Flyers 20 Questions
For those who may have missed last night, Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman tweeted that the NHL has sent a memo to its 30 teams that training camp reporting dates may not be before Saturday and may not open until Monday. There will be a 48-game regular season starting on Jan. 19.
In the days to come, I will address the Flyers' defense, goaltending, and forward outlooks for the shortened season to come. There are many question marks surrounding the team despite its 103-point regular season and first-round playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. I have identified 20 such questions below.
It all starts with team defense and goaltending. In regard to team defense, the most important facet is, of course, the starting six on the blueline. However, there are also systemic issues as well as a need for forwards to make a consistent commitment to two-way play. Just as goalies often get blamed (especially in Philadelphia) for goals that aren't their fault, defensemen take heat for breakdowns and turnovers caused by teammates leaving them vulnerable.
The 20 questions below are not ranked in a particular order of importance. However, I have tried to list near the top most of ones I consider to be of the highest priority.
1. Will Ilya Bryzgalov consistently play at a high level? In other words, will he be the guy we saw in the first three games of last season, the month of March, the clinching game against Pittsburgh and the first two periods of Game 2 against New Jersey? Or will he be the inconsistent goaltender we saw for much of the rest of the season. He experienced wild swings between brilliance and self-made failures-- often within the same game.
2. Who will replace Matt Carle's minutes and puck moving ability? Carle has his flaws and may not have been a superstar, but he was a very important player in Peter Laviolette's system. He triggered breakouts. He ate a lot of minutes. When the team lost Chris Pronger (probably for good), Carle carried on with a variety of different partners, including rookies. Carle's departure for Tampa Bay has opened up another hole on the blueline, and the team was unable to fill it during the offseason.
3. Will Kimmo Timonen's health hold up? The 37-year-old was an NHL All-Star last season (his fifth All-Star game selection) and the winner of the Barry Ashbee Trophy. He's been an iron man during his career in terms of durability. But his body has started to break down over the last couple years. He is coming off back surgery and also had potentially related knee problems last year. The lockout enabled him to have more time to rehabilitate, but the upcoming condensed schedule is going to be very taxing.
4. What can the Flyers expect from Andrej Meszaros? A lot of people have asked whether Meszaros, who is coming off late summer Achilles tendon repair surgery, will be ready to start the season on time. While that is a concern, a bigger issue to me is how effective he'll be whenever he is cleared to play. Even if he's playing, he could struggle for awhile to recover his game. He has only played one game since last March, when he had to undergo back surgery. Don't expect too much too soon from the 2010-11 Ashbee Trophy winner, even though the Flyers may need him to play at his peak level.
5. Will Luke Schenn live up to his potential? The addition of Schenn adds a physical element to the Flyers' blueline and he's not bad in the first-pass department. In Toronto, the 2008 first-round pick struggled to live up to his pre-NHL hype of being "the next Adam Foote," and he's going from one ultra-high pressure situation into another one. Schenn has not yet become a shutdown defenseman worthy of playing regularly against other teams' top lines. He can get beaten off the rush or get out of position while looking for a big hit, and has never been an offensive defenseman at any level. However, there have been stretches of time where things have clicked for Schenn. It should also be noted that most NHL d-men experience growing pains, and many require multiple seasons before they finally hit their groove.
6. Can Braydon Coburn bring out his offensive game? The tandem of Coburn and Nicklas Grossmann was the Flyers shutdown pairing in the stretch and playoffs, and he's going to have to shoulder an even bigger load this season. He may also see a return to regular power play duties for the first time since 2007-08. That season, playing under John Stevens, Coburn posted a career-high nine goals and 36 points. The Flyers may need similar production to account for the loss of Carle. That is going to be an especially tough order given Coburn's defensive responsibilities. Basically, the Flyers need Coburn to play at an NHL All-Star level in his all-around game -- and he's never done that for a full season.
7. Is Peter Laviolette's system too offensive-minded? I
addressed this topic at length after the Flyers were eliminated from the playoffs. Laviolette likes to play an up-tempo system that requires a lot of skating and an aggressive pursuit of the puck. It can be highly effective when executed properly but can also leave the team vulnerable defensively at times.
