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Flyers Playoff Hopes in Peril after Losing Two Straight Must-Win Games
After coming out unscathed from a grueling seven-game stretch, where they faced off against some of the top teams in the league, it seemed as though they would get a bit of a reprieve as the vast majority of their remaining games were to be against some of the leagues bottom-dwelling teams who had no hope of making the playoffs.
But much to the Flyers’ dismay, the team, for some reason, has been unable to come to the rink these past two games with the same tenacious attitude that allowed them to battle back in games against teams that, on paper, they had no business being on the same ice with. Instead, Philadelphia has been playing down to their opponent, underestimating them to the point that by the time they get down by two or three goals, they have looked as though they would be happy just to concede defeat and forgo even coming out for the third period.
Because of their lackadaisical approach to the last few games, the Flyers now find themselves removed from the comfort of their third-place standing in the Metropolitan Division by the likes of the Washington Capitals (who have two more games in hand) and are now being forced to fight for a Wildcard position.
Now, we all know that this kind of effort is not at all what their head coach, John Tortorella, comes to expect from his team, and changes will indeed be on the way. One area where you can expect to see those changes will be in net. Especially after Sam Ersson gave up five goals to the Blackhawks who have long been since eliminated from any hope of playoff contention. And are points-wise considered the second-worst team in the league, with only 49 points tallied on the season.
Not all is bad, though, as Flyers fans will now surely get the chance to see the long-awaited Ivan Fedotov in net. After seeing his KHL team booted from the playoffs, Fedotov quickly saw his contract terminated so that he could join the Flyers, who he should have been playing with all season if you go by IIHF rulings. But if you don’t know that story, I’m sure you will hear it told time and time again in future game broadcasts. The Flyers selected Ivan in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, and at 27, he finally seems destined to get his first opportunity to start a game in the NHL tomorrow night against the New York Islanders.
But this is no ordinary rookie; this 6’7 goaltender has been playing professional hockey in Russia for parts of seven seasons! He even won the league championship (the Gagarin Cup) back in 21-22, along with awards for being viewed as the League’s Best Goalie.
So, with any hope, Ivan will be able to light a fire under the 19,537 Flyers faithful that will be attending the Wells Fargo Center for the game tomorrow night to the point that they “will” this team to victory.
Kolosov & Fedotov are both on their way over, But What can the Flyers Truly Expect of them?
With both the Flyers’ 2021 third-round pick goalie Alexei Kolosov’s team the, Dinamo Minsk, and their 2015 seventh-round pick goalie Ivan Fedotov’s CSKA Red Army Team being recently booted out of the KHL playoffs. We, the fans of the Philadelphia Flyers, received some inspiring and unexpected news recently when it broke that the team was working on getting both Alexei and Ivan over stateside to get some experience playing some North American-style hockey.
But as exciting as that news is, what can we expect from these two netminders this season? It’s no secret that Russian netminders are all the craze right now. It seems that if you want to be considered a true Stanley Cup contender, you must have one in between the pipes. Take, for instance, the Florida Panthers, who have Sergei Bobrovsky (who the Flyers should have never gotten rid of); the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have Andrei Vasilevskiy; the New York Rangers with Igor Shesterkin; the Colorado Avalanche with Alexander Georgiyev, to Carolina with Pyotr Kochetkov. So, it’s no surprise that struggling teams have tried to mimic those powerhouses by drafting Russian netminders of their own, like the Islanders who have Ilya Sorokin, and the Predators who drafted the young superstar in the making Yaroslav Askarov. That’s why, only recently, the Flyers put aside their antiquated ideas on what works in the net and decided to draft some of their own.
So, because of the war and everything else going on with Russia over the past couple of years. I know getting tape and information on these two has been challenging, to say the least, so let me let you know what to expect.
Ivan Fedotov
First, let’s start with the long-awaited 6’7 212 pound Ivan Fedotov. Getting this player stateside has been a chore. From being forced into military service upon signing with the Flyers to his KHL team, then failing to abide by IIHF rulings and sanctions, Russia was not willing to let this guy go, and for good reason.
This now 27-year-old netminder became a breakout star in the 2021-2022 season after being voted an All-Star and later being named the KHL’s Best Goalie that same year after posting a 2.00 goals-against-average (G.A.A.) in the regular season. He also carried his country to a Silver Medal at the Olympics that year and came back to the KHL after the Olympic break and was able to win 16 out of 22 games where he averaged an incredible 1.85 G.A.A. and a .937 save percentage to win his team the leagues championship the Gagarin Cup.
Returning to competition this season after having to take a year off to play soldier, Ivan was in net for 44 games for the Red Army, posting a 2.37 G.A.A. and a .914 SV% and earning four shutouts along the way. But he was a below .500 goalie with a record of 21-22-1 and won just one of five games played in the KHL playoffs this year. Now, talk about competition. Those regular season numbers were good enough to rank him 9th in wins, 21st in the league in G.A.A., and 35th in SV%.
Fedotov is holding a press conference with Danny Briere today at 11 am and is expected to join the Flyers to aid Sam Ersson as the team is gearing up for a playoff push.
Alexei Kolosov
Next up is the much younger 22-year-old Alexei Kolosov. Alexei is signed by the Flyers through the 25-26 season and stands at a more common 6’0 185 pounds. Now, while he plays in the KHL, Kolosov is actually from Belarus. And while Fedotov’s game may focus on using his size to take up as much net as possible. Alexei depends on being a bit more agile, where he uses his silky smooth skating abilities to get from one side of the net to the other with lightning-quick speed.
While playing for the Minsk this year, he saw 47 games of action during the regular season, where he was able to win 22 of them while averaging a 2.39 G.A.A. and a .907 SV%. He posted four shutouts during the season and was also able to see some post-season hockey, where he was able to win just two of six games, posting a very respectable 2.21 G.A.A. and .925 SV%. Alexei ranked seventh in the KHL in wins this season, 22nd in G.A.A., and 43rd in SV%.
Briere has gone on record saying that he thinks that Kolosov will join the Phantoms when he arrives, but they are trying to work through a bit of work visa troubles with him right now. So, they don’t exactly know when to expect his arrival just yet.
Now, for a bit of reality, while most say that the KHL is one of the best leagues in the world, I don’t know if its players would even be on the same level as those in the NCAA right now. Case in point. Some of the KHL’s top scores this year were Reid Boucher and former Flyer Jordan Weal. Both of them were career call-up guys who spent most of their time in the States, bouncing from the AHL to the NHL and back down to the AHL.
And as far as netminders go, one of the best goalies in the KHL this year has been Canada’s 28-year-old Zachary Fucale. Who after being drafted in the second round of the 2013 NHL draft by the Montreal Canadiens, he has spent most of his North American career going from the ECHL to the AHL. In fact, this goalie who had so much hype around him before being drafted to date has only managed to play in just four NHL games.
So, I say that to say this: while I and all of you hope that these two KHL goaltending stars of the Flyers system will be able to transition flawlessly to the North American game, don’t be surprised if it takes a little bit for them to get accustomed to both the speed of the game played on a much smaller rink than they are used to, and the level of talent in which they will now be forced to have to face.
The Flyers Resiliency is helping them to Weather the Storm
It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Flyers have had to endure a lot this season. Some might even have said they were cursed when they lost their number one goaltender, Carter Hart, and had their most promising NHL-ready prospect, Cutter Gauthier, ask for a trade in the same year. But that didn’t stop them. However, with the team having successfully bypassed that hurdle, fate has managed to throw them yet another challenge by way of having to suit up a revolving door of defenders, thanks to the club having to ship out impending free agent Sean Walker at the deadline (for fear of losing him later for nothing) and having blue liners Rasmus Ristolainen, Jamie Drysdale, and Nick Seeler all out on the mend.
