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TABLE TALK: Matvei Michkov And The Flyers' Offseason! · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

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Hey there, everybody, it's Jeff. I wanted to let you know that
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we recorded this podcast episode on Monday May twentieth, twenty twenty four. By
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the time you hear this, some things may have changed here there, but
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we hope you enjoy the show. Hey there, everybody, Welcome to Table
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Talk here at the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly
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sports podcast show in the world, eleven years strong. We got a great
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discussion coming your way on our Table Talk interview show this week. The Philadelphia
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Flyers. Their offseason is really going to get started and ramped up sooner rather
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than later. So we got a great discussion. We got a great guest
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coming your way. What is going to happen with this team, not just
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in free agency and the draft, but what are some storylines that we're honing
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in on right now in terms of what the season next year may be giving
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us fans. So, like I said, we got a great discussion,
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let's get right to it. It's great to have back on the podcast joining
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us to talk about this Philadelphia Flyers team, the offseason, and what we
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can expect in the future. Coming to us from Maher Media, you can
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find out what they're doing over on that great website Maher Mediaco dot Hockey.
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Great, great content they're putting out over there. We've got the one and
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only Christopher Maher. Christopher Hey doing buddy all time. Jeff, thank you
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for having me and I appreciate it. It's great to be able to talk
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to you about this Flyers team. I as well as other Flyers fans,
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just really excited about this offseason and quite frankly excited about the news that we
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just got over this past weekend. So we got to get into that news
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that broke Matt ve Mitchkoff. Will I say likely, you know, there's
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still a lot going on behind the scenes, but likely going to be joining
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the Flyers sooner rather than later. He's expected to potentially terminate his contract with
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the KHL come to the Flyers perhaps this coming season. Again, really excited
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about this. I mean, this is such a surprise to so many I
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would imagine the Flyers front office brass as well. It's kind of a surprise
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too. Are I'm wondering how Christopher are you viewing this particular news. Do
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you think it's gonna be a good move for Mitchkoff to get over here as
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soon as possible, or do you think he may need some more seasoning perhaps
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before entering the NHL ranks. What are your thoughts here? Yeah, I
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mean I think in you know, I've tried to view this in a few
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different ways. I think in the team's case, you probably want to get
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him as early as you can, because the Gagel deal he signed in twenty
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one was, you know, limiting his rights until twenty twenty six. Ye.
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So when drafted, you know, that was obviously the big concern.
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It was like it was kind of the like holy shit factor. We just
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got Madvi Mitchcov and then it was like, all right, well, how
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are you gonna get him over here? Yep? And I think now that
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at least it seems like they have a plan. I've always viewed it as
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get him over here when you can. I wouldn't, you know, wait
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another year. I don't think he needs any more time. You know,
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if all the issues with Russia weren't happening, I think this probably would have
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been similar with him in Benard. I don't even think the Flyers would have
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got him if that was the case. Honestly, So, I mean,
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I I've kind of viewed it, as you know, with the recent news
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and everything and stuff that's been coming out, I don't know if this is
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coming off as like a Russian kind of thing where they're trying to maybe skew
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it a different way where there wasn't any you know, hate with Rotenberg and
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imagecot where he didn't choose him and all that and saying that he needed to
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be or he needs to be a first line player and all that. Like
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the irony there is funny just with him saying, you know that he not
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even picking him for the the Russian team, for the UA teams and all
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that too. So I mean, I don't know. I mean I think
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overall, I think for the Flyers it's probably best to get him when you
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can, just because you know, obviously, like it's it's pretty clear that
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they're gonna eat someone for you know, obviously, you know, Jeff,
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you've watched sports a long time, like, you know, like teams need
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guys to go tickets and stuff like that and be the face of a team.