8. Will Nicklas Grossmann stay healthy? Grossmann has injured both of his knees in the last two seasons, missing the stretch drive for Dallas in 2011 and playing through an April injury to the other knee last year for the Flyers after missing just a couple games. He wore braces on both knees. Grossmann also sustained a concussion during the playoffs last year, courtesy of an Evgeni Malkin elbow to the head. After the season, Grossmann opted for physical rehab instead of knee surgery. Reportedly, he's returned to sound health over the offseason and lockout, and he played well during a short stint in Sweden. So he'll definitely be fine to start the season. The hope is that there are no new injuries.
9. Can Bruno Gervais step into the top six? As of now, free agent signee Gervais will be the Flyers' sixth defenseman, although he'll receive some competition from veterans Andreas Lilja and Matt Walker (the new CBA will apparently render the Flyers unable to bury his contract in the AHL) as well as the younger Erik Gustafsson. Gervais is a decent puck mover with a little bit of offensive game, but has struggled in his career when asked to play extended minutes.
10. Will Erik Gustafsson grab a top-six role?The young Swede has dealt with both injury and inconsistency over the last year. Recently, he's been out of the Phantoms' lineup due to a high ankle injury. There really isn't much more for him to gain by playing at the AHL level, but even if he's healthy, he will have to battle for NHL minutes. He's shown flashes of NHL ability with the Flyers, including a magnificent performance in the series-clinching game against Pittsburgh last year. However, at other times, he's looked like a fringe NHL/AHL player. He needs to be assertive on a regular basis to have a role.
11. Will Marc-Andre Bourdon get healthy and contribute? Bourdon unexpectedly provided solid play at the NHL level last year. Unfortunately, he's sustained three concussions within the last calendar year, over a span of about 26 games. Currently, he remains sidelined indefinitely.
12. Who will quarterback the power play? When Pronger went down, the Flyers essentially needed TWO players to replace him: a shutdown defenseman and a power play quarterback. The additions of Grossmann and Schenn have added size and physicality to assist in battles down low in the defensive zone, but neither brings the ruthlessness and intimidation factor that Pronger had. Meanwhile, although the Flyers' power play last year was pretty good for the most part, there is still a void at the point. Carle was not an ideal power play QB due to his unreliable shot, but he wasn't a bad playmaker. The Flyers may once again need to try some forwards at the point. Both Jakub Voracek and Matt Read saw time in that role last year.
13. Do the Flyers have enough high-end depth on the wings? A year ago, Jaromir Jagr came in and plugged a hole on the wing. He also brought a lot of off-ice leadership to the club. Now he's gone, along with James van Riemsdyk. The club has added Ruslan Fedotenko to the bottom six of its forward rotation, and he's a decent addition from a team defense and forechecking standpoint.
14. Can Jakub Voracek succeed on the top line? The biggest part of overcoming Jagr's departure will be the continued emergence of Voracek into a consistent producer in the NHL. He was outstanding down the stretch and the playoffs last year, but must carry it over for a full season.
15. Will Wayne Simmonds build upon his career year? The Flyers need another 25-plus goal-pace campaign out of Simmonds (in other words, roughly 13-15 goals during the shortened season), and hopefully a little less hot-and-cold streakiness. I'm not overly worried about this, though. I think he'll be fine.
16. Will Brayden Schenn become an NHL impact player this season? Schenn had a promising rookie second-half once he finally got healthy last season, but still has room for growth. He needs to be a little less streaky offensively and continue to develop the consistency of his defensive game as well. Long-term, I still think the Flyers see him as a center. However, he played more left wing than center as a rookie last year and he may do the same this year with Danny Briere remaining in the middle. During the lockout, Schenn was dominant at times for the Phantoms. At other times, he seemed a bit bored and distracted (which could also be said for Sean Couturier and even Eric Wellwood).
17. Will Sean Couturier's offensive role expand? There is no doubt that Couturier is already a polished defensive player at the NHL level. He showed that conclusively by his head-to-head play against Evgeni Malkin in the playoffs. The biggest area in which he still needs growth is his offensive assertiveness and consistency. He was a big point-producer in junior hockey and was dominant at times (but a bit inconsistent) offensively for the Phantoms during the lockout. Couturier doesn't need to put up huge offensive numbers to help the Flyers but the organization hopes to see him continue to develop into a player who can carry more regular offensive duties as well.
18. Can Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell pick up where they left off? Both players are coming off career years. Giroux, of course, is the Flyers' franchise player and will be expected to once again be among the NHL's scoring leaders. There is also a strong possibility that he'll be named the new captain. Linemate Hartnell is coming off his first NHL All-Star season. The team will need him to sustain something close to that level.