With all that being said, you would think that this rebuilding club that is now full of call-ups would have faltered over the last two weeks with them being forced to play all of the NHL’s top teams night in and night out.
But Tortorella’s questionable tactics (like healthy scratching their captain Sean Couturier) somehow managed to work out as this rag-tag bunch of misfits (who ESPN correspondents went on record saying that they didn’t even expect them to win a single game over the course of this grueling stretch) have managed to defy all odds by pulling out wins against Florida on March 7th, and Toronto on March 19th. Not to mention going out and earning a point against Carolina on March 21st and, most recently, winning a bout against Boston yesterday.
With this latest showing of resiliency, the Flyers have proven to their doubters (myself included) that no matter what type of siege is to come from their opposition, they have no intentions of ever surrendering the stronghold that they have built around that third-place spot in the Metropolitan Division.
So even though they may not be out of the woods just yet, with the likes of the Panthers coming to town tonight and them having to go up to the Big Apple on Tuesday to face the Rangers, I think it would be wise for fans to go ahead and put in for those overtime hours in an effort to start to save up for some playoff hockey tickets. Because once these next two games are over, Philadelphia will only have to face off against one team of playoff caliber during their remaining nine regular season games.
POSTSEASON HOCKEY HERE WE COME!
A Look into the Possible Future of the Flyers
Photo Credit: https://chl.ca/ohl-otters
With the Flyers having played under the new regime of Keith Jones and Danny Briere for the better part of an entire season now, I believe that most fans would agree that this franchise has already taken a step in the right direction.
But between the team’s injury list beginning to pile up, having to depend on two rookie goaltenders to backstop them and the upcoming schedule looking quite daunting. The likelihood of Philadelphia being able to hold onto third place in the Metropolitan Division is looking less and less likely.
Fear not, though, for the management’s blueprint for this rebuild of a return to Stanley Cup contention was never set to be unveiled this season anyway. Instead, the powers at be don’t see this reconstruction coming to completion for another two seasons when their star prospect, whom they drafted seventh overall in 2023, Matvei Michkov’s KHL contract, is set to expire and can join the team.
However, very few men have been known to change a franchise by themselves, so he will undoubtedly need some help along the way. That is where the Flyers’ multiple first-round picks this summer and next will come into play.
2024
Zayne Parekh
So, let us take a look at who they might be. The 2024 NHL Draft is stocked full of quality defensemen, with a lot being of the right-hand-shot variety, and as we all know, this is something all teams covet. Therefore, depending on just how far they may drop in the standings over the next two weeks, I believe Philadelphia should use their 1st round pick on one of these elusive right-hand-shot defensemen. And if I had to pick just one, it would be Zayne Parekh of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit.
Zayne would offer the Flyers the type of offensive from the blue line we haven’t seen from the orange and black since the likes of the great Mark Howe. Parekh skates like he came out of the womb with blades already on his feet. He can change direction on a dime and circles around the offensive zone while on a power play like a wild animal who is stalking his prey. Zayne’s natural skating ability also allows him to maneuver around the opposition like they are standing still because I have never seen this young man slow down when the puck is on his stick.
This season, Parekh has managed to obliterate any and all prior records made by OHL defensemen that came before him. So much so that to date, he has scored 31 goals on the season and has compiled 59 assists which adds up to an incredible 90 points on the season.
But unlike other defensemen in this draft who are addicted to making that big red light go off behind the goalies’ net, Zayne is also defensively responsible. Because on the rare occasion when he travels down to the opposite side of the ice and his team does not score, he makes it a point to get back so as not to leave his goalie high and dry. In doing so, Zayne has been able to maintain a +34 this season.
Drafting Zayne would allow the Flyers to have Jamie Drysdale or Parekh on the ice for every second the Flyers are on the man advantage. I don’t know about you, but I think even I could score 20 goals a season for the Flyers if I were receiving the passes these two young men are capable of dishing out on a nightly basis.
Dean Letourneau
After drafting Zayne this summer, the Flyer’s work in the first round will not be over, as they will finally have the chance to utilize the final piece that they got in the deal that sent their former captain Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers. That is the Panthers first-round pick in this summer’s draft.
Now, this one will likely be quite late in the first, seeing that Florida has been one of the best teams in the league this entire season. So, I think here is where Danny should try to cash in on a player they are calling the next Tage Thompson. And that player is the 6’7 209 pound center known as Dean Letourneau, who plays for the Saint Andrews College Saints in Canada’s Prep Hockey Conference. Dean is a unique physical specimen whose brute strength allows him to dominate games whenever he wants to.
To pair with his unmatched physicality, this possible future Broad Street Bullie has a fantastic release that has allowed him to score 61 goals and 66 assists for 127 points in just 56 games played this year. Folks, that means Letourneau has averaged an incredible 2.26 points-per-game pace this season. And, for his efforts, Dean has managed to catch the attention of the illustrious Boston College, whom he has committed to play for in the
25-26 season.
The Flyers currently have nothing but cookie-cutter, defensively responsible clones down the middle of the ice who don’t add much in the way of offense. Couturier, Laughton, Poehling, and Cates have only combined for 33 goals this season, with Coots leading the pack with 11. This is even less impressive, considering Philadelphia is paying them a combined $14,775,000 this season.
I get the team wanting defensively responsible players. Still, if they genuinely want to compete, they will need to add a scoring threat down the middle, and if in the market for one, why not take a chance on a kid with these types of stats who, at just 18 years of age already towers over the Flyers most physically dominant center of all time Eric Lindros who only stood at 6’4 when playing?
2025
Malcolm Spence
With the news of one of the Flyers’ most beloved players of all time, Wayne Simmonds, recently announcing his retirement and deciding to come back to Philly and sign a one-day contract so he could retire a Flyer. I can think of no one better for the Flyers to potentially draft with their 2025 1st round pick than a player whose game seems to emulate Wayne’s, so much so that he even wears the number 17.
Malcolm, who is only 17 years old, is already 6’2 and 192 pounds. He plays for the Erie Otters of the OHL, where he has been making a bit of a name for himself in this just his draft minus one year.
Spence does so by being absolutely tenacious along the boards in both forechecking situations and backchecking scenarios. Sound familiar? Winning these board battles allows him and his team plenty of scoring chances. He then takes advantage of them by setting up shop in the danger zones close to the net where he does not allow the opposition’s abuse to bother him, seeing that he commonly rips home nasty wrist shots and one-timers from that location.
Malcolm can also skate really well, and although his stride may seem a little unorthodox right now due to him sprouting up from 5’9 to 6’2 pretty quickly, it is effective. Spence often can be found using his uncapped speed in breakaway situations after picking the pocket of an opposing player in the neutral zone.
So overall, Spence may not yet have the willingness to drop the gloves like Simmonds, but he does have the same drive, determination, and never-quit attitude that made Wayne so popular here in this blue-collar city. This is why I think the Flyers should be keeping a close eye on this young man throughout next season leading up to the draft that summer.
The final pick we will talk about that could change the outlook for the Flyers’ future is the one that the team just acquired at the deadline from the Colorado Avalanche for pending unrestricted free-agent defenseman Sean Walker. This pick came with top-ten protection, but I highly doubt that the Av’s will be out of playoff contention then, considering even if they lost everyone else to free agency, they would still have Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Davon Toews, and Gabriel Landeskog all under contract. So, with that being said, I think it is safe to say that the Flyers will be walking to the stage in 2025 to make a selection courtesy of Colorado.
Lynden Lakovic
And the player that I think they should select with that pick should be Lynden Lakovic of the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL. Lakovic is already 6’4 and 183 pounds at just 17 years of age, and it is his immense frame that has allowed him to continually take the puck to the outside and skate by his opponents virtually unscathed on his way to the net.
Once there, this heads-up skater quickly decides his next plan of attack. Does he use his quick release to launch a goal of his own, or does he pass it on to one of his many talented teammates like Jagger Firkus, Atlee Calvert, Brayden Yager, or Matthew Savoie to set them up?