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Like I kind of view this as like maybe not in the same token
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because he played a little bit more, but I was I've kind of been
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been thinking of it. Maybe it's kind of like when it's like kind of
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the same excitement when the Poies got Harper, you know what I mean,
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It's just like it's it's kind of just like, you know, we just
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got that big guy, and and not that Mitch Cobb is is obviously there
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yet, and you know, you know, Harper obviously had a couple of
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years on his belt. But when when I look at it and I just
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look at it, it's like, all right, now, this is the
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guy that, you know, the Savior. I talked to a former flyer
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the other day and they were like, and you know, I said,
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I said to him, you know, it seems like they're gonna be in
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Minch Cob and his response like, I saw that, and then he said,
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you know, the the Savior is, you know, coming back to
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Philly. So I mean, it's it's good to see and I think people
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are obviously going to be excited for it because you know, he's the main
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piece of the rebuild and obviously you know you lost Goce and all that too,
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so he's really the guy and if he doesn't work, then you're kind
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of back at square one. Yeah, that's kind of on the unfortunate part
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of it. So I think getting him over and at least, you know,
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being able to kind of start his career, that's that's obviously the best
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way to go. Well, it's interesting you mentioned Gotier because, like you
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know, sticking with Mitchkoff here in this particular storyline, Christopher, you know,
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I wonder what his possible early arrival actually means for the organization and the
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team, and mainly what it means for the off season in terms of the
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strategy that Danny Brier has outlined about where this team is going to be moving
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with regard to this rebuild. I mean, the way things went with Cutter,
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Gotier and and the Flyers, they need this forward and Matt ve Mitchkoff
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to work out. They need it to work out here. So what do
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you think this does for the organization's off season strategies? They're moving forward here?
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Yeah, no, for sure, And I think with with just how
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you know, the the team structure is, I mean that they have no
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forward free agents outside of Geriana. You know, they have all those guys
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locked up for at least one more year and then you know some guys obviously
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connect me, he's gonna have to get an extension some of your other younger
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guys, and and you saw recently a lot of those guys in the past
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couple of years all took bridge deals, guys like your guys like Frost Kates,
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you know, just to try to see where they're at. And I
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think that'll probably change all season wise. I kind of look at it like
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I didn't think they were they were really going to do a ton in the
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free agency market. They don't have a ton of cap space. They have
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a lot of money tied up in a lot of guys like guys like Bristol
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Lyone and Atkinson, you know, guys, guys that have been injured,
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guys like Ryan Ellis, right, you know, right there, those three
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guys, It's like, well, I had to think it's like thirteen fourteen,
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fifteen ish million, so that's a lot of money, and you know,
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obviously the CAP's going to go up and and all that too. I
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kind of view it, Jeff as more like mitchkov is kind of like your
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audition, and then the other guys I think are going to kind of be
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like, you know, addition by subtraction, where it's like kind of just
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the hockey rates that they make. I would love for them to get another
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first round pick if they can, or at least move up with the Florida
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pick. I don't know if they do that in a different way. I
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don't know if if guys, you know, if it's like say Scott law
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and I think I think the way that I look at the Flyers rosters,
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they just have a lot of like kind of duplicate players. So like you
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know Law and who I just mentioned, Like you have Ryan Paling, right,
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it's just kind of another another you know, yeah, a younger version
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of them, right, you have Nick de Laurie, you have gone at
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Hathaway like and you know that's obviously it's a lot of bottom sick guys.
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But it feels like now like from the difference between the past couple of years,
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you know, you have a lot of bottom six guys in depth and
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when you had a high end talent back then and you didn't have that,
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so it's kind of like reversed. They just need to sell on the high
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end talent. I would like for them to get a little crazy, maybe
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offer sheets some guys nice. I don't think they will, just because it's
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it's hard to do and and you know you're you're gonna have to give a
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blot if the other team matches it. So I don't know. I mean
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it's tough. I think, you know, if if they can move out
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some money and they can do it in some ways, obviously you're gonna have
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to retain. They have two retention slots on money, so I would do
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that. I would definitely look at that buyouts and see what you can do,
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what you can do. I don't know, I mean, I I
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think overall, I feel like there's gonna be something crazy. I don't know
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if the mitchgov thing is the crazy or there's something else there too crazy.
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There could be two crazy things because I think the michv is mitchcov is a
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little crazy here, right, and especially because there is nothing like like there's
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nothing calm in the Flyers world. Yeah, like it's it's it's insane from
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you know, I'm like, not that long ago, I think a fan
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got arrested in practice. It's just a little little things like that, like
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it's it's crazy. But yeah, no, I mean, just just a
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round out for sure. I mean, I do think they're gonna try and
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do something. But I don't think with the Mitch. I do think the
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mitchcov thing is definitely gonna uh probably add in into their plans, but I
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think they're gonna try and maybe kind of build around that a little bit and
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may maybe take the Chicago route if that makes sense, with the Dart and
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kind of just like add free agents. Yeah, at some point, that's
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kind of how I feel. Yeah, it'll be interesting for sure to see
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it. But we're gonna get in a little bit more free agency, a
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little more draft talk in a little bit. But in terms of some of
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the storylines, I know that I'm following Christopher moving into this offseason and what
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may happen next year on the ice, just in terms of how this team
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is manifesting itself and developing really over this next year. I wanted to discuss
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the defensive pairing of Nick Sealer and Jamie Drysdale. And I know Jamie Drysdale.
