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Meltzer's Musings: Pronger, Worlds, Laviolette |
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Much of the Flyers' aspirations for winning a Stanley Cup are tied into the durability of Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen. When the two of them (or at least one) is reasonably healthy and productive, the Flyers remain a legitimate Cup contender. Without a productive Pronger and Timonen, the Flyers are the team we saw down the stretch and in the ECSF.
Pronger just was not himself most of the season, even when he was in the lineup. You could count on your fingers the number of games in which he had a major impact this year but his presence on the ice had value in and of itself. That's why the team's excellent January road trip when Pronger was out of the lineup inspired many to believe at the time that the club was destined to win the Cup after his (healthy) return. Unfortunately, Pronger kept getting hurt and the rest of the team out of synch by that point.
Timonen tried mightily to play at far less than 100 percent this season. I don't think that most fans realized just how banged up he is, because he never talks about it publicly and you just about need to tie Timonen down to keep him out of the lineup. Kimmo actually did a good job of playing through nagging hip and lower back issues this season. Unfortunately, even with the Flyers' additions on defense last summer, he looked like his tank was empty in the playoffs this spring. He was one of the many victims of the Boston buzzsaw that cut right through the Flyers in the second round of the playoffs.
As I wrote the other day, I think the team's off-season plans will be based at least in part on trying to find ways to cushion the impact of one or both players suffering from ongoing decline in their health and/or performance.
With Pronger likely to undergo his fourth surgery -- this time on his back -- in less than a calendar year and Timonen's issues unlikely to magically disappear, this offseason is probably the worst possible time to need a goaltending upgrade. But that's the hand the Flyers have been dealt, and they'll have to manage the best they can.
On the message board yesterday, I was asked which goalie I would pursue via trade if I were Paul Holmgren and decided to go that route rather than signing an unrestricted free agent. Given the Flyers current situation of needing a proven upgrade, I still think they do what it takes to sign either Ilya Bryzgalov or Tomas Vokoun.
However, if I had to trade instead for a second young goalie to compete with (or potentially swap place with) Sergei Bobrovsky, my target would be Nashville's Anders Lindbäck. I think the young goalie is a virtual clone of teammate Pekka Rinne and is ready right now to be a starting goalie in the NHL. "Anders the Giant" stands 6-foot-6 and covers a whole lot of net but is also very athletic. His NHL experience is still quite limited but the Preds didn't skip a beat when Lindbäck filled in for Rinne.
Since Nashville also has highly regarded 2007 draft pick Jeremy Smith seemingly ready for NHL action next season and struggling 2008 first-round pick Chet Pickard (whom the Flyers tried to move up to select at the draft) in the farm system, I could see the Preds being willing to part with Lindbäck for the right price. I also think that price may be a little lower than what Vancouver would want for Cory Schneider or LA would demand for Jonathan Bernier. I personally consider the upside on all three of those goalies to be a little higher than Sergei Bobrovsky's upside, but it's pretty close.
However, I don't see acquiring another young and unproven goalie as being a good fit for the Flyers' current needs unless they were to go into full-fledged retooling mode.
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James van Riemsdyk scored a late goal in Team USA's 5-3 loss to Switzerland yesterday. On the play, he came off the bench and found a seam in the defense to drive untouched through the left slot and receive a pass from Cam Fowler near the net.
Team USA faces a difficult medal round quarterfinal match, taking on an undefeated Czech team that has been playing by far the best all-around hockey in the tournament so far. The puck drops at 10:15 AM eastern US time tomorrow.
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Over the last few months, but especially throughout the playoffs, there have been numerous rumors about dissent between various Flyers' players and head coach Peter Laviolette. One of the most prevalent rumors behind the scenes was that team captain Mike Richards was no longer on speaking terms with Laviolette.
Yesterday, 610 WIP's Glen Macnow reported the Richards story on the air. While Laviolette said it was untrue that he and the captain were not speaking at all, he did admit that his relationship with Richards is "something we're working on" moving forward. It's been said that Laviolette initially clashed with Rod Brind'Amour in Carolina but the two eventually got on the same page and won a Cup together.
It should also be noted that Richards is not the only player involved here. There have been equally prevalent rumors from credible sources that there was a lot of player anger directed at Laviolette for the goaltending carousel during the playoffs; namely the decision to elevate Michael Leighton and then start him over Brian Boucher in Game 6 after Leighton had only played in one regular season game with the big club this season.
I have a world of respect for commentator Bill Clement, but I have to partially disagree with his comment after Game 4 of the Boston series along the lines of "it would be 100 percent wrong to blame Peter Laviolette and the coaches." The primary blame goes on the players, no doubt about it. But Laviolette came up every bit as small as the team and he deserves his fair share of blame.
His handling of matchups in the first game of the Boston series left a lot to be desired, and some have said that his day-in and day-out intensity needs to be toned down just a bit because it's the main reason why he's gained the reputation as a coach with a short shelf life until he gets tuned out.
Let me be crystal clear here that I do not advocate firing Laviolette because the captain and other players aren't his biggest fans. The Flyers have changed coaches too many times in recent years, and I still think Laviolette has pushed the right buttons more often than not during his tenure here so far. But he has also alienated several players who carry influence around the locker room, and mending fences and establishing better communication needs to be a priority if the relationship is to be successful going ahead. Alternatively, Paul Holmgren will need to remove some of those influences.
Winning cures a lot of ills in hockey. It's easy to forget now that, near the trade deadline this year, Homer avoided making any moves involving current roster players because he didn't want to disturb the chemistry that seemed to be in place.
Likewise, it's just as easy to forget that there were as many -- if not more -- rumors of dissent and locker room factions last season after the Olympic break. Somehow, the team found a way to get on the same page and come within a whisker of winning the Cup. Several players have said they like playing the system Laviolette preaches, so getting buy-in in that regard is not a problem.
Can Laviolette coexist successfully with his players next year? Absolutely. But it's going to take a little more flexibility on his part, and perhaps a few changes in the locker room to remove players with negative influences. I also think at least one assistant coaching change or addition may be in order.
During Mike Keenan's most successful years as a coach, he had EJ McGuire as his right hand man. The gentlemanly, brainy and calm McGuire used to joke that his main job under Keenan was to "clean the blood off the walls" -- in other words, sooth hurt feelings with a more positive message, provide a sounding board for players and intelligently decide which issues needed to be brought to the head coach's attention and which ones did not.
There was only one EJ McGuire in many, many ways but the Flyers could use an assistant who balances off Laviolette's fiery disposition and is equally trusted by the coach and players alike. That's not meant as an indictment of Craig Berube or Kevin McCarthy, but rather an acknowledgment that there was a disconnect that developed this season between the head coach and his team and that perhaps an additional liaison would be helpful come next season.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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