You may recall the story from a while back connecting Flyers center Jori Lehtera to a Finnish cocaine investigation.

We’ve got an update today via Finland’s “MTV” site, which I don’t think is the same as our MTV. At least I don’t see any Kardashians or Jenners on the main page. And since my Finnish is a little rusty, here’s the headline according to Google translate:

“NHL ice hockey player Jori Lehter, a drug smear in big cocaine shaved”

Intriguing.

Here are some of the relevant bits of info in the story body:

The NHL Society Philadelphia Flyers, the Finnish attacker, Jori Lehter, is in court to prosecute a drug offense. The prosecution’s case is linked to a large cocaine defeat.

MTV According to the latest information, prosecutor Antti Virtanen has filed a lawsuit against Pirkanmaa District Court on Monday. Lecturer is one of the 22 accusations.

….

30-year-old Lehter is suspected of being tricked into a huge drug squad. The Finnish police suspect that cocaine has been distributed to the Tampere region since the beginning of 2017.

According to MTV’s information, the police conducted an investigation in connection with the investigation in connection with the investigation into Lehterä’s cottage properties located in Tampere.

At that time, Lehter was not among those detained, but the police questioned him on suspicion of a drug offense. Lehter has denied his guilt.

The first date of cocaine in the district court is Monday, the last day of the year. Seven sessions are reserved for the course.

Interesting stuff, both the story and the translation.

Here’s some better translating via a guy on Twitter named Janne Virtanen, who is of no relation to the prosecutor.

After the jump:

Continue Reading

I’ve never seen Love Actually, so this doesn’t entirely “resonate” with me, but I’m familiar with the famous scene in the movie where Andrew Lincoln from The Walking Dead knocks on Keira Knightley’s door and uses a bunch of cue cards to tell her that he loves her.

Since it’s 2018, ESPN’s Katie Nolan did a spoof with Antifa political icon Gritty, who also doubles as the Flyers mascot.

Here it is:

I laughed.

Pretty good stuff right there.

Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher, who relieved Dave Hakstol of his coaching duties earlier today, addressed the media a short time ago.

In a brief opening statement, Fletcher called Dave Hakstol a “straight-up guy” and said he has a lot of respect for him. That led us to the question and answer portion of the presser.

Notes and quotes:

• RE: Hakstol: “to my eyes there was a disconnect to what he was preaching and how the players were playing.” Fletcher also put the onus on the players to get the job done on the ice.
• The GM doesn’t question the “heart” of the team at all, says the players shot themselves in the foot in Calgary and needed to close that game out. “The coaches aren’t out there telling them to turn pucks over.” 
• Fletcher had conversations with Hakstol and says the coach was aware of his thought process. Says the team needs more attention to detail and doesn’t question the talent level at all. “At the end of the day, I just felt like there needed to be a new voice.”
• He’s still trying to identify what characteristics the team needs in a head coach and did not want to put a time frame on the process to replace Hakstol.
• He likes Scott Gordon’s long track record of coaching success and likes his character and preparation and intellect. He thinks having him in the organization allows him to get up to speed more quickly than bringing in an outsider to be the interim coach.
• Gordon is a candidate for the job, but it sounds like everybody is going to be a candidate as the search begins.
• His expectation is that Gordon will be the coach for the “rest of the year.”
• He has not asked for permission from Chicago to speak with Joel Quenneville (still under contract actually) and says he has not spoken to him in more than two years. The last contact was a text message after Q was let go by the Blackhawks.

More after the jump:

Continue Reading

First there was this:

It would appear Kris Knoblauch is running things today. Dave Hakstol is not on the ice for #Flyers practice.

— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) December 17, 2018

Then this:

CONFIRMED: Dave Hakstol has been fired as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.

— John Boruk (@johnborukNBCS) December 17, 2018

Then this:

Hak fired. Confirmed.

— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) December 17, 2018

Farewell, Dave Hakstol.

The Flyers play the Red Wings tomorrow. It’ll be the Carter Hart and interim head coach show. At least things will be interesting.

Let’s get some JAM in the building because the Wells Fargo Center has felt like a morgue during Flyers games.

Edit:

Phantoms coach Scott Gordon will be the interim guy.

Welcome to the mess, Carter Hart:

The #Flyers have recalled goaltender Carter Hart from the @LVPhantoms. In addition, the club has placed goaltender Anthony Stolarz on Injured Reserve. https://t.co/P6asgsZ9Xg

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 17, 2018

Anthony Stolarz is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury, because of course he is. Alex Lyon was loaned to Lehigh Valley, so it looks like Hart and Michael Neuvirth are the active goaltenders for tomorrow.

I imagine this news will deflect from the maybe-not-impending-but-ultimately-inevitable firing of Dave Hakstol. The Flyers return home to play the Red Wings tomorrow night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Here’s what Russ says about the move, since I know very little about ice hockey:

“Carter Hart is only 20 years old. Former GM Ron Hextall, current GM Chuck Fletcher, and team president Paul Holmgren have all intimated that it’s likely too early to bring up a kid with minimal pro experience this early in his career, but here we are. The team obviously has no faith in Neuvy’s ability in net or his ability to stay healthy. Alex Lyon hasn’t established himself in the few opportunities he’s been given. Brian Elliott might very well be having season-ending surgery. Anthony Stolarz is on IR. In a way, Hextall’s failure to acquire a legitimate goalie forced his successor’s hand.

I don’t think Hart’s ready, and bringing him into this toxic environment could have catastrophic ramifications. Add in the struggles of most defensemen, and a group of forwards with a propensity to cheat for a breakaway rather than get back to check in the defensive zone, and this is a recipe for failure. On a positive note, Hart posted his first professional shutout in a 1-0 win over Hershey on December 7th. He is on a four-game winning streak (1.25 GAA, .957 save percentage) and has a 9-4-2 record as the starter. We’ll have to see if he can transcend this team’s woeful start.”

Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher is only in his second week on the job and one thing has likely become abundantly clear to him – he needs to break up the way his team is constructed.

Quite simply, the Flyers are broken.

Repeated and excessive inconsistency is a fundamental flaw that likely has more to do with the makeup of the roster and how those pieces fit together than the systems they are playing.

That’s not to absolve the coaching staff for the sins of their players, or their former general manager. No, they need to own the fact that they can’t find a way to maximize what potential there is on the roster.

But these players need to take ownership for themselves. They can’t be fragile. They can’t “play scared” as Jake Voracek said after a recent game. They can’t crack under pressure. They can’t lose track of their fundamentals and have it blow up on them game after game after game.

There was no reason the Flyers should have lost to Calgary Wednesday, and yet they did, 6-5 in overtime, allowing two goals in the final 1:08 of regulation and the game-winner in the first minute of the extra session.

The frustration for fans is understandable. The Flyers are a team who is equally adept at overcoming a two-goal deficit as it is blowing a two-goal lead.

There is skill and talent on this team; it just doesn’t mesh. Maybe it’s because despite that skill, this team is not collectively smart.

How so?

I’ll explain after the jump:

Continue Reading