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You know he's He's often injured. We know this. The Flyers' front
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office knows this as well. And in terms of that pairing, though they
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had some bumps in the road when they were together, but over the final
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three games of the season, Sealer in Drysdale. I mean they were starting
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to click. I mean they only allowed two goals, not including an empty
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matter. So I'm wondering, as I've been thinking about the defensive pairings this
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coming season, what kind of pairing do you see them becoming potentially next season,
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if they're even going to be paired together, Like, what are your
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thoughts on them and how that could potentially develop and manifest itself. Yeah.
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No, honestly, it's a great question because I feel like with those two
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guys like Drysdale, I think it's gonna be harder for him this year because
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he's gonna get the core muscle. Yeah, in the summer, the core
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muscle surgery. And the Flyers actually have been cursed by that. Drew had
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that, Gossipspear had that, Kevin Hayes had that, Brian Elliott had that,
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and that's just all on the rest you know, last what four or
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five summers years. Yeah, yeah, you know. So it's unfortunate.
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And what it does is it kind of takes guys down a little bit.
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If you look at dreu for example, his shots on goal, shooting percentage,
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all that stuff was down because he just couldn't. He just couldn't shoot.
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And for people that don't know, it's more like the inner parts of
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your body. So it's your core, right, so it's your stomach,
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your ribs, all that, so you know, it's harder to move.
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And with dry Zoe, who's a really mobile defenceman and you know, power
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play quarterback and all that. Like, I'm not expecting a ton from him
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next year. I'm not. I'm just gonna say now, it's obviously I'm
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feeling the same way about Hayes than I did with with him, not in
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the sense of like the issues with Tortorella and all that, just with the
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injury, you know, because it's not something you can really count a guy
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to play with with his style, right. And and for Steiler, who,
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my god, I think he's I think he ended up being second or
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third all time in block shots as a fire last year. He was great.
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He's on a good contract. I do like that pairing, Jeff.
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I do I think there's something there, Yeah, because I love the idea
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of a guy in Seiler who can kind of block everything and for Dryzel who
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still has to you know, it feels like it's kind of the saving grace
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for Jamie because it's like he's a guy who obviously isn't really used to the
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man the man system yet it's from cover from the ducks and all, and
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like you have to still he still has to adjust to that while also being
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hurt. So like unfortunately for Goch, they they got a project, and
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I like the fact that they got a project because I do think the upside
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is really really high. It's just can he stay healthy and I'm hoping that
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with the poor muscle and obviously at the shoulder at the end of the year
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two, you know, if he can kind of not like coast along next
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year but just play and not get hurt again, Yes, that's kind of
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what you know what I mean, and just kind of you can like that's
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what I kind of wanted to do because I don't want him to like,
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obviously he's probably gonna push whatever he can their hockey players, but at the
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same time, you know, if that pairing is together, I idn't find
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with that like on paper right now. If this was September and we were
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going into main camp tomorrow, I probably would say, yeah, that's hompair
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I to start with, yeah, because I do think in the preseason you're
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going to see that pairing, and I think throughout training camp you're going to
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see that pairing and trimmages and all that, and obviously, you know whatever
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else they do in the summer with the defense, So that's that's going to
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be the main thing too. I love a ceiling. I love Jamie Drysdale's
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ceiling. And there's another players ceiling who I really like on this team too.
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As we're moving forward here and moving along with the discussion Christopher and sticking
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with players looking to develop next season, Tyson Forrester, I mean, he
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turned out to be one of the best two hundred foot players as a rookie
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this past season. I mean I wondering, thinking from a logical standpoint in
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terms of what more he can give to the team. What type of development
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do you want to see from Forrester this upcoming season, because I think his
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storyline is going to be particularly interesting to follow. Yeah, for sure.
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I mean for Forrester, I kind of look at him as I'd like to
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see morrisists and and more more, you know, points in plays where he's
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not only just scoring because yeah, he had twenty goals. Billing at thirteen
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says, right, you know and look, and that's on me, like
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trying to, you know, nag down his his season because I thought he
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was good. Said he's a ceiling. Yeah he does have a ceiling.
