BERUBE WAS NOT TO BLAME FOR LECAVALIER STRUGGLES
One of the toughest parts of the business side of hockey is separating sentiment from doing what is best for a team. Additionally, quite often, players are the ones who are the least self-aware about why they find themselves in a certain situation. Players are driven to have a strong belief in themselves -- which is a good trait, except when it gets in the way of understanding why they are or are not cast in the role they desire.
That seems to be the case with Flyers forward
Vincent Lecavalier. He is a proud athlete who has had an excellent career. He is also a very likable human being. That said, Lecavalier seems to be in self-denial about why his career in Philadelphia has not been what he envisioned.
It has often been said, including by Lecavalier himself, that the biggest reason he came to Philadelphia was the opportunity to play under then-coach
Peter Laviolette's attack-based system. The reality, though, is that a player of Lecavalier's former stature should be able to produce under any system. Moreover, it is debatable if Lecavalier skated well enough by that juncture of his career to thrive even under Laviolette.
We will never know, but I suspect that Lecavalier -- especially after he hurt his back during the 2013-14 season -- would have struggled every bit as much for Laviolette as he did for
Craig Berube. In fact, a case could be made that Berube bent over backward the rest of that season to try to find a good fit for Lecavalier. He wasn't going to bump
Claude Giroux as the top-line center but Lecavalier was otherwise tried just about everywhere else in the lineup -- second line center, second-line right winger, top-line left winger, third line center and right winger, fourth line center and power play specialist -- and nothing really clicked.
Last season, Berube simply made up his mind that he wasn't going to disrupt an already inconsistent team by constantly moving Lecavalier around the lineup in search of chemistry. Even in a fourth-line role at even strength, Lecavalier got enough power play time to average 12:38 of total ice time per game; enough to at least produce sufficiently to challenge for a higher spot in the lineup. He didn't, so he ended up a frequent healthy scratch.
It was not for lack of effort. Lecavalier clearly tried to do what was asked of him in his role -- keep things simpler, make safer plays so that he did not get caught too frequently on the wrong side of the puck. The problem stemmed from the fact that Lecavalier had to do those things in order to minimize his liabilities. He struggles with the skating pace of today's NHL game and he is a below-average defensive player.
The one thing Lecavalier still does well is blast one-timers from a stationary position in the right circle. Last year, though, he wasn't finding the net with much frequency, even on 5-on-3 power plays. He also can finish in close to the net but he didn't get himself into the scoring areas enough even when there were opportunities.
Moving Lecavalier higher in the lineup again was a non-option as the season progressed. In a structured system that emphasizes team defense and forwards keeping their feet moving, Lecavalier's pacing was not quick enough nor was he producing enough scoring chances to live with his defensive limitations. Perhaps Lecavalier would have eventually come around offensively -- the hands are still there -- but would it have helped the Flyers win more games, especially on the road? That's doubtful.
New Flyers head coach
Dave Hakstol has pledged to enter training camp with no prejudgments of any players. Everyone, including Lecavalier (assuming the Flyers cannot trade him before opening night), will get a clean slate.
Keep in mind, however, that Hakstol fully intends to implement a highly structured system that, if anything, is more rigidly imposed than Berube's. Part of what cost "Chief" his job was a perceived tendency to cut a little too much slack to his top offensive forwards to overstay shifts and take risks. The "equal accountability for everyone" theme, especially in terms of discipline with and without the puck, is going to repeated constantly by Hakstol.
Lecavalier recently told RDS, "I really just want to get my chance" to be a regular contributor to the lineup.
The veteran will get that chance, but a change of head coach alone is not a panacea. What are the odds that Lecavalier can radically change his game -- get quicker, get significantly better defensively -- or least produce offensively at a regular clip to establish the sort of top-six role he still craves to play? From here, he still seems to be the wrong fit. It's no one's fault, but it probably the reality.
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CATCHING UP WITH KERRY HUFFMAN
Yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure of talking to
Kerry Huffman for an upcoming "Then and Now" article for the Flyers Alumni Association's official website. The article will look at Huffman's journey from NHL player to player agent with the
Will Sports Group.
By most measures, Huffman did well for himself as a player. The defenseman played 401 regular season games in the NHL, and had a double-digit goal-scoring season for the Flyers. In total, he played over 800 professional games. Most former players would gladly switch careers.
Nevertheless, Huffman's playing career was a cautionary tale about the dangers of rushing a seemingly physically ready player to the NHL before he is ready. With the exception of one season, Huffman never became anything close to the NHL player he could have become. Moreover, the defenseman was a very bright and well-adjusted person in addition to being a skilled hockey player. It wasn't a question of tools. It wasn't a question of smarts. It was simply a lack of proper nurturing and wavering self-confidence in his formative pro years.
A first-round pick by the Flyers (20th overall) in the 1986 NHL Draft, Huffman had good size (6-foot-2), good mobility and above-average offensive upside. Unfortunately, the defenseman was thrust into a tough situation that most likely hindered his development as a young player.