Either way he chooses both usually results in a goal. That’s why I think come next season when some of these talented players find themselves receiving the call from their respective NHL clubs to become a professional hockey player then you will really get the chance to see why I think Lynden is capable of so much more than the 18 goals, and 21 assists for 39 points he scored this year with minimal ice time.
I feel so strongly about this that I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Lakovic managed to double his point production from this season this time next year.
Drafting a player like Lakovic would add more speed and scoring ability to an already youthful core.
Now, these are definitely not the only players who will help this team improve over the next couple of years. But think about it with guys like Zayne Parekh eventually replacing Mark Staal and Erik Johnson on defense. Not to mention guys like Dean Letourneau, Malcolm Spence, and Lynden Lakovic taking the spots in the lineup previously held by underperforming guys like Morgan Frost, Cam Atkinson, etc., and the future of the Flyers will surely see them return to the perennial playoff team they once were.
The Flyers and the Rough Road Ahead
Photo Credit: Len Redkoles Getty Images
Last night we Flyers fans were made to swallow a harsh dose of reality when the orange and black were dealt a crushing 6-2 loss by way of the Atlantic Division’s third place team the Toronto Maple Leaf’s.
But sadly, this may be just the start of what’s to come. Over the course of the next two weeks Philadelphia will have to try and endure the wrath of the Atlantic Division’s second place team the Boston Bruins on Saturday (who currently have accumulated 93 points on the year). Then they face the Maple Leaf’s again on the following Tuesday, the Metro Division’s 2nd place team the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday the 21st. The Bruins again on Saturday the 23rd. The NHL’s best overall team the Florida Panthers (who have compiled 94 points so far this season) on Sunday the 24th. Just to finish the carnage on Tuesday March 26th up in New York when the Flyers have to face off against the Metro’s 1st place team the New York Rangers.
So, if you think about it the Flyers could conceivably go from a playoff lock to a team fighting for a wild card spot in the matter of a couple weeks. Now if this statement is proved true it will likely be reaffirmed by the New York Islanders, who are currently only four points behind the Flyers in the standings and have now had time to get implemented to their new head coach Patrick Roy’s system. And as if the Islanders needed anymore help, New York in fact has two games in hand on Philly being that have they only played 65 games to the Flyers 67.
And since we’re being honest, I wouldn’t count out the New Jersey Devils just yet either. Because while they may be eight points back from the Flyers, they did seem to go out and solve their goaltending problem at the deadline when they acquired both Kaapo Kahkonen from the Sharks and Jake Allen from the Canadiens.
When we’re factoring in all what maybe stacking up against them in recent months, what certainly doesn’t help the Flyers in the short term is that defenseman Nick Seeler, Jamie Drysdale, and Rasmus Ristolainen all find themselves currently on the Injury List. Not to mention the team having their hands tied and forced to trade the impending free agent defenseman Sean Walker to the Avalanche for a coveted first round pick.
All of this of course complied with the fact that the team lost Carter Hart to legal troubles earlier this season and Philly’s newly appointed general manager Danny Briere failing to go out and secure his team a veteran netminder who could help this club down the stretch. And I think the Flyers as a whole have thrown both of their rookie goaltenders in Samuel Ersson, and Felix Sandstrom to the wolves. Where night after night they will be forced to have to face guys like Auston Matthews (who is on pace to score 70 goals this year), David Pastrnak (who is already at almost 100 points this season), and Sam Reinhart who is nearing the fifty-goal plateau for the Panthers.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to believe that if these two young netminders are going to be getting lit up for 3 or 4 goals a night (like they did last night against the Leafs) then they surely won’t be able to hold up during the onslaught of what’s still to come over the next two weeks.
So, in my mind the team has two choices they can either rally around their promising young goalie tandem and give them the support they need. Or they can start to scout higher rated draft prospects because the likelihood of them reaching the playoffs if they continue to play like they did last night, will only result in disappointment.
Late Bloomer Anthony Romani Could Prove to be the Steal of the 2024 NHL Draft
Terry Wilson / OHL Images.
18-year-old forward Anthony Romani of the Ontario Hockey Leagues North Bay Battalion has proved to be a bit of a late bloomer, but it was to no fault of his own. Romani was technically draft-eligible last season, but due to him being forced down on his team’s depth chart, which had a wealth of older talent on the roster, Anthony was provided with limited ice time to prove his worth and, therefore, only scored 23 goals and 20 assists for 43 points in 66 games played.
This year, however, has been a different story. In this, his third season with the Battalion Romani has finally been given the green light to showcase his talents to the masses.
And oh, the talents this young player has. Romani’s play has proven that he will not allow himself to be labeled as a one trick pony in the way most are categorized as either a goal scorer or a playmaker. This is because Anthony can do both equally well.
Romani is a heads-up player who allows himself to make precision cross-ice passes without even breaking his stride. And, when no breakout pass is there, the videos provided in this article will show that he is more than capable of keeping the puck himself and skating through all five of the opposition’s players in order to land in the high-scoring areas to create chances all on his own.
But trust me, Anthony is capable of producing more than just his nightly highlight reel bottle rockets goals. He can also quarterback a power play. When on the man advance, Romani can be found circling the puck around the zone from up by the blue line, where he has shown time and time again that he is more than capable of unloading long-range heat-seeking missiles to the back of the net.
ROMANI STRIKES AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/p07NN2j4zo
— North Bay Battalion (@OHLBattalion) January 28, 2024
To prove this player is not only a dual threat but an impact player, all you need to do is glance at the OHL’s stats leaderboard. where you’ll find that Romani’s 47 goals and 48 assists, which total 95 points, have him currently atop a lot of NHL clubs prospects that have already drafted and signed. Such as players like the Flyers’ Denver Barkey and the Krakens’ Carson Rehkopf.
But what really sets this talented young player apart from others his age is the fact that to go along with his gifted offensive abilities, Anthony has been working hard to improve upon his defensive game as well as his current +31 average would allude to.
If Romani (who is expected to be selected in the third round this year) can keep up this pace, he will finish the regular season with 54 goals and 55 assists for 109 points. And if that doesn’t get some NHL scouts’ attention, I don’t know what will.
So many teams nowadays are reluctant to draft players who could be considered late bloomers. But why? If an undrafted prospect who is playing in the same league and is the same age as the player you just stood on stage giving a jersey to last summer and is now outperforming your star athlete, then why not give them a chance? They may be a year older than the other players you take an opportunity on this off-season, but they could prove to be ready to play for your big club that much sooner.
Breaking Down All the Latest Flyers Trade Rumors
Photo Credit: NHL.com
The NHL Trade Deadline of Friday, March 8th, is just days away, and the Philadelphia Flyers GM Danny Briere has yet to make a move. Now, the reason for Briere’s hesitation or state of quandary is that although the team is supposed to be in a state of rebuilding, they have somehow still found a way to clutch onto that third-place spot in the Metropolitan Division, which gives them a good shot at making the playoffs this season. But another crucial factor that will have to be considered when making their decision is the injuries to Nick Seeler, Travis Konecny, Jamie Drysdale, and Rasmus Ristolainen.
So, with all that being said, now Danny must weigh his options. Should he try to add pieces to help his youth get some much-needed playoff experience, knowing that they won’t be considered a REAL contender for at least a couple more years when some other star prospects come over? Should Briere hold his position and not make any moves to see how far his current roster will take them? Or should he move players with expiring contracts to acquire more draft capital in an effort to continue to build for the future?
Depending on how you look at it, all of these options make sense, so let me now try and break down all the latest Flyers rumors for you so you can see just what decisions Briere and his crew are being forced to make in the next couple of days.
