The Flyers Just Cut Sam Morin and Taylor Leier

Per GM Ron Hextall, the #Flyers have assigned Taylor Leier and Sam Morin to the @LVPhantoms.

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 5, 2016

I guess it wasn't so much "cut" as it was "reassigned to the minor league affiliate," but efficient headlines are important in sports journalism.

To the surprise of nobody (I hope), Leier and Morin were returned to Lehigh Valley. Leier looked like a solid, reliable call-up option if the need arises this season. Morin looked like he's made huge strides in his development, but needs to cook for a little while longer. We'll see them both in orange and black in the future, without a doubt.

The interesting part about this round of cuts, though, is it leaves us with a very manageable group of guys left in Flyers camp. The roster now stands at 26, and Hextall has said they will be down to 23 before the season starts.

So let's take a look at who might be heading out of Philadelphia to get down to that magic number.

Not A Chance In Hell These Guys Aren't On The Team

Forwards (10): Nick Cousins, Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux, Boyd Gordon, Michael Raffl, Matt Read, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jake Voracek, Dale Weise

That's three (or maybe two) guys on the top line, two (or maybe three) guys on the second line, and the third- and fourth-line centers (Cousins and Gordon). Depending on how everything shakes out, Raffl/Read/Weise will likely be wingers somewhere in the bottom three lines.

Defensemen (5): Michael Del Zotto, Shayne Gostisbehere, Radko Gudas, Nick Schultz, Mark Streit

I don't think anyone will have any debate about these top five.

Goalies (2): Steve Mason, Michal Neuvirth

Duh.

That's the easy part. Now, let's look at who's competing for the other five spots on the roster. It'll likely end up being three forwards and two defensemen, but that could obviously change.

Forwards

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Travis Konecny
Scott Laughton
Roman Lyubimov
Chris Vandevelde
Jordan Weal

This whole section starts and ends with Konecny. If he makes it, he's playing on Giroux or Couturier's wing, and Raffl/Read will be thrown into the bottom six mix. That takes a spot away from one of these other guys, and it cascades from there.

But, for a team that certainly had offensive struggles last year, I don't think they can afford to leave Konecny off the team. He's more talented offensively than the other guys competing for that last top-six spot, and those guys are more talented than the people they'd be replacing in the bottom six. Everyone wins.

Well, everyone except Chris Vandevelde and Jordan Weal, who are going to get cut. The only exception might be if Hextall decides to send Laughton to Lehigh Valley. He's waiver-exempt, which means he can't be claimed by another team when he's sent down. Weal, though he's far from a franchise cornerstone, would likely be claimed by someone else and the Flyers would lose him for nothing. For that reason, I could see him being the odd man out (aka the healthy scratch press box guy).

In: Bellemare, Konecny, Lyubimov, Weal

Out: Laughton, Vandevelde

Defensemen

Andrew MacDonald
Brandon Manning
Ivan Provorov

I'll be brief.

If Ivan Provorov gets sent back to the WHL, it is going to be bad.

For expansion draft purposes, either Manning has to play 14 games or MacDonald has to play 40 games. I would rather have Manning rotate in every so often, either to give Streit/Schultz a break or to cover for a short-term injury. Playing MacDonald for half of the season would be detrimental to the team.

In: Provorov, Manning

Out: MacDonald

Andrew MacDonald Needs To Be Fired Into Outer Space

I can't let this go on any longer. I've tried to convince myself that everything is going to be okay when Ron Hextall sends The Kids back to juniors or the AHL and keeps Andrew MacDonald in Philadelphia. I threw out every excuse in the book.

"He's not terrible, he's just overpaid."

"He looked good in training camp, maybe he worked on his game this summer."

"He's got decent stick skills and he can skate alright."

"No, I definitely for sure don't want to claw my eyes out every time I watch him attempt to defend."

Last night was the first chance I got to actually see the boys in orange and black play in a game setting in person. And, because Radko Gudas got himself tossed like one minute into the game, we got to see MacDonald paired with just about every defenseman that dressed last night.

How'd it go?

one game sample etc, but wow. lmao.
"MDZ has a 71% CF%, Ghost 69%, Provorov 68%, Gudas 64%, Morin 56%......yet AMac had a 36% CF%"

— Viktor Allvin (@ViktorAllvin) October 4, 2016

Now, for my next example, I'm going to just Chart Vomit everything from Hockeyviz (you should be following Micah, consuming all of his content, and if I eventually make any money I promise I will buy him an Outback Steakhouse gift card).