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I think that's very fair. Yeah for sure. And like defensively he was
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great. I saw he even got a vote for the Sulky. I think,
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yes, yeah he was. He was really and I think literally just
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one vote, but still, you know he was. He was very good
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defensively, and and I was fine with that. The one thing that was
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frustrating about that was like you heard that every game, like on the broadcast.
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And this isn't you know, obviously talking to anyone on the broadcast,
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but like you heard that every game on the broadcast, and was like,
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all right, like that's great and all, but I wanted to score,
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you know what I mean. Like he was drafted as a goal scorer.
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He's a first round pick. Like that's fine, Like that's but that's the
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same Thing's got a lot on Gindo, Like let this guy put the puck
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in the net. And he started to do that, Like I think he
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had four multi goal games. He had some really good goals too, Like
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it wasn't just goals that like you know, like empty editors or back door
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tappens or whatever. He ate in a couple of those. But he had
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some really good shots, like obviously, you know, the probably the best
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goal of his career as far as the one he gets Boston. Yeah,
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yeah, making off the rush. I mean, sid I think he got
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the Flectata might not, who cares. I mean still it was a great
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shot. And you know some of the other ones, like you know,
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he had the the one off his back foot in Minnesota, off the one
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timer. Like, he had some really good goals, and just like the
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way he's he creates offense is what's so impressive to me. And and just
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the fact that like he can you know, he's obviously creating offense. But
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at the same time, like you know, some guys and unfortunately they kind
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of happened for everybody. Was they all just kind of like went cold at
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the worst time. Yeah, you know, Tippet was cold, Frost was
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cold, Kates, I mean, he didn't really start scoring until the end
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of the season. Like you definitely want to see guys obviously finish it out,
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but for Far started to play his first rookie year and he had a
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miserable start of the year from from the rookie games to like the preseason.
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He just like was like, yeah, and it was tough. It was
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tough. He was totally invisible and and he was good. Like I am,
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I'm definitely He's definitely a guy that I look at. I don't know
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what they do with him, you know, powerplay wise and stuff like that,
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if they keep him in the flank, because I think you can.
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The problem is, like the power plays a whole other topic that we could
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probably talk for, you know, however long we're talking today, we probably
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agenda. Yeah, we'll get to that another time, right, It's one
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of the few things you can really dive into. But yeah, yeah,
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I mean Forrester, he's he's definitely gonna be gonna be special, for sure.
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Absolutely Again, folks, we're talking to Christopher Maher from ma Her Media,
16:45
Mahermedia CEO Dot Hockey great, great website. You can follow him on
16:48
the Twitter slash x at Underscore Chris Maher and uh follow Maher Media Company as
16:55
well at Maher Media CEO on the Twitter slash x and as looking toward this
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offseason here and would looking toward toward you know, what Danny Briere is going
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to be doing. I know we kind of got into a little bit and
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he gave some thoughts earlier, Christopher, But I'm wanting specifically to look at
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free agency here. I mean, I know you said, you know,
17:14
they may be a little trepidacious or not necessarily trepidacious, but like not necessarily
17:19
doing a lot during free agency, and I would imagine that they they might
17:23
want to make some depth moves. I mean, I personally like the idea
17:26
of bringing in like alexanderanaba Baranabov from San Jose. You know, he's a
17:33
right winger, could play in the bottom six, you know, could thrive
17:37
in this Philly environment. I mean, we know how horrible the Sharks have
17:41
been, you know, and he could potentially thrive with this Flyers team.
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Are there any players you would like or do you think work would work well
17:49
coming to Philly and free agency? Yeah, it's definitely an interesting question,
17:56
honestly, Jeff. I honestly I'm not sure. Like it's it's kind of
18:00
hard, like because honestly, I could see them going for guys. But
18:04
the thing is is, like like I said, like they're gonna have to
18:07
move out money, right, And the only way they really can is if
18:11
you've got to get creative with with the phones again, and they did that
18:14
last summer obviously, the pro rob trade was pretty creative. You know,
18:18
three teams and all that. That's probably how you're gonna have to do it,
18:22
because I don't think teams are gonna you know, just take on cap
18:26
like in guys like versus the Line and who you know, who's you know
18:30
older a little bit, but you know, only play thirty one games this
18:33
year, you know, Elis is obviously when you're probably gonna have to eat
18:37
and just kind of keep one lt IR until the contract is done unfortunately,
18:41
and and then Atkinson, like if they buy on Atkinson, I could see
18:45
some guys. To answer your question about Barrabano, I see, it's tough
18:51
for me with wingers because they have just a surplus of them in the system.
