Philadelphia Flyers beat writer Bill Meltzer (7/17/26)

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Oilers NOW with Bob Stauffer 20 min 3 speakers 5 chapters transcribed 2 months ago

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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

Bill Meltzer 0:00

Hey, it's Bob Stauffer. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Oilers Now ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime.

Aiden Ganim 0:09

We're going to get right to it. He's been waiting on the line for a couple of minutes. Our Oilers Now headliner today is Bill Meltzer, brought to you by Wilhock Beef Jerky. Others can try to imitate, but no one can duplicate the great flavor of Wilhock Beef Jerky, only available in Leduc, Alberta. Bill, how are you, sir? How's the off-season been for you?

Bill Meltzer 0:28

It's only just now starting to feel like an off-season, honestly. First of all, we weren't used to the playoffs for a while, so that went around, and then the draft was right on us, and then they... free agency in the offer sheet and all the drama around that. And now the Flyers have their two restricted free agents with living arbitration cases taken care of. So just now it's starting to feel like an off-season.

Aiden Ganim 0:58

Well, that's good. We've still got a stretch before the season, so we've got a ways to go here. But yeah, before we get into the nitty-gritty here, I want to talk about the signing today. Jamie Drysdale, four years, $6.5 million a season. I mean, he was a big piece for the Flyers last year. What's your take on that signing?

Bill Meltzer 1:16

Yeah, I think the Flyers got a... A very team-friendly signing there. You look at what Ben Yacob just got in Anaheim to stay there. I honestly thought that with the salary cap inflation around the league, Drysdale really had a big takeoff season this year. Really is an all-around player. And just starting to realize some of the offensive upside that's coming along. So I thought, well, you know, he's going to surpass Travis Sanheim just because of the salary cap inflation as the highest paid defenseman. And he did, but not by much. So six and a half, four years, that's pretty good.

How did Bill Meltzer describe the Flyers' off-season timeline and recent drama?

Bill Meltzer 2:00

And it's good for the player, too, because, listen, four years from now, he's still in his 20s, so he stands to cash in a second time as long as he plays well. So I think it's a good deal for the player and for the team.

Aiden Ganim 2:12

A hundred percent. And I mean, you think about his buddy as well, Trevor Zegers. They've been together since Anaheim. He also gets a four year contract at nine point one to five million dollars a season. Is that the Flyers kind of, you know, determining that Zegers is going to be the one C for the time being?

Bill Meltzer 2:32

I think, at least in Rick Taka's mind, he still sees Zegers as more of a hybrid. You know, he played frequently with Christian Dvorak last year, and they would switch off who was in the middle, who was on the wing. Now, that being said, over the latter third of the season, into the playoffs, he did see Zegers play center a little bit more. So... Yeah, certainly get a ton of ice time, a ton of power play time. Whether he lines up in the middle or on the wing, I think some of that depends on has he improved on face-offs because that's still a very weak area of the game for him. So I think you'll still see Dvorak, if they're on the same line, taking a lot of draws for that line. And the other part of it, too, is Trevor's been trying to add a little bit more physical strength for some of the battles in the trenches, on the walls, those kind of things.

Bill Meltzer 3:27

If he is going to play center, I did think he needed to get a little bit stronger physically. So if he can do those things, I think he can make the transition to being a full-time center, but I don't think it's set in stone yet.

Aiden Ganim 3:39

Goaltending has always, as long as I can remember, kind of been a spot for the Flyers that has been a little bit of touch and go. But I mean, the team got some really, really great goaltending out of Dan Vladar in the postseason this year, and he was rewarded for it, signing a new extension. How important was he for the Flyers during the playoff run this year, as well as the regular season?

Bill Meltzer 4:02

I think his value was in three areas. The obvious one being, of course, his play in net because he was a wall of consistency for the team this whole year. Not the best numbers in the league, but really in terms of making the saves he had to make was a big part of the reason why they had 98 points and got to the playoffs in the first half.