Challenge #36 - Philadelphia Flyers Discussion Thread

[geckon]

You got lucky there with Rantanen IMO, congratulations

[Peter_Doherty]

Just finished the season, ended up 11th in the conference after an OK second half of the season. Goaltending has been horrendous (seems like a pattern in new EHM apart from Lundqvist, Price and Rask more or less ) and D wasn't great, 4th line also sucked but that was expected. Voracek was a beast all season and ended up at 88 points with Giroux on 78, Raffl played with them all season and ended up with 37 goals which he was best in the team with (Simmonds at 36) Vinny isn't dead and did an OK season and the others performed as expected more or less... Del Zotto was a little bit of a nice surprise, he did well and earned a new 4 year deal My AHL affiliate is doing great and looks to be winning their conference with Akeson leading the team in goals and points, he will probably be my HG next season (unless there is an age restriction for that? will re-read the rules in the off-season ). Laughton and Gostisberhere is also doing really well down there of my prospects... Special teams weren't great, among the worst 10 teams in both...

The disappointments (Well, in some cases i figured they would suck but maybe not this much) were MacDonald, Gudas (barely 6 Av R), Luke Schenn and Mason.

Looking at your stats now - just a question about Lecavalier. I guess, that you have played him in PP or/and second line, right?
His 65 points look like he is almost worth the money of his contract

Yeah, 2nd line C and 2nd PP unit Figured i might aswell try to resurrect him And yeah, can't believe Rantanen dropped that far, either his PA is really low on my save or AI is stupid, we'll see in a few years

[bruins72]

I'm just realizing now how poorly stocked this team is for prospects. There are very few choices for a season 2 homegrown and the lack of top draft picks in season 1 makes it look like the season 3 homegrown is going to be a little tough to find too. This is going to be a very UGLY challenge.

[Peter_Doherty]

Got a bit of a problem now though, Akeson just turned 25 so he's too old to be my HG, that leaves me with Ghost and Laughton for that, Laughton looks ready but i dont really have a spot for him in the lineup apart from 4C which might hamper his progress....

In other news i made my first trades where i shipped some of those useless defenders. Sent Grossmann to Nashville for Juuse Saros to fill the hole i have at G (lost both Zepp and Emery to UFA), probably need another goalie aswell, might resign Zepp as me UFA signing so i wont have to play Saros as my backup in NHL.
Then i sent MacDonald to Canucks in exchange for Marko Dano who looks like a really solid prospect, will probably keep him in AHL for the next season with a few call ups if i get injuries. Trying to send Gudas away for something good aswell, hopefully i find a deal im happy with

Found the trade i was looking for, i sent Radko Gudas and Mark Alt to Dallas in exchange for Ryan Garbutt...

[Peter_Doherty]

I'm just realizing now how poorly stocked this team is for prospects. There are very few choices for a season 2 homegrown and the lack of top draft picks in season 1 makes it look like the season 3 homegrown is going to be a little tough to find too. This is going to be a very UGLY challenge.

Laughton looks like a solid prospect and will be either S2 or S3 HG, if only Akeson was a few months younger this would be fine Hägg will probably also make NHL at some point it looks like, maybe Morin aswell.. Sanheim looks really bad for me, probably wont make it... Then we can always promote Stolarz in S3/S4/S5 to out backup goalie for HG... Gostisbehere also looks pretty good, he might actually be my S2 HG just to not rush Laughton

[Peter_Doherty]

Okey, so this is madness.... I just offered R.J Umberger to all teams, Devils comes back and wants to trade Adam Larsson to me for him R.J comes from a decent season with over 7 Av R while Larsson was having a tough season, he was only given 15 ATOI though and it's still Adam Larsson for Bumberger, i bit their arm off Also picked up Greg Campbell as my UFA this season, will trade for a backup-goalie that's on the block now, probably giving up a draft pick.

Edit: Got Khudobin for a 3rd round pick... I also signed Erik Gustafsson who we have the rights to, will be my 6/7..

[sao.phim]

Okey, so this is madness.... I just offered R.J Umberger to all teams, Devils comes back and wants to trade Adam Larsson to me for him R.J comes from a decent season with over 7 Av R while Larsson was having a tough season, he was only given 15 ATOI though and it's still Adam Larsson for Bumberger, i bit their arm off Also picked up Greg Campbell as my UFA this season, will trade for a backup-goalie that's on the block now, probably giving up a draft pick.

Edit: Got Khudobin for a 3rd round pick... I also signed Erik Gustafsson who we have the rights to, will be my 6/7..

Curious about Gustafsson's productivity as well. Colaiacovo left to UFA?

[sao.phim]

I'm just realizing now how poorly stocked this team is for prospects. There are very few choices for a season 2 homegrown and the lack of top draft picks in season 1 makes it look like the season 3 homegrown is going to be a little tough to find too. This is going to be a very UGLY challenge.

