There's one thing that rarely gets mentioned about sports writing and media. It is exhausting to come up with insane takes year after year. Sometimes, you've got to make a boring guess, or maybe just look for something that makes sense, even if it isn't terribly exciting.
Here are those takes. Ones that won't light the world on fire, but just might end up coming true.
Dan Vladar plays a split with Sam Ersson, whether he's as good or not
Dan Vladar has never played more than 30 games in a season. He was playing behind Jakob Markstrom and then got squeezed out by the highly touted Dustin Wolf. He's never really had the chance to play for the starting job. Here he does.
Vladar has the classic size (6'5", 210 pounds) that makes him look imposing in the net and take up a lot of space. He's also 28, which means he has years to go. With Sam Ersson having been overplayed in his young career, you'd imagine he'd cede some starts to Vladar, who has proven himself capable so far.
Here's the twist. If Vladar is decent enough, the Flyers might opt to give him more than expected. With Ersson headed towards his RFA contract negotiations next offseason, knocking a few wins off his total could save the Flyers some money on the contract.
Alex Bump will play more games in the AHL this season than in the NHL
This is no slight on Bump, who has looked impressive early in his pro career and at rookie camps, but there is a question that is a struggle to answer. Who do you take out of the lineup for Bump? If you believe that Nikita Grebenkin will be on the team (which I do), you'd have to place him somewhere in the middle six. You also have to assume that Jett Luchanko will be playing primarily in the NHL. He's also getting middle six time.
You've got Michkov, Konecny, Foerster, Brink, Tippett, and Hathaway in the mix, too. You'll have your healthy scratch type guys like Nic Deslauriers and Rodrigo Abols as well.
For his development, Bump might fare better getting a top-line run in the AHL than waiting for his NHL chance or being a plug-and-play type of guy.
Rasmus Ristolainen finally gets traded this year
As long as he stays healthy, which is where this takes on risk.
Ristolainen seems like he's been part of trade talks for the last few seasons, with his size and ability coveted by playoff teams. He's huge, but his physicality isn't the heavily penalized variety, and he can add 20 to 30 points almost in his sleep.
His biggest NHL crimes have been being injured and playing on bad teams, being a long-time Buffalo Sabers stalwart before his Flyers stint. More than a few NHL GMs have watched his tape and thought, "If he were on our team, he'd be even better". One of them will finally offer the Flyers the deal they're looking for, and Ristolainen will be gone at the deadline for some shiny new draft picks.