When the 2013-14 NHL season began the Philadelphia Flyers were regarded as one of the contenders for the inaugural Metropolitan Division crown. The Pittsburgh Penguins were the favorites to repeat as division winners, but their neighbors across the state had made some subtle offseason changes to push their rivals.
The season started as poorly as one could imagine. Coach Peter Laviolette was terminated after a 0-3 start that followed “one of the worst preseason’s” owner Ed Snider had ever seen. The Flyers had missed the playoffs in the shortened 2013 season with rumors swirling about Laviolette’s fate.
Assistant coach Craig Berube took the reins and attempted to get the underachieving club out of their funk. Star captain Claude Giroux was the most notable of the slow starters failing to notch a single goal in the month of October. The ginger-haired sniper wouldn’t notch his first goal until a 4-2 home win against the Edmonton Oilers, over a month into the new season.
The Flyers finished the month of October with a 3-9 record, firmly planted in the basement of the Eastern Conference. On October 22, Giroux had made the boldly optimistic statement that the last place Flyers would make the playoffs in 2014. While it seemed like a tad far-fetched at the time, his words would prove to be prophetic.
We know how the rest of the season played out with Giroux and the Flyers remarkably turning their fortunes 180 degrees. They were a playoff team once again with some late-season mediocrity costing them a critical home ice advantage in the playoffs. Giroux rebounded impressively, putting together a season in the latter five months that garnered him his second Hart Trophy nomination in three years.
The biggest story of the season, or the two biggest I should say, were the success of first-time coach Berube, and the Flyer’s goaltending success.
The “Chief” as he was known throughout his playing career commanded respect immediately from his players and seemed to get the absolute best from them. His no-nonsense approach saw four-time All Star Vincent Lecavalier demoted to the fourth line and healthy scratches distributed to other veterans that weren’t pulling their weight.
The goaltending was consistent throughout the season, even through the rough first month. It was a welcome sight for long-suffering fans and executives alike, that saw every goaltending decision over the past decade go sideways at some point. Steve Mason resurrected his career with a remarkable season from start to finish. I’ll count myself among the many who forgot that Mason was only 23 when he came over to the Flyers as a Columbus Blue Jacket castaway. Now only 25 years old, Mason has established himself as the Philadelphia starter for now and possibly the next 10 years.
Considering the way the season started, the 2013-14 campaign has to be considered a success for the Flyers. The team returned to the playoffs, found their franchise goaltender, saw their superstar captain restore his good name among the NHL elite and found a pretty good coach.
The offseason began with Ron Hextall being named as the team general manager, which is hard for a child of the 1980’s to wrap their head around. If you had told me 20 years ago that Hextall and Berube would be in charge of the Flyers, or any hockey team for that matter, I would have wondered about the de-evolution of the NHL.
Instead, both men have matured into responsible adults charged with bringing Stanley Cup glory back to Broad Street. There is certainly more work to be done, but the Flyers can build on a successful season and will be a force for many years to come.