elc and bridge deal. Unless he’s a surefire hall of famer. Simply no reason to pay a goalie more than 3/4 mil on bridge deal. They are a dime a dozen
- Stayin alive

That’s a huge stretch bud haha



Why is a stretch? If you invest in drafting a top level goalie about every 4/5 years PLUS draft goalies as normal you will have plenty in pipeline and plenty pushing for playing time with big club.

Look no further than Ersson. Is he as good as hart? Maybe? Maybe not? Is he close tho? What do you lose between the two? Even say hart is a little better when he comes up for 3rd contract is it ever worth giving the term and salary that contract is gonna command? What’s harts next deal? 4/5 years? 5/6 mil per? Or more?

It’s simply not worth it. In theory philly should have goalies pushing to play every 2/3 years why would you need to sign a goalie to their 3rd contract? You already got roughly 5 years out of them between elc and bridge deal.

Now if you hit on a hall of fame type goalie I can see giving that 3rd contract. Otherwise pass

ClaudeFather
Today @ 9:17 AM ET
You should never pay a goalie beyond his elc and bridge deal. Unless he’s a surefire hall of famer. Simply no reason to pay a goalie more than 3/4 mil on bridge deal. They are a dime a dozen
- Stayin alive

That’s a huge stretch bud haha



Why is a stretch? If you invest in drafting a top level goalie about every 4/5 years PLUS draft goalies as normal you will have plenty in pipeline and plenty pushing for playing time with big club.

Look no further than Ersson. Is he as good as hart? Maybe? Maybe not? Is he close tho? What do you lose between the two? Even say hart is a little better when he comes up for 3rd contract is it ever worth giving the term and salary that contract is gonna command? What’s harts next deal? 4/5 years? 5/6 mil per? Or more?

It’s simply not worth it. In theory philly should have goalies pushing to play every 2/3 years why would you need to sign a goalie to their 3rd contract? You already got roughly 5 years out of them between elc and bridge deal.

Now if you hit on a hall of fame type goalie I can see giving that 3rd contract. Otherwise pass
- Stayin alive

Dude there’s no guarantee any of these other guys will be anywhere near Hart. And it’s not like he’s a stud. Maybe the flyers could get away with this because they suck but could you imagine a playoff team or a team built for success just trying to integrate a new goalies every few years? It’s all about timing, there is no one size fits all approach

Re goaltending: it all depends on Hart. Is he getting suspended? Is he getting traded by October? By mid season? At the deadline? Or, is he getting extended?

Until the above is sorted out, it’s hard to figure out the Flyers goaltending, but here’s my guess:

Hart-starts the season as the #1, is traded in January

Sandstrom- starts the season as the backup, finishes as the backup

Ersson- starts the season as the Phantoms #1, joins the Flyers in January and, if they make the playoffs, is sent back down to be the Phantoms playoff #1

Petersen: spends the entire season in LHV
- BiggE

it is pretty clear the coach has little faith in Felix. dont see him as the back up at all.

Hart's done in Philly. No need for a rebuilding team to give him the long term extension he will want that will start at age 26.

Hart's done in Philly. No need for a rebuilding team to give him the long term extension he will want that will start at age 26.
- Feanor

Timing isn’t great. Would have loved to see what he could do with a stable team in front of him for a few years. Probably time to sell high if possible, another year of a really bad team in front of him.

tyty

Hart's done in Philly. No need for a rebuilding team to give him the long term extension he will want that will start at age 26.
- Feanor

not sure he wants it as he may want out if he was smart.

I posted here several times that Risto was vastly improved last season and was challenged to prove it other than the eye test. I posted here several times that Torts and Shaw deserve credit for fixing Risto and was told "Risto will never be fixed" and Torts is archaic. Well to all of you Risto/Torts haters out there (Yes I'm talking to you MJL most of all), read it and weep!

https://theathletic.com/4...lyers-rasmus-ristolainen/
- jd250

fair enough, you hope he can hold the progress bur regression is a real possiblity, at 5.1 million he is still well overpaid, if he can hold the improvement that will help

So what happened? Both Ristolainen and Tortorella acknowledged that at the start of the season, Tortorella rode him hard, especially behind closed doors. Perhaps for the first time, an NHL coaching staff wasn’t blinded by Ristolainen’s undeniable physical traits (he’s big, he can skate well, and he hits everything in sight) and actually recognized that more often than not, Ristolainen wasn’t doing the right things on the ice. Or, at the very least, finally found a way to get that through to Ristolainen — who to his credit, responded to the harsh critiques and made changes.

“It’s pretty simple and clear, and he’s honest,” Ristolainen noted in his exit interview when asked about Tortorella. “I think the way he is and the way he coaches, he probably gets the most out of me. That’s what I appreciate — the honesty good or bad. Sometimes, I need a little push, a kick in the ass.”

paywall.

So I assume it is a piece saying how good he is as a player. Then if that's the case should be easy to move no?

Do they get credit for Sanheim regressing? Any credit for not getting tony d to play some after the first 2 months? Any credit for ivan staying stagnant at best?
- hello it's me 2050

A bonafide top 4 right handed defenseman that has improved his play is easy to move.

The same easy marks that buy into the Risto narrative also buy the phony rebuild narrative.

A bonafide top 4 right handed defenseman that has improved his play is easy to move.