While undoubtedly raw, Huffman showed promise in a nine-game look with the big club in 1986-87. The next year, he joined the NHL starting lineup after top pairing defenseman
Brad McCrimmon had been traded to the Calgary Flames in an ill-fated deal. Added to the pressures of playing in front of the tough-to-please Flyers fans and for the virtually impossible to please
Mike Keenan, Huffman struggled mightily.
"These days, most teams are a little more cautious about they bring players along but it was a little different then," said Huffman. "Ideally, I wouldn't have been playing in the NHL so young, but it was what is what. I loved playing for the Flyers, I liked it in Philadelphia and I had some great teammates who took me under their wing."
Before he was even 21 years old, some had already labeled Huffman a bust. In 1989-90, he was set back by an early October separated shoulder. The young defenseman yo-yoed between the Flyers and the AHL Hershey Bears. Finally, in 1991-92, he stuck in the NHL prospered for the Flyers under head coach
Paul Holmgren. Playing for a team that missed the playoffs for the third straight year, Huffman was one of the bright spots from late November onward. He produced 14 goals and 32 points in 60 games.
"I was a little bit more mature as a player by that point," said Huffman. "I had developed a little more mental toughness."
After the 1991-92 season, Huffman was part of the package the Flyers sent to the Quebec Nordiques in the blockbuster deal that brought the rights to
Eric Lindros to Philly. In his first season in Quebec, Huffman produced 22 points in 54 games. During the 1993-94 season, the Nordiques traded Huffman to the woeful Ottawa Senators.
As a blueline depth move, the Flyers reacquired Huffman from the Senators in March 1996 in exchange for a 1996 ninth-round pick (Ottawa selected
Sami Salo, who went on a lengthy NHL career). Things went OK for Huffman in four late-season games. However, his second stint with the team was mostly noted for a costly turnover in the waning seconds of the second period of Game Four of the Flyers' second-round playoff series with the Florida Panthers. The Flyers had battled back from a 2-0 deficit in the middle frame but, in the final six seconds, a goal by
Stu Barnes put Florida ahead again. The Panthers went on to win in overtime.
Following the 1995-96 season, the 28-year-old Huffman was out of the NHL. He spent three seasons in the now-defunct International Hockey League before retiring. Huffman left the game entirely for several years, pursuing outside business opportunities. However, the lure of the game eventually pulled him back.
As a player, the former OHL Scholastic Player of the Year (1986-87) developed an interest in the business side of the game. He was a player rep during his time in Ottawa and came to have a better understanding of contracts and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) than most of his peers. Huffman started walking on a new path; one that led him to attending law school, becoming an NHLPA certified agent and working in conjunction with Will Sports.
"Huff" is also a Level 5 USA Hockey Coach and has worked as a hockey instructor and coaching consultant, including as the the director of player development for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights of the Atlantic Youth Hockey League. If that team sounds familiar, it is because Flyers 2015 first-round pick
Ivan Provorov left his native Russia at age 14 to play hockey for the Knights and attend school in Wilkes-Barre. Huffman is the director of the Knights' Academy.
Drawing from his own experiences as a player, coach, agent and parent, Huffman places strong emphasis on advising young players to become well-rounded both on and off the ice. Proper coaching, commitment and a strong support system are crucial. While Huffman is in the business of getting his professional player clients as much money as he can, he takes equal if not even greater interest in helping put young players in position to succeed on and off the ice.
"If there is one bit of advice I can give young players, it's to not rush things," said Huffman. "Take everything in, seek learning opportunities, channel your energy in a positive direction and keep your bigger goals in sight when you face adversity. Embrace coaching, even when it's something you may not want to hear. Be appreciative of what you have in this game, because it goes by in a hurry."
When he has a bit of spare time, Huffman enjoys writing down his thoughts on hockey and life -- sometimes humorous, quite often poignant and inspirational -- on
the Hockey Summit blog.
For example, Huffman's
five suggestions for hockey parents should be required reading for anyone whose kids play the game.
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TODAY IN FLYERS HISTORY FROM FlyersAlumni.org
1997: The Flyers sign undrafted Michigan Tech defenseman
Travis Van Tighem as a free agent.
1998: The Flyers sign unrestricted free agent goaltender
John Vanbiesbrouck to a three-year contract, The same day, the team signs prospect defenseman Dmitri Tertyshny to a two-year contract.
FLYERS ALUM BIRTHDAY
Tough forward
Jay Rosehill was born July 16, 1985 in Olds, Alberta. The Flyers acquired Rosehill from the Anaheim Ducks on April 1, 2013. Rosehill dressed in 45 games for the Flyers during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, compiling 154 penalty minutes and scoring three goals. Rosehill spent the 2014-15 season with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms during the team's inaugural season in Allentown, PA. He is currently an unrestricted free agent.
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