Prediction for the 2017-2018 Flyers season

     I respect people who make predictions and put their opinions out there, it's about confidence in your thoughts and making yourself vulnerable to being wrong... Or just not caring. So as someone who wants to do the things I respect in others, I'm going to make predictions with about 50 or do days till the season starts. I'll make some educated guesses. Heeeere were go:




     My prediction is they're gonna start the season strong. Ghost, Giroux, Voracek and Elliott all have a lot to prove, Simmonds is a beast and will continue his dominance and our defense is already greatly improved from a few seasons ago. Whoever we end up with on the blue line will help a lot and I am very hopeful that Patrick will boost the offense, even just with his enthusiasm alone. I remember when Giroux came to the team, he tried crazy things that only rookies try and it really made the team believe they could do a lot more than they thought. That kind of energy is so contagious and that leads to my next prediction...

     Claude Giroux. Captain Giroux.

Franchise guy. Girouxvy. He has been injury prone, humbled by his own inability to perform and he's been stuck on a team that relied on him to be the spine of this entire city. One thing I have seen in him is making him angry starts his engines, when Yzerman left him off the team Canada roster a few seasons ago in the Olympics, he went on an insane on the score sheet. I believe he is embarrassed by the last 2 seasons of his own play and that has lit a fire under him.

I'm predicting a 27 goal, 70 point season from the captain. I also think Voracek has the same embarrassment but I don't know how that affects him so I'll say he will have a better season than last year but I don't know by how much.


     On to the rookies and second year guys:

Provorov will only get better and once we can unchain the anchor stuck to him, I think he'll rise even higher. Ghost has said he feels a lot better and is energized for this coming season so I expect something big from him both offensively and defensively. Konecny has a chance to be the player he was in minors, I see his point totals rise anywhere between 15 and 25 points. I also expect and hope for his hockey IQ to be noticeably better.

The rookies are inexperienced in the NHL but most of them should shake off that fairly early, I can't get to specific in positions since I don't even know who will make the team. At this point anyone of them could not make it just because there's not enough room for all of them.

     I am honestly not hopeful about our goal trending tandem, Neuvirth is injury prone and not a long term starter the way Mason is and Elliott is not a 60 game goalie. I don't see either of them being spectacular if even one thing goes wrong for the team, I have a tremendous about of respect for Neuvy but if Elliott gets hurt I don't see him being able to handle a full time work load. There is a silver lining here though, flyers fans. If either falter the Phantoms goalie has future All star potential. Anthony Stolarz to the rescue... Right?

     And finally the team, my prediction is between 94 and 98 points and that last would card slot. And as much as I hate to say it, another first round exit. Obviously, they could all get hit at the right time and steal a series or two and I hope that happens but I am not holding my breath. This team will be an elite force very soon, but sometimes that elite status only comes after feeling the string of loss.

     So here are my predictions, feel free to let me know what you think and let's hope the season goes even better than expected!

Remember When...

     Remember when Shea Weber led Music City?

Remember when thunderous booms could be heard from his patented WeberSmash? Remember when the net was safe even when the goalie, Pekka Rinne, wasn't there to save the day?

     Those days are over because Nashville front office decided t move him to Canada in exchange for Pernell Karl Subban.

That's right, P.K. Subban is now the defensive leader in Nashville and Shea Weber will stop goals in Montreal. 

     Let's break this down. Starting with P.K.

P.K. Subban's stats look a little like this:

                       In 434 games, Subban has scored 63 goals and 215 assists. In his last season in Montreal, he scored 6 goals and 45 assists.

     He was drafted 43rd overall in 2007 and has been a steady NHLer since 2010. These say a bit about his time in Montreal.

And now for Shea Weber:

               Drafted 49th overall in 2003, he started his career in Nashville in the 2005-06 season. Weber played 763 games for The Predators amassing 166 goals and 277 assists. In 2015-2016 he recorded 20 goals and 31 assists and was an all star in every season except his first. He was named captain in July of 2010.

     Ok, now that we've looked at both player's stats, I'm going to give a prediction based on the teams and each player's strengths and weaknesses. 

     Prediction about P.K. Subban and the Nashville Predators:

                           Subban will score more points and the Preds will have as much or slightly more success in the post season than they have in the last few seasons. They'll look like they "won this trade" for a season or two.

                           

                          Shea Weber and his Montreal Canadians will struggle this coming season (the 2016-2017 season) and will at most be a bubble team. Then over the next five to eight seasons they'll blossom and become a powerhouse team and will in fact truly "win this trade" in the long run.

     One last prediction, which has nothing to do with this trade, is that this offseason will not heat up and Free Agent Frenzy will not be as interesting because the other news of today was Steven Stamkos will be a Lightning Strike for the next 8 seasons after signing a contract extention just one day before reaching free agency.

That was a little bonus for this article, enjoy it. Especially you Lightning fans. Rejoice in your superstar choosing to stick around for what he hopes is his entire career.

 Good night and good hockey.

Looking from a Different View

   We all know how Gary Bettman gets every ounce of the heat from NHL lockouts, albeit most of that is well deserved hatred. He is the figure head of that the NHL owners and by being their agent, his job is being the bad guy. Fans have been screaming for an end to the most recent ongoing lockout, some even went to the extent of making videos and motivational pictures. While these were fun to watch and pass around, ultimately it's not the popular vote that's gonna end this lockout. Please do not misunderstand me, there is nothing that I hate more than an NHL lockout. But to be as unbiased as I can be I must point this fact out and acknowledge the truth of the matter at hand.
   Gary Bettman is not a fan of the game of hockey, not nearly as much a  am and I'm guessing anyone reading this is a bigger fan than Mr. Bettman. This is a fact that he has never denied and as sad as this is to type, being a fan of the game is not a requirement to be the commissioner of the National Hockey League. Mr. Bettman is required to be a brute, ruthless, willing to cut his nose off to spite his face businessman and he is just that. A man who is willing to put his entire business on hold, with as much leverage that the has created for himself, in an effort to get more money from every possible different area is a man who you want fighting for your wallet. Gary Bettman isn't going to win any fan awards (at least in any kind of positive light) but it can't be ignored that he is a smart man. Even his changing of the rules of his position (he took most restrictions off of the commisioner's job and set up hiself to only need eight votes from owners in order to do anything) was pure genius! And his bullyig techniques and his sneaky tactics such as portraying the NHL's last CBA offer as what the Playes Association wanted only to find out he'd hidden clauses that were no different than every other owners offer. That stuff won't engrave him in many if any fan's heart as Teddy Bear of the month but he played his cards the best he ould and is still doing so.
   This is not in any way a fan who enjoys what Mr. Bettman is doing, in my opinion the best thing for the future of the NHL involves firing him and bringing a new commissioner in, but as a realist I must admit what seamingly no other fan is willing to: Gary Bettman may be the best thing to happen to the National Hockey League owners. He has gotten them to the point of the NHL making an annual 3.3 BILLION dollars. 3.3 billion dollars that he helped bring in by the advent of the Winter Classic, oversea games and the creation of the entire playoff system we have watched for years now. Again, all such smart moves.
   Just some thoughts from a different perspective.
                                                                                                             -Veejay22

Future Flyers Part 1