In typical Flyers fan fashion, bashing defensemen who do not show top pairing talent, like Hagg and Morin, are now looked upon as stiffs that should be just released. That they are defensemen that would be snapped up by other organizations if they were put on the waiver wire clearly shows that they are players of some value. Teams need seven defensemen; six of which will play on any given night. Obviously the bottom pair will get less PT than the top or middle two. That doesn't mean that the bottom pair are junk and easily replaceable (remember how that caught up to the Flyers in The SC finals with the Blackhawks?)
To suggest that Friedman can replace them is silly. If he were that good, he would have beat them out for a roster spot in the past. Friedman will have a difficult time holding a spot in the organization when Zamula, York and Holberg come on board in the future. He's in the A for a reason.
Maybe its because the Flyers have had so few outstanding defensemen during their history but it makes one wonder if they know what a good defenseman looks like? Even during the Cup years, Jim Watson, who was a quality minute eating defenseman but not a great one, was consistently bashed by the fan base. Its been going on ever since through Therrien to MacDonald and now Hagg and Morin. Are the latter two great? No, but they can be decent bottom pairing players. One has gone through some injuries and growing pains as he's attempted to develop his play. The other has gone through some rather rough time with several coaches changing his play almost on an annual basis.