Despite making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in ’10, the Flyers had a number of players who struggled during the regular season.
How many points will Ville Leino have next season?
Ville Leino made significant contributions to the Flyers offense when he got his opportunity in the playoffs. Though he gelled instantly with linemates Scott Hartnell and Daniel Briere, Leino remained snake-bitten during the regular season and was often a healthy scratch. How will he fare next season?
Are the Flyers a better team?
This question was recently asked on the Flyers Forum and, admittedly, it caught me off guard. For all of the knee-jerk reactions we are accustomed to giving as fans of Philadelphia sports teams, I had a hard time saying no to this question. I wanted to lash out about how management backed themselves into a corner with the cap and it forced them to trade the beloved Simon Gagne for garbage, or about the illogical acquisition of overpaid defender, Andrej Meszaros, while plenty of good free agent defenders were available. I had a million reasons to complain about how I …
Hamhuis is in. So, who’s out?
The Flyers traded defenseman RFA Ryan Parent to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Dan Hamhuis, who is set to become a free agent on July 1. Parent, a former first round pick of the Predators, suffered a rash of injuries and never lived up to his potential in Philadelphia. Though the Flyers have not signed — or, at least, announced — a new contract with the physical defender, it’s reasonable to assume they will do so. As pointed out on Twitter by Greg Wyshynski, of Puck Daddy fame, it was 3 years and 1 day ago that the Flyers …
Looking at the impact of the Halak trade
Jaroslav Halak, the 25-year-old Slovakian netminder, was the arguably the best available goaltending asset this offseason. His stock skyrocketed after an unprecedented playoff run where he backstopped the 8th seed Montreal Canadiens to victories over the top team in the East and the defending Stanley Cup champions while boasting the best save percentage in the playoffs. GMs were apparently told a while ago that he was on the block but the trade of Halak to St. Louis for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz came as a shock to the rest of us. Carey Price was supposed to be Montreal’s next …
Upgrading via free agency
Given the Flyers’ current cap situation, they are unlikely to make a splash in free agency unless they manage to shed a really big contract or two without taking back salary. This shouldn’t be an issue, though, as they don’t need to target the Ilya Kovalchuk’s of this UFA class. They need to add affordable depth. The first thing the Flyers should do is to add some additional scoring punch to the third line and finally give Claude Giroux a viable, consistent threat on the wing. Vinnie Prospal is a reliable scorer that would have instant chemistry with Giroux. Prospal …
Offseason analysis: Offense
Contracts of note: Carcillo (RFA), Powe (RFA), Asham (UFA) Top prospects: Maroon, Legein Needs: 1st line RW, possible 3rd line RW According to Sam Carchidi, GM Paul Holmgren stated the other day that it is “highly unlikely” the current roster will remain unchanged in the offseason. At this point, the Flyers have two options up front: Do they sell high on superb postseason performers with high salaries (Gagne, Brière, Hartnell) or do they move Jeff Carter, who struggled throughout parts of the regular season as well as the playoffs and had two fractured feet? Daniel Brière Brière is a proven …
What went wrong?
One goal and one game. That’s how close the Flyers came to claiming the Cup as their own for the 2010 season. Facing such adversity with their backs against the wall from game 82, they were, as their slogan proclaimed, relentless. The Flyers hung in there against teams that were supposed to steamroll them and made history in the process. If you asked any player in orange, he would have told you the Cup was destined to come to Philadelphia. So where did it all go wrong? How did their season come screeching to a halt on the most anticlimactic …