Flyers-Hurricanes Wrapup
Last night in Raleigh, the Philadelphia Flyers beat up on a Carolina Hurricanes team that must really want a guaranteed top-four pick in the NHL Draft and the third-highest odds of winning the Draft lottery a week from tomorrow. Losers of 10 of their last 11 games (1-9-1), the Hurricanes were content to leave Justin Peters to fend for himself all night.
The final score was 5-3 Flyers. But it just as easily could have been a 12-2 final.
Jakub Voracek started the game with a near-goal at the 14-second mark, skating at will through Carolina players and taking the puck to the net. Peters made the initial stop but left a rebound on the doorstep. Voracek was only able to get a glancing touch on the puck as his momentum carried him past the net. Peters recovered in the nick of time to make a second save as the puck trickled to the goal line but not over it.
Voracek, who had a would-be goal correctly disallowed in the New Jersey game for kicking the pick into the net, finally got his 20th of the season on his next scoring chance. At the 7:00 mark, Voracek saw daylight beyond the Carolina defense and took a stretch pass from Claude Giroux to go in on a breakaway. This time he buried a shot through Peter's five-hole to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead.
Although the goal would prove to be lone point that Voracek or Giroux would register in the game, there were about four or five excellent scoring opportunities to come. Voracek hit a post on a first-period power play chance. Linemate Simon Gagne was twice set up by Giroux in prime scoring range but hurried his shot and missed the net.
The scoring chances kept coming for the other Flyers lines as well as the top unit. In the second and third periods, Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read took turns beating up on Carolina's defense.
Simmonds, who came into the game in a goal-scoring slump, tore the Canes apart for his first career hat trick. He later added an assist. Read had a goal and two assists. The duo even combined for another would-be goal as the final horn sounded. The puck went off Read and into the net with about 0.1 remaining in the third period but it did not count.
Simmonds first goal, scored at 1:54 of the middle period, broke the 1-1 tie. Read made it possible, threading a backhanded pass around Carolina defenseman Jamie McBain to find a wide-open Simmonds in the right slot. Simmonds made no mistake.
After Carolina's Justin Faulk tied the game at 2-2, Simmonds struck again. On this sequence, Sean Couturier made a beautiful pass out of the corner to tee up a shot for Simmonds. The power forward ripped the puck over Peter's stick side. Read earned a secondary assist on the play at 8:33 of the middle period.
In the opening minute of the third period, Simmonds completed the hat trick. This one was an outright soft goal that Peters absolutely should have stopped. From a severe right-side angle, Simmonds wristed a shot at the net and the puck leaked in through Peters on the short side to give the Flyers a 4-2 lead.
About two minutes later, Eric Staal brought the Canes back within one goal. At the 7:03 mark, Read restored the two-goal cushion. Taking a pass from Simmonds, Read sped off on a breakaway with identical results to the Voracek goal. Read froze Peters and wristed a shot between his pads.
Over the course of the game, the Flyers were able to attack nearly at will on line rushes and forecheck deep in the Carolina territory with very little resistance. On this night, they didn't need their power play (which went 0-for-4) to carry the day offensively.
As mentioned earlier, the Flyers easily could have had a double-digit goal night in a game where they already piled up five even-strength goals. Peters would have had little chance to stop either Gagne scoring chance if he had been able to put his shot attempts on net. The Carolina robbed Danny Briere on a pair of excellent scoring chances around the net.
On the defensive side of the puck, Philly had some of their own characteristic breakdowns. In goal, Steve Mason had a handful of tough stops among the 26 saves, and continued to show off his puckhandling ability. Two of the three goals he allowed were potentially stoppable but none were outright soft goals like the fourth one that Peters yielded.
The first Carolina goal directly came about as a result of a Briere turnover on a sequence where the Flyers were not initially under much pressure along the right side boards. Flyers defensemen Oliver Lauridsen put the puck up the wall into Scott Hartnell's skates and, as he fished for it, Caroline knocked the disc away. Lauridsen reclaimed the puck and went in the other direction around the boards. This time Lauridsen sent the puck accurately and quickly around the end boards to Luke Schenn, who passed to Briere on the left half-boards.
As Briere reached for the puck, it either went off stick or off his skate directly into a dangerous area at the top of the left faceoff on the side near the medium slot. Jeff Skinner knocked the bouncing puck over Mason. This was by no means a routine attempted save for Mason but it was not an impossible save, either. He came up with a Tuomo Ruutu shot from the same area later in the game, and later made a couple saves from even better shooting areas. At any rate, this one was on poor execution on the breakout and not on the Philadelphia goaltender.