This picture is really, truly worth a thousand words. The whole Flyers team (basically) was positive in even strength score adjusted shot attempts. The rest of the defensemen finished the game at 55%, 60%, 69% (nice), 69% (nice), and 69% (nice). MacDonald was only slightly above 35%. 

He routinely got caved in, and he dragged quite literally every single one of his partners down with him. 

Quick side note from MacDonald: the Couturier/Read/Voracek line (and the Coots/Read duo specifically) finished below the rest of the team in shot attempt differential. But, as usual, there is an easy explanation. 

It's the same explanation as every game ever for Couturier: he spent the bulk of his minutes against the other team's best line. In this case, it was Nash/Stepan/Vesey (RIP), and they held them scoreless at even strength (Vesey's goal was on the power play). 

Now back to the reason we've all gathered here today. Andrew MacDonald played 19 minutes last night against a team that was icing a bottom six and four defensemen that shouldn't sniff the NHL, and did not finish with a positive shot attempt differential against ANYONE. Not one single player. 

I know Corsi isn't everything, and you have to watch the game so you have some context to judge the numbers. And the "eye test" last night was MacDonald allowing controlled entries and letting the Rangers set up in their offensive zone. He was the only Flyers blueliner to give up a goal without also being on the ice for a Flyers goal. His best play of the night was a sliding-on-the-seat-of-his-pants breakdancing move where he poked the puck away from whoever this was:

However you gotta get the job done, AMac! pic.twitter.com/a2rLSQ23D4

— Sons of Penn (@SonsofPenn) October 4, 2016

 That's not good hockey.

And so, here we are. The Flyers next preseason game isn't until Thursday (in New York, and then they play Saturday in Boston). There is expected to be another round of cuts before then.

Quick look at how I see PHI's camp roster now, more or less.
Green: Locks
Blue: Probably locks
Purple: Still battling
Red: Likely to AHL pic.twitter.com/TuId1HcjC4

— Charlie O'Connor (@BSH_Charlie) October 3, 2016

Let's stay focused on the defense for the purpose of this post. The four guys in green are going to make the team. Nick Schultz is going to make the team. Brandon Manning will be the 7th defenseman and they'll mix him in for his dozen or so games to allow him to be exposed for the expansion draft.

That leaves one final spot on the blueline, for either MacDonald, Provorov, or Morin. I thought Morin was the best player on the ice in the first period last night, but he really fell off a cliff from there and solidified that he needs more time with the Phantoms.

If you watched last night, or any other night, or looked at any low-level or high-level stats, I can't fathom how you can possibly have MacDonald slotted higher than Provorov on your organizational depth chart. Keeping Manning in the 7th spot for this exercise, you have two options:

• Del Zotto-Gudas, Gostisbehere-MacDonald, Streit-Schultz
• Del Zotto-Gostisbehere, Provorov-Gudas, Streit-Schultz 

That second combination also gives you the option to split up MDZ/Ghost with Streit/Schultz if the need arises (if Streit is bad, basically). Manning can rotate in every so often to ensure he can serve the role of Exposed Defenseman (usually MacDonald's job, am I right?), and there is a mixture of skill and stay-at-home in the final year before Streit-Schultz are replaced by some combination of kids.

That second lineup also gives you the chance to send MacDonald through waivers, which is a quick rabbit hole that I'm going to fall down. Here are some teams that have the requisite cap space (per General Fanager) and also a desperate enough need for blueline help (per Dom I-Can't-Spell-His-Last-Name) that they might take on someone who stinks as bad as MacDonald for the next four years:

• Hurricanes: $16.5 million in cap space, a bunch of young/cheap defensemen that could benefit from the tutelage of an experienced vet like MacDonald, similar to how he had a positive impact on the Phantoms last season (ignore that he played for an AHL team and got paid $5 million last season)
• Devils: $11.3 million in cap space, are already paying $5 million for multiple years to Replacement-Level Defenseman Andy Greene, do not have a defenseman that projects in the top half of the NHL since they traded away Adam Larsson, are already going to ice the worst blueline in the league, midas whale go for it and try to have the worst group of defensemen in history
• Panthers: $9.2 million in cap space, are probably actually okay on overpaid defensemen since they're paying Keith Yandle and Jason Demers a combined $10.85 million through 2023 and 2021 respectively. They also have $7.5 million committed to Aaron Ekblad until 2025 (not an overpay, just mentioning the financial obligation)
• Sabres: $8.5 million in cap space, are going to ice (by Dom's estimation) the second-worst defense behind the Devils, including the worst number one defenseman in the league (Rasmus Ristolainen) and the worst overall defenseman in the league (Josh Gorges)(yes, he's even worse than Dan Girardi). I've been mostly sarcastic in this section but I think the Sabres would actually benefit from claiming MacDonald and working them into their blueline rotation

