Mature Emery Eager for Philadelphia Return

One of the biggest gambles Paul Holmgren has made as Flyers general manager was taking a chance on goaltender Ray Emery in 2009. By the time Holmgren brought Emery back to Philly in 2013, the player's re-acquisition was hailed as a budget-friendly coup rather than just another roll of the goaltending dice.

Holmgren has always been someone who is willing to give troubled players a new lease on life in the NHL. He would not be in the position he is today if he had not re-taken control of his life after going through some very difficult times, and received a second chance from his employers. He has paid that forward ever since both in public and behind-the-scenes ways.

In the case of Emery, the player has made the most of the opportunity to re-establish himself. Emery's redemption in the NHL is a testament to his own fighting spirit and realization of how much his hockey career means to him. He has grown up, both as a goaltender and a man.

When the Flyers signed Emery as a free agent in the summer of 2009, Holmgren took a leap of faith in a very talented player with a very poor off-ice reputation. Emery, who spent a tumultuous but statistically solid year in Russia's KHL as an NHL exile after wearing out his welcome in Ottawa, rewarded Holmgren's show of faith with very strong play in the first six weeks of the 2009-10 season and improved citizenship off the ice.

Unfortunately, the player's season got cut short. He struggled mightily for several weeks and was soon forced out of the lineup in December with injury. During that period of time, Emery became rather sullen and unapproachable (at least by the media). The reason for his dark mood was unclear until it was revealed on December 7, 2009 that he needed surgery to repair a significant tear of his rectus abdominus on the left side of his lower stomach. Emery underwent the procedure two days later and missed the team's next 15 games.

Ahead of schedule, Emery returned in mid-January and played very well in five of his final six starts after a pair of rough outings immediately after his return. What no one outside of Emery and the Flyers knew at the time was that Emery was still playing through severe discomfort, and that his left hip was the real trouble area. The abdominal tear had likely been related to the hip problem but was not itself the main issue.

When Emery exited the lineup again after an 18-save shutout of Calgary on Feb. 1, it would be for the rest of the season. Flyers teammates and coaches admired his determination and fighting spirit despite his inability to play. Holmgren did not hesitate to bring Emery back this summer for a second stint on the Flyers, signing him to a one-year contract in the hopes of Emery forming a tandem with Steve Mason.

The Emery who is returning to Philly in 2013 is still a deeply self-confident player and a competitor who hates to lose. But he's also more mature, both on and off the ice. He has become a savvier positional goaltender rather than relying largely on his athleticism. There is less wasted motion with Emery nowadays. During games, he is also much better at putting mistakes (either his own or those of teammates) behind him rather than letting one bad goal snowball into two or three.

Off the ice, the experience of nearly losing his NHL career twice -- for two very different reasons -- has made Emery much more appreciative of being in the League. Over the years, he re-evaluated his priorities, becoming a team-oriented player who understands that the other netminder on his club is a comrade and not a threat.

"For myself, if you don't win, and when I say win I mean win the Cup, it's a failure. On the flip side of that, you don't need to win a Vezina Trophy. You need to win a Stanley Cup. I'm definitely not going in trying to win a Vezina Trophy. I don't think Mason is either. You need to form a situation that gives you the best chance to win a Stanley Cup," said Emery.

Recently, Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette, who had taken over for John Stevens shortly before Emery was lost for the 2009-10 season, spoke admiringly of the determination the player showed both then and in the years that have followed.

"Even with the problems that he had, he still played real well for us. I remember the last game he played was in Calgary and it was a 3-0 shutout. He had started the year so well," said Laviolete. "He had a tough time with the surgery that he had and he bounces back and rehabilitates his hip and gets back into shape and goes 17-1 for Chicago last year on part of a Stanley Cup team. I think to get a guy like that back in our organization is a terrific pick up."

Several weeks after blanking the Flames, Emery was diagnosed with avascular necrosis of his left hip; a hip disease in which the femur deteriorates because of a lack of blood flow. This condition ended the career of baseball/football star Bo Jackson and threatened Emery's career.