Perhaps the most talked about rumor right now is what the team is going to do with pending unrestricted free agent defensemen Sean Walker and Nick Seeler. Well, currently, the Flyers have been in talks with both players and their agents on what it would take to re-sign them. But, with both players playing some of the best hockey of their careers right now, both Seeler and Walker are trying to get paid. In fact, it has been confirmed by multiple sources that both players are looking for 4-5 year deals that will pay them upwards of four to five million dollars a season. This is a bit concerning to the team, considering Seeler is already 30 years old, and Walker is right behind him at 29 years of age. Signing these versatile defenders would undoubtedly help to solidify the blue line moving forward. Still, it would block the way for promising defensive prospects like Egor Zamula, Ronnie Attard, Emil Andrae, Adam Ginning, Helge Grans, Ethan Samson, and Oliver Bonk, all of whom are currently developing in the team’s system. Is re-signing these career bottom six defenders a must, or should management look to move them for future assets?
Now, while both Walker and Seeler have garnered plenty of interest from other teams with Seeler’s latest injury and the likelihood of his future contract coming a bit cheaper, the focus has shifted to Walker being the one to move at the deadline. With that being said, two of the teams that are showing the most interest in him right now are the Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is rumored that Philly wants to recoup a 1st round pick for Walker’s services, but with other more prominent named defenders like Noah Hanifin and Ivan Provorov still on the market as well. I think the best option for them would be to try and trade Walker to the Oilers, who have let it be known that their 1st round pick is available, but there is a caveat. In order for Edmonton to agree to trade their 1st, they are asking a team to help them gain a little cap flexibility by agreeing to take on a player in return. That player’s name, who keeps coming up, is 30-year-old right-hand-shot defenseman Cody Ceci. Cody is 6’3 and 210 pounds. He was initially drafted by the Ottawa Senators with the 15th overall pick back in 2012 and is currently signed until the end of next season with a cap hit of $3.25 million. Is it worth it? Well, let me give you his stats, and you can decide. This season, Cody has played in 60 games and has scored just two goals and 16 assists for a total of 18 points. He is, however, a plus player at a +9 this year and has finished as a plus player for each of the last four seasons since being traded away from Ottawa. Cody is an average defender who has managed to play over 20 minutes a game for his career. Overall, Ceci will not help offensively, nor will he hurt you defensively. So, the question is, do you think Briere should take that deal in order to acquire yet another coveted 1st round pick? If he did so, that would give the Flyers three this off-season.
Where does the team stand on trading Scott Laughton? Well, the quick and easy answer to that question is that they don’t want to. Management and coaching staff see this 11-year Flyers veteran as a leader in the dressing room, and although they are still listening to offers for him, they would have to be absolutely blown away by one in order for them to agree to send him packing.
So, what is Scott Laughton’s current fate? A few weeks ago, teams were really hot and heavy on trying to acquire a center. But with the Jets trading for Sean Monahan and the Canucks going out and getting Elias Lindholm, things have seemed to calm down a bit on the Center front. But it doesn’t mean there are no other options for the Flyers to trade their 29-year-old former 2012 1st-round pick to. The only question is whether they would be willing to trade Scott to a team within their division. Rumors are that the one team that is still really wanting to make a trade for Laughton right now is the New York Rangers. The Rangers’ top two lines are solid, but both centers, Barclay Goodrow and Jonny Brodzinski have left a lot to be desired for the Rangers bottom six this season. Adding a shutdown dot-dweller like Laughton would make a lot of sense for New York, considering what he could potentially bring to their third line of Jimmy Vesey and the promising 22-year-old Will Cuylle, not to mention the fact that then they could move the scrappy Barclay Goodrow down to center the fourth line where the towering 6’7 rookies Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe would then be by his side. And I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to go against that line every other night in a seven-game playoff series.
Lastly, rumors are that the Flyers have recently expressed at least some interest in obtaining an affordable NHL-capable backup for Sam Errson. The Flyers were obviously put into a bad spot with the sudden departure of Carter Hart this season. And they have been less than impressed with the likes of their 29-year-old veteran netminder Cal Petersen, who, in his last outing with the Flyers, gave up an unheard-of seven goals against their inner state rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins back on Feb. 25th. So, it came as no surprise when the team recently decided to waive Cal and bring up their 27-year-old net minder Felix Sandstrom.
Sandstrom, who had only 25 NHL games of experience to that point, stood out recently in a game on the 2nd against the Senators, where he managed to gain the team another win after giving up only two goals when facing 24 shots. But the question is, should the Flyers trust this not-so-young netminder who has, to this point, been nothing more than a career minor leaguer to be Errson’s backup for the rest of the season? Even with his latest victory in the NHL, Felix has only managed to win 4 out of his 26 NHL games played, and folks, that means he’s only averaging a win 15% of the time he’s been asked to jump in the net.
Therefore, I would suggest the Flyers brass try and find a veteran netminder like the LA Kings did a couple of days ago when they signed 34-year-old Aaron Dell to a league-minimum deal for the rest of the season. Now, to borrow a line from the late great Toby Keith, Aaron and others like him might not be as good as they once were, but with the team giving them one last hurray, they could be as good once as they ever were. And I don’t know about you, but given the fact that the Flyers are already being forced to be heavily reliant on a rookie in Ersson, I would feel more comfortable providing him with a veteran with a few hundred more games of NHL experience to back him up and offer advice rather than potentially heading into the playoffs with two inexperienced rookies in the net.
So, with the time left to make a move literally dwindling as you read this. Danny Briere must do something. He simply cannot wait until the last minute to make a move like his predecessor Chuck Fletcher did and end up with a few broken sticks and a couple of chewed-up mouthpieces coming back his way in return for our players. If he wishes to make a run this season (which I would not advise him to do), then he needs to be willing to pull the trigger and add a piece that could make a difference, like the Ducks’ Trevor Zegras, who the Flyers have been recently linked to.
Or if that ask proves to be too much for a young game-changer like Zegras, who is coming back from injury, mind you, then Danny needs to sell everything he can to the highest bidder and gather as many future draft assets as he can.
I like you will be watching impatiently to see what this team does as the deadline looms ever closer. But for once, I can honestly say that I have more reassurance than in previous years that this club’s new executives will actually do what’s best for the team in the coming days.
Comparing Sam Ersson’s Rookie Campaign to Other Flyers Legends
Let’s face it: at the start of this season, no one would have thought that the Philadelphia Flyers would be in a situation where they would lose Carter Hart to legal issues and be forced to depend on their 24-year-old rookie goalie, Samuel Ersson, as their starter.
But to our surprise, it has not been as bad as we had essentially thought. And here’s why. Before coming to North America to play for the Flyers organization, Sam had already spent parts of three seasons playing professional hockey for the Brynas IF in the SHL back home in Sweden.
This, of course, paired with a full season playing in the American Hockey League for the Phantoms last year (that included some post-season hockey), made his transition to the NHL this season seem almost flawless.
So let us compare his impressive rookie campaign thus far with a few other Flyers legends of the blue paint.
Sam Ersson
Ersson was drafted by the Flyers in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft with the 143rd overall pick. Last season, he was called up from the Phantoms for a total of 12 games, and he was able to win six of those for a .500 win percentage. He did this while posting a 3.07 goals-against-average (G.A.A.) and a .899 save percentage (SV%).
But in this his first full year of competition in the NHL, Ersson has been able to play in 33 games thus far, where he has managed to compile 17 wins, three of which came by way of a shutout. So if you do the math, that means that Sam has won .515% of his game this year and has managed to maintain a 2.55 G.A.A and a .901 SV%.
With those stats in mind, compared to the rest of the league’s rookie netminders, Ersson has played the most games and recorded the most wins. The only first-year netminder that even comes close is Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov, who has played in 31 games and won 16 of his starts. The two are tied in shutouts with three and share very similar numbers in both goals-against-average and save percentage. If these two keep it up, they should find themselves in contention for the league’s Calder Trophy but will likely lose out to either Connor Bedard or Marco Rossi.
