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What are the Flyers to do with the Sudden Vacancy In-Between the Pipes?
With the recent heart-wrenching news that Flyers goalie Carter Hart had to ask the team for an indefinite leave of absence due to him being named a person of interest by the London Ontario Police Department in their ongoing 2018 Team Canada rape investigation, Philadelphia has been left in not the best of situations.
On the one hand, they do not want to overreact and trade for a starting goalie with the possibility of Carter still being found innocent of any wrongdoing and thus cleared of all impending charges. But on the other hand, they don’t know how long this ongoing investigation will last or how much time Hart may be looking at if convicted.
So, what are their options? Well, they still have Samuel Ersson on the roster. Still, while this 24-year-old netminder has looked rock solid at times this season (especially in shootout situations), the idea of forcing a kid who has only played in 37 career NHL games into solely taking over the starting role does seem a bit too much to ask of this promising youth.
And in saying that, if you thought that goalie Cal Peterson (who the Flyers acquired from the Kings in the trade of Ivan Provorov) was a viable option to back up Ersson for the rest of the season, you are sadly mistaken. For example, in fifteen American Hockey League games played this year for the Phantoms, this now 29-year-old veteran netminder who is signed to a five million-dollar-a-year deal has managed to win just five games. In addition to that, when he played with the Flyers this year, Cal managed to win just one game out of his three appearances. And to add insult to injury, in those three outings, Peterson maintained a less-than-impressive goals-against average of 3.38 and a .889 save percentage.
With those facts now out in the open, it is my opinion that if the Flyers wish to stop their current skid and remain in playoff contention, they better be willing to go out and obtain Ersson some help.
One way that they could do that so it would not cost the Flyers to have to cough up that much for a player’s services would be to watch the waiver wire closely. Waiting for a team to be forced to waive one of their up-and-coming netminders that they intend to send back down to the minors after one of their everyday NHL netminders returns from injury would be ideal. However, there is no guarantee that it will happen again any time soon, considering the Blue Jackets just lost goalie Spencer Martin to the Carolina Hurricanes when the team recently tried to send him back down to the minors.
If the Flyers did not wish to wait for a similar situation to happen, they could try to acquire 27-year-old Finnish netminder Kaapo Kahkonen from the San Jose Sharks. Kaapo is in the last year of a contract that pays him a reasonable 2.75 million dollars, making him an impending free agent. Kahkonen rose to fame a few years ago while playing for the Minnesota Wild in his rookie campaign, where he was able to win 16 of the 24 games that he saw time in.
But, after Marc-Andre Fleury joined the team, Kahkonen was quickly dealt to the Sharks, and his progression then came to a grinding halt. Now, while there’s no telling that if attained by the Flyers, Kaapo would be able to return to his winning ways, he would undoubtedly be an improvement over Cal Peterson.
Another short-term-ish option for the Flyers that might be made available in the coming weeks would be Czech-born Karel Vejmelka of the Arizona Coyotes. Karel, who is also 27 years old, is a big, bodied guy whose 6’4, 224-pound frame tends to take up a lot of the net. And, while his stats may not appear at first glance to be that impressive, you have to remember he has been stuck playing with a team in the Coyotes who have been in a rebuilding phase since they moved to the desert from Winnipeg back in 1996. Because of this, though, Vejmelka should be able to be had for a minuscule return. Karel is currently signed for this year and next at the rate of $2,725,000 and could prove to be a solid 1B option until the club’s already drafted goaltender prospects come to fruition.
The last and possibly the best trade option for the Flyers, in the long term, may be to obtain the 29-year-old Latvian-born guardian of the blue paint, Elvis Merzlikins, from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Since his first appearance in the NHL some five years ago, Elvis has been a solid option for the struggling Blue Jackets. That is until recently when he felt that his apparent starting job had been taken away from him undeservingly by the Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent in an effort to give newcomer Daniil Tarasov, who is 24 years old, more playing time to prove himself capable of being the starter of the future. This decision infuriated Merzlikins so much so that he asked the team for a trade because he only just started to not have to share his crease after his former goaltending partner Joonas Korpisalo was traded to the Los Angeles Kings last season. But it won’t be easy to obtain Elvis because he is in just the second season of a five-year $27 million deal that pays him $5.4 million a season. Now, you notice I said difficult but not impossible, and that’s because the Blue Jackets are well aware that in order to expedite getting this now frustrated goalie out of the teams’ locker-room, they know they may need to retain some of his salary.
And, if things weren’t already hard enough to attain Elvis, he has a 10-team no-trade clause that he has the right to invoke.
These are, of course all options to gain help A.S.A.P. ONCE/IF it is deemed that Carter Hart will no longer be returning to the Flyers and thus be forced to play for the Canadian Penal Hockey Leagues.
If the team is relucent to make a trade, what then may be in the best interest of the Flyers (especially if the team continues its recent descent in the standings over the next few weeks) is to wait it out until potential reinforcements come next season in the form of one of their already drafted goalie prospects.
One of those such players for the Flyers who could perhaps be deemed the most NHL-ready out of the bunch would be the already-signed goaltender Alexei Kolosov. Alexei, who was drafted by the Flyers back in the third round of the 2021 draft, is now 22 years old, and after being loaned to the KHL this season so he could play for the Dinamo Minsk, he has managed to play in 37 games so far, this year. In those games, Alexei has managed to average a very respectable 2.39 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.
As for the other prospects in the system that strap on the pads, neither Carson Bjarnason, who was drafted by the Flyers last summer in the second round, or Yegor Zavragin, who was taken in the third, will be ready to make that jump next season.
In the end, there is no good option for the harsh reality of what recently blindsided most fans. And I fear that regardless of the outcome of this case, Hart’s wholesome reputation will forever be tarnished in this city. Ultimately, leading to his eventual departure from Philadelphia, that is, if he ever returns. So, in an effort to make the best of a bad situation, I feel it is imperative that the Flyers try and acquire Samuel Ersson some help sooner rather than later before the pressures of being thrown into a starting role affect his development so much that he becomes the next goalie in a long line to play for the Flyers whose promising career was for not.
Was the Re-Signing of Center Ryan Poehling what the Flyers Really Needed?
Recently, the Philadelphia Flyers chose to sign their 25-year-old center Ryan Poehling to a two-year contract extension worth $3.8 million; this new deal will ensure he gets paid a $1.9 million salary for the next couple of seasons. This deal comes after the team was wise enough to bring in this then-free agent to assist them in trying to fortify their ailing penalty-killing unit. A feat that Ryan proved to be more than capable of doing, seeing that the Flyers currently rank second in the entire league in that particular category.
But was this re-signing really needed? Now, I recognize that under the direction of head coach John Tortorella, there is undoubtedly a set standard that all his centers are to be defensively responsible 200ft. players, but CAN WE GET ONE THAT CAN SCORE A GOAL?
If you take a closer look at the Flyers’ depth chart at the center position, they seem as though they were made from the same cookie cutter-like mold. Let me explain.
Sean Couturier, the team’s 2011 first-round pick that the Flyers chose to take 8th overall that year, has developed into what they think is a capable top-line center. So much so that the team decided to reward this now 12-year veteran with an eight-year 62 million dollar contract a season ago that is due to pay him $7,750,000 until the end of the 29-30 season. Now, I’m not doubting the fact that he is a good player; we all know he won the Selke Trophy back in the 19-20 season for being voted the league’s best defensive forward. He’s just not the stereotypical first-line scoring center most people think of and other teams’ employee. For instance, Sean, who is 31 years old, has played in 766 NHL games with the Flyers to date and has a career-high of 33 goals during that time. But if you take into account his entire body of work, he has only averaged 15 goals a season for his career, or to put it another way, Sean has managed to score only 0.24 goals per game (G.P.G.) That’s not exactly hitting the mark of some others that we will compare these guys to later in the article.
Morgan Frost, for whatever reason, has been viewed by the team as their second-line center for some time now. He is 24 years old and was initially drafted by the team back in 2017 in the first round with the 27th overall pick. He was seen as being a potential offensive juggernaut coming out of the Ontario Hockey League, where he had back-to-back 100+ point seasons while playing for the Soo Greyhounds, but has done very little offensively since turning pro some five seasons ago now. During that time, Morgan set a career-high in goals last season with 19 but has only managed to amass seven this season and just 33 for his career. That means, on average, Frost has only managed to post six goals a season, or 0.16 goals per game. Again, that’s well off the pace for a player taken in the first round.