Carolina's second goal was a partially screened Faulk shot from the point. Mason probably should have stopped this one but there was traffic swirling around him.
The Staal goal began with Giroux getting taken off the puck at the Carolina blueline and the Canes counterattacking. Philly's defense never recovered, chasing the puck around as Alexander Semin passed to Jiri Tlusty. In turn, Tlusty found an open Staal driving into the slot and a gaping passing lane to get him the puck. A split second later, the puck was in the net. No goaltender was going to stop that one.
Philadelphia dominated the faceoff circle in this game, especially in the offensive zone. Overall, the Flyers won 57 percent (37 of 65) of the draws in the game. They were led by Giroux (14-for-22) and Couturier (11-for-16).
The Flyers, who would currently draft eighth or ninth unless they win the Draft lottery, return home on Tuesday to take on the Boston Bruins. The game marks the Philadelphia return of Jaromir Jagr.
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No Offense, Rusty (or No-Offense Rusty)
Ruslan Fedotenko has been a player and person whom I have liked ever since his rookie AHL season with the Phantoms in 1999-2000 back when I was writing for Rivals, Pro Hockey Euro Report and Hockey's Future. Apart from appreciating his game on the ice, I've always found him to be a good interview -- very friendly and candid.
This season, Fedotenko has done a fine job in a defensive role as a five-on-five checker and penalty killer. While plus-minus can be a deceptive statistic, Fedotenko's team-best plus-seven at even strength is an accurate indicator of how reliable he's been in making good reads and safe plays with the puck.
That said, I think Rusty was way off base in
telling the Delaware County Times that he's been unhappy in his roles in New York and Philadelphia the last two seasons. Fedotenko said that he craves more offensive responsibilities, which he had in the best years of his career when he played an offensive supporting-cast role as a player who generally played on the third line but got slotted occasionally in the top six.
According to Fedotenko, the reason why left the Rangers and returned to Philadelphia as a free agent was that he had become pigeonholed in a strictly defensive role in New York. To his disappointment, he's been kept in the same role in Philly. An impending unrestricted free agent, Fedotenko all but said he would not return next season.
As much as I admire Fedotenko, he is fooling himself if he thinks he's going to play an offensive role for any NHL team at this point of his career. I don't know if his controversial agent, Allan Walsh, was "pumping his tires" by telling Rusty there was a bigger role for him in Philly (or elsewhere beyond this year). Perhaps it was Fedotenko's semi-recent mini-hot streak offensively after a long drought that convinced him that he can still be a double-digit scorer and major playoff contributor. Or maybe it's just the pent-up frustration of playing for a non-playoff team, and wishing he could have done more to help.
It's probably a combination of all three. Whatever the reason(s) for Fedotenko's dissatisfaction, however, he's off base. Peter Laviolette has deployed him in his best possible role, and he's peformed that role very well. Offensively, it's another story. Fedotenko has had trouble finishing scoring chances when they have presented themselves this season. Apart from his five-game point streak, Rusty hasn't done anything offensively that would remotely give Laviolette or any other coach pause to consider slotting him on a scoring line or trying him on the second power play unit.
Given Fedotenko's salary ($1.75 million) and the impending drop in the salary cap ceiling, it is unlikely the Flyers would have been able to budget a slot for him next season even if he wanted to return. He's played well enough in his role to merit the same salary next year, and there are most certainly teams around the NHL that could use his help on the penalty kill. But
Although the Flyers aren't exactly deep in two-way forwards, re-signing Fedotenko is probably a non-option anyway. Their salary cap outlook for next season and top priority of upgrading the blueline dictates that they go with a less expensive player to fill Fedotenko's role next year as a defensive center/winger.
A current in-house candidate is Adam Hall. Like Fedotenko, Hall plays both center and wing and is an unrestricted free agent after the season. Considering that he bounced around employers this season and ended up on waivers once he got back to Tampa from Carolina, the opportunity for a steady job in Philadelphia would presumably be appealing. Hall, who is making a modest $650,000 this year is not likely to get much (if any) raise if he tests the open market this summer.