Maybe Hextall has to grease the palm of the Sabres a little bit, with a prospect or a pick. Maybe Tim Murray realizes what's happening in Philly with Provorov (and the "next year" guys like Morin and Sanheim and Myers) and sees a way to pry a long-term asset away from Hextall while also making his miserable blueline a bit stronger in the process. Maybe he realizes he can buy MacDonald out next summer (or the following one) with a cap penalty of less than $2 million when MacDonald's gone. 

Here's my dream Hexy press conference: "Andrew MacDonald has been traded to Buffalo with a second round pick in exchange for a conditional pick that ranges from fourth to sixth depending on MacDonald's games played and the team's success. No salary will be retained."

Now it's time for me to go have some alone time in the bathroom and think about that fantasy. 

I Stole Dave Isaac's Flyers Mailbag Again

As per official Bullets Blog rules, when I see a tweet like this one from my man Dave Isaac I am legally obligated to steal all of the questions and give the correct answers to the internet.

Here it is. Thanks for playing #FlyersMailbag: https://t.co/xV1VzUwDlE

— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) June 13, 2016

Question 1, from Steve Venuti @Venoot_TheBrute
@davegisaac Rubtsov, Bellows, Kunin, Jones, and Gauthier are on the board at 18. Who do the flyers take? #FlyersMailbag

Dave's answer: Gauthier from a needs standpoint and a skill standpoint, but Bellows because his style of play fits Coach Hakstol's system to a T. 

Correct answer: If Gauthier is still there, he's a no-brainer. He won't be there at 18 though, and Bellows is too trendy of a pick for my liking. I'm taking Max Jones and his 6'3" 200-pound self because we need some size. 

Question 2, from jsaquella @jsaquella

@davegisaac Does Ron Hextall make a trade to move up in draft? #FlyersMailbag

Dave's answer: A vague mention of possibly maybe trading for Edmonton's 4th overall pick but it's just a possibility so we'll see. 

Correct answer: We aren't getting Matthews, or the Fins, or Tkachuk. The price is going to be too high and I'd rather take my chances with a few picks from the first three rounds than put all my eggs into one basket. That said, much like he did to draft Travis Konecny last year, if Hextall likes any of the middle-of-the-first-round guys he should pounce. Personally, I'd do whatever it takes to make sure we get Gauthier. 

Question 3, from Downovan McSadd @MattGrumbrecht

@davegisaac what Flyers player is most likely to be moved at the draft #FlyersMailbag

Dave's answer: Probably not Streit, or Read, or either one of the goalies. So... nobody?

Correct answer: I think the most likely outcome is "nobody gets moved" so I guess I shouldn't really jab Dave too much. But the most likely player to move, at this point in time, would be Brayden Schenn. I think the overwhelming likelihood is he gets re-signed to a long-term deal, but if the team and player are too far apart it might make sense to shop him around this summer. 

Question 4, from LHD @LHD20

@davegisaac Hexy preaches patience w/young players--look at Pitt w/their young players in SCF. will he change course?#FlyersMailbag

Dave's answer: "No way, (San) Jose."

Correct answer: Racist anti-Mexican jokes aside, this is the biggest question going into the season. We know, for the most part, what this team is going to be. The only roster decisions are Provorov, Sanheim, and Konecny. We've seen the distinction between regular season hockey and playoff hockey, and these kids are going to have to contribute soon enough that Giroux/Voracek are still in their primes. Konecny is small so I would understand another year in the OHL for him, but I can't find a reason for Provorov/Sanheim not to take the place of MacDonald and Streit in the regular lineup. 

Question 5, from SketchierFaun @SketchierFaun75

@davegisaac even with draft protection clarification, do you still see the #Flyers buying out Umberger? #FlyersMailBag

Dave's answer: Absolutely. 