Emery underwent a complex surgical procedure that involved removing 13 centimetres from his right fibula, and then grafting it to the femur in the hopes of re-introducing a proper blood supply to the area. The surgery ended up being career-saving. He would get a third chance in the NHL, and make the best of it.

The player, who became an unrestricted free agent in July 2010 and was not re-signed, put in month after month of grueling rehabilitation work with personal trainer Matt Nichol and goalie coach Eli Wilson. He even spent time working out on the ice with retired former Flyers superstar Eric Lindros, who peppered him with an array of shots from various angles. After four months of rehab and a stint with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch, Emery was ready to return to the NHL as a member of the Anaheim Ducks.

In March 2011, Emery made a triumphant return to the NHL. He recorded his first win for Anaheim in a 2–1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Emery went on to win six straight starts and posted 7–2–0 record with 2.28 goals against average with a .926 save percentage in 10 appearances. He earned a nomination for the Masterton Trophy, losing out to Flyers' forward Ian Laperriere.

Emery became a free agent again in the summer of 2011 and, once again, found there was no guaranteed job waiting for him. He accepted a tryout invitation with the Chicago Blackhawks, signing a one-year deal just before the start of the 2011-12 campaign.

Playing as the lesser-used half of a tandem with Corey Crawford, Emery fully embraced the importance of the goalies working together as a unit even though only player gets to be on the ice in a game. The matured Emery was also more receptive to coaching than he ever was as a cocky young player in Ottawa.

Statistically, Emery's 2011-12 season was just OK. His 2.84 GAA and .900 save percentage were pedestrian numbers for today's NHL. But Emery could not have cared less about his personal statistics, so long as he felt he was contributing to the team. In April 2012, the Blackhawks rewarded Emery with a one-year contract extension. For the first time in years, he would not have to go into the summer wondering where he'd be the next year.

Emery's play in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season was the best of his NHL career. It his true that he had a dominant -- and ultimately, Stanley Cup winning -- team in front of him, but the goalie himself was locked in and, no pun intended, razor sharp.

Emery became the first NHL goaltender to ever start a season with 12 straight wins, punctuating the streak with a shutout against Calgary in his 200th career NHL star. Later, he accomplished the feat of recording three shutouts over a five-start span. Emery finished the season with a 17-1-0 won-loss record, and it wasn't just due to outstanding goal support and solid team defense.

In tandem with Crawford, Emery won the Jennings Trophy. Emery's contribution to the award was a 1.90 goals against average and .924 save percentage. The Blackhawks went exclusively with Crawford in the playoffs, but Emery remained a supportive teammate as the club captured the Stanley Cup.

On July 5, 2013, unrestricted free agent Emery returned to the city where his NHL redemption began. He signed a one-year contract with the Flyers for $1.65 million. At his introductory press conference, he pledged to work as closely with Mason as he had with Crawford.

Emery and Mason have begun to lay that foundation over the summer.

"We've kept in touch," Emery said in a recent interview with Randy Miller. "Last week I was skating with Wayne Simmonds in Toronto. It's been a short summer for me because the lockout went so long. I know Mase from the past and he's in the area. Just with the situation I had last year, you can benefit from goalies working together."

"Every game I get in, I want to win. Every game Steve Mason gets in, he wants to win. And when we're teammates, you want the other guy to do well. A healthy situation is when one guy is playing well, you stay in the net and the team benefits from that. That's kind of how it works. I have absolutely no expectations as far as playing time. The only expectations I have for myself is I want to contribute as much as I can."

In the bigger picture, Emery wants to help contribute to the Flyers' leadership group next season. After being part of a Cup finalist as a young starter in Ottawa and a Cup winner as a veteran playoff backup. the soon-to-be 31-year-old has come to realize that the locker room needs to be united in bad times as well as good.

The netminder says that he intends to do everything possible to foster that type of productive environment. Goalies and skaters must trust that each has the other's back. The only way to create that bond is through strong communication and everyone taking personal accountability to one another.

"Yeah, 100 percent. I love doing that, especially at this point in my career. I like hockey guys. I like the whole culture. There's nothing better than helping guys, and what you give, you get it back with that respect of being a good teammate," said Emery.