Scott Laughton is another center that has been around Philly for a long time. Laughton, who is now 29 years old, was taken by the Flyers back in the 2012 draft in the first round, 20th overall. Scott has played 569 games in his eleven seasons with the Flyers and is the consummate professional. It doesn’t matter where he plays up or down the lineup; Scott doesn’t complain. He is a team player and, for that, is viewed as a leader for this franchise. He, too, is a defensive dynamo. He forechecks, he backchecks, he is a 200ft player who gives it his all every time he steps foot on the ice. Although, the only place he doesn’t really seem to help the team all that much is on the scoreboard. Through his 11 seasons, Scott has managed to set a career-high of 18 goals, which came last season playing under Tortorella’s tutelage. But on average he has only been able to amass seven goals a season, or if you want to look at it this way, 0.15 goals per game. If you’re starting to keep count now, that’s three centers drafted in the first round by the Flyers, who can’t manage to put the puck in the back of the net consistently.
Ryan Poehling, now that you see where I am going with this, let’s take a look at why I say Ryan might not have been exactly what the Flyers needed moving forward. Again, I am not trying to put Poehling down here. I liked the team’s decision to sign him this season, especially considering they had just traded away Kevin Hayes and had Coots just coming back from an extensive injury at the time. But Ryan is yet another center that the team now has on their roster for the next couple of years who was a first-round pick back in 2017 that can’t score. This season, Ryan has five goals in 45 games played. That’s good enough to see him average 0.11 goals per game. I would like to say this is below average for him, but it’s not. Throughout his five-year career in the NHL, Poehling has played in 183 games and has only managed to put up a career-high of nine goals. And if you do some quick math, that means that during his career, he has averaged just five goals a season and only 0.13 goals per game.
That’s now four former-round picks playing center for the Flyers right now, who have played a combined 1,716 games in the NHL and have only been able to compile 335 combined goals to date. So, when you factor Poehling’s new contract in, that means Philadelphia has chosen to pay $14.75 million next year to four men who lineup in the dot and collectively score at a rate of just 0.19 goals per game. And you wonder why this team is ranked among the worst in the league in both goals per game (2.86) and power play percentage (13.29).
Something has to change. This type of defensive center is great to have on the roster as long as they’re playing on the team’s third or fourth line, but it is not conducive to winning games if all four of your centers are like this. The team has to stop coveting this type of player and draft someone who plays down the middle that can score! Now, I know the Flyers thought they had done just that when they selected the injury-prone Nolan Patrick second overall back in 2017, but that mistake was made more than seven years ago. Since then, what have they done to try and rectify the problem? Please don’t say draft Cutter Gauthier because he was at the time and, in my mind, is still best projected to be a winger. The Flyers were trying to coerce him to be a center out of necessity, and we all saw how that worked out for them.
I’m sorry, but if you look around the league, practically every team has a dominant first-line center who is a primary contributor offensively. But to make this article not drag on, we will not be taking a look at Western Conference teams like the Edmonton Oilers, who aren’t even playing fair in this sense since they have Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who combined have scored 897 NHL goals thus far in their careers. Instead, we will just stay focused on teams in the Eastern Conference.
Boston – is trying to find who will be their next first line center, seeing that long-time Bruins Center Patrice Bergeron just retired. But at this time they seem to be managing just fine with veteran Charlie Coyle filling in until they can draft Bergeron’s replacement.
Buffalo- has 26-year-old Tage Thompson, who was taken 26th overall back in 2016. He scored at a rate of 0.60 goals per game last year, totaling 47 lamplighters in 78 games played, as well as 22-year-old Dylan Cozens, who scored at a rate of 0.38 G.P.G. last year, totaling 31 goals in 81 games played.
Carolina – has Sebastian Aho, who is 26 years old and wasn’t taken until the second round of the 2015 draft. For his career, he has 235 goals and has scored at a rate of 0.41 G.P.G
Columbus- has youth on their side, with players such as 20-year-old Cole Sillinger already manning the faceoff circle on the team’s top line and would probably benefit more from letting both Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson revert back to center instead of making them play wing.
Detroit- has Dylan Larkin, who has 22 goals at the midpoint of the season and is scoring at a rate of 0.51 goals per game right now.
Florida- has Alexsander Barkov, who has managed to average well over 20 goals a season during his 11 years playing thus far.
Montreal- Is another team that is in the middle of a rebuild but has youth on their side, with players like Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, and Alex Newhook continuing to develop.
New Jersey- who was smart enough to pass on Nolan Patrick, now has a young duo of Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes to continue to build upon. Hughes of course surprised many last season by scoring 43.
The Islanders- traded for Bo Horvat, who has 20 goals already this year.
The Rangers- have Mika Zibanejad, who, against the Flyers alone, has 18 goals in just 42 games played versus the orange and black.
Ottawa- has the 22-year-old German-born center Tim Stutzle, who looks promising, seeing that last year he was able to light the lamp 39 times.
Pittsburgh- as we all know, our cross-state rival has had much success from having had the duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (who both have combined for 652 regular season goals) having played for them for almost two decades now. But they also added insult to injury when they brought in former Flyers Jeff Carter a few years back, who, although now showing some signs of slowing down, still brings with him the experience of scoring 436 NHL goals.
Tampa Bay- for years, had Steven Stamkos leading the way down the middle but now he has since moved over to the wing. But Stamkos who managed to help bring multiple Cups to the Gulf region by scoring a career 536 goals in 1,050 games played, has averaged over half a goal a game for his career. And he has turned his former role over to Brayden Point, who managed to put up 51 goals last year while centering the Lightnings top line.
Toronto- well, this one is easy, Auston Matthews. What can I say about this player that his highlight reels don’t already? He is currently scoring at an unreal rate of 0.86 points per game right now with him already netting 40 goals in only 46 games played this year. Since he came into the league some eight years ago, he has managed to average 42 goals a year. He is only 26 years old, but if he keeps up at this pace, he could find himself in talks with the likes of Gretzky, Ovechkin, Howe, Jagr, and Hull real soon. If that wasn’t enough, the Maple Leafs also have John Tavares manning the dots for them. And he isn’t anything to sneeze at either since he has managed to post 440 goals through 1076 career games thus far.
Washington- is making the most out of other teams’ discarded players like Dylan Strome, who is a former top-three pick who went from one bad team to another when the Arizona Coyotes drafted him and then traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks. But Strome has since found a home in our nation’s capital. Now, in his second year with the Caps, Dylan finds himself playing on a line with Alexander Ovechkin and has managed to score 19 goals of his own so far this season.
So, you can see, although it is nice having so many centers that can be defensively responsible like the recently re-signed Ryan Poehling, it would behoove this team (that we all love) to seek out someone with a little more offensive capabilities. Although they may already have some impressive centers like Massimo Rizzo and Denver Barkey in their system, they, too, are cut from the same pass-first, defensively responsible mold. And until the Flyers find themselves a legitimate 1st line center who can score 30-40 goals a year like they had in Bob Clarke, Eric Lindros, Jeff Carter, and Jeremy Roenick, they will continue to fall short of expectations.
What are the Phillies Waiting For?
What are the Phillies waiting for? Pitchers and Catchers are due to report to Spring Training in Clearwater, FL., on February 14th. And to date, all the team has done to bolster their bullpen is invite a trio of no-name aging pitchers with limited MLB experience to camp and sign a former 2015 1st round pick of the Atlanta Braves, Kolby Allard, who, through six seasons in the MLB still finds himself being nothing more than a call-up guy who managed to average a 6.10 ERA in 69 total outings in the majors.
In multiple articles this off-season, I have been clamoring about the need for the Phillies to add to their bullpen. I, of course, started this after Philadelphia’s hopes of returning to the World Series last season went up in smoke mainly due to their long-in-the-tooth closer Craig Kimbrel apparently thinking he was sent out there to throw B.P. to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. Thankfully, the team only signed him to a one-year deal, and now he is the Orioles’ problem.
But where does that leave us? If I’m being honest, I would have to say not in the best of spots. With many teams already having players starting to show up at their team’s spring training facilities, the Phillies continue to sit idle and watch as more and more relievers are signed by the opposition every day. For example, multiple hard-throwing relief and closing pitchers I have previously suggested that the team sign have already found new teams. Josh Hader (who is viewed as one of the best closers in the game today) has signed in Houston. Flaming throwing Jordan Hicks (whose fastball touches 105) has signed with San Francisco, Cuba’s hidden gem Yariel Rodriguez will be playing in Toronto next season, and two-time World Series Champ Aroldis Chapman will be pushing it over the plate for the Pirates in 2024. All of those players could have proved to be viable options for Phillies manager Rob Thompson to call on next season, but here we sit.
So, who else is still out there? Well, they could make a panic decision like bringing back either Hector Neris (who played for Philadelphia for eight seasons before heading to Houston for the last two years) or Brad Hand, who threw for the team in the 2022 season, but they shouldn’t, and here’s why.
To the untrained eye, Neris appeared to revitalize his career with the Astros during the regular season last year, posting a 1.71 Earned Run Average (E.R.A.) in 68.1 innings pitched. But this one-time Dominican ace seemed to lose quite a bit of velocity off his fastball last season. And it showed as teams in the postseason were able to exploit it this year. It was so bad that his E.R.A. rose to 6.48 through just 8.1 innings played in the playoffs. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the Phillies to take another chance on an aging veteran like Hector, who is getting ready to head into his now 11th MLB season at the age of 35.