Correct answer: This is the worst question of the mailbag, so congrats to Sketchier Faun. The Umberger buyout is going to be announced tomorrow at 5pm, literally as soon as they can possibly announce it. 

Question 6, from Milwaukee81* @Milwaukee81

@davegisaac Dave, How do you expect the Flyers to improve the 2nd & 3rd lines? #FlyersMailbag

Dave's answer: The top two lines are going to remain largely the same. Such insight!

Correct answer: I touched on this a few weeks ago. I think Hakstol should take a page from the Penguins, split up Giroux, Voracek, and Couturier, and roll a balanced top nine. Schenn-Giroux-Simmonds carried the load during the playoff push; Raffl-Couturier-Read are a responsible above-average defensive/checking line; Laughton-Cousins-Voracek would certainly be an experiment but those three have a high enough pedigree that I'd expect them to fill the back of the net. 

Question 7, from BIG CHEEF @thacheef1

@davegisaac #FlyersMailbag How much cap space do they have , and players they might target ?

Dave's answer: $9 million. Some of that has to go to Schenn. The Flyers should also look to target rookie Jimmy Vesey, who will have his base salary capped at $950k but could (and will) be loaded up with incentives. 

Correct answer: $12 million (Dave forgot about Vinny Lecavalier's pending retirement). The bulk of that money is already earmarked for Schenn, Cousins, Gudas, and (maybe) Manning. I know I mentioned above that I'd like to clear out some space for Provorov/Konecny, but capable NHL defensemen for less than $1 million don't grow on trees. The number I calculated for Hextall's cap space after he takes care of his boys was between $3-4 million to split between a pair of forwards. One should be Ryan White, and the other is Hexy's chance to put his name on this Flyers offseason. 

Question 8, from Jon Matty @Jon_Matty

@davegisaac which kids make the team from camp. Does anyone get called up and stay up. #FlyersMailbag

Dave's answer: Provorov out of camp. Konecny out of camp if he blows the doors off. Morin at some point this season. 

Correct answer: Dave nailed it. I'd also add Sanheim in with Morin as an injury/trade replacement at some point during the year. 

Question 9, from Broph @cbrophy88

@davegisaac do you think the flyers will be able trade Streit, free up enough cap space and in turn take a run a Stamkos?#flyersmailbag

Dave's answer: No and absolutely not.

Correct answer: Thanks to Broph for asking the important questions. No, the Flyers will not be able to trade their 38 year old deteriorating defenseman with a broken penis and a $5.25 million cap hit. And no, they will not be targeting the most expensive free agent in NHL history with their $3-4 million in cap space. 

Question 10, from R F Carp @IM_A_Carp

@davegisaac #Flyers need scoring NOW. Scott Hartnell waives no trade clause. Do the Flyers make a move? #FlyersMailbag

Dave's answer: No, with a funny joke about Hartnell falling down a lot thrown in for some entertainment. 

Correct answer: The mailbag is now complete, because we have mentioned both a huge free agent and a Former Flyer. I'd also like to amend my previous announcement of the Worst Question Award - this has to be the worst Flyers Mailbag question ever. 

We sat through two goddamn years of RJ Umberger instead of Scott Hartnell so we could move that money off the books this summer. And now, after dealing with a far inferior player for two seasons, we're going to bring back Hartnell's $4.75 million cap hit until 2019 anyway? 

I mean, maybe, MAYBE if Columbus ate half of his money I could see him fitting into the top nine. But if you are suggesting that we basically just negate all of the benefits of the Hartnell-Umberger trade and I wasted the last two years watching RJ Umbeger in a Flyers jersey then you are the worst fan in the world. 

Question 11, from Flyers @shanemoretuzzo

@davegisaac Who are the Flyers top 6 dmen at the end of the 2016-17 season? #Flyersmailbag

Dave's answer: MDZ-Ghost, AMac-Streit, Provorov-Gudas, Schultz

Correct answer: MDZ-Provorov, Ghost-Streit, Gudas-Schultz, Manning (Manning will be the 7th defenseman in my heart until the day he retires). To critique Dave's logic, I don't think the MacDonald-Streit pairing is a good idea. I actually think it is a really really bad idea. In my mind, Streit is no longer capable of being The Puck Mover on his pairing and MacDonald isn't capable of Playing In The NHL. I like Ghost and Streit together. 

