WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN IN BELARUS
The 2014 IIHF World Championships start today in Minsk with four games: Canada vs. France (9:45 a.m. EDT at Chizhovka Arena), Russia vs. Switzerland (9:45 a.m. EDT at Minsk Arena), Czech Republic vs Slovakia (1:45 p.m. EDT at Chizhovka Arena) and USA vs. Belarus (1:45 p.m. EDT at Minsk Arena).
Team USA's game against host team Belarus will be televised live on NBC Sports Network. All other games can be viewed on the Web via
live streams.
Flyers players Brayden Schenn, Matt Read (a returnee from last year's roster) and Braydon Coburn are members of Team Canada. Although Canada will be a prohibitive favorite against France today, it is worth noting that France pulled off a monumental upset of Russia at last year's tournament.
Most notably, Team France features agitating Dallas Stars forward Antoine Roussel. The team also includes sniping winger Damien Fleury, who was Read's linemate (along with New York Rangers forward Carl Hagelin) for Swedish team Södertälje SK during the NHL lockout last season.
Team USA has newly hired Nashville Predators head coach Peter Laviolette behind the bench. The American side also features Gloucester Catholic High School product Johnny Gaudreau, who recently signed an entry level contract with the Calgary Flames.
Participating Flyers players Erik Gustafsson (defending gold medalist Sweden), Oliver Lauridsen (Denmark) and Marcel Noebels (Germany) play their respective first games tomorrow.
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SHOULD THE FLYERS RE-SIGN EMERY?
Last summer, following the amnesty buyout of Ilya Bryzgalov, the Philadelphia Flyers signed veteran unrestricted free agent goaltender Ray Emery to share duties in net with recently acquired Steve Mason. Both goaltenders had something to prove.
Mason, a restricted free agent, was looking to regain the form that had made him the NHL's Calder Trophy winner as a rookie with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had shown signs of greatly improved focus and maturity while playing well after his acquisition from Columbus at the 2013 trade deadline. However, it remained to be seen if Mason could carry that over for a full season and prove he was worthy of being the team's starter.
The Flyers signed Mason, then 24, to a one-year contract for $1.5 million; a nearly 50 percent pay cut from the expired deal he signed with Columbus in 2011. A potential restricted free agent again in the summer of 2014, Mason hoped to parlay more consistent play into a multi-year extension.
Emery, who turned 31 in September, was coming off a highly successful season as the backup to Corey Crawford on the Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks. A former Ottawa Senators and Flyers starter whose first tenure with the Flyers ended prematurely do to a career-threatening hip injury, Emery battled long odds to make a successful return to the NHL with Anaheim and Chicago.
Along the way, Emery found a new lease on life. He came to appreciate every day at the rink and evolved into a consummate teammate. Still an intense competitor on the ice, "Razor" had also become a positive off-ice presence. He still craved more playing time, which is why he left Chicago to return to Philadelphia.
Emery signed a one-year contract with the Flyers for $1.65 million. The deal was priced specifically to enable Emery to compete for at least a 1A/1B playing time split with Mason, if not to become the primary starter.
As things worked out, it was Mason who ended up becoming the Flyers' main starter. Emery proved to be a serviceable backup but Mason's superior lateral movement, puckhandling and glove work quickly made him the team's undisputed number one goaltender.
Nevertheless, Emery made his share of valuable contributions along the way this season despite pedestrian statistics. Most notably, with Mason recovering from a concussion, Emery was the starting goaltender in Games One, Two and Three of the Flyers first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers. Emery played well in the first two games and won Game Two.
During the regular season, the Flyers tabbed Emery for quite a few starts against clubs that eventually made the playoffs. He won games against Pittsburgh (2-1, 30 saves on Nov. 13), Chicago (3-2, 23 saves), shut out St. Louis on 28 saves in a late-season road game the Flyers eventually lost via shootout and acquitted himself well in several losses where the Flyers simply could not provide him any goal support.
