EHM: "These guys are a fuckin' disgrace!"

[DeToxRox]

For years hockey scholars have pondered one single question:

"What would happen if you combined Don Cherry and Brian Burke and then let them run the Philadelphia Flyers?"

Well, we're about to find out.

[DeToxRox]

House Rules & Such

- I will be using TBL V7.3 rosters for this dynasty.

- GM firing will be turned off because I am pretty sure our teams will be terrible and I want to see if there is any way this idea works.

- With this being a beta version of EHM, expect random occurrences of wonkyness.

- I will only be allowed to acquire players from Canada and the US.

- I will only be allowed to acquire players over 6'2" with 15+ aggression, or anyone under 6'2" with 20 aggression.

- I will make an allowance for two players with aggression of 14 if it means they can score me some goals.

- I will handle all tactics myself.

- All players will be allowed to fight, while my fourth line will all be encouraged to fight. I assume this may end up causing my team to be on the PK half of all games, so I may make a change and just allow the fourth line to fight.

[Travis]

Nice, love the premise! Good luck.

[DeToxRox]

Initial Roster Impressions

After reviewing the roster I have determined that the following players are capable of living up to my high standards of play:

Zac Rinaldo

Welp. Time to get trading.

[DeToxRox]

Okay, I am already making one change. For now, I am going to look for people with at least 13 aggression because otherwise my entire team will be fourth lines. As I start to build through the draft though, I will make 15+ my primary focus.

[DeToxRox]

Trade #1: PHI & BOS

BOS sends: Milan Lucic
PHI sends: R.J Umbgerer & Sean Couturier

Analysis: I can't think of a better first line winger for the new team than Milan Lucic. The guy is a total scumbag who threatens to kill people. What's not to love?

[DeToxRox]

Trade #2: PHI & NYI

NYI sends: Cal Clutterbuck
PHI sends: Ray Emery & Oliver Laudrisen

Analysis: Clutterbuck only has a 13 aggression, but I need guys on this team desperately and he has a 19 hitting, so I am stretching it here.

[DeToxRox]

Trade #3: PHI & MIN

MIN sends: Chris Stewart
PHI sends: Luke Schenn & Travis Sanheim

Analysis: Stewart will provide a fun top 6 forward for the squad.

[DeToxRox]

Trade #4: PHI & NYI

NYI sends: Matt Carkner
PHI sends: Rob Zepp & Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Analysis: Carkner plays D .. so that's about all I got. We need guys who can do that sort of thing.

[DeToxRox]

Trade #5: PHI & NJ

NJ sends: Mark Fraser
PHI sends: Oskar Lindblom

Analysis: Fraser also plays D, so yeah.

[DeToxRox]

Trade #6: PHI & EDM

EDM sends: 2015 1st round pick
PHI sends: Jakub Voracek

Analysis: As much as we need players, we also need picks. Seeing as how we do not own a 1st this year, we desperately needed to get one.

[DeToxRox]

There were many more trades, but I lost count. Regardless, here are your 2015 Philadelphia Flyers!

Goalies

Steve Mason
Tim Thomas

Defense

Taylor Doherty (6'8", 238, 17 aggression, 15 hitting)
Mark Fraser (6'4", 220, 15 aggression, 15 hitting)
Matt Carkner (6'4", 241, 15 aggression, 14 hitting)
Derek Mathers (6'3", 231, 6 aggression, 8 hitting)
Jay Rosehill (6'3", 216, 15 aggression, 14 hitting)
Mike Weber (6'2", 211, 12 aggression, 18 hitting)
Nathan Patesch (6'1", 194, 14 aggression, 12 hitting)

Forwards

Milan Lucic (6'4", 231, 15 aggression, 20 hitting)
Paul Bissonnette (6'3", 220, 15 aggression, 13 hitting)
Zach Stortini (6'3", 227, 16 aggression, 16 hitting)
Chris Thorburn (6'3", 229, 13 aggression, 16 hitting)
Cody McLeod (6'2", 209, 17 aggression, 16 hitting)
Wayne Simmonds (6'2", 183, 12 aggression, 15 hitting)
Chris Stewart (6'2", 227, 16 aggression, 16 hitting)
Scott Laughton (6'1", 191, 13 aggression, 13 hitting)
Matt Beleskey (6", 207, 12 aggression, 15 hitting)
Cal Clutterbuck (5'11", 207, 13 aggression, 19 hitting)
Cam Janssen (5'11", 209, 15 aggression, 17 hitting)
Zac Rinaldo (5'11", 185, 16 aggression, 20 hitting)
Joe Vitale (5'11", 205, 15 aggression, 15 hitting)

So as you can see we didn't quite hit our mark with our roster composition, but we're Euro free and we're full of piss and vinegar.