The same easy marks that buy into the Risto narrative also buy the phony rebuild narrative.
- StepfordSam

the funny thing is if you believe any of the reports their wasn't any real interest in sanheim. Said the flyers were trying to give him away.

If he is as good as his metrics and many say then shouldn't be that hard to move at his age. Guess many GM's disagree. Just another anchor courtesy of chuck.

Dude there’s no guarantee any of these other guys will be anywhere near Hart. And it’s not like he’s a stud. Maybe the flyers could get away with this because they suck but could you imagine a playoff team or a team built for success just trying to integrate a new goalies every few years? It’s all about timing, there is no one size fits all approach
- ClaudeFather

Intergrate new goalies? Yeah I can can imagine playoff teams doing EXACTLY that. They do that now don’t they? Goalie is the easiest position to intergate a player. Most contending teams switch up goalies every few year don’t they? Who’s the first player replaced if a contending team doesn’t win after a few years? Usually the goalie right?

I get saying you could have worse than hart type goalie. But in actuality most goalies are just like hart. A done a dozen. How many truly great goalies? Didn’t Aiden hill just win Stanley cup? I get paying the elite goalies. Other than that even if you don’t have a goalie in system you can get one for less term than giving that 3rd contract. Still no need to committ to 5/6 years for a “hart” type.

I posted here several times that Risto was vastly improved last season and was challenged to prove it other than the eye test. I posted here several times that Torts and Shaw deserve credit for fixing Risto and was told "Risto will never be fixed" and Torts is archaic. Well to all of you Risto/Torts haters out there (Yes I'm talking to you MJL most of all), read it and weep!

https://theathletic.com/4...lyers-rasmus-ristolainen/
- jd250

1) The coaches 100% deserve credit for getting him to stop running around like an idiot chasing hits,

2) He's been one of the worst defensive players in the league for almost a decade... he really had nowhere to go but up so let's not get carried away with a few months of improvement,

3) As Charlie said, as much as the coaches "fixed" him as a player, they actually limited his role as a defenseman which seemed to help. He was brutal on the top pair with Provy but was legit effective on the 3rd-pair w/ Seeler. That's where he should be in the lineup.

4) And as Charlie said, RR had to sacrifice almost all of his offense to play the way Torts wanted him to. He's effectively a one-way dman making $5M/per now.


If Risto can sustain this "improvement" in 23-24 playing top-pair minutes then we'll all eat crow. I have my doubts tho.

Intergrate new goalies? Yeah I can can imagine playoff teams doing EXACTLY that. They do that now don’t they? Goalie is the easiest position to intergate a player. Most contending teams switch up goalies every few year don’t they? Who’s the first player replaced if a contending team doesn’t win after a few years? Usually the goalie right?

I get saying you could have worse than hart type goalie. But in actuality most goalies are just like hart. A done a dozen. How many truly great goalies? Didn’t Aiden hill just win Stanley cup? I get paying the elite goalies. Other than that even if you don’t have a goalie in system you can get one for less term than giving that 3rd contract. Still no need to committ to 5/6 years for a “hart” type.
- Stayin alive

Integrating new goalies is nothing new, your one size fits all approach is what’s asinine and should be complete disregarded.

Risto had worse defensive results than Braun last season, and Braun retired at the end of it.
- Feanor

Justin Braun is 36…

fair enough, you hope he can hold the progress bur regression is a real possiblity, at 5.1 million he is still well overpaid, if he can hold the improvement that will help

So what happened? Both Ristolainen and Tortorella acknowledged that at the start of the season, Tortorella rode him hard, especially behind closed doors. Perhaps for the first time, an NHL coaching staff wasn’t blinded by Ristolainen’s undeniable physical traits (he’s big, he can skate well, and he hits everything in sight) and actually recognized that more often than not, Ristolainen wasn’t doing the right things on the ice. Or, at the very least, finally found a way to get that through to Ristolainen — who to his credit, responded to the harsh critiques and made changes.

“It’s pretty simple and clear, and he’s honest,” Ristolainen noted in his exit interview when asked about Tortorella. “I think the way he is and the way he coaches, he probably gets the most out of me. That’s what I appreciate — the honesty good or bad. Sometimes, I need a little push, a kick in the ass.”
- wcorvette

I like Ristolainen. He is coming off an improved season but I say this about most players, you have to do it all over again. I’m not gonna say anyone “fixed” him. Right now he’s 1-1 and now let’s see what he does in a tie breaker.

I posted here several times that Risto was vastly improved last season and was challenged to prove it other than the eye test. I posted here several times that Torts and Shaw deserve credit for fixing Risto and was told "Risto will never be fixed" and Torts is archaic. Well to all of you Risto/Torts haters out there (Yes I'm talking to you MJL most of all), read it and weep!

https://theathletic.com/4...lyers-rasmus-ristolainen/
- jd250

If you want people to read something, link to an article that is not behind a paywall. Why do you do this to yourself? I'll say it again. Ristolainen will never be "fixed". He is an overpaid 3rd pair defenseman at this point of his career. Tortorella is an obsolete and archaic coach that needs to be replaced ASAP. There is no article that can change any of that.

Hart's done in Philly. No need for a rebuilding team to give him the long term extension he will want that will start at age 26.
- Feanor

He's on borrowed time for sure. This might not speak to Hart specifically but the trading into the 2nd round and drafting a goalie then taking another the very next pick should speak a little about how this organization feels about its net minders.