As a matter of fact, Emery chronically received much less goal support than Mason did over the course of the season. With Emery in goal, the Flyers averaged just 1.93 goals per 60 minutes of play. With Mason, they scored 3.03 goals per game.
Most of that massive goal support difference was due to sheer happenstance. That's just how it played out this given season.
However, I think a small part of it was owed to the fact the Flyers seemed to spend a little less time in their own end of the ice when Mason was in goal; partially because of Mason's puckhandling ability and partially because the team was subconsciously able to have just a shade more of an attacking mentality with Mason behind them. Mason is the more likely of the two goaltenders to stop a breakaway or a 2-on-1 counterrush if an aggressive attack goes awry.
Overall, the tandem of Mason and Emery gave the Flyers competitive goaltending all season. Just as importantly, the two netminders got along very well and were fully supportive of one another. Even when Emery was not playing for significant stretches of time, he remained a positive presence and was always in Mason's corner and vice versa. Don't underestimate how important that was to the team this season, beyond the statistics each goaltender posted.
Whenever he played, Emery could be counted on to battle for every save. He never gave up on a play. He never quit on a game even if the team in front of him let him down a few times, and never threw teammates under the bus.
Emery's injury history has robbed him of some of the sheer athleticism he had as a younger goaltender. He can get exploited on his lateral movement, which is why his save percentages on opposing team power plays and opposition breakaways/shootout attempts was markedly lower than teammate Mason's. His second-shot recoveries are slower.
However, Emery is also much savvier and focused goaltender than he was when he was young. His positioning is better. He's more likely to shake off a stoppable goal and continue to play well.
In a non-cap world, the Flyers would probably bring Emery back in a heartbeat to maintain the continuity of his strong partnership with Mason. Unfortunately, the Flyers are going to be tight to the cap (as usual) in 2014-15. With Mason having signed a three-year contract extension that takes his salary from $1.5 million to $4.1 million, the Flyers may need to reduce the amount they spend on their backup goaltender.
Ideally, I think Philly would like to stay under $1 million for its backup to Mason. However, there are no internal candidates now. Cal Heeter isn't ready to be pressed into NHL service, nor is 20-year-old Anthony Stolarz. As such, the Flyers options are either to re-sign Emery, trade for a backup or sign one of the
other unrestricted free agent goaltenders on the market this summer.
Let's be honest: Emery is unlikely to find a full-time starting spot anywhere in the NHL anymore. However, on another one-year deal, he may or may not still be a candidate for a 1A/1B arrangement on a club that lacks a clear-cut starter. That would keep his salary in about the same $1.65 million range he received from the Flyers this season.
If there are no such offers for Emery, his price tag may drop to a range where there may still be a fit with the Flyers. Alternatively, the team may opt to go for a somewhat younger backup candidate.
The best strategy here from a Flyers perspective is to patient. They know Mason will be their number one goaltender for the foreseeable future if he stays healthy. However, they also need a proven backup of at least Emery's caliber in the event of an injury similar to the late-season concussion that forced Mason to miss the start of the playoffs. There are some pretty good options on the market this summer, which makes it a good buyer's market to teams that are patient and wait for the prices to drop.
By the Numbers: Ray Emery and Steve Mason
RAY EMERY (9-12-2, 2.96 GAA, .903 SV%, 2 SO)
Even strength: 516 saves on 561 shots, .920 save percentage
Opposing PP: 100 of 119, .840
Flyers PP: 26 of 31, .839
Shootouts: 2 of 7, .286
Penalty shot: 0 of 0
Goal support per 60 mins: 1.93
STEVE MASON (33-18-7, 2.50 GAA, .917 SV%, 4 SO)
Even strength: 1,336 saves on 1,447 shots, .923 save percentage
Opposing PP: 237 of 265, .894
Flyers PP: 33 of 39, .846
Shootouts: 21 of 32, .656
Penalty shot: 1 of 1, 100%
Goal support per 60 mins: 3.03
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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