[DeToxRox]

After all our wheeling and dealing, here are the picks we now own:

2015 Draft Picks

EDM 1st
NJ 1st
OTT 1st

TB 2nd
NYI 2nd
AZ 2nd

WPG 3rd
OTT 3rd

NYR 4th
CAL 4th
COL 4th
PHI 4th
CBJ 4th

PHI 6th

[DeToxRox]

Before the opener we parted ways with Craig Berube but don't worry, we found the perfect replacement.

2015 Flyers Staff

Head Coach - John Tortorella
Asst - Derian Hatcher
Asst - Ian Laperriere
Asst - Joe Mullen
Asst - Gord Murphy
Asst - Jeff Reese

We also have a scouting staff comprised of 15 scouts.

[DeToxRox]

October Review

So we went 0-11, allowing 83 goals while only scoring 7. Clearly the taint of our former Swedish players remains strong in the Flyers dressing room.

Cam Janssen remarkably leads the teams with 56 PIM in only 3 games, highlighted by a 27 PIM game in only 4:54 of ice time against the Lightning. That game saw him instigate a fight with Victor Hedman and then lay him out.

Wayne Simmonds has 3 of our 7 goals, making him the team leader by an overwhelming margin.

Perhaps November will bring better tidings?

[DeToxRox]

November Review

So we went 0-13, bringing our record to 0-24 on the year.

But we have the 2-5 leaders in PIM, so there is that.

Could we really go 0-82? I think we might.

[DeToxRox]

December Review

We still haven't won a game, but perhaps even more impressively, we haven't even had a game go to OT, so we're literally at 0 points.

Even funnier, pretty much half off our team is unhappy and has zero desire to re-sign. Now that really isn't a big deal, seeing as how we have 0 points, but man the struggle to find more players to fit this winning style of play will be all the more real.

[DeToxRox]

January Review

Well, we still haven't won a game, but we did lose one in OT so we won't be totally shut out of points on the season.

Slowly but surely we push on.

[DeToxRox]

February Review

Hey ooooohhh! Not only do we win our first game of the year, but we get our first winning streak as well! The Panthers and Coyotes were our victims this time around and boy howdy did they get what they had coming. Throw in another OT loss and we are up to 6 points. You scared yet NHL?

[DeToxRox]

March Review

We are up to 10 points and I think it's safe to say we're marking our territory for next season.

[DeToxRox]

April Review

Yeesh - We finsih with 14 points, which was clearly the fault of John Tortorella, so he was fired. The Lightning go on to raise the Cup, and because of a trade that occurred before I got here, they also end up with the 2nd pick via the draft lottery. I guess the fact that they didn't win the lottery gives me some solace, but I ache to know what could have been.

Speaking of the lottery, the Flames were the team lucky enough to pass TB, so have fun in Calgary, Connor.

[DeToxRox]

2015 NHL Draft

So we head into the draft with the 10th, 14th and 15th picks. Immediately we are taken with LW Lawson Crouse, a 6'4", 214 lbs power forward for the Barrie Colts. ISS has him ranked #5, so it doesn't seem likely he will fall to us, but as much as I like him I don't think it's smart to trade up considering I have like 5 prospects left, and they all suck. So basically I need prospects really badly, and I won't compromise that for one player. Anyway, let's get started

#1 - Calgary selects C Connor McDavid
- No surprise

#2- Tampa Bay selects LD Travis Dermott
- This is pretty damn surprising, but TB needs D badly and Dermott is NHL ready. Still, the idea of seeing Stamkos - Drouin - Eichel seems hard to pass on.

#3 - Winnipeg selects C/RW Jack Eichel
- I mean, what a gift.

#4 - Arizona selects LD/RD Noah Hannifin
- He had more hype than Dermott, but I still think Dermott was the better pick.

#5 - Colorado selects C/LW Pavel Zacha
- Hahaha, have fun with your gutless Russian's Avs!

#6 - Florida selects C/RW Mitchell Marner
- Yawn.

#7 - Ottawa selects LD Zach Werenski
- Could have gone higher; perhaps the steal of the top 10?

#8 - Buffalo selects C Dylan Strome
- #2 on our board after Crouse; Will be devastating if he goes #8 and Crouse goes #9

#9 - Toronto on the clock
- We wait with bated breath for the Leafs to make their pick. Unfortunately Crouse is a wet dream to the Leafs front office, or so I imagine.

#9 - Toronto selects C/RW Nick Merkley
- SUCKERS

#10 - Philadelphia selects LW Lawson Crouse!
- Crouse has NHL body already; he just needs to develop his offensive game a bit more before he makes it to the show. Absolutely ecstatic with this pick.

