Quoting: Nhl_oilers
Agreed. Send them to the minors for a year, then bring them up. No need to rush them to be the 2c. I don’t mind giving them some games, but not the whole season. Patrick did still have a lot of concussion problems that didn’t help him out, but yah, they should not have rushed him.
As a side question, would anyone take Hayes’ big contract? He is good, but not worth 7M.
Assuming the Flyers struggle next seasons and decide to blow it up for a rebuild, I think the Flyers can afford to retain salary on Hayes if needed. He would have 3 years left and it would take some luck for the Flyers to be competitive before that contract is up anyways.
Quoting: ReelBigFan
Let’s be honest, Philly isn’t going to be competing with the current group. Coots as a 1c and Hayes as 2C is risky… add in the two of them taking up 14+ in cap space and we are in bad shape, not saying I don’t like these guys, just not sure they are 1 and 2 C material on a playoff team. Sanhiem needs an extension the year after next and the guy is currently looking to earn what Provorov gets or more.
We should be looking to rebuild, send a few pieces for younger guys, cheaper guys. But we are talking about trading youth for pieces to try to improve our team now, and we are willing to overpay.
Fletcher has been selling low and buying high, it’s not the way to win. Getting a 3rd for Braun while similar players were all getting a 2nd + was just proof we shouldn’t really be letting Fletcher negotiate trades.
The issue isn't Coots and Hayes being your two top centers, the issue is the lack of high end talent on the team. You can make the argument their cap hits prevent them from obtaining high end talent, however you're talking about Selke winner as your top center and two way center who's pace has been just under 50 points a season (and I think a solid 2C averages around 50 points). In regards to Sanheim, if the Flyers fail next season it won't matter, he'll probably be traded at the deadline. And if they do well, then they'll have to figure out the contract situation. No idea what he'll get, but based off his past couple of seasons, I'd say anywhere between $5.5 to $6.5 cap hit for a good 2nd pair Dman.
While I don't agree with every move Fletcher has made, I wouldn't say been selling low and buying high. I would say the deals he overpaid for were Risto and Braun. Bruan, while expensive, ended up working out well. Risto was a massive overpay and while he hasn't been awful, he's definitely not worth the price paid for him or the contact he's been given. Rest of his trades I would say have been fair value or done a good job on. (Ellis trade, Niskanen trade, etc)
Also I think a 3rd for Braun was market value. I mean he's not even starting in the playoffs for the Rangers. I'm curious to who you think went for more that's similar to Braun. There could be someone I've over looked.