Philadelphia Flyers
A Look Back at 2010-11
Coming off a surprise trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Flyers looked to get back to bring Philly the franchise’s third Cup. The offense was stellar, the defense held up reasonably well, despite not having Chris Pronger for long periods of time due to injury. Even the goaltending appeared to be headed in a new direction as young Sergei Bobrovsky performed at an All-Star level for the first part of the season. *Knock knock* Oh, hold on, someone’s at the door, I’ll be right back. Hello? IT’S THE PHILLY CURSE BITCH, AND I’M BACK AGAIN! Sure enough, the wheels fell off the Flyers net, Bobrovsky had trouble handling the long NHL season, Brian Boucher was inconsistent, and Mike Leighton was hurt most of the year. Because of that, they went from a lock as the East’s top seed to a two-seed. Not bad, but not where they should have been. Their goaltending roller coaster continued into the playoffs, as three goaltenders were used, and not because of injury. That’s bad. Real bad. Had it not been for some poor play by Buffalo, they shouldn’t have gone as far as they did. Boston wiped them out and barely broke a sweat. Oh what could have been… Final Grade: D
A Look Ahead to 2011-12
Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek, have some big shoes to fill in Philly.
Forwards
Heading into this offseason, I thought the Flyers were set at forward. Then, someone spiked GM Paul Holmgren’s drink one night and he dealt Mike Richards and Jeff Carter away during a “Hangover” style bender (at least that’s what I like to assume just for personal entertainment). I know they were looking to shed salary to sign a goalie, but that was borderline insanity. In all honesty, after stepping back and looking at the deals, they got maximum value in each, snagging Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier in the process. That’s a plus. The negative is that they’re much smaller and will have to rely on their speed. Think a better version of Montreal. But that skill is THICK with Danny Briere, Claude Giroux and Schenn likely to start the season at center. The wings also look much different with Jakub Voracek, and Wayne Simmonds joining Scott Hartnell and James van Riemsdyk, who is poised and ready to be a star in this league. Oh yeah, they signed some guy named Jagr too. Look, I know Jaromir Jagr used to be a top talent, and he even showed he still had something left in the 2010 Olympics. Can he do it in today’s league though? I’m skeptical, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Jagr as one of those turn-back-the-clock performances. Max Talbot comes over from Pittsburgh and joins Blair Betts, Andreas Nodl (another candidate to have a breakout year) and youngster Zac Rinaldo to provide some defense. They will miss Darroll Powe greatly, but these guys should still be fun to watch. Grade: B
Chris Pronger struggled with injuries last season. The Flyers need him to be healthy.
Defense
This area remains strong for the Flyers. They can still produce points and play with an edge. Chris Pronger absolutely has to stay healthy all year long. He’s still elite at his age, but his body can’t keep betraying him like this. Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Matt Carle and Andrej Meszaros will play every night. Timonen continues to be one of my personal favorites on D. He isn’t flashy, big or nasty, he’s just steady every year. Andreas Lilja is a veteran that can play in the final spot, but my money is on youngster Erik Gustafsson. He’s been good in the AHL, and I feel that he’s earned a chance to play with the big club. This defense isn’t getting any younger, so give the kid a chance to play. Grade: B+ (Still deep, still nasty)
Goaltending
Normally, this is where Philly fans would start tying a rope to their ceiling fan like a noose. Those people have seen more negative things written about their goaltending than anyone should have to (even me, and I’m a Sharks fan that had to sit through Evgeni Nabokov’s inevitable croak in the playoffs every year for nine years). Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some of the names that have seen significant time in the Philly net since Ron Hextall’s first tenure ended: Tommy Soderstrom, Brian Boucher, Sean Burke (at the end of his career), Pete Peeters (ditto), Hextall (again), Jeff Hackett, Ray Emery, Michael Leighton, Robert Esche (good before the lockout caused him to have a meltdown), Martin Biron (actually, he was OK), Antero Niittymaki, Garth Snow, John Vanbiesbrouck, and the always entertaining Roman Cechmanek. Know how many of those guys led the Flyers to at least the East finals? Only Esche in 2004, the Leighton-Boucher combo in 2010, Boucher on his own in 2000, and Hextall in 1995 and 1997.
My friend Kevin will now wander into oncoming traffic while holding two torches after covering himself in jet fuel. Sorry bro, I couldn’t help myself.
Ilya Bryzgalov got his money, now he has to be the stable goalie the Flyers haven't had for years
Now for the good news. Ilya Bryzgalov has arrived. Sure, the Flyers foolishly dealt two money centers to get him (only one would have worked), but they got their goalie. He’s playoff tested with both Phoenix and Anaheim and brings a swagger and sense of humor that Philly fans will eat up. That said, he has had to be good every single night for the last four years in Phoenix for a team that never scored and for fans that no-showed to all the games. He needs to stay motivated to be successful. The best news for Breezy; the fans love their team, a human owner actually exists and loves his team, the guys in front of him can score a ton, and the is guaranteed not to see Detroit in the first round (this year at least, depending on what they do with the Wings once relocation happens). On top of their shiny new goalie, it gives Bobrovsky the chance to learn from a fellow Russian, play well enough when called upon and eventually get a starting job down the line. Similar to what Cory Schneider is doing in Vancouver. It looks good in a Philly net, for once. Grade: B+ (Despite his troubles in the last two playoffs, Bryzgalov is worth that money.)
Prediction
This isn’t the re-incarnation of the Broad Street Bullies. This team still has some of that toughness that Philly is known for, but this team will rely more on skill than anything. The young talent will go a long way in determining how well this team does, and for that, I can’t give them the division’s top spot. 2nd in Atlantic, 4th in East.
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