Yes, especially forward-prospects depth is very poor. As for defence, it is quite OK - Hagg, Ghost, Sanheim have potential to be top 4 d-men (and in EHM 2007 they developed very well from my experience, if handled wisely). Not sure about Morin in this game (he seems to me very undervalued in EHM).

[Peter_Doherty]

Okey, so this is madness.... I just offered R.J Umberger to all teams, Devils comes back and wants to trade Adam Larsson to me for him R.J comes from a decent season with over 7 Av R while Larsson was having a tough season, he was only given 15 ATOI though and it's still Adam Larsson for Bumberger, i bit their arm off Also picked up Greg Campbell as my UFA this season, will trade for a backup-goalie that's on the block now, probably giving up a draft pick.

Edit: Got Khudobin for a 3rd round pick... I also signed Erik Gustafsson who we have the rights to, will be my 6/7..

Curious about Gustafsson's productivity as well. Colaiacovo left to UFA?

No, Colaiacovo is still here, he was my 3rd best defender season 1 believe it or not I will have Streit, MDZ, Schultz and Larsson as my top-4, maybe cola instead of Schultz and then rotate Gustafsson, Schenn and Cola/Schultz. That is how it looks right now atleast, might change before season starts but probably not, don't want to make too many trades....

[Peter_Doherty]

I'm just realizing now how poorly stocked this team is for prospects. There are very few choices for a season 2 homegrown and the lack of top draft picks in season 1 makes it look like the season 3 homegrown is going to be a little tough to find too. This is going to be a very UGLY challenge.

Yes, especially forward-prospects depth is very poor. As for defence, it is quite OK - Hagg, Ghost, Sanheim have potential to be top 4 d-men (and in EHM 2007 they developed very well from my experience, if handled wisely). Not sure about Morin in this game (he seems to me very undervalued in EHM).

For me it's the other way around with Morin and Sanheim, Morin looks a good prospect while Sanheim looks like a bust... probably just the -14/-15 PA kicking in

[Peter_Doherty]

Done with pre season and i think my team is shaping up really nicely, hope it transfers to the ice I will start the season with lines like this, it will probably change a few games in though I don't really like having Akeson down there but i dont see another way of doing it right now, i'll give him time on the 2nd PP unit for starters atleast.

Mason - Khudobin

Streit - Larsson
Schultz - Del Zotto
Colaiacovo - Schenn/Gustafsson

Raffl - Giroux - Voracek
Schenn - Laughton - Simmonds
Garbutt - Couturier - Read
Vande Velde - Campbell - Akeson


In AHL i have Saros, Stolarz, Ghost, Hägg, Morin and Dano who all look promising

Edit: Turns out i could get a 2nd rounder for Vinny, so he's gone to Habs ) Let's me give Laughton more ice time and let's me out of that contract which would be a problem later. I'll be looking for a 3rd line LW but i won't stress it too much...

[Peter_Doherty]

Crazy start of season 2, i just won my first 4 games with a combined score of 27-15, IN 4 GAMES.... Voracek with the casual 7+7, sounds sustainable right?

My 6th round pick Damian Bourne is lighting up the OHL just as much also, he has 14+11 in 10 games there...

Edit: This is insane, after 8 games i'm averaging 6.5 goals forward per game....

[geckon]

I'm just realizing now how poorly stocked this team is for prospects. There are very few choices for a season 2 homegrown and the lack of top draft picks in season 1 makes it look like the season 3 homegrown is going to be a little tough to find too. This is going to be a very UGLY challenge.

Sounds like a great one to start with (my first)

[bruins72]

I'm just realizing now how poorly stocked this team is for prospects. There are very few choices for a season 2 homegrown and the lack of top draft picks in season 1 makes it look like the season 3 homegrown is going to be a little tough to find too. This is going to be a very UGLY challenge.

Yes, especially forward-prospects depth is very poor. As for defence, it is quite OK - Hagg, Ghost, Sanheim have potential to be top 4 d-men (and in EHM 2007 they developed very well from my experience, if handled wisely). Not sure about Morin in this game (he seems to me very undervalued in EHM).

I think I may have fallen victim to the wrath of angry random number gods. I'm sure these prospects have random PAs (or at least variably) and I might have gotten bad results. I had Bob Strumm (20 JPA/20 JPP) scout my AHL affiliate and Gost was the only one given 4 stars. Everyone else was 3 or less. Looking at the scouting report for Gost, he looks terrible. He's projected as a 5-6 depth defenseman and I think he's be lucky to pull that off. Akeson would actually be a viable 3rd or 4th line guy if he was a tad bit younger. I've got a log jam at center but maybe Laughton could be of use at some point. Stolarz might serve as a decent backup at some point. Hagg might make it as a bottom pairing defenseman at some point. It's just that none of them really seem like a player I want to commit to giving regular playing time.