I also had a tough timing figuring out what to do with Provorov, because he's going to require some shelter and it's tough to do that by pairing him with one of the horses (MDZ, Gudas, Schultz). I would, however, worry about a sheltered uber-attack pairing of Ghost-Provy just because of their youth and lack of physicality. 

Thus, I'm sticking Provorov with MDZ and hoping he's developed into that role by the end of the year. I'm sticking Ghost and Streit together because I like that pairing a lot. And Gudas and Schultz are going to get buried in their own end a lot, but hopefully balancing the top three forward lines will help alleviate that. 

Question 12, from flyguys30 @Flyguys30

@davegisaac what are the chances they land eriksson, and if they do what are the contract terms? #FlyersMailbag

Dave's answer: No way. 

Correct answer: I rag on Maple Leafs fans in this blog quite a bit because they are largely Dumb Fans. This is a stark reminder that every team has Dumb Fans. No, Hextall is not going to commit hit up-and-coming team to a 30 year old scoring winger who's going to be 32 or 33 by the time our prospects all come to fruition. 

Question 13, from Maximus Chaos @Guppies97

@davegisaac who do you think would be more valuable to Flyers, Brayden Schenn or Sami Vatanen & why?#FlyersMailbag

Dave's answer: Schenn because the Flyers already have blueline prospects and they need forwards that can contribute. 

Correct answer: This one's a bloodbath, folks. 

Question 14, from Chris Olivo @ChrisOlivo72

@davegisaac What are Hextall's expectations of the team for next season after making the playoffs last spring?#FlyersMailbag

Dave's answer: Take the next step forward. No word on what the next step is, but they're going to try to take it. 

Correct answer: Make the playoffs (not via the Wild Card) and advance to the second round. 

Flyers Offseason Wish List: Part I

The season is over. We should all be at peace with it. The boys in orange overachieved and accomplished more than most of us could have hoped for. A playoff berth, some postseason experience for some of the young guys, and a hard fought battle against the best team in the conference have to make you happy, especially considering the preseason projections for that Flyers team.

As we put the 2015-16 season to bed, let's look forward to next year. There isn't a whole lot of work to do for Ron Hextall, as he already cleared out some of the dead money and there is surprisingly little left for him to dump.

RJ Umberger should get his last year bought out, and we are probably stuck with Mark Streit (in Philadelphia) and Andrew MacDonald (in Lehigh Valley) for the remainder of their contracts. I use the word "stuck" for those two because they're overpaid and noticeably not as good as a pair of $5 million defensemen should be. I will never use the word "stuck" for Nick Schultz and Brandon Manning. They are cheap, they can kill penalties, and they fill roles that every hockey team needs. If you weren't impressed with Schultz's play against Alex Ovechkin this postseason, I don't really know what to tell you.

Matt Read is a name that gets tossed around on Flyers Twitter quite a bit, but he is almost 30 and has 2 years/$7 million remaining. Given the lack of NHL-ready talent in our prospect pool, I think it would be foolish to shop Reader for picks. We'd be selling low and opening up a hole that doesn't currently even exist, and we aren't currently in a position to need to shed salary.

As it stands, we have about $7 million worth of cap space going into next year. That will increase to about $9 million when Vinny Lecavalier announces his retirement, and to about $12 million when Hextall buys out Umberger.

That $12 million can be used to build around this core:

• Forwards (9): Giroux, Voracek, Couturier, Raffl, Simmonds, Read, Laughton, Vandevelde, Bellemare
• Defensemen (5): Streit, Schultz, MacDonald, Gostisbehere, Del Zotto
• Goalies (2): Mason, Neuvirth

I did not include The Prospects because I don't feel confident enough that any of them will start next season in the NHL. I also did not include players that we need to re-sign:

• Brayden Schenn (RFA) is due somewhere in the $4-5 million range
• Nick Cousins (RFA) is due about $2 million, and I'd use the 2 year/$3.5 million deal that Sean Couturier signed after his entry-level deal as a comparable
• I don't care if we re-sign Jordan Weal (RFA) because he's getting stashed in the minors
• I would like to see Brandon Manning (RFA) and Radko Gudas (RFA) both return. I think Manning can be had for less than $1 million, and I'd love to get Gudas for the Nick Schultz 2 year/$4.5 million deal
• There are a handful of AHL guys that are expiring RFAs, but the only two that might impact the Flyers next year are winger Petr Straka and defenseman Mark Alt, and we won't count them toward the Flyers' cap just yet

Taking care of the RFAs above leaves us with 11 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goalies. We are obviously set at the goalie position, and the only reason to shake anything up on defense is to clear a spot for Ivan Provorov, if he deserves it. The easiest way to do that would be to send MacDonald to Lehigh Valley again, and I think that benefited everyone involved last year. 