"Guys can tell when you're genuine invested in them doing well, and in turn they help you out with a blocked shot or an unselfish play at the end of a game. My biggest goal going into camp is to build a great relationship with those guys I haven't played with and to refresh that relationship with the ones I have played with, and on top of that, hold up my end of the bargain contributing toward winning games."

Having played before both in Canada and Philadelphia, Emery is well aware of the challenges of playing goal in a high-pressure environment. It doesn't bother him in the slightest, especially in light of all that he's been through in his own life and career. If there's a goaltending controversy next season, it won't be because Emery rocks the boat.

"My mindset or my way to definitely fix that problem is win games. That's it. I hope there's absolutely no stories about the goaltending," Emery said. "I hope there are stories about how good this team is playing together and the goaltending is a part of it. [I want to be talking about] the guy blocking a shot in the third when you're up by one. I hope that's the story and I hope that we have such a good relationship as a team that guys go to bat for each other. That's kind of the environment you need to get past those tough series, those tough games. I'm definitely excited. I think the team has tons of motivation and tons of potential."

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Winning an NHL Job as a Non-Roster Invitee

With Flyers training camp looming and Simon Gagne remaining unsigned as an unrestricted free agent, it looks more and more as if he will attend camp as a non-roster invitee. As long as Gagne stays healthy, the odds of the tryout being successful seem strong. The team will need to get under the salary cap ceiling first, however.

There are numerous of established NHL players -- such as forwards Mason Raymond and Brad Boyes and defensemen such as Ron Hainsey (who may have made himself persona non grata among NHL teams after being so outspoken during the lockout) and Ryan Whitney -- who find themselves in the same boat as Gagne as Labor Day approaches. The lowered salary cap has put a squeeze on these sorts of players.

Many will have to go the tryout route around various NHL locales, and accept greatly reduced contracts compared to their previous deals. Quite a few seem to stand less chance than Gagne at being on an NHL roster come opening night.

Dating back to the end of the 2004-05 lockout, the Flyers have had a few veteran role players earn contracts after preseason tryouts. This includes the likes of Jim Dowd (2007 camp) and Blair Betts (2009).

On the other hand, aging former NHL stars have not fared as well in Flyers tryouts. None among Bryan Berard (2008), Mark Bell (2009), Bill Guerin (2010) or Michael Nylander (2011) were able to prolong their NHL careers as non-roster invitees. Due to injury, Nylander never got into a preseason game.

Gagne's situation is a little bit different than these other players. Despite his declining offensive production and accumulated injuries, he showed last year that he can still contribute in a lesser role than he played in the past. As long as the salary cap issues can be figured out and the player avoids injury, I would still put the odds of seeing Gagne don his familiar number 12 Flyers sweater on opening night as better than 50-50.

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Hägg Enjoying Strong Preseason

Swedish defenseman Robert Hägg, the Flyers' second round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, has had a strong preseason thus far. In the World Junior Championship evaluation tournament in Lake Placid, NY, Hägg was assigned primarily defensive-minded duties. Since his return to Sweden, he has displayed some of the offensive upside that had him originally projected as a first-round pick in this year's Draft.

Playing for Modo Hockey Örnsköldsvik, Hägg has scored power play goals in two of the team's last three exhibition games. In both cases, he dialed up slapshots from the point that found their way into the net.

His first goal, scored against defending Finnish champions Ässät Pori, was simply an overpowering blast that beat veteran goalie Juuso Riksman over the glove.

Yesterday, in SCA Cup action against Timrå IK, Hägg opened the scoring in Modo's 4-1 win. His center point slapper made its way through a partial screen and appeared on replay to have deflected off of a TIK defenseman in front. He also played a good defensive game on the top defense unit, paired with veteran Richie Regehr. (The game video is below. Hägg's goal comes at 10:07 of the first period).





With Hägg, there are no question marks about his physical abilities at either end of the ice. Rather, as he gains experience, he will need to show greater consistency and focus. Although it is still only the preseason and results must be taken with a grain of salt, there are early signs of encouragement.

A successful first post-Draft year for Hägg would be one in which he takes a bigger role for Modo and also assumes a key role on the Swedish defense at the 2013-14 World Junior Championships in Malmö. It will also be important for him not to tail off in the second half of the season.

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