Sergei Bobrovsky
Now, Philadelphia may not have drafted Bob, but they did sign him as a 22-year-old free agent after his deal in Russia was complete. Sergei came to the Flyers in the 2010-2011 season, where he played an incredible 54 games as a rookie and was able to win 28 of them. That equates to him winning .518 percent of his starts that first year with the orange and black. In that rookie campaign with the Flyers, Bobrovsky was able to post a solid 2.59 G.A.A and a .915 SV%.
Sergei, who is still playing at age 35, now has 389 career wins and two Vezina Trophies to his credit, which will go down as one of the Flyer’s biggest blunders. Mostly, because Bob only got to play with the team for two seasons before being shipped out to Columbus for a 2nd round pick and two 4th round picks. The reason for this decision came because Bobrovsky became frustrated with the fact that Philadelphia signed goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year $51 million deal. It was a mistake that the team is literally still paying for, seeing they agreed to buy out Bryzgalov and were made to pay him $1,642,857 for 14 years. A payment that the Flyers will still be made to shell out until the 26-27 season.
Ron Hextall
Who could forget the hot-tempered rookie goalie named Ron Hextall, who, in his first year of competition with the Flyers in the 1986-1987 season, was able to come in and take the team all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they ended up losing to Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers.
Ron was taken by the Flyers back in the 6th round of the 1982 entry draft with the 119th overall pick. He made his debut with the team at just 22 years of age and played in an impressive 66 regular season games that season in which he was able to record 37 wins. If you’re keeping track at home, that means Ron averaged a W .560% of the time he skated onto the ice. To his credit, Hextall was able to post a 3.01 G.A.A., which he paired with a .902 SV%.
As previously stated, he took the Flyers to the playoffs that year, where he won 15 of 26 games played. Two of which were by way of shutouts. For his efforts that season, he was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team and awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as well as the Vezina Trophy.
Ron went on to play a 13-year NHL career, where he totaled 296 career wins. Although he was never able to reach the level of success again that he achieved in that first year with the Flyers, he will always be remembered as the guy who took one of the best teams ever assembled (the Oilers) that included Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, Esa Tikkanen, Andy Moog, and Grant Fuhr to seven games in 1987.
Pelle Lindbergh
The last great Flyers netminder whose numbers we will throw up here as a comparison is a fellow Swedish netminder who went by the name Pelle Lindbergh. Now Pelle was a bit of a pioneer, seeing that he was the first European-born goaltender to be drafted to the NHL. He, of course, was taken by Philadelphia, who selected him 35th overall way back in the second round of the 1979 NHL Draft. Of course, at the time, this was viewed as quite a risk, but with the type of accolades this young goalie brought to the table, the Flyers saw it as a risk they were willing to take. And my, did it ever pay off. The 1981-1982 season is when Pelle made his NHL debut, but it was only for a couple of games. It wasn’t until the following year, during the 82-83 campaign, that the team really got to see what they were getting with him. Through a span of 40 games played that year, Pelle, who only stood at 5’9, was able to rack up 23 wins (a .575 win percentage, mind you). He did so while accumulating three shutouts and maintaining a 2.99 G.A.A. and a .890SV%.
Lindbergh later went on to win the Vezina for Flyers during the 1984-1985 season, where he was able to total 40 wins. But Pelle was tragically taken from us after playing in parts of just five seasons because he was involved in an automobile accident back on November 10th, 1985, that left him brain-dead.
Lindbergh had all the intangibles to finish as one of the best Flyers’ goalies of all time. I don’t even want to think how many championships this team could have won with him in net. It’s just a shame that this talented young player’s life was cut so short.
Now, I’m not trying to put any pressure on the kid because if he wants to make it to the realm of these greats, he certainly still has a ways to go to fill their skates. It is still early, and although Ersson looks excellent, a lot of pressure has been put on him to be the main man between the pipes. So if the Flyers don’t want Sam to end up being labeled as just another promising prospect in net that fizzled out, I suggest they stop playing around and go out in the coming days and get him a quality backup that can assure he can rest when given a much needed night off as well as push him to be better. Not one that lets in seven goals against a team below them in the standings.
P.S. I know the team just waived Cal Petersen, but Felix Sandstrom is not the answer, either!
The Emergence of Tyson Foerster
With key players like Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale being forced out of the lineup due to injuries. One would think that the Flyers’ recent success would stall, but the emergence of one particular rookie has made sure that has not been the case.
The Flyers 2020 1st round pick Tyson Foerster, who Philadelphia selected from the Ontario Hockey Leagues Barrie Colts, has scored five goals in his last five games played for the Flyers. Yes, at just 22 years old, this 6’2 215 pound winger who garners a howitzer of a shot has finally seemed to find his rhythm playing in the NHL. Through 55 games, Tyson now has 14 goals and 12 assists on the season for a total of 26 points. And if he continues at this pace, Foerster is projected to finish the season with 20 goals and 37 points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3RZoaDpEW4
His exciting play has seen him rapidly become a new fan favorite as well as one of his coach’s new preferred options. While others his age have found themselves in and out of the lineup at times this season, Tyson has been a mainstay. That’s because even when Foerster seemed snake-bitten at times this season, he never gave up. If you have been keeping an eye on him like I have, you can attest that Tyson appears to be like a sponge while out on the ice. He is learning something new every time he jumps those boards and uses that knowledge gained to better choose his shot selection the very next shift.
And this only bodes well for the team. Foerster’s game shows no sign of leveling off any time soon. So, I expect him to continue to grow his game and develop into a force to be reckoned with in Philly for many years to come.
Decisions Decisions
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
With the NHL Trade Deadline of March 8th fast approaching, the Philadelphia Flyers have some tough decisions to make in the next couple of days. For what seems like months now, the Flyers have found themselves in third place in the Metropolitan Division. A position that, if they continue to be able to hold onto it, will allow them to be a participant in playoff hockey once again.
But, while this news is exciting, the Flyers’ General Manager Danny Briere knows that while making it in would be nice, this still rebuilding team’s real shot at contention will come a couple more years down the road when young players on the current roster and others still in the teams’ system will have had an appropriate amount of time to progress.
These comments by Briere and others that were of a similar nature made by the teams’ President of Hockey Operations, Keith Jones, may seem very blunt to a fan that is just happy that the team is back on the winning track, but should be viewed as refreshing considering managements goals under this new administration are now to compete to win championships not just to make it to the playoffs to get beat in the first round by the Bruins or Rangers and end up with a less than stellar draft pick for their efforts.
So, in saying that, the team has to decide: do they sell off assets like impending unrestricted free agents that they are due to lose for nothing in a couple of months? Do they stand pat and continue with the current roster that has got them this far with the hopes that their promising youth gets the chance to experience a bit of post-season hockey? Or do they decide to push their chips into the pot and add a few pieces that will not only help them fill some holes in their lineup this year but will be able to contribute to the team’s future success as well?
Well, in a perfect world, I would say they should do all of the above. Let me explain. At first, glance, that last statement may sound crazy to some, but to get a better understanding of where the team is at as a whole and what they must do to improve, I think you need to break it down into positions: goaltending, defense, and offense. All three have good and bad things going for them right now, and all three areas currently have some concerns that need to be addressed.
Goaltending
So, let us start with the area of most concern in my mind, and that is goaltending. With the sudden departure of Carter Hart this season, the Flyers have been left with a big hole to fill. Gone are the days of one goalie playing 65-70 games a year. The league is set up differently now. Teams do not play as many divisional games as they once did. Years ago, it would seem as though the Flyers played the New Jersey Devils or the New York Islanders 10 games a piece each season. Clubs now travel a lot more, seeing that they are now forced to play every team in the league at least twice each year—one game at home and one game away. So, teams have become reliant on having a pair of capable goaltenders on their roster to combat the rigors of the newly modified NHL season. So, while I will agree with the ideology of the team’s Head coach, John Tortorella, when it comes to letting the Flyers’ rookie sensation Samuel Ersson take over the majority of games in between the pipes to see what he can do, I believe the team also has a duty to protect Ersson by finding him a more suitable short term partner than a 29-year-old netminder in Cal Petersen who to this point has lacked the consistency needed to maintain a spot in the NHL.