#14 - Philadelphia selects RW/C Colin White
- White is only 6", 187 lbs, but I have had to acquiesce on size in the past if it meant adding tenacity, and White certainly has that. White has 15 aggression and he has 50-60 point potential. He is further away from the NHL that Crouse, but he has a similar ceiling.

#15 - Philadelphia selects C Matt Barzal
- Barzal is another puny 6", 185 player, but he has 13 aggression and he has the chance to be a top 6 center sooner rather than later.

#40 - Philadelphia selects LW Jordan Greenway
- 6'5", 222 lbs of pure ruggedness. We really like him, but I know there are other teams who may like him more. He is one guy I'd definitely part with for the right return.

#41 - Philadelphia selects RD Troy Henley
- 6", 194 lbs, but with 14 aggression and 18 hitting, he fits the mold of what we want in our D. Can he ever develop an offensive game though, that is the question.

#60 - Philadelphia selects LW Paul Bittner
- 6'5", 218 lbs. Bittner is very similar to Greenway, but he is definitely not as refined offensively at this point. I'd say the upsides are similar, but Greenway has the better floor.

#62 - Philadelphia selects G Callum Booth
- This was a stretch, but the harsh reality is that we need netminders in our system badly, and he was the best one available.

#67 - Philadelphia selects RD Justin Lemcke
- 6'2", 202 lbs. Lemcke has NHL size and strength already, but he has a worse offensive game than Henley. I do think he will be reliable 5th or 6th D at some point though.

#91 - Philadelphia selects RD Bradley Lalonde
- 6'3", 185 lbs. Lalonde is only 17 and he too has NHL size and strength. He was a boom/bust pick, but there is a lot to like there.

#94 - Philadelphia selects LD Medric Mercier
- 6'4", 207 lbs. Mercier is a french Canadian who I think could be our steal of the draft. He possesses the best offensive skill set of the D we've taken, but he definitely needs work in his own end. He'll have plenty of time to develop though, so we'll see what happens.

#95 - Philadelphia selects G Nick McBride
- Just adding to our positional depth with this pick. He has 20 determination which makes me think he could develop into something worth talking about in a few years.

#103 - Philadelphia selects LW Ryan Graham
- 6'1", 202 lbs. Graham has the make up of a dynamite PK guy but he likely won't ever crack our roster.

#118 - Philadelphia selects LW Dawson Leedahl
- 6'1", 205 lbs. At 19, Leedahl is an overager but he has 15 aggression and some offensive ability. Probably a career AHL'er though.

#119 - Philadelphia selects RD Tyler MacArthur
- 6'4", 183 lbs. MacArthur needs to gain weight, but he has all the physical skills you could ask for. Unfortunately both his offensive and defensive games require lots of work.

#151 - Philadelphia selects LW/RW Mike Baird
6'2", 171 lbs. Baird has 14 aggression but he is likely a career ECHL'er.

And with that we conclude the Flyers 2015 NHL draft. We did a nice job adding future players while also rebuilding our prospect pool.

[DeToxRox]

2015-16 Free Agency

We went into FA with over 20 million to spend and we decided to hit July 1st hard so we weren't left at the alter. By the time the smoke cleared, we had made the following signings:

D John Erskine (4 years, 9.2 mil)
D Sheldon Souray (2 years, 5.2 mil)
LW Curtis Glencross (5 years, 16.3 mil)
RW Derek Dorsett (3 years, 7.5 mil)
RW Scottie Upshall (5 years, 20.7 mil)
G Devin Dubnyk (3 years, 7.1 mil)

Of course at that point we still were having massive issues at C, so we hit the phones trying to make some moves. What transpired were two trades that should hopefully transform our top 6 lines:

Trade #1: PHI & ANA

ANA trades: C Ryan Kesler
PHI trades: LW Jordan Greenway, CHI '16 4th, PHI '17 4th & PHI '18 4th

We liked Greenway, but Anaheim liked him more and as a result we were able to bring Kesler into the fold. Of course Kesler has injury concerns, but he is a 30 goal scorer and is only 30 years old. This was a deal worth making.

Trade #2

STL sends: C David Backes
PHI sends: G Steve Mason, C Scott Laughton, PHI '16 4th, PHI '16 5th & PHI 17' 5th.

Once again we give up a lot to hopefully get a lot. Backes runs a big risk because he is a UFA at the years end, but he is good for 75 games a year and again, he is a potential 30 goal scorer. Unfortunately we gave up a lot of mid round picks over the next few years, but with all the picks we had this past year, it made life easier.

As a result of these trades we ended up bringing Ray Emery back to be Dubnyk's backup.