Hall has done a good job for the most part in his nine games with the Flyers. He's much better on faceoffs than Rusty (who had been a winger for his entire pro career before playing center in the KHL during the lockout). While Fedotenko undeniably has better offensive instincts -- unfortunately, his hands have never been as good as his hockey sense -- Hall is fairly equivalent on the defensive side of the puck.
Assuming Max Talbot makes a healthy return from the broken leg that prematurely ended his season and precipitated the team's waiver claim of Hall, the club should be more or less set in its 9th to 13th forward spots for next year. If Hall does not re-sign, there will be other defensively reliable veterans who become available over the summer or during training camp next year.
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SUNDAY QUICK HITS
* While Fedotenko may have some on-ice regrets about returning to Philadelphia this season, Simon Gagne has made no secret about the fact that he's been very happy to be back with the Flyers. The impending unrestricted free agent recently told the Daily News that he realizes his next contract will entail a cut from his current $3.5 million and added that money would not be a big obstacle if the Flyers wish to re-sign him.
It remains to be seen how much of a cut he'd be agreeable to taking and whether a one-year or, at maximum, two-year deal would be acceptable. However, if the numbers and terms can be worked out, it would be nice to have Gagne stay in Philadelphia. Although his offensive game appears to be declining, the two-way commitment and speed are still there. My one big concern with Gagne is his injury history.
* For the first time in several years, the Flyers should be in OK shape next year in terms of leaving a few open spaces on their reserve list. Currently, the Flyers are at the 50-man maximum with three slide-rule deals. Although the Flyers will be adding several new contracts that kick in July 1, they will also be clearing out quite a few spaces.
Among NHL veterans, the Flyers will most certainly not re-sign unrestricted free agents Jody Shelley, Matt Walker and waived defenseman Andreas Lilja. Fedotenko will most likely not be re-signed, and it sounds like the Flyers will also part ways with Kent Huskins. Veteran goaltender Brian Boucher, who has spent most of 2013 with the Phantoms, is also an unrestricted free agent. That's a maximum of six freed-up contract slots if the Phantoms' once again have a goalie on a minor-league deal instead of a two-way as they did this year with veteran Scott Munroe.
Among players who have not appeared in the NHL, farmhands Shane Harper, Blake Kessel and Mitch Wahl are all restricted free agents come July 1. I don't think the Flyers will tender qualifying offers to any of them. These players will become unrestricted free agents. Their reserve list spots being cleared would enable the team to have Scott Laughton (likely in NHL next year, but still slide-rule eligible), Nick Cousins (likely in the AHL) and enforcer prospect Derek Mathers (AHL or possibly ECHL/AHL swing man) to start their entry-level contracts.
Come next season, the Flyers will add Petr Straka, Kyle Flanagan, Mark Alt and Brandon Alderson to their reserve list. Goaltender prospect Anthony Stolarz has a sliding contract and will not count against the 50-man maximum next season.
* Former Flyers draft pick Joacim Eriksson backstopped Skellefteå AIK to the Swedish championship with a magnificent playoff run that saw him post three shutouts, 1.06 goals against average and .952 save percentage. There have been reports in the Swedish press, confirmed by the player's agent, that numerous NHL teams have interest in the free agent goaltender. The agent did not identify any specific NHL clubs. Eriksson signed a one-year contract extension with SAIK earlier this season, but the deal has an NHL out-clause. The clause would have to be exercised early in the offseason.
The 23-year-old Eriksson told Aftonbladet last week that he is most certainly interested in playing in the NHL but that the "timing has to feel right." He also wanted to focus on the playoffs before weighing his option of whether to play another year in Skellefteå or pursue offers from NHL clubs.
I have lost track of the number of people who have griped to me about why the Flyers relinquished Eriksson's rights two summers ago rather than signing him to an entry-level contract. The club opted instead to sign Finnish goaltender Niko Hovinen, who himself was an NHL free agent after going unsigned by the team (Minnesota) that first drafted him.
The volume of fan complaints increased when Hovinen came over to North America this season and flopped during Phantoms training camp and then got an unfavorable reputation for lackluster work habits and a suspect compete level during an inconsistent ECHL stint with the Titans. He was ultimately released from his contract and picked up by Edmonton, where fared poorly after being assigned to the AHL's Oklahoma City Barons.
My response: Hindsight is always 20-20. There were legitimate reasons why the Flyers opted for Hovinen instead of signing Eriksson.