Take, for instance, Petersen’s two prior games. On February 10th, Cal looked solid in a win against Seattle in which he only let in two goals. But in his very next outing last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he let in seven goals! Cal was only able to stop 78.1% of the shots he faced. Some of which were not even quality chances that he let in. They were off-angle flukey goals. It was just not the kind of effort you would expect from someone who is signed to a deal that is paying him five million dollars a season.
And if this team still wants to be competitive over the next couple of seasons, they are going to have to address this issue. There is no way the Flyers should have lost a game in which they scored six goals, especially not to a team that currently finds themselves three spots below them in the standings. Those are what you call MUST-WIN games, folks, and if the Flyers wish to be competitive, they must find themselves a backup or 1B option so that Ersson can relax on one of his rare nights off.
What are their options, you might be asking? Well, a couple of weeks ago, I offered up some goalies on the trade block who will be made available in the next couple of days, but they may not be what the Flyers really need or are currently looking for.
Philadelphia has promising prospects of their own in net in Alexei Kolosov, Carson Bjarnason, and Yegor Zavragin. However, each is still a year or more away from competing in the NHL. So, my recommendation would be to call around to teams with an abundance of goalies, so much so that they may be hindering some of their developments, so they might not mind if someone comes inquiring about their availability. Teams like the Predators, the Bruins, the Islanders, and the Sabers come to mind. When you think of goaltending when it comes to the Preds, you think of Juuse Saros, but Nashville also has a competent goalie in 21-year-old Yaroslav Askarov, who they spent a 2020 1st round pick on. Currently, Yaroslav is just waiting in the wings of the AHL. Now, I would believe Askarov to be untouchable, seeing the team thinks of him as their future. Still, it is feasible to think a guy like current NHL backup 28-year-old Kevin Lankinen, who is signed to an expiring contract of $2 million, could be viewed as expendable.
Or how about the Bruins? They are obviously set with Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman in net. So, why not call them up about either Brandon Bussi, who is 25, or Michael DiPietro, who is 24? Both are budding prospects who look more than capable of jumping up and contributing in the NHL tomorrow, but they will not get their chance any time soon seeing who is ahead of them on the depth chart. Besides, it’s not even like the Bruins would miss them, considering they continue to hit on goalies in the draft and could sign one of their other prospects in net, like Reid Dyck or Philip Svedeback, to take their place on the depth chart.
Trading for Bussi or DiPietro at the deadline would give the Flyers a viable partner for Ersson moving forward that would not only compete with him on a daily basis but be able to bring peace of mind to the Flyers coaching staff so that when they do decide to give Sam a night off he won’t have to be looking to grab his gear a period into the game because his backup has already let in four goals. Management has a duty to Sam to get him this type of relief so that he will not become known as just another promising goalie the Flyers had whose career was for not because the team misused them or rushed their development.
Defense
Here is a position that the Flyers’ new management has put a big emphasis on improving. But it somehow is still the area with the most decisions left to make. Now, I don’t know about you, but I am sick of seeing the team play this 11 forwards and seven defensemen scheme. It does not allow for some of our young players to build chemistry with a particular linemate, and frankly, I don’t think we owe the 37-year-old Marc Staal (who is beginning to show his age) anything!
In saying that, the Flyers have a lot of decisions ahead of them on the back end; they have two soon-to-be unrestricted free agents in, 29-year-old Sean Walker and 30-year-old Nick Seeler, who have been playing some of the best hockey of their careers this year. So much so that teams from around the league have been rumored to be calling about their possible availability, and although it would be nice to re-sign them, the likelihood of that happening is slim, considering the fact that the team has defensive prospects like Egor Zamula, Ronnie Attard, Emil Andre, Adam Ginning, and Helge Grans all waiting patiently for their chance to shine.
So, why not deal Seeler and Walker for draft capital, right? Well, it’s not that simple now, either. The team’s long-awaited top-pairing right-hand-shot defender, 21-year-old Jamie Drysdale, who they recently acquired from the Anaheim Ducks, sustained an injury to what appears to be his left shoulder in Sunday’s game against the Penguins when he received a questionable hit from Pittsburgh’s Jansen Harkins. This injury has the potential to be damming, considering it’s the same shoulder that Drysdale injured last year that limited him to just eight games played in the 22-23 campaign.
On top of that, the Flyers also have defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen out with an upper-body injury that will likely still see him wearing a suit in the press box for at least the next couple of weeks. This, too, is heartbreaking, considering Rasmus’ name was starting to pop up in the rumor mills as a possible player who could be moved to a team that desires a defenseman with a bit of an edge.
So, it looks as though this team is caught between a rock and a hard place. Should they keep Walker and Seeler through the deadline and risk losing them for nothing at the season’s end? Or should they trade them anyway and get the assets that will help them move forward?
I say if a solid trade presents itself for either of them, then do it! Neither one of those guys are game changers. They are just solid aging veterans who play the game the right way. And to be honest, teams like Carolina have proven that you can go out every off-season and not only find but sign those types of guys at a reduced rate. So, the team should not be hesitant to move them. The Flyers have the kind of depth at defense that will allow multiple young blue-liners to get the chance to prove themselves on the big stage if such a deal is made. And that will allow this team to see what they have moving forward.
Sit Staal and let the youth play. Everything else will work itself out, or it won’t, but at least the team will know what they actually have and what they may still need to go out and obtain.
Forwards
Now to the offense. Management must be pleased to see their once horrific penalty-killing unit now be amongst the best in the league. With the additions of free agents Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway this year, the team has been killing off the opposing team’s man advantages at an impressive 86.1% rate. Along with that, they currently lead the league with 13 short-handed goals in 59 games played.
In addition to that, the team has had the pleasure of witnessing guys like Owen Tippett, Bobby Brink, and Tyson Foerster continue to evolve, with Tyson totaling three of his 13 goals on the season in just the last two games alone.
But as good as those things are, they have had their problems as well. Guys like Atkinson, who is supposed to be an essential part of this offense, is on an 11-game goalless draught. The coaching staff can’t seem to get him and others going, and they don’t seem to have a plan in place to try and rectify this situation any time soon.
Because of this, areas of the game, like the power play, have suffered. The Flyers are well off the league’s pace of 53 power-play goals, seeing that they only have 25 to their credit. In fact, their ineffectiveness on the man advantage is so bad that they find themselves only cashing in on 13.2% of their chances if you were wondering if that’s the league’s worst.
But I guess when you factor in that the team has a former fighter in Rocky Thompson (who has never scored a goal in the NHL, let alone seen time out on the power play) drawing up the X’s and O’s during a TV time out then you can come to expect it.
What needs to change? Well, besides firing Rocky, I think they should try to acquire the Los Angeles Kings’ 22-year-old winger Arthur Kaliyev. Kaliyev, who was once thought of as one of the Kings’ highest-rated prospects, has since fallen out of favor with the team and its fans. Prospects like Alex Laferriere and Quinton Byfield have taken over that spotlight offensively for the team to the point that Arthur has found himself being labeled a healthy scratch some nights.
In fact, if veteran winger Viktor Arvidsson wasn’t injured right now, Kaliyev might still find himself in the press box. But I assure you, he shouldn’t be. This 6’2, 209-pound winger who can play on either side of the face-off dots has gotten a bit of a bad wrap recently, and it’s simply because he is trying too hard to get noticed. Arthur doesn’t shy away from contact, and at times, over the past couple of seasons, he may have made some hits he shouldn’t have.
