Hakstol Scratches Gostisbehere And Konecny For Tonight, And Why Nothing Even Matters Anymore
As the 2016-17 Philadelphia Flyers season has been going on, more and more people have fallen off the Dave Hakstol wagon. It was a sold out train before the season began but the very few remaining on the train have their own seats with extra leg room and storage space. Up until today, that was me. I’ve been trying and trying so hard all year to make sense of the decisions that he’s made roster-wise. I understand that Andrew MacDonald is terrible but I gave him the benefit of the doubt because he doesn’t have many other options to go with. I understand that scratching Ghost and Konecny once was a gutsy decision. But I gave him the benefit of the doubt because I thought the lesson each of them would learn for the future should be prioritized over the 2 points they were gambling away for those particular games. But now? This is the 2nd time Konecny has been scratched this season and the 3rd for Ghost. And now it’s finally time for one of the very few Hak apologists remaining to jump off board and start worrying.
Now here’s the thing. A very very very small portion of the blame still goes on Konecny and Ghost. They simply haven’t played well enough to ensure their spot on the roster night in and night out. With that being said, they haven’t played that poorly either. Especially considering the rest of the team has been playing like absolute shit as well. There’s not a single player on this roster right now outside of Wayne Simmonds that I can comfortably say is having a good year. Each and every single one of these guys SUCK in their own end. They are garbage defensively. We know that. We’ve known that for a while. But it’s not just MacDonald. It’s not just Mason. It’s not just Ghost and Konecny. It’s Giroux. It’s Voracek. It’s Couturier. This team lacks an identity right now. Outside of that 10-game win streak, they are not a tough team to play against. They’re not a team that is going to give you a battle even when they lose. They are a team who seemingly rolls over and quits. So obviously after a night like Tuesday night, Hakstol would need to shake the lineup a bit. But by trading off Konecny and Ghost for Dale Weise and Nick Schultz? What the fuck is going on here, man?
And at the end of the day, none of this really matters that much because this year has already been a waste for the Flyers. Like I said above, they are a team who rolls over and quits. They’re a team that allows small errors to snowball into major errors and as soon as the wheels start to fall off a little, they are done. I don’t give a shit about the 2016-17 team anymore. There are still 30 games or so to be played but this team is too fucking infuriating to remain emotionally invested in. I don’t see anything major happening at the deadline so you go into free agency looking to grab a new goaltender on a 2-year contract. You bring up EVERYBODY next year in Hagg, Sanheim, Morin and Myers. But the 2 points that are on the line for tonight? Couldn’t give less of a fuck about them because even if they win tonight, there’s going to be another 5-1 ass kicking right around the corner because this team lacks consistency both on and off the ice. Which is reflective of a lack of leadership both on and off the ice.
Last thing here–Ghost and Konecny are big boys. You don’t need to baby them. You don’t need to worry about your precious favorite players being upset because they have to watch the game from the press box. I’m not worried about a healthy scratch ruining their development for the future. With that being said, there’s clearly a tension between those two and Hakstol. And if that’s going to continue to be an issue after this season, then maybe it’s time to go in a different direction. I think we know who ends up losing in that match up.