The same goes for former Phillies pitcher Brad Hand. For me, I don’t care if the team’s options are dwindling; I don’t wish for them to bring back a 34-year-old pitcher who, even though his strike-out ratio was up this year, his arm couldn’t seem to hold up because as the season went on his E.R.A. continued to skyrocket. Case in point: through 40 games with the Rockies this past season, Hand was averaging an E.R.A. of 4.54. Then he was traded to the Braves, where over his next 20 outings, he saw it rise to a staggering 7.50. And, if that wasn’t bad enough in the postseason, it only seemed to continue to climb as Hand’s E.R.A. reached 9.00 after giving up a home run to Philly in the division round of the playoffs.
With that being said, there are a few names available that I think the Phillies should look to add to their pen. But in my mind, there is one guy who stands out above all the rest. He may not be as flashy of an option as some players that I have mentioned in previous articles, but he is effective nonetheless!
And that player is none other than 30-year-old Phil Maton. And if you’re wondering, the answer is yes, he is the brother of former Phillies utility infielder Nick Maton. Now, if we can continue, Phil may not be the hard-throwing late-inning guy who possesses the ability to come in and strike out the entire side that we genuinely need. Still, he is a guy with championship winning experience who can be trusted to come in on occasion and pitch multiple innings to get his team’s starters out of a jam.
What’s to like about Maton, you may be asking? Well, this innings eater is predominantly a pitcher who likes to frustrate hitters by throwing an absolutely nasty off-speed curve ball, low in the zone, that makes for easy groundouts.
That pitch is so effective, in fact, that in 68 regular season outings this season, Maton was able to strike out 74 batters and maintain a career-best 3.00 E.R.A this year. But that’s not even the best part. The main reason I would suggest Philadelphia sign Phil is that during the postseason, Maton has been known to develop ice in his veins.
For example, Over the course of three separate playoff runs, Maton has seen action in 20 separate games, where he has managed to strike out 22 and maintain an E.R.A of just 0.83. That’s with this past postseason being his best, mind you. Phil pitched in six playoff games in 2023 and somehow was able to preserve a 0.00 E.R.A. by striking out seven batters.
If the Phillies listen this time and choose to sign Maton before Spring Training, they could expect to fork out somewhere around four million dollars a season for his services. But I assure you, if they did, this deal would prove to be a bargain, considering Phil would all but solidify this team’s pen IF Jose Alvarado can manage to take over the closing role.
The Flyers’ Precocious Success is Exciting, but How Can They Continue to Add to it?
Thanks to Head Coach John Tortorella, the Flyers are once again an entertaining team to watch. If you look back all the way to the team’s inception into the NHL, the Philadelphia Flyers were always thought of as being one of the most challenging teams to line up against. From the Bullies’ brazen style of play that literally saw them beat their opponents into submission in the late ’60s all the way up to the ’80s to the highly talented teams of the ’90s and early ’00s led by the Legion of Doom Line. The Flyers were always considered to be a perennial playoff team. And, because of their many years of success, the Flyers still find themselves seventh all-time in wins to this day. That’s right, outside of the original six teams (who have over 2,600 more games played than them), the Flyers have won more games than any other expansion team.
But sadly, during the Giroux era, the Flyers seemed to lose their identity. They no longer played with the grit and tenacity that we all came to love and expect from this team. They slowly grew into a club that became less and less physical. They began not to finish their checks. They no longer stood up for one another when a dirty hit occurred. They lacked hustle and, over time, became lazy, choosing to dump and chase the puck instead of skating it into the zone and trying to set something up. Because of all this, the team lost its edge; its opponents no longer feared them, and their players appeared to become comfortable with losing.
That all changed when the Flyers chose to hire John Tortorella as their Head Coach. In just two seasons’ time (with the help of Keith Jones and Danny Briere this year), this former Jack Adams Award winner has been able to come in and revitalize this franchise. Through hard work in training camp and intense film study. John has been able to correct these players’ bad habits and rid the locker room of its bad apples, making sure to replace them with true professionals who play the game the right way.
With a decision to play the franchises youth, you can see on a nightly basis that this team is now outskating, outshooting, and, most nights, outscoring their opponents. They are no longer taking shifts off and are not willingly turning the puck over to make a change like Flyers teams of recent memory. They now play up on their skates and have the talent and speed to execute a run-and-gun offense, which has created so many more scoring chances for them.
So much so that the Flyers are now leading the league in shots and have become defensively responsible by choosing to leave their goalies no longer hung out to dry. In fact, it has become the complete opposite to the point where they now find themselves among the league leaders in killing penalties.
For fans, this has been refreshing, to say the least, but I assure you it is more than just Torts taking it back to basics in practice and now holding players accountable for the way they play the game that has willed this team to win. Credit should also go to management, who were able to bring in the right veteran players to act as both on and off-ice coaches to this team’s youthful core.
The unrestricted free agent signing of penalty-killing specialist Garnet Hathaway has obviously paid dividends this season. In addition to that, both defensemen Sean Walker and Marc Staal have clearly helped to sure up a once struggling defensive core.
But now that the Flyers are playing well and once again looking like a team that is destined to be in playoff contention, a question must be asked. Should Philadelphia change gears and now look to bring in players who can further help them complete their transformation from a lazy dump-and-chase team to one who plays a more lethal run-and-gun style?
Well, with the recent addition of the much-needed first-pairing right-hand shot defender, Jamie Drysdale from the Anaheim Ducks, the Flyers might have already begun to do just that. Overnight, this 21-year-old defender was able to come in and bring an all-but-deceased Flyer’s power play unit back to life. From his unreal skating ability to his incredible saucer-like passes, Drysdale seems like the missing cog that has unlocked this team’s offense. But sadly, regardless of how wide open this team’s offense has become, with them now leading the league in shots on goal, their ability to cash in on those chances hasn’t entirely caught up as they rank just 18th in the league in total goals scored.
That’s why I thought it wise to take a look at some other players, like potential impending free agents the Flyers could both possibly look to acquire for a playoff push or bring in this upcoming offseason who play a similar style to theirs. This roster, although it has already gone through some changes, is proving that it still has some transitioning left to do. Some players left over from the Ron Hextall and Chuck Fletcher eras still need to find the door, in my opinion, in order to complete this current coaching and administration staff’s vision for how they want this team to play moving forward.
And with players like Jamie Drysdale and a young Egor Zamula now solidifying their roles on the back end with the team, approaching free agent blue liners like 29-year-old defenseman Sean Walker and 30-year-old Nick Seeler should now be considered trade bait that could bring back some much-needed draft compensation after the lose of Cutter Gauthier.
In addition to those players, 37-year-old player/coach Marc Staal is due to come off the books as well after this season, thus creating the opportunity to bring multiple other players next season.
However, one player who could help the Flyers sooner rather than later for a potential playoff push (depending on the price) is Anthony Duclair. Now, hear me out. The Flyers desperately need a finisher. They are dead last in the league in terms of the power play for a reason. Duclair could be an affordable upgrade that could step in on day one and help to fix this problem. Let’s face it. A lot of time has passed since Torts and Duclair had it out in Columbus (some six seasons ago). Both are now older and wiser and don’t make all the same mistakes that they once did. So, this now 28-year-old winger who still possesses the same fantastic speed and finishing ability that he always did might just be willing to now listen to his former coach this time around for the chance to play for a contender. Duclair, who has struggled to find a home over the years, is currently playing for the Western Conference’s last-place team, the San Jose Sharks, and should be made available in the coming weeks since he is an impending free agent.
Furthermore, I don’t even think it would cost the Flyers a lot to acquire him, considering Anthony has never really appeared to have settled into San Jose, where he has been forced to play with a less-than-stellar supporting cast. To date, Duclair (who is making three million dollars this season) has scored just eight goals and eight assists for 16 points this year. These stats are a far cry from the season he had back in Florida a couple of years ago, where he was able to score 31 goals and 27 assists for 58 points. But here is the kicker. The only reason the Panthers did not bring him back was because he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury that required him to have surgery that included an extensive recovery time. But that’s behind him now; Duclair has proven post-injury that he still has the speed that would allow him to return to the 30-goal scorer he once was, especially if he got the chance to play here in Philly with guys like Konecny, Farabee, Tippett, Foerster, and Frost who all would be able to skate stride for stride with him on an odd-man rush.
Now, whether Torts would be willing to give this talented competitor another chance to play in his offense is yet to be seen. But it’s something the two of them would have time to work out if the team made a trade for him come the deadline. In my mind, it has the possibility of being a low-risk, high-reward type situation. And for that, I think the Flyers would be crazy not to try at least and acquire this former 30-goal scorer if they are still in the race come March 8th.