These questionable hits have led to him receiving a suspension or two, but they all have been things that can be attributed to the simple growing pains of competing young players. He was just trying too hard to make a play and made a mistake. Unfortunately for him, LA is loaded with prospects just like him vying for their chance. Now that others have surpassed him in their system, Kaliyev has been left in a very similar situation to that in which Owen Tippett found himself in Florida. He is a player with a ton of offensive talent who is being given no ice time to prove his true worth.
Arthur, who was born in Uzbekistan before moving over to the US at a young age, should be considered a sniper. He is a shoot-first player who, if acquired by the Flyers, could instantaneously come in and help this team’s power play. The Kings originally drafted Arthur back in 2019 in the second round from the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL, where, throughout three seasons, Kaliyev was able to score 126 goals and 248 points.
If you view the videos of this still young player, you will see that he is dangerous with the puck on his stick. Whether it’s a slap shot, wrist shot, one-timer, etc., it doesn’t matter; Kaliyev can rifle the puck on the net. And it is these scoring attributes that have allowed him to win on every level up to this point.
There is no question that this young man has all the talent in the world; he might just need a second chance and a change of venue to prove it. Kaliyev is a restricted free agent who may have worn out his welcome in LA but should be given the opportunity to be reborn in Philly. He is a low-risk, high-reward type of guy who is young enough to fit right in with the likes of Tippett, Farabee, and Foerster. He has shown he can contribute offensively while playing in the NHL, setting career highs of 14 goals thus far, but has the potential to be a 30-goal scorer one day. My suggestion would be to trade for this still-green prospect and see him pay dividends for years to come. The Kings are fighting for a playoff spot right now and could be easily swayed to give him up for what they view as a must-have. So, if it costs the team a player like Scott Laughton, so be it. The Flyers will be fine without him, considering they like to employ others just like him in the form of Couturier, Poehling, and Cates. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather get a proven NHL prospect back in return rather than a draft pick that may never turn out anyway.
These are just a few of my suggestions for the Flyers to make if the opportunity presents itself in the coming days leading up to the deadline. For the first time in a long time, I feel the team is in capable hands with Jones and Briere and, therefore, I am looking forward to seeing where this new leadership group takes us.
How the Flyers can be Both Sellers and make Themselves Better at the Same Time
With the NHL All-Star festivities finishing up, it has allowed potential playoff-bound teams time to assess their current roster and make a decision on what/who they feel they need to acquire in order to ensure that their club is the one that finds themselves raising the 131-year-old relic known as Stanley Cup this spring.
This is something that I feel the Flyers, regardless of their current third-place standing in the Metropolitan Division, should shy away from, and here’s why. Regardless of the fact that their head coach, John Tortorella, has managed to have his team playing above expectations this season. I fear the recent impact of star prospect Cutter Gauthier having to be traded away because he no longer wished to sign with the team and the Flyers decision to recently make Carter Hart a non-roster player upon him facing sexual assault allegations in Canada may have taken some wind out of the team’s sails. And I don’t think it is going to get better any time soon. To find validity to that statement, you need to look no further than the five-game skid Philadelphia is currently on.
In saying that, it does not mean that I think the team should NOT be active come the trade deadline. On the contrary, I believe that the Flyers should try to garner as much help for the future as they can using a little method called addition-through-subtraction. There’s no doubt that if the Flyers do intend to be sellers by the March 8th trade deadline, they will look to get rid of one or both of their unrestricted free agent defensemen in Sean Walker and Nick Seeler that will gain them some draft pick compensation.
To go along with this, though, the Flyers have noticed that during their week off, both centers Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan were traded by their respective teams for first-round picks. So, the Flyers made it known that they were willing to listen to offers for their 29-year-old center Scott Laughton, which I have no problem with if they move on from him because they essentially have multiple “younger” defensive centers just like him signed to cheaper contracts in the form of Ryan Poehling and Noah Cates. In fact, getting out from under Scott’s inflated $3 million cap hit that they currently are due to shell out for the rest of this season and the next two seasons after this one might help them to acquire a short-term replacement for Hart this off-season that could provide aid until goaltending prospects within the Flyers system are ready. But although I like Laughton as a player, his drop in point production this season may not get Philadelphia the kind of return they are seeking. For instance, Monahan’s goal total is nearly triple Scott’s five lamp lighters this year.
Along with that, both Lindholm and Monahan have 12-15 more total points scored so far this season. So, the Flyers shouldn’t necessarily expect the same kind of return for Scott. They will more than likely be forced to settle for a second or third-round pick for his services. And while the team can definitely use that. The timetable for a player drafted with that acquired pick won’t likely be able to crack the Flyers’ lineup for a couple of seasons, if ever.
So, if they really want to bolster their lineup now and moving forward, I suggest they offer up someone to prospecting teams who would bring them back a much bigger return. And that player is Morgan Frost.
Frost, who once again finds his name in the trade rumor mill, was initially drafted by Ron Hextall back in the first round of 2017. He came to this franchise with great offensive potential, scoring multiple 100-point seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. Since then, though, he has had minimal success in the parts of the five seasons he’s played with the Flyers thus far. And yes, I am taking into effect that this now 24-year-old center set career highs last year with 19 goals and 46 points. If you’re a fan of his, just know that there is a reason why he has still managed to find himself being a healthy scratch on eleven different occasions this season. And the reason for that is he just plain doesn’t seem to fit in here! Frost does not play Flyers hockey. He tends to avoid contact and shows the inability to create and capitalize on his OWN scoring chances, which is probably why the Flyers seemed a little reluctant to re-sign him this season. When others his age with similar draft stock around the league were receiving big paydays this off-season, Morgan found himself forced to wait an extended period of time before finally being able to settle on a two-year, 4.2 million dollar deal. And it appears as though the team was wise not to re-sign him for any more than the 2.1 million dollar cap hit that they gave him, seeing that Frost is on pace to finish with only 13 goals this season.
But trading a 24-year-old center away for potentially a late 1st or 2nd round pick isn’t going to help this team succeed anytime soon. What they need to do is try and take advantage of a playoff-bound team who is in a win-now mode and would be willing to give up an NHL prospect with great potential in order for that win-now team to gain the one player who may push them over the hump and help them raise a banner this season.
In saying that, the Flyers target should be the aging Dallas Stars. The Stars, who have been in the playoffs for multiple seasons in a row, now failed just short of being able to compete for the Stanley Cup last season when they lost to the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the Conference Finals. But time may be running out for this AARP-bound team, who currently finds themselves in second place in the Central Division right now. Dallas’ management has to know that this will likely be their last real push with this current group of aging veterans. Because defenseman Ryan Suter and forward Joe Pavelski are both 39 years old. Their captain, Jamie Benn, along with Evgenii Dadonov and Craig Smith, are 34. Not to mention that Matt Duchene is 33, and Tyler Seguin is 32. They fell short of reaching their goal last year clearly not because they lacked experience, but because after playing an 82-game season and taking an additional 13 games to get by both the Minnesota Wild and the Seattle Kraken before reaching the Conference Finals, they were tired and did not have enough established youth in their lineup to keep up with the Golden Knights.
That’s where Frost would come in. By not taking the Chuck Fletcher approach of just sitting around and waiting for teams to come to them with offers for their players. The flyers could be proactive and call the Stars up and sell the idea to them that Morgan would be a much better upgrade over either Sam Steel or the aging Craig Smith for their third-line center position so Frost could help revitalize Seguin. Or the Stars could take a little strain off of the aging Pavelski and move him over to wing as they have done before to allow for a possible second line of Frost, Benn, and Pavelski. That kind of move very well could boost this nearly there team over the top to the point of them being Stanley Cup contenders.
