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The surprising roller-coaster offseason for the Philadelphia Flyers has come to an end.
The time for cheesesteaks, crab fries and cold ones inside the Wach… er… Wells Fargo Center is almost upon us.
And there is another familiar sound flowing over the AM sports talk airwaves in the City of Brotherly Love.
The Philadelphia Phillies continue to win, the Philadelphia Eagles continue to have controversies and the Philadelphia Flyers – yep – you guessed it; continue to have goaltending problems.
Despite that fact, once again, high expectations for the Orange-and-Black run rampant up and down Broad Street.
Expectations because the team that was only a goal away from forcing a Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 against eventual Cup champion Chicago is back, expectations because the team has played very well during the preseason and expectations because of several offseason moves by Flyers’ General Manager Paul Holmgren – several moves outside of the blue paint – that is.
But before we dive into detail regarding the deep goaltending abyss, it’s safe to say that during the offseason, Holmgren viewed the Philadelphia Flyers as the team who struggled during the regular season and needed a shootout victory to clinch a playoff spot, not the team that made it to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Why?
In: Nikolai Zherdev, Andrej Meszaros, Jody Shelley, Matt Walker and Sean O’Donnell.
Out: Simon Gagne, Ryan Parent, Lukas Krajicek, Ray Emery, Arron Asham, Denny Syvret and Riley Cote.
You usually won’t find that kind of turnover on a Conference champion roster – unless of course, if you’re from the land of deep dish and curses.
So, to me, that is the doing of a General Manager who knew his team had to get better – a lot better, and I applaud Holmgren for that. Because, you see, the Flyers flat-out weren’t as good as many people think last season. An ‘improbable postseason run’ is an understatement.
So before we get into any sort of prediction for the 2010-11 campaign, let’s discuss why the Flyers had to get better.
There were 17 other NHL teams who finished with more points than the Flyers at the end of the regular season. Their record was 41-35-6. They needed a shootout victory on the last game of the regular season to make the Playoffs. They were a single point away from not even making the Playoffs.
All reasons for a roster make-over, but there is more.
They finished the regular season eighth overall in goals per game and 15th in goals against per game. They had a 17-21-3 record outside the friendly confines of the Wachovia Center. They had one player in the top-50 in scoring at the end of the season, Mike Richards, who had just 62 points in 82 games.
It’s always tough to compare a team that played as well during the postseason as the Flyers did to a team that played as poorly as the Flyers did during the regular season.
Philadelphia was extremely lucky to benefit from the goaltending they received in the Playoffs and played their hands right to not face Washington or Pittsburgh throughout the postseason.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a tremendous amount of talent in Philadelphia. Their top-nine is arguably the best in the Eastern Conference, and they sport arguably the deepest defensive depth in the NHL.
But no matter how deep the talent pool is at forward and defense, I’ll ask you one question that no one can answer.
Who’s the starting goalie in Philadelphia?
And when that question is proposed in the first week of October, without an answer – it’s not good.
The Flyers invested a lot of trust in starting goaltender Michael Leighton and believed no upgrade between the pipes was needed and they stuck with the duo that carrier them through last year’s playoffs – he and Brian Boucher.
What did that get them?
More problems in net.
Leighton will miss the start of the regular season and is out for a month due to a bulging disc in his back, a re-aggravation injury that was caused this offseason while working out. That leaves Boucher slated as the No. 1 keeper in Philadelphia, followed on the depth charts by highly-touted prospect Sergei Bobrovsky and fellow rookie Johan Backlund.
Sure, you can make a case for Bobrovsky to be on the opening night roster after his successful preseason. He has played very well and looks very comfortable in net, showing why he was such a sought-after UFA. He has cat-like reflexes, tremendous skill and posted a 1.37 goals-against average in eight periods of play, thus far.
But the bottom line is – even if he is “ready”, I don’t think he should be thrown to the wolves yet. Not because of his lack-of-skill, but because he needs to become more accustomed to the North American style of play – not only technically, but mentally. I think Bobrovsky should face adversity in the AHL rather than in the NHL, because as we all know, a Philadelphia goaltender will face some sort of adversity.
If the man they call Bobo can out-right win a job – I would have less problems with him being on the roster – but if he is going to be a back-up to Boucher – that is the worst scenario for this kid. Albeit he earned that spot and it’s good for him to be rewarded – he needs to play. I would rather the Flyers rely on Boucher as the starter with Backlund as the back-up and give the exclusive AHL gig to Bobrovsky, for the time being.
As far as other personnel is concerned, I really like what I’ve seen out of Flyers rookie Ben Holmstrom he will be a very good two-way NHL player, but for the time being, the gig should have gone to Bill Guerin. If this team is built for the Stanley Cup this season – why wouldn’t you want a player like Guerin on your roster?
The Flyers chose otherwise and it’s a decision I don’t agree with. Guerin could have brought a good amount of leadership to the squad and more importantly, stability on any of the scoring lines.
Also, Andreas Nodl has impressed me throughout the preseason, he earned a spot filling in for the injured Ian Laperriere (post-concussion syndrome) and Dan Carcillo has not. Carcillo has looked like he is playing for a roster spot. He’s been taking some dumb penalties and needs to get his emotions in check, or else, he could find his way off the roster, one way or another.
The down low on the rest of the forwards… There were too many times during the regular season when the Flyers offense needed someone to turn to – and there always wasn’t an answer.
The acquisition of Nik Zherdev should help that. He has the pure skill to take over a game and has been meshing well with Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux throughout the preseason.
I think Zherdev will find himself split between the first line next to Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, and on the third line between Cluade Giroux and James van Riemsdyk. Whichever right wing position Zherdev is not at, I think Carcillo will be playing at. I wouldn’t make any changes to the second line of Scott Hartnell – Danny Briere – and Ville Leino, it was one of the best in the postseason and I wouldn’t mess with it. There are some questions on the fourth line. The injury to Laperriere opens a spot on the fourth line, in my opinion, Blair Betts is a lock to play fourth line center, from there – anything can happen. Jody Shelley, Darroll Powe, and Nodl are fighting for two spots.
Bold prediction time.
I truly believe Zherdev will record 70 points; Carter will score 50 goals. These guys are surrounded by talent, and Jeff Carter is in a contract-year, I’m really high on the Flyers forwards and expect big things from them.
I think Chris Pronger has another excellent year and gets nominated for the Norris Trophy at season’s end. He will be more rested, his minutes will be cut down, and he is just as hungry.
As far as the team is concerned – I think the Flyers will finish behind the Penguins in the Atlantic, and finish fourth overall in the Eastern Conference. They have all the pieces there, but in my eyes, they can’t be picked as a favorite with the likes of Washington and Pittsburgh in the Conference. Like we’ve seen, once a team makes the Playoffs, anything can happen, but because of their issues in net, I can’t call Philadelphia the favorite.
Throw in their struggles against Pittsburgh and it’s more sobering: since October 2006, the Flyers are 8-19 vs. the Penguins in the regular season. In their last two playoff series, Pittsburgh was victorious 4-1 in the 2008 Eastern Conference Final and 4-2 in the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
Sure things can change and those are just numbers, but it is something to think about.
Despite that fact, I think this Philadelphia Flyers squad is much improved, more battle tested than before and equipped with survival instincts unlike any Flyers team of recent memory. If the chips start falling in the right spot and these questions start to get answered, this team has the coaching and enough pure talent to easily go from a Conference Champion with question marks, to a Conference Champion poised to repeat.
The surprising roller-coaster offseason for the Philadelphia Flyers has come to an end.
The time for cheesesteaks, crab fries and cold ones inside the Wells Fargo Center is almost upon us.
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