18:55
They have so many, you know what I mean, There's so many
18:56
wingers. And like we mentioned Mitch Cobb, he's another one coming in,
19:00
right, And then you know you have you have connecting you a Forrester,
19:03
you have Briank, you of Farabe, you have tip it like and that's
19:07
just like top six guys off the top of my head. That's leaving out
19:10
Law and Paling all the other guys that can kind of switch and play too.
19:12
Yeah, Like free agency wise, could I see them doing something?
19:15
Yeah, for sure, Like they'll probably at a center, they'll probably at
19:18
a defenseman. It's pretty much what every team does. It's the same thing
19:22
with the deadline. You know, you try to add a center in D
19:25
that it's pretty much what goes the most of the deadline, And I feel
19:26
like it's similar with free agency too. It's mostly centers and d and you
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know they added Paling who's the center. They added Stall who's a D.
19:33
And you know Halfaway they got on a good contract too. So do I
19:37
think there could be like a possibility of like a maybe another halfaway in the
19:41
sense of like not like his role, but you know, Brederic kind of
19:45
if you remember Brier kind of said like you know, he kind of just
19:48
fell into their lap kind of thing. Like, if there's something like that,
19:49
I could see them doing it. But I don't know if there's a
19:52
guy that they specifically target just because they're not they're not really there yet.
19:56
Yeah, all right, Well to close us out here, Christopher. Looking
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toward this upcoming NHL Draft, what are your thoughts about what the Flyers do
20:04
at number twelve overall and within the first round? What are your what are
20:08
your overall thoughts at this point? Yeah, I'm look. I mean,
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I think with twelve, it's definitely it's definitely a good player. I Like
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I said, I would like them to move up in the first round if
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they can. If you can move up into you know, seven eight territory
20:22
or even higher than I would try, i'd love it too. Yeah.
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Yeah, I don't know if they can, just because it's it's harder,
20:27
and this draft's a little different than last year because it's not it's not as
20:33
you know, after one, it's really like, you know, take your
20:37
pick, you know what I mean, it's not really set. I think
20:41
for for twelve. I mean, I've kind of been going back and forth.
20:45
I really like kaw Eiserman from the US program. I think there there's
20:48
definitely something there. And I think the Flyers they tend to like guys a
20:52
lot from the US program, college and stuff like that too. They it's
20:56
it seems like the track record has been the past, you know, a
20:57
couple of years, especially with Brent Flair because really after round one it's mostly
21:02
Flair who does the draft. Yeah, oh it's you know, well you
21:06
kind of have to see what goes there. I do like Tidchagainler that's throw
21:11
againless Son. I just I love the way he plays, like, you
21:14
know, like the skating all that too. Like I think there's there's definitely
21:18
a player there. I mean, I regardless, I think they're definitely gonna
21:19
get a good player. I don't know if they go I feel like now
21:26
it's a little bit different. I think last year they obviously went best player
21:27
available and they took Mitchkov And then obviously with Bank, you went, you
21:33
know, a guy that they you know, I probably could have went like
21:36
maybe later first round, more early second round, and they, you know,
21:37
he took a chance on him. It looks great with Loe then.
21:40
So I don't know if they go that route again, like I I would
21:42
be fine. You know, obviously, you can never have too much of
21:45
anything, whether it's a winger or shooter, you know whatever. So I'm
21:49
fine with a winger. I'm fine, really, you know I I I
21:52
tend to kind of wait and kind of you know, rank the draft kind
21:56
of later on because you never really know. It's kind of too or yeah,
22:00
but I do feel like with you know, with them having twelve,
22:04
and I believe right now that the Florida pick is I think twenty nine.
22:08
Obviously, you know, unfortunately them being in the final four here, it
22:11
kind of hurts. And if they go to the Cup finals either thirty or
22:14
thirty one, so ye, you know, we're we're gonna have to see.
22:17
But I do think that, you know, they're definitely gonna get a
22:21
good player. But Againla and Eiser minute two, guys, I definitely keep
22:22
an eye on again, folks. Christopher Maher from Mahermedia, CEO dot Hockey.
22:29
It was great talking to you, buddy. Thank you so much for
22:32
taking the time to jump on our table Talk interview show here at the PSD
22:34
podcast show this week. I'd love to talk to you down the road,
22:37
my friend. Yeah, man, thank you, Jeff. That's gonna do
22:41
it for us here on table Talk this week. Please share our podcast with
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