Another name that comes to mind as an impending free agent that may have the Flyers drooling after this season’s completion is Nashville’s Yakov Trenin. This 27-year-old feisty Russian forward, who stands at 6’2 and 201 pounds, has been invaluable to the Predators over the years. From his unrelenting hustle to his physical play and tenacious forecheck, this veteran forward appears as though he was all but born to play in a John Tortorella-style offense. And if those traits weren’t enough for Flyers fans to make him an instant fan favorite, if acquired, Trenin’s fearlessness is. Yakov is amongst the league leaders every year in hits, and he has shown a willingness to drop the gloves with anyone! This includes Zdeno Chara, who he almost brought to his knees a few years back, as you can see in the video provided below.
But the fist to cuffs is not all those hands are suitable for. Trenin is also known to be able to play up and down the lineup when needed, where he is able to use his speed to create fast breaks for himself as well as set up his awaiting teammates. Yakov has set a career-high of 17 goals for himself during his five-year tenure with the Predators and may now be looking for a slightly more significant role elsewhere this off-season. Currently, Trenin is making a very affordable $1.7 million this year, and if signed, he would prove to be a much-needed upgrade to the Flyers bottom six forward group next season.
Lastly, with the Flyers potentially losing all those blueliners (mentioned above) next season to free agency, I would suggest they then take a look at replacing them with a 6’6 225 pound 31-year-old defenseman in Jani Hakanpaa who currently plays for the Dallas Stars. This towering defenseman, who is making just $1.5 million this season, plays the game exactly how the Flyers thought Rasmus Ristolainen would when they traded for him a few seasons ago. Hakanpaa is a stay-at-home right-hand shot defender who would pair perfectly with a young, offensively driven Cam York.
Although not offensively minded, Hakanpaa still provides his employer with a lot for their money. In any given season, you can expect Jani to dish out somewhere around 225 hits, as well as tally up over 100 blocked shots. This behemoth has shown he is more capable of moving distractions out from in front of his goalie net, as well as being more than willing to drop the gloves when needed to come to the defense of a fellow teammate. Best of all, though, unlike Ristolainen, who is a career -180, Jani is a career-plus player.
Signing Hakanpaa to say a one-year deal for next season would give the team a better option for the present time and not stunt the progression of other defensemen who are currently progressing through the team’s system already, like Emil Andre, Helge Grans, and Oliver Bonk.
Combining these suggested moves along with management continuing to emphasize making intelligent decisions on draft day, this team just may return to the perennial playoff contender they were for decades at a time, a lot sooner than expected.
Why a Little Nepotism this Off Season may Help a Suddenly Struggling Eagles Franchise
Although the Eagles got off to a fantastic start this year, their struggles of late can be attributed to a multitude of issues. These issues include, but are not limited to, their head coach’s inability and or unwillingness to change his play calling this year (which is an article for another day) to a much more deep-rooted problem that has been going on now for decades of which I would like to discuss in this article.
For far too long, the Philadelphia Eagles have been known to draft from a position of WANT rather than from a position of NEED. This, of course, has been the case since the days when both Andy Reid and Jim Johnson were patrolling the Eagles sidelines. When all the team ever seemed to want to do back then was draft offensive and defensive linemen.
To date, little has changed. The line here in Philly is still a position of extreme depth, while other areas on the field continue to be exploited by the opposition year after year. In saying that, I do feel the Eagles’ current General Manager, Howie Roseman, has done a better job than his predecessors in the way of acquiring offensive weapons, especially when it comes to making trades to aid his still young and developing quarterback.
However, recently, all Howie seems to be enamored by in the draft is those darn Georgia Bulldogs. Who could blame him, though, right? This fascination, of course, started when Howie decided to select Georgia’s 6’6, 336-pound defensive lineman Jordan Davis with the team’s first-round pick in 2022—a player who seems to possess herculean-like strength. Roseman then followed it up by taking Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean in the third round that same year, who had just won the NCAA’s Butkus Award for being the Nation’s best linebacker but who has struggled to stay healthy ever since.
With those two already in the nest, I guess it seemed almost like fate when Georgia’s defensive lineman Jalen Carter fell to them at ninth overall in 2023. Not to mention, fellow Bulldog Nolan Smith (the most athletic linebacker in the draft that year) somehow still being there at 30 when the team was due to make their second selection of the first round. But as if that wasn’t enough dogs to feed, Howie decided to go back to the pound again when he dialed that oh-so-familiar 706 area code in the fourth round when he took Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo with the one hundred and fifth overall pick.
Now, I don’t know about you, but besides Jalen Carter being able to accumulate six sacks this year, no other Georgia Bulldog on the defensive side of the ball that the team has drafted has shown me anything besides a couple of flashes here and there to make me think they may be one day worth their inflated draft stock.
That’s why this off-season, I would urge Howie to choke down his impulses of drafting another player from Athens and instead focus on selecting players who could sure up some glaring holes on this team’s depth charts.
And to me, a large majority of those holes would be on the defensive side of the ball. As previously stated, the Eagles’ defensive line is one of the league’s best. Still, once you get beyond that, the only person in the Eagles’ secondary that remotely scares the opposition now is safety Reed Blankenship. Therefore, Philadelphia would be wise to try and go after a shutdown corner like Terrion Arnold from Alabama with their first-round selection. Terrion, who is 6’0 and 196 pounds, had 63 tackles, one sack, 12 pass deflections, five interceptions, and a forced fumble this season, would be welcomed attention to an ever-aging CB core that a 33-year-old Darius Slay and a 30-year-old James Bradberry are currently leading.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI2BS_c79eA
In the second round, it could all come together, though. For far too long, the Eagles have devalued the linebacker position as a whole, which baffles me, considering they are often the players that accumulate the most tackles during any given season because they are the next line of defense after the D-line breaks down.
Think about it: in the NFC East alone during the last decade, the Eagles have had to face elite running backs like Alfred Morris, DeMarco Murray, Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott, and Adrian Peterson each lining up across from them multiple times a year where the outcome, unfortunately almost always ended up being that these running backs were able to amass a 100-yard game on the Eagles.
Now, as good as Hassan Reddick is, his job as a strong-side linebacker is to get in the backfield and go after the quarterback the majority of the time. But we need a player up the middle with that DOG in him. A guy who will be able to spot a running back about to burst through the line and drive him so hard into the ground that when he gets up, he looks dazed and confused and asks did anybody happen to see the plate number of that bus that just hit me?
And the last guy I think the Eagles had like that was Jeremiah Trotter who last played for Philadelphia some 15 years ago.
Lucky for the Eagles, though, they have a chance to draft The Axe Man’s protégé Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Yes, a true NFL legacy, who, like his dad, plays the MLB position. So well, in fact, that over the last three seasons for the Clemson Tigers Jr. has been credited with 202 tackles, 29.5 of which were for loss, 13 sacks, 13 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and four interceptions (including two that were returned for touchdowns).
Now, if you watched these highlight videos provided above, you would have noticed a lot of similarities between both father and son’s games. But where Trotter 2.0’s game differs a bit from his old man’s is that he is a little more agile, which makes sense considering that he weighs in at around 230, whereas his dad played closer to 260 pounds.
I assure you, though this does not hinder Jr’s abilities, it only helps. Where his dad may have needed the extra weight, seeing he played back in a more ground-and-pound time, Jr. benefits from being a bit sleeker because teams have become more pass-happy as of late. So, being that he is lighter, Jr. has shown the ability to run step for step with slot receivers and tight ends at the colligate ranks.
That’s why if the Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is somehow able to resist the urge to draft more Bulldogs this off-season and instead allow for a bit of nepotism by drafting the offspring of an Eagles legend, I think he could help restore a lot of confidence next year to a very talented team that has somehow seemed to lose their way during the second half of this season.
Suddenly, the Gauthier Trade Doesn’t Seem That Bad, Eh?
Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
So, like most Flyers fans, this writer was shocked when the news came out that the Flyers’ top prospect, Cutter Gauthier, had been traded because he no longer wanted to play for Philadelphia. The reason why this news caught so many off guard is because, as most any player that has suited up here in the past will tell you, this town has arguably the most passionate and knowledgeable fans of any city that garners a professional sports franchise. And, if you’re a player who gives it your all and leaves nothing out on the ice, court, field, etc., your efforts will never be forgotten (to prove this, just look at Bernie Parent and the rest of the Broad Street Bullies). That’s why so many retired players never end up moving away from the area.