But who or what should the Flyers GM Danny Briere ask back for if such a move were to be made? Well, I would imagine they would have to be willing to take back some salary to make it work, which might be someone like Craig Smith, who has a one-million-dollar expiring contract. But the proven prospect I would want would be Logan Stankoven. This 20-year-old center, who was drafted back in the second round of the 2021 draft, reminds me a lot of Briere himself. Logan, who is just 5’8, played for the Kamloops Blazers and was the 21-22 WHL Player of the Year, as well as the CHL Player of the Year. In a season where he scored 45 goals and 59 assists for 104 points, all mind you, while averaging a +45. In addition to that, Stankoven is a 3-time World Junior Gold Medal Champion for Team Canada.
And with him not having to prove anything else in Junior hockey, Logan then turned pro this season, where in 40 games played thus far for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, Stankoven has been able to score 20 goals and 31 assists for a total of 51 points. That 1.27 points-per-game average is good enough to see him leading the American League in points right now.
What has allowed Stankoven to reach such success despite his diminutive size is his drive to win. Although he may lack the speed of other elite prospects, Logan’s feet are never still. He is shifty and is not scared to get physical when needed. He does not stay to the outside of the ice either, like other players his size; he forces his way into the middle to create a better scoring chance for himself on a breakaway, and when he does not have the puck, you can find him setting up shop in and around the net to put back a juicy rebound.
If you’re beginning to ask yourself why in the world would the Stars be willing to trade away a player like this, remember they are in a win-now mode! Plus, the Stars, unlike the Flyers, have a lot of up-and-coming prospects. So, although it might seem hard for us to fathom trading away a player like Stankoven, I assure you the Stars could get over it pretty quickly, given the fact that they also have a 22-year-old center in Mavrik Bourque playing in the AHL who currently sits in second place overall in points behind Logan with 48 of his own.
So, you see if the Flyers can continue to get rid of prior GM’s players who don’t fit in on South Broad Street to teams in need of someone now. They could expedite their rebuild by replacing them with exciting NHL-ready prospects. And I don’t know about you, but even if the Stars wanted something extra back in return for Stankoven (I.E., a second or third-round pick), I would gladly give it up in order to add a proven prospect who could be called up to the NHL tomorrow and instantly bring some offense down the center. Not to mention the fact that he would most likely help aid promising Flyers players like Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, and Bobby Brink reach their full potential as well.
Fast Rising Prospects of the 2024 NHL Draft
Photo Credit: Steven Ellis
Now that most leagues around the world are well into their respective seasons, we are starting to see a few names that previously weren’t on anybody’s radar begin to shoot up some of the latest mock draft boards. But while these players (that I am going to talk about in this article) may have virtually been unknowns a few months ago, the time and effort they have put into developing their craft this season may prove to pay off big time as they are certainly starting to have scouts scrambling to book plane tickets to be able to see them play in person.
The first name that has been catching many people’s attention lately is the towering 6’7, 207-pound Russian defenseman Anton Silayev. This impressive young blueliner, who is only 17 years old, has already managed to make his way to Russia’s top professional hockey league, the KHL. He plays for the Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and, through 54 games played thus far, has been able to accumulate three goals and eight assists for a total of eleven points.
Anton is highly coveted right now because, along with his impressive size and grit, he possesses the rare ability (for a big man) to move his feet. In fact, I would go so far as to say that he skates so well that he is capable of outskating most defenders who are a foot smaller than him. But that’s not all. Silayev already has broken KHL records for most points scored by a defenseman under the age of 18. He managed to break that record by utilizing his NHL-caliber shot to fire in that piece of vulcanized rubber from the point at speeds the goalie cannot see but can only hope to get in front of and later (because of the bruising) wish they didn’t.
Because of these attributes, Anton is starting to draw comparisons to future Hall of Famers like the Lightning’s Victor Hedman. And, I have to say, although that seems like an enormous reach, I’m starting to believe there is some validity to those evaluations.
With that being said, as his stock continues to rise, the sky is the limit for Silayev because it is extremely rare that teams ever have the opportunity to draft a player with his size and skill set. So much so that you should not be surprised if you hear his name being called as one of the top ten players selected this summer.
Switching gears, we will now take a look at an imposing 17-year-old center who goes by the name Cayden Lindstrom. This 6’4 216 pound forward, who plays for Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League, exhibits just the right blend of physicality and skill that should have teams clamoring about on the draft floor for the chance to select this intimidating power forward.
At the beginning of the season, Lindstrom appeared as though he would be nothing more than a potent scoring threat, but throughout the course of this season, he has proved to be so much more. Being a true student of the game, Cayden continues to impress scouts with something new every time they head back up to Alberta to watch him play. This is the case because, with each passing game, Lindstrom appears to have improved in yet another facet of the game. For example, his noticeable size and strength would lead one to believe that Cayden would rely solely on brute force to create chances offensively. But he instead has been able to transcend those physical traits into things like a powerful skating stride to create the kind of speed that allows him to have the separation he needs to breakaway from defenders. Or how about his ability to utilize his size and strength to protect the puck so well that he can stick handle using only one hand to get by the opposition so he can then sell an apparent shot with his body in order to make a perfect pass to an awaiting teammate in scoring position. Therefore, it is these constantly changing intangibles to Lindstrom’s game that make his potential seem immeasurable.
To date, Cayden has played 32 games for the Tigers this season and, during that time, has managed to score 27 goals and 19 assists for 46 points. Folks that means Lindstrom is scoring at a 1.46-point-per-game pace right now, which, if you happen to tune into a game, is believable considering that he looks like a man playing against boys out there.
Since we have been talking about guys who would appear better suited to play basketball rather than hockey given their physical stature, I thought we should continue with that trend and mention the 6’7, 209-pound center known as Dean Letourneau, who plays for Saints at St. Andrews College in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. All jokes aside, Letourneau has exploded onto the map this season to the point where St. Andrews might have to begin to limit their seating for their student body in order to accommodate the growing number of scouts in attendance for their games.
Now, some are comparing Dean to the Buffalo Sabers’ Tage Thompson for his obvious size and elite scoring ability. And there is definitely a reason for that, considering Letourneau has been able to total a combined 57 goals and 49 assists for 106 points in just 49 games played so far this season. He is so dominant, in fact, that it appears that he can quite literally score any time he wants to while out on the ice.
And when you’re scoring goals at a rate of over a goal per game and accumulating over two points a game, you can expect one of those teams with scouts in the stands to come calling. Much like Boston College did when they recently persuaded Dean to agree to play for them in the not-so-distant future. With all this being said, expect a team to take a chance on him by moving up to select Dean late in the first round.
The last player that we will talk about who has been making noise as of late is Justin Porier. Justin, (who is the younger brother of the Flames’ Jeremie Poirer), plays for the Bair-Comeau Drakkar of the Qubeuc Major Juinor Hockey League. But unlike the others listed in this article, Porier does not possess great size and strength. Instead, this 5’8 diminutive player relies heavily on his shoot first and ask questions later approach that has gotten him to where he is today.
Luckily for Porier, he is able to back that sometimes selfish approach up with the kind of shot-to-goal ratio that few others are currently capable of achieving. For instance, this season, Justin has been able to record an impressive 35 goals and 17 assists for 52 in just 47 games played thus far. And if he keeps playing at this pace, he will finish the season with over 50 goals to his credit.
As you probably saw in this highlight video presented above, Porier already possesses all the pieces needed to be an offensive threat at the NHL level. He has a great one-timer, a strong wrist shot, and the kind of speed that allows him to set the pace needed to develop the optimal scoring chance for every situation he encounters along the way.
The only thing is, because of his size or lack thereof, Justin is probably destined to be taken in the second round rather than the first. But let me assure you, whatever team that chooses to select Porier will see him paying dividends soon enough.
As always, stay tuned in to Prospect Watch to find out all the latest news on these players and other great ones like them as the season continues to draw to a close.