When people rank a defense corps according a depth chart, there is a natural tendency to call the two players on the top pairing the number one and number two defensemen, the guys on the second pairing the numbers three and four, etc. But it doesn't always work that way.
For example, prior to Chris Pronger's career-ending concussion issues, he was the Flyers' number one defenseman. He played in all game situations and was going to be on the ice frequently in crunch time. Kimmo Timonen was the number two defenseman.
But Pronger and Timonen infrequently played as a pairing. Instead, Pronger was usually paired with Matt Carle (who could be characterized as the number three) and Timonen was with with longtime partner Braydon Coburn (the number four). Andrej Meszaros was one of the NHL's top number five guys, playing 20 minutes a game despite being on the third pairing. Meszaros' partners -- Sean O'Donnell in 2009-10 and various players last year -- were the number six.
Although people still frequently complained that the Flyers' blueline was not good enough, it was actually one of the more solid starting groups in the NHL. The team's goals against average wasn't stellar but that was more a product of Peter Laviolette's up-tempo system, spotty team defense (i.e., forwards not helping out) and pedestrian goaltending than a question of the defense corps needing an upgrade.
That is no longer the case, unfortunately. With Pronger out of the picture, Carle now in Tampa and Meszaros having had three major injuries (back surgery, Achilles tendon surgery, separated shoulder) within the calendar year, the defense currently relies on a depth chart of Timonen as the number one, Coburn as the number two, Luke Schenn as the number three, Nicklas Grossmann as the number four, Bruno Gervais as the number five and Kurtis Foster as the number six.
Individually, all of these players are bonafide NHL defensemen (so that's an upgrade over some of the guys the Flyers ended up using regularly in the disastrous 2006-07 season). But the pieces don't really fit together.
If one could create the absolutely ideal NHL blueline, the starting corps would have have a good balance of offensive-minded and defensive defensemen, mobility and size, puck movement and physicality, youth and experience (i.e., senior partners and junior partners) and of players with lefthanded and righthanded sticks to play their natural side of the ice.
In a perfect world, there is also a serviceable seventh defenseman who can step in for several games in case of injury. Hopefully, the depth is further supplemented by one or two prospects at the AHL level who appear to be NHL ready.
No NHL blueline has all of the above mentioned characteristics going for it. That's why most every team is on the lookout to add to their defensive depth.
The Flyers' current blueline is strong on experience, size, physicality and shot-blocking prowess. There is also a rare 3-to-3 balance of lefthanded and righthanded shooters in the current starting lineup. Unfortunately, they are weak on mobility, puck movement and youth.
Philadelphia relies heavily on Timonen, a four-time NHL All-Star and three-time winner of the Barry Ashbee Trophy, to anchor their top pairing. But Timonen is a month away from his 38th birthday. He's coming off back surgery and elected not to also undergo offseason knee surgery last summer. Timonen still has encyclopedic hockey sense and two-way savvy, which enables him to make a lot of good plays. Unfortunately, at least thus far this season, much of his former mobility appears to be gone.
I hate to be so blunt about one of my favorite players of the last 20 years, but I think this has to be said: An aging 5-foot-10 defenseman with increasingly suspect mobility cannot effectively serve as the number one defenseman on a contending team. He can still be a good player in a somewhat reduced role but the longer the team is forced to burn the candle at both ends in terms of Timonen's offensive and defensive workloads, the more they risk accelerating his decline as the wear-and-tear on his body takes it toll.
The Flyers knew this even last summer. That's why they so heavily pursued Ryan Suter as an unrestricted free agent and then signed Shea Weber to an offer sheet. The idea was to spend enough to have a "new" Pronger (Weber) and/or Timonen (Suter) atop the blueline. Unfortunately for the organization, the plan didn't work out.
Suter wasn't interested in coming here despite the Flyers' throwing a massive offer his way. He signed with Minnesota, along with forward Zach Parise (whom the Flyers also offered a boatload of money, to no avail). Later, the Predators matched the Weber offer sheet. On top of that, right after Suter signed with the Wild, Carle signed with Tampa.
The recent injury to Meszaros will force him out of action until late February or early March. As a result, Peter Laviolette has had to shuffle his second and third pairings. Timonen and Luke Schenn have remained together as the top pairing. Schenn needs to play under better control than he has the last two games, keeping things simple as he did while playing well in the first game against the Rangers and the blowout win over Florida.
Coburn and Grossmann are a good shutdown duo as the second pairing. They showed it last year and showed it in the two games against the Rangers this season as well. But they aren't a #1 pairing because they don't produce much offense (virtually none from Grossmann and irregular production from Coburn).
With Meszaros out, the Flyers have had to break up the Coburn-Grossmann pairing so as to avoid having to pair Gervais and Foster as the third unit and also to have one LH and one RH stick on all three pairings.
Gervais looked fine in easier matchups while playing on the third pairing. But he gets exposed when his minutes get extended. Foster is strictly a power play specialist who can barely get through some five-on-five shifts as the sixth defenseman. Put Foster with Grossmann and you can survive some of Foster's defensive issues but you also have a very slow third pairing. Andreas Lilja is pretty much only a shot-blocking specialist at this late stage of his career.