Now I get it. Cutter may have his reasons, but he should have at least shown respect enough for the organization that drafted him to share with them why he didn’t want to play for them anymore. I mean, the team did their homework. He was the best player available at the time, as my mock draft from that year confirmed. And, in pre-draft interviews, Gauthier did tell the Flyers Brass that “He was born to be a Flyer” blah blah blah. Now, what changed his mind from the time of the draft to a few months later, when he then told the team he no longer wished to play for them, we may never know. But for him to outright refuse to have a conversation with Stanley Cup winners John LeClair and Patrick Sharp when they traveled all the way up to Boston to meet with him on campus. Not to mention refusing to talk to the Flyers’ President of Hockey OPS, Keith Jones, and General Manager Danny Briere after they traveled all the way to Sweden to sit down with him at World Juniors to try and iron this all out. WOW!!! This kid has SOME BALLS!
Regardless, the team did the right thing and moved on by trading Gauthier when his value could not be any higher. Cutter had just won a Gold Medal for Team USA and took home the honor of being named the tournament’s MVP. And with him still declining to speak to the Flyers, he all but forced their hand.
The Return
Now, as we all may have heard, and probably was the reason we made a point to tune in to watch last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens just to see him play. The Flyers were able to bring back a pretty special player in return for Gauthier. His name is Jamie Drysdale, a 21-year-old right-hand shot defenseman who the team acquired from the Anaheim Ducks along with a 2025 second-round pick.
Jamie, who played junior hockey for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League, was taken sixth overall in the first round of the 2020 Draft. As you saw last night, he is a very agile defender who uses his skating ability to help him not only make great outlet passes but excel in the offensive zone as well.
Although he is predominantly thought of as a setup man who can cycle the puck along the blue line effortlessly, Jamie will not turn down the chance to jump up into the play when the opportunity presents itself in order to create his own scoring opportunities.
That’s why, with so few players presently playing in the NHL that possess an innate skill set such as his, he was able to come in with only one practice under his belt with the Flyers and immediately be placed on the top pairing alongside Travis Sanheim as well, as being trusted enough by Tortorella to be thrown out there on the team’s top power-play unit (which has been struggling this year, to say the least) and somehow instantaneously willed himself to become an impact player for them. As he was when he was able to set up Frost last night for a goal during what was just his first man advantage as a Flyer.
Of course, there must be a reason why the Ducks would be willing to part with such a young, coveted right-hand shot defender who has already proven himself capable of playing top-pairing minutes in the NHL for the likes of a promising prospect like Gauthier who apparently has a bit of a complex right?
Well, in fact, there is. Although Jamie managed to impress many in Anaheim during his four seasons spent there, he only managed to play in 123 games during that time. This means that this 5’11, 185-pound blue liner has already managed to miss a combined 103 games due to him sustaining multiple injuries over the years.
Can he overcome this with a little more time spent with the Flyer’s strength and conditioning coach? Probably, but it is a bit concerning, nonetheless.
Still, given the unfortunate hand that the Flyers were dealt, I think the team’s newly appointed management was able to add a very impactful player to their already youthful core, who will now be able to continue to grow their game together in the coming years.
I mean, come on, I know losing a guy like Cutter hurts, but Drysdale could be that elusive top-pairing right-hand shot defender that the team has been trying to find for years now. He is still just 21 years of age and just signed a very team-friendly three-year deal that will pay him just $2.3 million annually until the end of the 2025-26 season. On top of that, Philadelphia also gained another second-round pick in the 2025 draft, which they could use to select one of many exciting players like Zachary Morin, Owen Griffith, Aiden Lane, or my personal favorite, Jordan Gavin, who all are currently predicted to still be on the board at that time.
Steel’s Corner: To Playoffs or Not to Playoffs, that is the question for the Steelers
To Playoffs or Not to Playoffs, that is the question for the Steelers!
The final two games of the regular season are upon the Pittsburgh Steelers. And they are potentially on the verge of a playoff berth, provided the stars,planets, and moon all align, but of course, that means that the Steelers need to win out!
Given that the Steelers are currently “In the Hunt” but basically on the outside looking into the playoffs. What with the two devastating losses to the Cardinals and then to the Patriots in successive weeks. The win last week to the rival Bengals only makes this cut a little deeper. Let me bend your eyes for a moment.
On the weekend of Thanksgiving, the Steelers had just defeated the Bengals for the first time this season and, at 7-4, had a good hold on not only a playoff berth but even potentially the division. It was the first game since Matt Canada had been fired, and the team put up 421 yards in that win against Cincinnati. Everything and everyone was riding that high of Victory Formation!
The next two games are against opponents that have a combined 4-20 record this season in the NFL. Kenny Pickett was to lead the team against two teams that had a suspect defense and could only muster four wins between the two teams all year to this point. There was confidence abounded in press conferences, and some help was returning on defense for these next two games, and that is when the tires came off.
The Arizona Cardinals came into Pittsburgh for a homecoming game for James Connor. That is just what happened, as James Conner put up over 100 yards rushing and scored a touchdown to cap off the fact that Kenny Pickett went down with an ankle injury, and Mitch Trubisky had to come in and mop up literally. Pittsburgh did what they could least afford to do: lose to a 2-10 team.
If that was not a bed of roses, how about if they go from bad to worse when the Patriots opened a can of whoop-ass on the Steelers in front of a home crowd. The Steelers have dropped another game to a 2-10 team this season in back-to-back weeks. Of all the things that the team could ill afford to do was lose two games in a row to two teams going the opposite direction this year. Can I put my finger on the facts as to what led to these losses today? Well, how about a defense that gave up considerable yardage and points?
Not only did they allow for a 100-yard rusher one week and a 240-yard passer the following week, but they also gave up 51 points to two of the lowest-rated offenses in the league. These two games, by far, were the worst performances by the Steelers this season, from special teams to coaching, to the offense or lack thereof.
Just when you thought, alright, there is no way that the Steelers could drop three in a row after losing to two 2-10 teams in back-to-back weeks, right? Well, that is precisely what happened as the Colts proceeded to dismantle the Steelers as they dropped their third game in a row to the Colts 13-30. In case you are counting, and I am, that is 81 points that this defense gave up in three weeks, and as far as I am concerned, it does not matter that your offense is impotent, but your defense is not even able to stop the lowest ranked offenses in the league.
Now, just a few days before kick-off of the final two games of the regular season for the Steelers, the team is not in control of their own destiny when they had it in their grasp only a few short weeks ago. Because of these losses, this team needs a lot of help even to get a chance at the playoffs this year. Not to mention that this team needs to find away to win the final two games against the Seahawks, who are also 8-7, and then finally, the Ravens, who are the number one seed in the AFC.
Only a few short weeks ago, these games looked winnable, or at least one of them did. Now, with Kenny Pickett coming back from injury and Mason Rudolph having been the best quarterback of the Steelers season by a long margin in the win against the Bengals, If it were up to me, I would run with the “Hot Hand” and start Mason. At this point, you have nothing to lose and only a playoff berth to gain! Let Kenny sit another week and be 100% healthy, and let’s see what Mason can do against the Seahawks this Sunday.
2024 NHL Draft Eligible Players to Watch at the WJC
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN – DECEMBER 25: USA’s Zeev Buium #28 – 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship at Frolundaborg on December 25, 2023 in Gothenburg, Sweden. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/IIHF)
With all the hustle and bustle of Christmas now behind us, if you find yourself not knowing what to do with some much-needed time off, I would suggest tunning into the NHL Network to watch the IIHF’s World Junior Championship U20 Tournament that is currently taking place in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is here where some of the most talented prospects in the game today from countries all around the globe commonly come together to see which nation will be able to skate away with the bragging rights and the hardware (Gold Medal) after winning it all.
To help you further enjoy these contests, in this article, I will break down some of the top 2024 NHL Draft Eligible Players available on each team. In this tournament, teams tend to fill their rosters with their country’s best players who are currently under the age of 21. This means that many of the prospects that you’ll find yourself enamored by have already been drafted by an NHL club and, therefore, are just fine-tuning some points to their games before signing their entry-level contracts. But this is not the case for all players involved. On every team’s roster, there are a few un-drafted players who were skilled enough to find a way to make it through their country’s final rounds of cuts to play in this tournament. So, let’s take a look.
Team USA
One of the favorites this year has to be Team USA, and for good reason: 21 of the 23 players on their roster have already been drafted by NHL Clubs. Many of them were good enough to be selected in the first or second round of their respected draft classes, such as Cutter Gauthier, Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perreault, Lane Hutson, Seamus Casey, and Frank Nazar, to name a few. But, despite the Red, White, and Blue having all these future NHL stars playing for them right now, there is still one undrafted player in their lineup whose play is already on par or better than his already claimed counterparts.
Zeev Buium
That player is Zeev Buium, the 6’0, 183-pound left-hand shot defender who is just 18 years old, that you can typically find playing in the NCAA for the University of Denver. While Buium was respected for his work with the U.S. National Development Program in previous years, no one expected that Zeev would come out this season and make the collegiate ranks look like child’s play. What do I mean by that? Well, in just his first year of college hockey, Buium has been able to score five goals and 20 assists for a total of 25 points in only 18 games played for the Pioneers thus far. It is this 1.38 point-per-game pace as a defenseman, mind you, that has allowed Zeev to see his name vault up the mock drafts as of late to the point where some even have him potentially being taken by a lottery team this summer.