We're good on the back end. But you want 13 forwards on your roster, and this scenario leaves Ron Hextall with (opens calculator) $3-4 million if the cap is at the low estimate and $5-7 million if it's at the high estimate. Of course, those numbers depend on the deals given to the RFAs and whether or not MacDonald starts the season in Allentown. 

The cheap way to go about things would be to re-sign Ryan White for something south of $1 million and call up Straka, Taylor Leier, Travis Konecny, or Colin McDonald. That would leave some breathing room for the season, and you can certainly make the argument that the team just needs to bide its time until reinforcements arrive (those reinforcements, primarily, are Provorov and Travis Sanheim). 

There are, however, some more expensive ways to fill the hole(s) at forward, and I'm going to be looking into some options as the offseason progresses. 

Flyers Trade Deadline Recap

It was an extremely quiet deadline for Ron Hextall and the Flyers, as their only real move was extending free-agent-to-be Michael Raffl for three more years.

Let's take a look at some of the moves they didn't make:

Brayden Schenn

Do you think Schenner was happy to stay in Philly? After months of rumors about his future in Philly, Baby Schenn made it through the deadline and will likely make it to the end of the season as a restricted free agent. He celebrated himself not being traded by potting a hatty on Monday night against the Flames.

Negotiations this summer will be tense, to be sure, but Schenn's established his place in the team's future plans. I'll be shocked if they don't come to an agreement. If money turns out to be too much of an issue, they can let him sign an offer sheet and get a first- and third-round pick as compensation.

But we made it through the deadline without trading Schenn to Tampa Bay (with picks/prospects) for Jonathan Drouin, and I'm calling that a win.

Nick Schultz & Andrew MacDonald

It was a pipe dream to think we were going to be able to get rid of both (or either) of these two. MacDonald, especially, is preposterously overpaid. He'll be in Philly (or Lehigh Valley) until his deal expires in 2058.

I don't hate Schultz's game - someone has to be gritty, and someone has to kill penalties. I wish we had a better partner for him than the aging Mark Streit, but that's how the chips have fallen this year.

Sam Gagner and Evgeny Medvedev

The two unrestricted free agents were likely on the trading block as potential rentals, but it's most likely that teams weren't willing to give up enough to entice Hextall. The Flyers do have a shot at the playoffs - though it's slight - and it wasn't worth punting on that chance for something like a pair of fourth round picks.

At worst, Gagner and Medvedev are above-average injury fill-ins. At best, they can contribute in the top six forwards and top four defensemen. Why would we lose that for basically nothing?

In Ron we trust, and without knowing what happened behind closed doors I'm going to have to consider this a win for him too.

Mark Streit

If Luke Schenn and Vinny Lecavalier were still in town, Streit's contract would have been a must-trade this weekend. But they're in LA, so the Flyers have the cap flexibility to afford the final year of Streit's $5.25 million contract.

I've said all along that I think having a veteran presence around will benefit our young defensemen. Gostisbehere, though he was initially called up due to Streit's genital injury, has certainly not been hurt by learning from a 20-year veteran who used to play a similar kind of game. I actually enjoy the Streit-Gostisbehere pairing that has been happening on the top powerplay unit. It would be nice to see them spend more time together at even strength, because I think they complement each other well.

If all goes well, Travis Sanheim will similarly benefit from Streit's tutelage and Ivan Provorov will be better than Streit ever was.

And, like Gagner and Medvedev, if the return was going to be a shitty draft pick, why lose a tangible benefit like Streit's locker room presence for a future AHLer?

For teams like the Canucks and Lightning, standing pat at the deadline was probably a mistake. Vancouver is headed for the bottom and could have accelerated that process, and Tampa is headed for the top with a prime trade chip sitting at home on his couch. They could have each improved their outlook, and they chose not to.

The Flyers' outlook is bright enough as it is, and there wasn't much more Ron Hextall could have done. Now, the focus on Philly is the Wild Card standings. Here's where we are at this point:

I'll see you guys at The Farg on Thursday for Manning-McDavid round two. 