Coburn has always been a streaky player. He'll play lights out defense and use his mobility to good effect for multiple stretches of games and then he'll go into slumps where he makes a lot of mental mistakes as well as physical miscues. His offense has always been spotty, which is why he is not ideal for an offensive-minded role.
As things stand right now, Coburn is the Flyers' most mobile defenseman. Despite his size, he can really skate. Gervais is probably second in that category with Timonen third by default. Grossmann is sounder positionally than Luke Schenn but is not as good of a passer and is the slower skater of the two (largely due to a pair of knee injuries that force him to wear bulky braces on both knees when he plays).
Unfortunately, there are only so many ways the Flyers can shuffle the deck with the personnel they have. They need a little more consistency out of Coburn and Luke Schenn. Grossmann is pretty much the same player game after game. Some games are better than others but he's a classic set-him-and-forget-him type of defensive defenseman whom coaches and goalies appreciate more than the casual hockey fan.
There is one potential in-house option for upgrading the mobility and puck-moving capabilities of the blueline. After missing a month with a high ankle injury sustained while blocking shot, Erik Gustafsson is now healthy enough to have returned to the Phantoms lineup. He struggled in his first weekend back in the lineup, but reportedly looked a little better in his last game.
At some point soon, I think the Flyers will recall Gustafsson and put him with Grossmann or Coburn for awhile. But while I think Gus is an upgrade on Foster (though not with the same overpowering point shot that Foster has), he isn't a bonafide number four defenseman in the NHL. At this point, he's more of a number six.
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Tye McGinn has been impressive since his callup from the Phantoms. Several people have asked me whom, apart from Gustafsson, could be potential recalls for the big club this season. As I see it, there are seven potential candidates at the moment, with three obvious possibilities (players with previous NHL games) and four dark horses.
The obvious candidates:
1) Eric Wellwood: He started the year with the big club before being sent back to the AHL. He brings speed and penalty killing prowess but is undersized with questionable hands.
2) Harry Zolnierczyk: Harry Z brings speed, agitation and some periodic offense. However, Peter Laviolette seemed to sour on him a bit last year after initially being intrigued by what he could bring. Zolnierczyk has had some awful plus-minus ratings, which can be a deceptive stat but he is actually sort of tweener who isn't quite good enough defensively to be a checking line regular and doesn't score enough to stay on a top line.
3) Brandon Manning: The young defenseman had an NHL cup of coffee last year. He has a great work ethic and a take-charge quality about him. but has really struggled for much of his second pro season. Yes, he made the AHL All-Star Game (as a replacement for the injured Gustafsson) but that was pretty much by default. Manning still has a lot to learn defensively, though he doesn't back down from a challenge. There is some offensive skill as well, but Gustafsson is more polished in that regard. He's much more physical than the undersized Gustafsson but is also more prone to running around and abandoning his position.
The dark horses:
1) Marcel Noebels: At some point, Noebels will come up to the NHL. The German rookie has shown both at the ECHL and AHL levels this year that he has the hands to score some goals. When he uses his big frame and gets himself into scoring areas, he can finish. When he plays the perimeter, he's ineffective. Noebels has some skating deficiencies that are still a work in progress. There is two-way potential in his game, but he probably would not make for a good third-line type yet at this stage of his development. I still see his NHL role as more of a third-line than second-line type but perhaps he can keep developing his scoring niche and work his way up that way. But he needs a playmaker to get him the puck because he's not going to beat many NHL defensemen one-on-one when he carries it himself. However, he's a good forechecker when he sets his mind to it.
2) Rob Bordson: He is one of the few Phantoms players who has not gotten in Terry Murray's doghouse at any point this season. Bordson has dressed for every game, and actually worked his way into a bigger role. He consistently makes smart and safe plays with and without the puck. Although he was a big scorer in collegiate and ECHL hockey, he has come to understand that his role at the higher rungs of hockey is a defensive one.
3) Jason Akeson: Murray sent Akeson a message by cutting him from the opening night AHL roster despite him having led the Phantoms in scoring as a rookie last season. Akeson is a bit of a one-dimensional talent, and Murray wanted to see him work on his skating and defensive awareness. Akeson sees the ice very well and is a good playmaker. Those skills are of NHL caliber. He prefers passing to shooting, though he can finish, too. But Akeson is undersized and the rest of his game -- skating, defense, physicality -- are still of fringe caliber in terms of being an NHL candidate. I could only see him being recalled if the Flyers' scoring woes continue and they want to give him a look as someone who might be able to be a playmaker on the second power play unit.
4) Oliver Lauridsen: The big Dane has been evolving into an AHL version of Nick Grossmann or Luke Schenn. He doesn't have Grossmann's positional awareness or bull-like strength to retrieve pucks and have NHL-caliber forecheckers bounce off his shoulders or backside. He also lacks Schenn's underrated first-past ability. However, Lauridsen is good at boxing out, blocking shots and, like Schenn, will drop the gloves. His skating is adequate for a big man in the AHL but suspect for a potential NHL candidate. Unfortunately for Lauridsen, he is very much a "niche" prospect and there are two better (and still relatively young) players on the NHL club who perform the same duties.
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