So far in this tournament, Buium has scored just one goal and one assist in two games played, but look for his point totals to continue to climb as he gets more comfortable playing with his new teammates.
Team Canada
Now, as good as the USA looks, it would not be the WJC if we did not talk about the perennial favorites Team Canada. Like America, Canada’s roster is filled with talent that NHL clubs have previously drafted in prior drafts, but there are some names that you’ll most certainly see called this upcoming summer as well.
The easiest to pick out would be Macklin Celebrini, who not only leads the entire tournament in points right now but is all but typed in already as being the first overall draft pick taken in the 2024 draft. So, let’s pick another name you should look out for.
How about…
Mathis Rousseau
Mathis is a 19-year-old goaltender who can be found most nights in net for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Rousseau, who is only 5’11 and 172 pounds, has astounded many this year with his play, so much so that he has managed to beat out fellow Canadian goalie Scott Razlaff, who was taken by the Buffalo Sabers last summer for Canada’s starting job. In two games played thus far in this tournament, Mathis has been able to post two victories and maintain an impressive 1.00 goals against average (G.A.A.) and a .958 save percentage (SV%).
As far as what got him the privilege to try out for Team Canada, Rousseau had to post a 2.07 G.A.A. and a .934 SV% through 21 games with the Mooseheads. But what might have given him the edge over others is the fact that if needed, he can evidently be counted on to provide some goal-scoring depth, as he proved capable of doing just that in a game a few months back against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
Team Finland
Having already been handed an unexpected 4-3 loss to Germany earlier in this tournament, Finland will obviously be looking to rebound quickly. And to do that, they might have to rely on one of their promising undrafted prospects.
Konsta Helenius
And for me, while they have a few to choose from in that regard, I think the player they will be counting on the most throughout the rest of this tournament will be Konsta Helenius. The consensus on this 17-year-old forward, who already finds himself competing in his country’s highest professional league, the Liiga, is that he has the type of talent that will see him selected as one of the top ten players in the 2024 draft class. With that being said, I would have to agree. From an early age, Konsta has proved that he can hang while playing with older players. No other example of this would be more evident than this year while playing in the Liiga, where through 28 games playing for Jukurit, he has been able to tally eight goals and twelve assists for 20 points.
But while that success has not yet translated in this tournament as Helenius has been held scoreless through two games played (when last year he was averaging well over a point per game in both the WJC-U17 and U18 competitions), look for him to step up and will his country to a couple of victories in the coming days.
Team Sweden
Another strong team in this tournament, as always, is Sweden. Like Canada and Team USA, Sweden’s roster is full of players who already find themselves residing in NHL systems.
Hugo Havelid
But perhaps the player whose name surprises me the most that does not find his name on that list is goalie Hugo Havelid.
Hugo is a netminder who I had a team certainly taking at some point this past summer because of his phenomenal play. But sadly, that wasn’t the case. My guess as to why that didn’t happen would have to be his height. Havelid stands at just 5’10 tall but manages to circumvent any shortcoming (pun intended) by shooting out of the crease to challenge the shooter.
And while he has not yet managed to play a game in the SHL (Sweden’s top professional league), he did manage to not only secure the crease in Sweden’s first game against Latvia, over both Melker Thelin and Kevin Reidler, who were lucky enough to be drafted by an NHL team already but also earned himself a shutout for his efforts in the team’s 6-0 victory as well.
While I don’t expect Hugo to get the majority of the starts, moving forward, if he somehow can continue to make the most out of the starts that he does receive in this tournament, you can expect an NHL team to call his name come draft day this summer.
Team Czechia
Well, while this country may have gone through a lot of changes over the years, especially involving its name- Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic, to now being known as Czechia, one thing that hasn’t changed is that prospects born in this country can flat out play.
And while defenseman Adam Jiricek should have been the talk of the town for Czechia this year at the world juniors, the knee injury he sustained in their first game against Slovakia has left Czechia desperate for someone to step up and help lead in his absence.
Dominik Rymon
For me, that player should be Dominik Rymon. This 19-year-old undrafted forward possesses the kind of quick stick work that allows him to collect points in bunches. If you need proof of this, look no further than what he has been able to do this year while playing for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. Through 32 games played thus far, Dominik has been able to score 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points. Rymon is quick to rush to a puck, and once he has retrieved it, he makes sure that it doesn’t stay on his stick blade for long because it doesn’t matter where he is on the ice; Rymon is going to let it fly.
Besides his scoring ability (which he has used to average a points-per-game so far in this tournament), NHL clubs are also sure to be captivated by his defensibility as well, seeing that he is currently ranked among the WHL’s league leaders in plus-minus with an average of +19.
Any and all of these undrafted prospects could potentially earn themselves the honor of being drafted by an NHL club this summer simply by having a good showing at this tournament. For although it is just a week or two long, it is held in high regard because it is one of the only places where all the best and brightest prospects from around the world can come together to face off against each other. So, if you can prove to the masses that you can play well on this stage, the sky is the limit.
The Phillies Should Consider adding a Couple of Cubans to the Pen
Gene Wang/GettyImages
Now that the Los Angeles Dodgers have seemingly managed to corner the market in Japanese pitching for the next decade by shelling out well over a BILLON dollars to ink both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The rest of the league can finally stop dreaming about the possibility of acquiring one of them and begin to focus on filling out the rest of their roster.
This goes for the Phillies as well, as their most glaring hole this off-season continues to be their Bull Pen. While relief pitchers like Jose Alvarado and Matt Strahm looked strong for the fighting Phills last year, other additions, like Gregory Soto and Craig Kimbrel, undoubtedly cost Philadelphia multiple wins in the postseason, where both saw their earned run average (E.R.A.) skyrocket to an embarrassing 6.00.
Thankfully, the team’s President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski, decided it was NOT in the team’s best interests to bring back their now 35-year-old closer whose play is on the decline after he has been able to post an incredible 417 saves through the last 14 grueling MLB seasons. But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as the Baltimore Orioles proved to be more than happy to swoop in and sign him for next season.
So, what should be the team’s next move, you may be asking? Well, as nice as signing an elite closer like Josh Hader or a flame-throwing inning eater like Jordan Hicks, both of which I proposed in an earlier article
the teams’ executives have come out and said they will not be looking to break the bank to solidify the back end. So, I would now suggest they allow Alvarado to try his hand at closing games for them and sign a couple of setup men.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t wish to see the Phillies go into next season having to hope that Orion Kerkering (who started last season playing Single-A ball) does not have a sophomore slump after opposing teams are able to gather more than his current 3.0 MLB regular season innings of game tape to watch.
With that being said, I now suggest that Philadelphia take a nice long look at a couple of Cubans who can throw absolute missiles!
(RHP) Yariel Rodriguez
The first of which is a relevantly unknown player in 26-year-old Yariel Rodríguez. Yariel, who last played in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League for the Chunichi Dragons back in 2022, averaged a very impressive 1.15 E.R.A. through 54.2 innings pitched.
In addition to that, here’s what many teams may find intriguing: while Yariel was used predominantly in relief in Japan and is projected to play in a similar role once signed here in the States, Rodriguez has recently shown the ability to start a game as well. In fact, he showcased this skill set during the most recent World Baseball Classic, where he started two games striking out ten batters while managing to maintain a 2.45 E.R.A.
Taking some time off to train in the Dominican Republic, Rodríguez recently completed a showcase where no less than 15 MLB clubs were in attendance. As far as his stuff goes, Yariel is able to average around 96-97 M.P.H. on his fastball but has been known to put a little extra on it when needed so that it then tops out in the triple digits. As far as his other pitches go, we can expect to see him throw a very reliable curveball and a decent slider now and again.
With Yariel’s ability to throw multiple innings (if signed), expect the Phillies to utilize him like they did Ranger Suarez when he first came up, as a long reliever who could be trusted with a start on occasion when injuries occur.
To try and accurately estimate just how much Rodriguez could fetch on the open market now that he has been released from his deal with the Dragons of the NPB would be foolish if you ask me—seeing that so many teams now appear to be willing to shell out big bucks for players that have yet to play a single inning on the world’s largest stage. So, I won’t even try to attempt to guess the final numbers. However, what I do know is that Yariel just hired Edgar Mercedes to be his agent. A man who previously was accused of helping multiple Cuban baseball stars flee their home country to try to find asylum on the isle of the Dominican Republic so that they could then seek employment in the MLB. This is the same man, mind you, that represented fellow Cuban star Yoenis Cespedes when he landed his first contract with the Oakland Athletics, which paid him $36 Million!