Steve Mason Played His 150th Game As a Flyer Last Night

Happy Friday! We made it. And the Flyers won again last night. And Wing Bowl is this morning. And it's a goddamn winter wonderland outside.

Everything is coming up Philadelphia, and it's beautiful. I'm not going to recap the game - I'd direct you to Sons Of Penn, Broad Street Hockey, and Barstool Philly for that. But I did see a tweet last night that made me think:

Steve Mason played his 150th regular season game in O&B tonight. He's only the 10th @NHLFlyers goalie ever to reach 150 games played #Flyers

— Alexander Appleyard (@avappleyard) February 5, 2016

So, obviously, we're going to rank those ten goalies in order of how much we like them.

10. Pete Peeters (179 games played)

He was more into swimming than hockey growing up, and he had one good season in orange and black. Then he was traded to Boston. He returned just in time to lose his job to Rox Hextall (who may or may not be somewhere on this list). Pete Peeters is a great name, but the goalie Pete Peeters is at the bottom of this list.

9. Doug Favell (215 games played)

Like Peeters, the most notable piece of Favell's story is the guy he lost the job to (like Hextall, that guy will also probably find his way onto this list). He was good enough to play the third-most games in franchise history, but you're never going to see anyone with a Doug Favell jersey in the Wells Fargo parking lot.

8. Antero Nittymaki (161 games played)

Nittymaki came out of the gate really hot, winning all three of his starts in his first year with the team (Robert Esche, who did not make this list, was injured). He was a promising young goalie and the future was as bright as could be.

So, naturally, the Flyers traded for Sean Burke and sent Nittymaki back to the minors for two years.

That lettuce on Cechmanek, wowwee

7. Roman Cechmanek (163 games played)

I still can't believe he only played three seasons in Philly. I feel like he was around for my whole childhood, just headbutting the puck out of harm's way every night.

The definition of bipolar, he was the best goalie in the world on some nights and he should have been sitting in the 200 level on others. In that respect, he encapsulated Flyers hockey: it's a goddamn rollercoaster, and we love every minute of it.

6. Wayne Stephenson (165 games played)

This may be a bit too high for Stephenson, but he was the backstop in the victory against the Soviet Red Army team, and that's one of the best Flyers stories ever. But, he loses points because that game inflated his ego and he held out for a raise, which management, uh, frowned upon.

5. Steve Mason (150 games played)

My initial thought in sticking Mason here was it's too high. How can he be fifth on the all-time goaltenders list for a franchise that's been around for almost 50 years?

Well, I have two answers: first, the Flyers have seemingly always had problems with their goaltending. Second, the comeback story of Mason coming to Philly (and his prospects for the future) means that if he backstops the team to any success in the next year or two, he's an all-time great.

4. Brian Boucher (174 games played)

Now we're getting into the actual all-time greats. Bouch may be the most likable goalie I've ever been able to watch in person. And now, his presence in my living room once a week on CSN Philly reminds me of how much I liked having him in net.

I think part of my nostalgia comes from the fact that he played in Philly for the first time when I was 7 years old, and then played his last game in orange when I was 20. That's an incredible span, and I'm just now realizing that I can add Bouch's career to the list of things that I grew up with (the other thing on that list is Harry Potter).

One note: even when he was in Phoenix, I was always up-to-date with how he was doing. This is the first time I've been okay with the incessant "Former Flyer" updates from the team's beat writers.

3. Pelle Lindbergh (157 games played)

I won't pretend to be a good enough writer to do Lindbergh's story the justice it deserves. Read this SI story or this story from Dave Isaac of the Courier Post. It's tragic, it was senseless, and it's always going to be an emotional subject for Philadelphia.

Let's move on to the final two spots on the list, and take a look at how they've grown up since their playing days.



1a. Bernie Parent (486 games played)
1. Ron Hextall (489 games played)

You ran rank these two in whichever order you prefer. Bernie was the original cornerstone. Hextall is the face of the current rebuild. Both of them had sweet mustaches back in the day but have grown up and now prefer goatees.

Combined, they played in more than a quarter of the games that they Flyers have ever played.

I'd love to just call this a tie and celebrate the two best goalies in Flyers history. But, I have to pick a winner, and I pick Hextall for two reasons.

First, he's currently orchestrating one of the best on-the-fly rebuilds in recent sports memory. And second, he holds the top three spots in the all-time Goaltender Penalty Minutes In A Season list.