Flyers 2018-19 Lineup, Volume 2

Well folks, Volume 1 of this season's lineup lasted for an entire week and a half. Perhaps I got started too soon and I should have waited for free agency to at least start, but honestly I didn't expect Ron Hextall to make a splash like he did. I was lured to sleep by three summers of Boyd Gordon and Dale Weise, and that's on me. I'm sorry.

BUT we have a new big strong boy in the lineup, and his name is Former Flyer James van Riemsdyk. We'll start there, because the Flyers now have an absolute no-brainer of a first line.

Giroux-Couturier-van Riemsdyk

Ignore handedness. If your reaction to this line is "well JVR usually plays left wing" then you are the worst. We're keeping our dynamic duo together and adding the BIG STRONG HARD-HITTING GOAL-SCORING WINGER that Sam Carchidi has been tweeting about with porn GIFs for like two years. Now we just need a nickname, but the only things I can think of right now are Jean-Claude Van Dam references. More like Sean Claude Van Daaaamn, am I right?

Konecny-Patrick-Voracek

I'm literally drooling.

But after the top six, it gets a little more like Yahtzee. Here's who we have left (in order of cap hit):

• Wingers: Lehtera, Simmonds, Weise, Raffl, Lindblom, Leier, Aube-Kubel
• Centers: Laughton, Weal, Vorobyev, Vecchione, Frost

Obviously we're pulling two guys from the pool of centers and throwing the rest into the pool of wingers.  You can mix that up five thousand different ways, but I'm tempted to start with something we know is good and fun.

The-Honey-Bees
(Leier-Laughton-Raffl)

We know they can skate with any line in the league, and they flashed some chemistry in the offensive zone. One of my criticisms of Hakstol last season was his reliance on the phrase "consistent in all three zones" combined with his abandonment of this line that was.. consistent in all three zones. Let's bring back the Honey Bees 2k18.

Here's where it really gets tough for me. A Lindblom-Weal-Simmonds line is the best way to get NHL experience on the third line, but at some point we're going to have to get Nic Aube-Kubel, Misha Vorobyev, Mike Vecchione, and Morgan Frost in the lineup.

Lindblom-Weal-Simmonds 

Ron preaches patience, though, and I think we'll get that as the third line to start the season. Based on Charlie O'Connor's tweets it seems like Hextall likes Weal at center, which means we'll get another year of slow cooking for Vorobyev and Frost. And Mike Vecchione, the most unlucky player in the NHL, will continue to have his plans shattered by the lottery that netted the Flyers Nolan Patrick.

On the back end of the lineup, the big news is Brandon Manning signed with the Blackhawks so we can officially shut the door on him as a Flyer. We can also shut the door on Dougie Hamilton, as he's a Carolina Hurricane and presumably no longer on the trading block. Here's how I'd fill out the defense:

Provorov-Gostisbehere

Old reliable.

Sanheim-Hagg

I like the potential for Sanheim's dynamic game paired with Hagg's steady physical presense.

MacDonald-Myers

I mean obviously that last spot on the right side is going to be Gudas but a kid can dream.