So, seeing that times have changed a bit, and it is now easier to sign Cuban players. Philadelphia should act fast, as there are sure to be many teams clamoring about trying to be the one to ink Rodriguez, who many feel may be the best arm to come out of Cuba since the “Cuban Missile” himself, Aroldis Chapman.
Aroldis Chapman
And since we brought him up, let us discuss why he, too, should be an option for the Phillies next season. Now, before you start, I know he is 35, and the Phillies just got burnt when taking a shot last year on veteran closer Craig Kimbrel, but unlike Kimbrel, Chapman has shown no sign of falling off anytime soon.
In what was his 14th MLB season last year, Aroldis amassed both the largest number of pitches thrown and threw for the most innings since his efforts in 2015, when he was still with the Cincinnati Reds. Also, for the first time since 2015, Chapman was able to amass over 100 strikeouts in a single season. And for those efforts, this seven-time All-Star was able to collect his second World Series Title.
Now, Aroldis may not be still throwing over 105 M.P.H. like he did back in his days with the Reds. But the fact that this nearly 36-year-old can still consistently place a ball where he wants it at 102-103 M.P.H. is impressive! Still, at this point in his career, Chapman should no longer be expected to be “THE GUY” to close out games. He is now best utilized as a setup man like he was in Kansas City last year, with whom he initially signed a one-year deal with for a very affordable $3.7 million before being dealt to the Texas Rangers.
If Philadelphia could manage to add both the up-and-coming Yariel Rodriguez (to be a long reliever) and the legendary “Cuban Flamer Thrower” Aroldis Chapman (to be the setup man), they might struggle at first to find a decent local Cuban restaurant to cater pregame meals of Ropa Vieja, and Mojo Criollo. But one thing they will not struggle at anymore is closing out games! And if they can do that, then this team might just find themselves planning a massive parade at the end of next season.
Some Undrafted Free Agents that Teams May Now Want to Take a Second Look At
Photo credit: https://chl.ca/ohl-rangers
As we all know, not all prospects tend to develop at the same rate. Therefore, every year, there tends to be a new crop of late bloomers who may have just been average in their draft year, and either hit a growth spurt or put in work one-off season, and POOF all of a sudden, they become dominant in whatever league they are currently playing in.
Then and only then, when an unclaimed player with this kind of jump in production pairs that with the unrelenting determination and work ethic that matches that of the professionals, will an NHL club even start to think about giving them another chance because teams are often too busy trying to find younger talent.
Still on the rare occasion for players like former Prospect Watch guest Ryan McAllister and Yaniv Perets, who I highlighted in a similar article last year ( that you can find below).
There comes an opportunity to sign an entry-level deal with an NHL club. While risky, signing this type of player can offer a team an instant upgrade to a position of need. While other players who those teams draft may show promise, they are often in need of more seasoning before turning pro. These undrafted prospects, on the other hand, are generally a couple of years older and, therefore, have already proven themselves to be more than capable of providing the team with the kind of depth and production they need now.
So, without further ado, here are some possible forgotten prospects in no particular order that I feel might just be worth NHL teams taking a second look at.
Matthew Sop
This 20-year-old who currently plays for his hometown team, the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), may not have been able to produce the kind of numbers in his draft year that would have caught scouts’ eyes. Still, he has since continued to work to get better each and every day and to prove that all you need to do is compare his stats from last year to this year.
Last season, this 6’0, 183-pound winger was able to put up a moderately impressive 23 goals and 33 assists for a total of 56 points in 67 games played. But Sop has already managed to seemingly match those numbers through just 34 contests so far this season. His totals to date this year are 22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points. To show just how good of a season Matthew has had this year, let us look ahead to what he will end up with this season if he is able to continue on this 1.56-point-per-game pace. If this is the case, Sop will look to finish the year with 44 goals and 62 assists, totaling 106 points.
While Matt may never find himself to be the most skilled player out on the ice, he does manage to somehow offer extreme value to every team he plays for. And this is just my theory, but perhaps it may prove to be his unrelenting work ethic from constantly having to prove himself over the years (from having to wait until the seventh round of the OHL Draft to be selected by the Rangers and him being passed up by every NHL team) that will allow this long-awaited prospect the chance to finally achieve his goal of earning a professional contract.
Collin Graf
Why this now 21-year-old prospect did not get offered a pro deal after winning an NCAA National Championship last season with Quinnipiac University, where he finished with 21 goals and 38 assists, scoring a total of 59 points in only 41 games played, is beyond me. But somehow, he has not let that bother him, as he is currently on pace to best those numbers by scoring at a league-leading rate of 1.91 points per game this season.
In addition to Collin proving that he can score with the best of them, he also possesses some other noteworthy qualities prospecting NHL teams may be looking for, like the size and strength needed for a club to insert him promptly into their NHL lineup upon signing him given the fact he currently stands at 6’1 and 194 pounds. Not to mention the fact that if signed, Graf (who is a combined +45 over the last two seasons) would immediately be able to step into a penalty-killing role as he has already mastered the art of being defensively responsible, which is a must if you’re playing for his head coach Rand Pecknold.
In saying all this, it would not surprise me a bit if, directly following the conclusion of the Bobcats season, when Collin exits the ice, he will already have multiple teams having left messages on his phone before he even manages to get his skates off, for it is rare that your able to find all these qualities wrapped up into one player nowadays.
Gabe Klassen
What’s not to love about this prospect? Gabe Klassen, who is a 20-year-old centerman that plays for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, possesses a shot that most players playing in the NHL right now could only wish they had. It doesn’t matter if the situation calls for a wrist shot, slap shot, snapshot, or a backhand. Gabe simply has no problem putting the puck on net.
But in addition to him scoring 30+ goals in each of the last two seasons (and being on pace to do so once again this year), Klassen has shown that he can play the role of the setup man as well, with that statement being never more accurate than it is this season where he has already managed to accumulate 41 assists in just 32 games played thus far.
Like most of these prospects listed in this article, Gabe has taken a huge step forward this season. In fact, if he continues on this 1.81-point-per-game pace, he is on right now. Klassen is destined to finish the year with 36 goals and 87 assists for a combined 123 points, which would best his previous career high in points by more than 50!
If signed to an entry-level deal by an NHL club after the season, Klassen would instantaneously make that club’s offense better. Not only would he provide an additional ten shots a night to the teams’ totals, but with his Hockey IQ currently measuring off the charts, he is bound to make everyone around him better.
Josh Nadeau
That last name sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Yes, Josh is related to Bradley Nadeau, who was drafted in the 1st round this past summer by the Carolina Hurricanes. Both of them played for the Penticton Vee’s of the British Columbia Hockey League for the two seasons prior to this one. In each of those seasons, they were able to raise a banner for the Vee’s as their telepathic-like nonverbal communication and awareness of where each other are on the ice at all times helped the team win back-to-back league championships.
I assure you, though, that Josh is not just riding on his younger brothers’ coattails. While he may not have been fortunate enough to be selected by an NHL club in his draft year, he has managed to put the same number of points or better than his younger sibling. Take, for instance, last season. A large part of Bradley’s being taken in the first round by the Canes was the fact that he was able to compile 45 goals and 113 points during the regular season. Then he managed to add another 35 points in 17 playoff games. Well, Josh was able to put up 44 goals and 110 points during the regular season and bested his brother in the playoffs, where he netted 36 points in 17 games.
So, it should go without saying that I was absolutely baffled when I heard that this 146-point scorer from last season was forced to walk away from the Hurricanes camp this fall (where he was brought in as an invitee) without a contract.
But I guess when you’re a 5’8 diminutive type player, you get used to having to prove your doubters wrong. Because that’s precisely what he has been doing this year while playing for the University of Maine Black Bears. Josh currently leads his brother and the rest of the team in points, with him scoring ten goals and 12 assists for 22 points through just 14 games played.
While he is still a free agent at this point, I think Carolina would be wise to sign him in order to ensure that if both brothers end up making it to the NHL, they could reap the benefits of the lifelong chemistry these two have been building dating back to when they first strapped on a pair of skates.
Any one of these players, if signed, could make an immediate impact, whether it be in the capacity of an NHL player for a struggling franchise or serving as more of a depth player who will be made to prove himself first at the AHL level for a playoff-caliber team. The best part about it, though, is bringing them in won’t cost the club that signs them any draft capital in which to acquire them. Just a roster spot and a contract and a team in need can have a plug-in player that is ready to produce now.
What Will It Cost the Flyers to Re-Sign this Potential Star in the Making?
When the Flyers finally decided it was time to move on from their long-time captain a couple of seasons ago, they could have only hoped that the prospect (Owen Tippett) they got back as part of the return from shipping Claude Giroux down to Florida, would develop into a potential star for them in the future.
