Things didn’t exactly go according to plan for the Philadelphia Flyers last season. A slow start from their captain Claude Giroux and the rest of the club led to the firing of coach Peter Laviolette after just four games.
The team rebounded behind interim-then-head coach Craig Berube to finish the season strong. Giroux came on strong as well, returning to the Hart Trophy caliber player from two years ago.
The biggest, and most pleasant surprise came in goal where Steve Mason turned into the Calder Trophy caliber goaltender from four years ago. Consider it a little slice of karma considering the Flyers basically gave Columbus Sergei Bobrovsky (2013 Vezina Trophy winner) for some magic beans and a game worn pair of Jeff Carter’s socks.
The Flyers lost a hard fought seven game playoff series loss to eventual Stanley Cup finalist New York that could have gone either way. However, considering the way the season started, the 2013-14 season can be considered a success. Let’s take a look at how the 2014-15 season sets up.
Offense
Giroux is the motor that makes this team go and that is quite obvious. There is a nice supporting cast with Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Vincent Lecavalier, Brayden Schenn and Matt Read, but it’s the captain that stirs the drink. The good news is that everyone except Lecavalier is under 28-years old and has been on a steady incline over the past few years.
The bad news is that Scott Hartnell was traded to Columbus for R.J. Umberger. While Umberger may provide salary cap relief, there are few positives, if any about the trade. Hartnell was a huge presence in the locker room and on the ice in Philadelphia and that will not be filled by former-now-current Flyer Umberger.
Defense
The Flyers got the terrible news that Kimmo Timonen may not be able to play hockey again (and almost certainly not this year) because of blood clots. It cripples them further on the business side of things, but from the blunt perspective of what Timonen actually brought to the table the Flyers will miss his leadership. Statistically Mark Streit is the top blue liner from a production standpoint. The drop off after Streit is pretty significant with Timonen out.
The Flyers have some steady and solid defensive defensemen, namely Braydon Coburn, Andrew MacDonald, and Luke Schenn. For fantasy hockey owners, the crop of Philadelphia defensemen is barren and dead. From a hockey perspective, it’s a good thing they get production from the offense.
Goaltending
Not to be pessimistic, but Mason will need to put up another solid season to make believers out of the long-suffering Flyer’s fans. Goaltending has been a point of contention in recent years for Philly and Mason provided welcome relief with an outstanding season. If he can keep his mojo, the Flyers may have gotten a franchise goaltender on the cheap.
Ray Emery will back up the 26-year old Mason, providing insurance in case the starter falters.
Special Teams
The Flyers finished in the top ten, seventh to be exact, in both power play and the penalty kill. A huge part of their early season struggles were the special teams, something that Berube was able to iron out over the course of the season. Giroux quarterbacks the extra-man attack with superior vision and puck handling. Only Nicklas Backstrom of Washington had more power play assists (38) than Giroux (30).
The Flyers were not only efficient when killing penalties, they were dangerous with a collection of speedy forwards. Read finished second in the NHL with four shorthanded goals and Philadelphia’s 84.8% penalty kill efficiency was decimal points behind the top six teams ahead of them.
Coaching
Berube’s coaching resume certainly doesn’t have him among the elite in the NHL, but he was certainly a success in his inaugural season. Known throughout his playing career as “The Chief”, Berube was known more for working with his fists. As a fiery leader behind the Philadelphia bench, Berube pulled no punches during his coaching debut. He gave no reverence to veterans and was unwavering in his expectations throughout the season.
A full training camp and season under the long-time assistant will better gauge his success as a head coach. Even though he coached 79 of 82 games last year, Berube had the enviable position of low expectations.
Outlook
There is no reason the Flyers can’t contend for the Metropolitan Division title. The key will come down to goaltending. If Mason can be the player he was in 2013-14, the Flyers will be among the elite. The core of the roster is just now approaching their prime and the sky is quite literally the limit. If they can play consistent top to bottom, they can beat anyone. However, even Flyer fans know that isn’t going to happen. Philadelphia will battle for the division title and swipe it in the last week of the season.