19. Will Danny Briere have a better regular season? I am willing to chalk up Briere's subpar 2011-12 regular season to injuries and a revolving door of linemates. He stepped up offensively in the playoffs, as he always does. Even so, at age 35, there is always some year-to-year concern with any player keeping up his game. Briere went to Germany to play during the lockout for exactly that reason. He needed game action to stay sharp. With Danny's injury history (which includes a couple concussions and other upper-body issues, including a current wrist injury), the Flyers hope he holds up. Given his lack of size and occasional defensive matchup issues, he has to be healthy and productive offensively.
20. Was Max Talbot's 2011-12 offensive season a fluke? The Flyers signed Talbot last year looking for gritty two-way play, penalty killing prowess and an agitating presence. They got all that and more. His 19-goal offensive season was a nice little unexpected bonus. It's not critical that he perform at a similar offensive clip during the shortened 2013 regular season but a few timely playoff goals sure might come in handy.
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Injury updates
As training camp approaches, here is where the Flyers' stand in terms of a known list of injured players and players who went to Europe and sustained some sort of injury during the lockou (there is some repetition of information from the top section, but I wanted to get it all in one place):
* Chris Pronger will be at training camp but is NOT expected to play at all this season. Don't expect it, folks. He's there because he's still under contract and wants to be supportive of his teammates; not because there's a realistic shot of him playing hockey.
* Andrej Meszaros is not far off from being ready to be medically cleared to play hockey again. He wouldn't be ready if the season started this week, but has a shot at clearance for Jan. 19 or shortly thereafter, barring setbacks. As I said above, however, don't be surprised if he struggles for awhile to regain his game. He's coming off two major injuries, and even if his back is totally healthy now, Achilles tendon tears can take months (even after resumption of playing) from which to to achieve full recovery. It's not a built-in excuse if he is ineffective. It's just realism.
* Claude Giroux has recovered from a neck injury sustained in early December. He recently played in a charity exhibition game and has been working out for weeks. If the NHL season had been canceled, he probably would have returned to Berlin for the DEL stretch run and playoffs. He just waited it out as a precaution.
* Danny Briere has a wrist injury sustained in late December but is expected to be ready for opening night for the Flyers. If the injury had occurred in the DEL after the cancellation of an NHL season, he may have tried to play through it after a game or two away. But discretion was the better part of valor given the timing of the injury.
* Erik Gustafsson has a high ankle injury and has missed several weeks for the Phantoms. He returned to practice last week but did not get back in the lineup. It remains to be seen if he will temporarily remain in Adirondack before rejoining the big club. That decision is unknown at this point.
* Marc-Andre Bourdon is sidelined indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. He was eligible to play in the AHL during the lockout because of the "clear-day list" rule instituted by the league in September. However, now that the NHL lockout is settled, I am not sure if his status would revert to requiring waivers to remain in Adirondack. That's really a non-issue right now, however. First, he has to get 100 percent symptom free again for a sustained period. The organization has been mum about his status since confirming he has had another bout of concussion-like symptoms. Paul Holmgren did express hope that he can be OK at some point, but the organization won't (and can't) rush him.
* Andreas Lilja had offseason hip surgery but is now fine. He was cleared in December.
* Kimmo Timonen had offseason back surgery. He will be ready for opening night, and probably would have been in the lineup even if the season had started on time.
* The official reason for Ilya Bryzgalov leaving CSKA Moscow a little early prior to the end of the lockout was that he needed to see a U.S.-based specialist regarding an upper-body injury. I have no idea if that was legit or simply a convenient reason for a parting of ways, so I'm listing it here. However, I suspect that he's fine and just wanted to get back to North America after a largely frustrating stint with CSKA. He actually played fine in each of his last four starts, including the one against SKA St. Petersburg in which he was said to have aggravated an injury.
* Jakub Voracek sustained a sprained knee in a KHL game back in October, and missed a month. He returned in November and has been playing ever since without even need of a knee brace. As such, he can be considered a healthy player.
* Matt Read had a couple of day-to-day injuries (bruised foot, back spasms) while with Södertälje SK in Sweden, but is fine to start the NHL season. If the NHL season had been cancelled, he was slated to return to Södertälje is mid-January.
* Potential call-up forward Ben Holmstrom has been lost for the season. He underwent ACL repair surgery last month.
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