Tippett, who is now 24 years old, was Florida’s 2017 1st-round pick, that they selected 10th overall. When taken, the Panthers hoped that his natural goal-scoring ability would be able to make an immediate impact for them at the NHL level. But sadly, what prevented that from happening was the team’s roster at the time. It was built to win now and, therefore, was filled with veteran players that allowed Owen to receive very little ice time in which to prove himself. Forced then to spend his days bouncing back and forth between their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, and the Panthers’ bottom-six forward group, Owen found himself going nowhere fast.
Fast forward a couple of seasons to the present day, and Philadelphia now not only finds themselves elated with the type of offensive production Tippett has been able to provide for them since first donning a Flyers sweater but confuddled as to the term and monetary value they should be willing to offer this impending restricted free agent after the conclusion of this season.
Tippett’s agents will no doubt have a bevy of contracts to choose from that were recently signed by some of the NHL’s most promising youth to use as comparable bargaining chips when they meet with the Flyers executives to discuss Owen’s new deal. Jesper Bratt’s eight-year $63 million deal that he signed with the Devils and Andrei Svechnikov’s eight-year $62 million deal he signed with the Canes would be wise choices.
But if I wanted to play devil’s advocate here and help Owen’s legal team to leave little room for a rebuttal, my recommendation would be to choose a player whose point production most closely resembles that of Tippett’s, and that would be 22-year-old winger Cole Caufield who plays for the Montreal Canadiens. Cole’s current career highs are 26 goals to that of Owen’s 27, which both were able to achieve last year, and 43 points to that of Owen’s 49.
In saying that, Caufield is in but his first year of a very optimistic eight-year 62.5 million dollar deal that is due to pay Cole an average annual salary of $7.8 million until he is the ripe old age of 30. Inking a similar agreement for Owen would make both Tippett and his agents very happy, but the Flyers may have some different numbers in mind.
Now, looking at things through the Flyers’ eyes, Caulfield was able to achieve those goal totals in 31 fewer games played last year due to him sustaining an injury, so the Canadiens most likely overpaid him a little now with the hopes that it might seem like a bargain price for potentially what type of production Cole (who is two years younger than Owen) could amass in the future.
As an alternative, Philadelphia will likely try to show Tippett’s agents some much more reasonable contracts from players that, oddly enough, Owen currently plays with on a nightly basis. Players like Joel Farabee may come to mind. A winger who just last year at the age of 22 signed a six-year, 30-million-dollar deal that pays him just $5 million a season. Or how about the six-year 33-million-dollar deal Travis Konecny is currently retained to that pays him just $5.5 million a year, which, mind you, he also made official some years ago now, when he was 22 years of age.
Ultimately, I feel when the dust settles, both Philadelphia and Owen’s agent will have to meet somewhere in the middle because while Tippett has only put up these type of numbers for one season prior to this, he is on pace to finish with similar totals again this year (and of course as made evident by some of the other players contracts mentioned previously in this article) the market is ever rising.
So, it just depends if the Flyers want to make sure Owen will be able to sustain this kind of production, or better, before locking him down for good. Expect them to offer him a deal that resembles the Flames’ Andrew Mangiapane’s three-year, 17.4-million-dollar contract that pays him just $5.8 million a season. Or if they feel confident that Tippett has not yet reached his ceiling and wish to sign him long-term. Look for the Flyers to offer Owen a deal similar to the Wild’s Matthew Boldy, who makes seven million a season from the seven-year $49 million contract Minnesota just gave him.
Either way, they choose, one thing is for sure. Regardless of the agreed-upon term and amount of zeros he is due to be paid, Owen’s new contract is sure to make the two-year, three-million-dollar deal he is currently contractually employed by (that pays him just $1.5 million a season) look like chump change!
The Phillies Should be Looking to add some Reassurance in Center Field?
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
With the off-season now well underway, the Philadelphia Phillies currently find themselves with some questions still to be answered. Earlier in the month, we discussed the need to sure up the bullpen.
So, in this article, we will address the need to upgrade center field.
With the team seemingly cutting ties with their longtime first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who is now an unrestricted free agent, this ensured that Bryce Harper (who did a tremendous job last season filling in for the injured Hoskins) would now be typed into that spot on the roster moving forward.
That move allowed Kyle Schwarber (who is now over the age of 30) to no longer have to patrol the outfield, which provides Kyle the opportunity to instead just focus on hitting Schwarbombs as the team’s everyday designated hitter (DH).
But as we saw last postseason, these moves presented a problem. And that problem is, who is going to be the team’s everyday center fielder in 2024?
Sure, the team seems set at the corner out fielding positions with Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh not due to become unrestricted free agents for at least the next couple of years, but who is going to patrol that big empty space in between these two?
Unreliable Options already in the system:
Christian Pache
Foreseeing this could be a potential problem as early as last year. The Phillies front office went out in 2023 and acquired the highly touted prospect Christian Pache from the then Oakland A’s, but although Christian proved to be adequate in the field, Pache was only able to hit for a .238 avg. and totaled just two home runs and 11 RBI’s last season. And if that wasn’t bad enough, in seven at-bats in the postseason, Pache saw his batting average fall to an embarrassing .143.
Johan Rojas
This 23-year-old prospect was called up by the Phillies this past season not for his bat but for his defensive abilities. But while his outs over expectation were through the roof, Rojas’ bat posed no offensive threat in the playoffs. Many times over, Johan was able to come up to bat with runners in scoring position, and he failed to bring them in. In fact, he was so bad this past postseason that he turned out to be more of a routine out than when the Phillies—still had the pitchers going up there trying to bunt during every one of their at-bats. Don’t believe me? Well, in 43 postseason attempts, Rojas managed to put the bat on the ball only four times. This bringing his batting average down to a very laughable .093%. And, while Rojas is still just 23 years old and has time to improve, the Phillies, who made it deep into the playoffs each of the last two seasons, cannot conceivably head into next season with someone in the lineup who could easily get out hit by one of the stadiums’ peanut vendors.
So, who’s left? Jack Cave? He is certainly not an everyday center fielder. Heck, at this point in his career, he is primarily just used as a glorified pinch hitter.
And you better not depend on any initial help coming from the teams’ farm system because the only outfield prospect showing any real upside besides Rojas is 19-year-old Justin Crawford, who was taken by the team in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft. And he doesn’t even project to be ready for at least another two or three seasons.
With that being said, I feel if this team truly wishes to compete for a World Series Title next season, they have no other choice but to sign a center fielder in free agency this winter.
Now, of course, the most appealing option would be to sign the 25-year-old Korean hitting sensation Jung Hoo Lee, who is a five-time gold glove winner in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and their 2022 MVP, where he hit .349 that year, totaling 23 home runs, 85 runs, and 113 RBI’s. But to me, chasing after him is a waste of time because he is already rumored to want to head to the Padres, where Korean players Kim Ha-Seong and Ji-man Choi suited up last season.
And besides all that, the Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski, has already come out and said (in not so many words) that the teams’ checkbook is not going to be as wide open as it has been in the past. Instead, the franchise will look to fill in empty roster spots with Type B or C free agents that other teams have perhaps overlooked.
So, while that news is somewhat disappointing, just where might the team be able to find someone with a bit of pop left in their bat to sign until the likes of Justin Crawford is ready to make his MLB debut?
My suggestion for the Phillies would be to sign 32-year-old Michael A. Taylor. Now, hear me out. Besides Lee, there is no one under the age of 30 worth a dam available this year in free agency. And, while I know signing a 32-year-old to patrol center field is not ideal, sadly, the Phillies may not have much of a choice thanks to them having seven players on their roster due to make over $20 million next season. Besides, I wouldn’t have even brought Michael up if I didn’t think he was worth talking about. If you’re not familiar with Michael A. Taylor. I assure you both Bryce Harper and Trea Turner are seeing that the three of them played together on the Washington Nationals for multiple seasons before they each went their separate ways. Now, while Taylor may NOT have gone on to have the kind of production to garner him a $300 million contract like his former teammates, he did manage to remain effective. For example, last season, while playing for the Minnesota Twins, Taylor was able to hit for an average of .220 and set a new career high in Home Runs with 21, not to mention the fact that in addition to all those home runs, he was able to score 48 runs and drive home 51 more (RBIs).
Now, as far as how much Taylor may cost the Phillies to sign. I don’t know; the market is the market. The only thing I do know is Michael is not considered to be a top-tier guy, so my best guess would be that he will probably look to sign a very similar contract to the one that he just finished playing out, which was a two-year deal worth $ 9 million. So, expect him to ask for roughly 4.5-5 million dollars a year.
If this is the case, I think the Phillies should definitely jump at the chance to add this veteran player. He already has chemistry with a few members of the team and could provide some much-needed stability at both the plate and center field until the likes of Rojas and/or Crawford prove consistent enough to be trusted with the daily duties in the major league.