1) Hovinen is two years older than Eriksson and had considerably more pro level experience by which to assess his development. At the time the Flyers had to make a final sign-him-or-lose-him decision on Eriksson, he had all of 17 games played in Elitserien as a backup to veteran Andreas Hadelöv. He had the usual rookie ups and downs, and it was clear he was just at the beginning of his learning curve. Hovinen, conversely, had just had a breakout year in Finland's SM-liiga and earned a backup spot on the gold medal winning World Championship team. Hovinen had been through rough times earlier in his career and his star appeared to finally be on the rise.
2) Eriksson, by his own admission, was not ready to come over to North America for a few more years. He never said he wouldn't be willing to put some time in the AHL to work his way up to the NHL (a necessary step for most goaltenders). Rather, both the Flyers and he believed that his game needed further development in his home league. The waiting time on Hovinen, who opted to fulfill a one-season contract extension with Lahti even after signing with the Flyers, was just one year.
I don't consider this a legitimate reason, but it was a factor: Hovinen's 6-foot-7 frame intrigued the Flyers. Eriksson (6-foot-2) is far from small but plays in a similar deep crouch to the one that had some folks convinced that former Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was several inches shorter than his listed 6-foot-2. Frankly, I think there is WAY too much emphasis nowadays placed on goalies' size. Some of the best goalies of even recent or semi-recent eras (Tim Thomas, Dominik Hasek, Mike Richter, Ed Belfour and John Vanbiesbrouck jump to mind immediately) stood less than six-feet tall.
While Roman Cechmanek may have made frequent saves with his head, most goalies use their positioning, their limbs and the parts of the goalie gear that are actually meant for stopping pucks. Even a 5-10 goalie can seal off the short-side post just as effectively as a 6-foot-7 one wide a wider frame, and he may very well be quicker laterally and less vulnerable through the five-hole to boot. Even if a smaller goalie is theoretically a little more vulnerable to shots up high, I'd much rather have a tad more space upstairs but a goalie with a quick glove hand and fast recovery than a behemoth with a slow glove (which is what Hovinen looked like this year). Besides, I've seen plenty of big goalies who make themselves "look small" in net.
I digress. Getting back to Eriksson, it must be said that he's still every bit as unproven in North American hockey as Hovinen. The big Finn was outstanding in SM-liiga last year and poor in the North American minor leagues this year. There is no guarantee than Eriksson would fare any better, although the potential is certainly there.
I would liken Eriksson's career status right now to where Bruins' prospect Niklas Svedberg was a year ago. Svedberg, who turned 23 last September, was coming off a strong season and even better playoff run en route to backstopping Brynäs IF Gävle to the Swedish championship. When he signed with the Bruins as a free agent, he realized that he'd have to serve an apprenticeship in the AHL. All he did this season was win the AHL's version of the Vezina Trophy (the Baz Bastien Trophy) as a rookie. Although still stuck behind Tuukka Rask in his quest to someday become an NHL starter in Boston, Svedberg has unquestionably emerged as a bonafide NHL prospect.
There is no reason that Eriksson cannot do something similar to Svedberg if he opts to come over to North America now instead of spending another year in Sweden. A season in the AHL is the next logical step for Eriksson. I don't think he has much to gain from another year in Elitserien except something closer to full-time playing time. Even last year and this year, he split time in net for SAIK before being the go-to guy in the playoffs.
As for the Flyers, I do not know if they are among the teams with interest in signing Eriksson. It would make sense if they were, given the need for more depth in the system and the organization losing out on Hobey Baker finalist Eric Hartzell to the Penguins. Anthony Stolarz and Cal Heeter are the lone goaltending prospects in the Philadelphia system right now.
Stolarz has shown strong promise but is several years away from potentially being NHL ready. Heeter is unlikely to emerge as a candidate for an NHL starting job but does have some upside as a potential backup. There is certainly room for a prospect of Eriksson's caliber after Hovinen failed to make the grade this year.
There is absolutely zero animosity or hurt feelings between Eriksson and the Flyers. The failure to sign him was by no means a snub, nor would it preclude signing him now. It just wasn't the right time, and the signing rules at the time were unfavorable given Eriksson's lack of higher-level experience (the newer NHL-SIHF agreement allows NHL clubs who draft a Swedish player at age 18 to hold onto his rights for four years).
That said, the Flyers won't get any special consideration from the Eriksson camp simply because they were the team that initially drafted him. Now they have competition for the goalie and he will make whatever decision he feels is best for his career.
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