The Flyers reached the statistical midpoint of the 2009-10 season yesterday. It is fair to say that the club has been every bit as mediocre as its 19-19-3 record suggests. Despite the club's 4-1-1 road trip, it is still clear that the team needs to make changes in its nucleus to be anything more than pretenders in the Eastern Conference.

For the most part, the club's role players have actually done the job when healthy. It has been the guys who are supposed to be the club's best players who have often been unable to deliver when the club needs them the most.

An abbreviated midterm report card follows:

FORWARDS

Mike Richards: The Flyers captain needs to play with an edge to be effective. When he doesn't, he becomes an ordinary NHL player. Richards' grittiness went AWOL for a prolonged period after the David Booth incident, and has been sporadic since.

Grade: C


Jeff Carter: In many ways, Carter has become the poster child for the club's problems. He is still a streaky player at both ends of the ice and there are still too many games where he is invisible at the critical junctures.

Grade: C-

Claude Giroux: The second-year player has been shuttled between center and wing and played with a lot of different linemates. He had a slow start to the season and has been up-and-down since. Ultimately, though, the Flyers need more than an eye-popping shift or two per game from him and more of his "A" games.

Grade: C

Simon Gagne: I'm still not totally convinced that the veteran's groin/abdominal problems have been solved for the season. Gagne no longer has the explosive burst of speed that marked his game at its best. He seemed to be coming around but then took another step backwards.

Grade: Incomplete

Scott Hartnell: Too many undisciplined penalties, too little production. The Flyers rely heavily on Hartnell to cause havoc in front of the net (as he did on the play that led to the Flyers' only goal at the Winter Classic). They rely heavily on him to create turnovers and win battles on the boards. He hasn't done that consistently enogh, either.

Grade: C-

Danny Briere: As much as I like Briere both as a player and as a person (you will never meet a more earnest and caring player than Danny), I wonder if he's a player whom the Flyers could potentially use to retool the club. I know he has a no-movement clause and a huge contract, but he may also be willing to make a fresh start somewhere else. But Briere in many ways is a luxury the Flyers can neither afford nor afford to give up. They can't afford the way he gets overpowered in the defensive zone or some of the stick infractions he takes. But the offensively inconsistent club also can hardly afford to give up his scoring punch. He needs to produce goals a little more frequently, too.

Grade: C+


James van Riemsdyk: The rookie was tremendous in the preseason and got off to a strong start this season. However, he has stopped using his size to set up his finesse game and has consequently gone into a prolonged slump. It has not just been a product of his linemates. JVR himself has to start making some contributions to the lineup (even when he's not scoring) or take a seat in the pressbox.

Grade: C+


Darroll Powe: The club really missed Powe during his absence from the lineup. He usually brings speed and work ethic to the club, and provided some opportunistic offense prior to his injury. He isn't immune to costly mistakes but is still just a second-season NHL payer.

Grade: B+

Arron Asham: The veteran never gives up on a play and or ducks a battle (even when he's overmatched). He's marginal as a third-line player because his skills are modest and he can only provide a semblance of offense on a sporadic basis, but Asham is a warrior.

Grade: B

Dan Carcillo: He's always entertaining and is one player who rarely lacks for enthusiasm, but Carcillo is one of those players with whom you have to take the bad with the good. He has to play on the edge to be effective but he still needs to learn how and when to pick his spots.

Grade: B-

Blair Betts: Betts is always one hit away from another shoulder injury but when healthy has generally done everything the club could hope for. He's been a good addition to the checking lines and a solid penalty killer. He's even popped a couple goals.

Grade: B+

Ian Laperriere: If only some of the club's more talented players had Laperriere's work ethic and winner's mentality, the club would not be in last place in the Atlantic Division. Laperriere has executed his role as expected of him. He'll lose his fair share of battles, but it's never for lack of desire or effort.

Grade: B+

Mika Pyorala: When the Flyers signed him in the offseason, I likened him to Patrick Thoresen. I still hold by that comparison. He teased with a good offensive preseason but the offensive game disappeared once the regular season started. As expected, he's been defensively responsible but that alone won't keep in the lineup.

Grade: C

Riley Cote: The enforcer is a spare part but is a hard worker at practice and a good guy off the ice. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of use for a single-purpose fighter who struggles against the NHL's true heavyweights, especially when the club already has several other players who drop the gloves willingly.

Grade: Incomplete


DEFENSEMEN

Chris Pronger: Pronger has not been the problem with the defense, but he hasn't dominated, either. In his Norris-caliber form, he provides more regular offense and a more consistent physical presence than he has this season. But he's still the club's best defenseman more often than not.

Grade: B-

Matt Carle: Carle got off to a tremendous start at both ends of the ice this season but has been very ordinary for the last eight weeks. The dropoff in his offensive contributions has been a contributor to the club's overall dropoff in offense.

Grade: B

Kimmo Timonen: The veteran Finn has not been a healthy player for much of the season, but has gamely played on without uttering a word. Nevertheless, it showed in his play. He's looked closer to his accustomed level in more recent weeks.

Grade: B-

Braydon Coburn: Every time Coburn seems to be getting his game back in order, he regresses. He has done a Karl Dykhuis impersonation for too much of the last two seasons.

Grade: D

Ryan Parent: Still young, but he's been injury-prone and inconsistent throughout this season and his early NHL career. He'll never put up points so he needs to play rock-solid defense.

Grade: C

Oskars Bartulis: He has the physical tools to be an NHL regular but looks every bit like the rookie he is.

Grade: C+


GOALTENDERS

Ray Emery: Emery was tremendous prior to getting hurt, but quickly undid the confidence he inspired by playing horribly and acting like a jackass in the two weeks leading up to him
finally being shut down. If he regains his early season form upon his return, goaltending won't be a problem for the club.

Grade: B-

Brian Boucher: Boucher filled in admirably for Emery prior to suffering a ring-finger laceration. The club was losing most of the time, but that was mainly due to its inability to score. He looked rusty in relief of Michael Leighton yesterday.

Grade: B-

Michael Leighton: Yesterday's game notwithstanding, Leighton has made a strong case for himself to land another NHL backup job, whether it's here of somewhere else. As an AHL/NHL swingman, he's a better third goaltending option than Johan Backlund.

Grade: Incomplete

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