[Peter_Doherty]

I'm just realizing now how poorly stocked this team is for prospects. There are very few choices for a season 2 homegrown and the lack of top draft picks in season 1 makes it look like the season 3 homegrown is going to be a little tough to find too. This is going to be a very UGLY challenge.

Yes, especially forward-prospects depth is very poor. As for defence, it is quite OK - Hagg, Ghost, Sanheim have potential to be top 4 d-men (and in EHM 2007 they developed very well from my experience, if handled wisely). Not sure about Morin in this game (he seems to me very undervalued in EHM).

I think I may have fallen victim to the wrath of angry random number gods. I'm sure these prospects have random PAs (or at least variably) and I might have gotten bad results. I had Bob Strumm (20 JPA/20 JPP) scout my AHL affiliate and Gost was the only one given 4 stars. Everyone else was 3 or less. Looking at the scouting report for Gost, he looks terrible. He's projected as a 5-6 depth defenseman and I think he's be lucky to pull that off. Akeson would actually be a viable 3rd or 4th line guy if he was a tad bit younger. I've got a log jam at center but maybe Laughton could be of use at some point. Stolarz might serve as a decent backup at some point. Hagg might make it as a bottom pairing defenseman at some point. It's just that none of them really seem like a player I want to commit to giving regular playing time.

Laughton is looking really good for me and i shipped Vinny for a pick to be able to give Laughton more ice time... Then we will see with the D-prospects, hopefully atleast one of them is ready next season...

[bruins72]

Vinny waived his NTC?

[Peter_Doherty]

Vinny waived his NTC?

Yup, for Habs... I was a bit hesitant though because Vinny had a good first season but i made the choice to trade him sooner rather then later, his contract would become a problem...

[Peter_Doherty]

Half of season 2 done, 1st in the East and the team is doing great Larsson has been great but he went down with a broken arm for a month otherwise i have only had minor injuries, Gustafsson took a spot in the lineup and the 6th D-spot i'm juggling Schenn and Schultz, both are doing OK...

My goalscoring has obviously slowed down but we are still averaging over 4.5 goals per game and Voracek is on pace for over 140 pts Laughton who i put into the deep end as my 2C has exceeded expectations and is currently on 12+19 with a 7.20 AvR. The only real disappointment on the team is Couturier who i expect more from.. I take very few penalties this season which is lucky since we started out with a horrendous PK, it was under 70% up until recently, i switched some things up after about 20-25 games and it is steadily getting better atleast, PP is hovering around 18-19% which is OK.

I haven't made any more trades but i am looking to add another player for a draft pick, possibly a rental, i need a two-way player either for the 2C spot and move Laughton down to 3 and Couts to LW or a 3-line LW since i have Garbutt there right now and i really want him in my 4th line, but im not stressing, if i don't find a good deal i wont make a deal

Marko Dano has been called up a few times to cover for injuries and has done an OK job.

[bruins72]

Luke Schenn is TERRIBLE!

That's all.

[Peter_Doherty]

Luke Schenn is TERRIBLE!

That's all.

He's been okey for me, i even gave him a new contract now do keep the depth....

[sao.phim]

I am slowly advancing towards finish of Q1 in first Season - watching all games on Extended Highlights.
EC standings are break-even, currently there is only 1 point difference between 5th and 12th place..

My defencemen are frustrating - high volume of goals just because of stupid giveaways - most often on PK, when they are not able to dump the puck or just move it outside own zone. Typically they take the puck in the corner and instead of dumping it along the boards away, they rather pass it on the slot, where it is intercepted by forchecking oposition.
This occurs several times each game despite playing system dump very often and very safe passing.
Cross-own-zone passes also killing me...

As for point production, Voracek is leading NHL in scoring and he has highest AvR on my team. Hope that G will step up, gotta improve his performance. Raffl is great. MDZ & Streit both producing fine as well. Mason has now 91.9% and around 2.60 GAA. I tried Lecavalier in PP2 for about 15 games, he scored only one point, so I am going to replace him with B. Schenn. Simmer is also rather cold, so far produced around 10 points only (in 17 games).

We still have PP over 25%, PK currently around 79%. No major injuries so far.

[Peter_Doherty]

So Voracek who sits 1st in points and 2nd i Av R wasn't picked for the ASG, that to me is a bit funny

[bruins72]

So Voracek who sits 1st in points and 2nd i Av R wasn't picked for the ASG, that to me is a bit funny

You should mention this in one of the feedback threads so Riz will know it's an issue.

[Peter_Doherty]

So Voracek who sits 1st in points and 2nd i Av R wasn't picked for the ASG, that to me is a bit funny

You should mention this in one of the feedback threads so Riz will know it's an issue.

Think it's been mentioned but sure, i can do that

[bruins72]

I've got to figure out why my defensemen are racking up so many giveaways. This is out of control! They're the reason my team is doing so poorly. I've never had a problem with giveaways before and I've had teams with worse defensemen.