It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Flyers’ season has not gone quite as expected this year. After a powerful ascent to the top of the Eastern Conference after returning to play last season during the round robin portion of play, they then made it to the brink of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance (before being knocked out by the New York Islanders). Most fans thought that the team was going to be able to pick up right where they left off just a few months prior. 

Now, however, we are finding out that we were all sadly mistaken. To put it nicely, the Flyers have floundered their way through most of this season-winning one game just to get blown out the next, showing little to no consistency, and/or heart most nights when they skated out onto the ice of the Wells Fargo Center. Early on in the season, it was easy to cast blame on defenseman Matt Niskanen who decided to retire a year early before the start of this season: His decision to do so obviously left the team in a world of hurt, but the last time I checked all of the men on this team’s roster were still professionals and should have been able to carry on without him a little better than they have so far. I mean, Niskanen played well in his ONE season with the Flyers, but let’s be honest: He was no Mark Howe! There’s no way that his absence should have affected the Flyers this much; and yes, Chuck Fletcher’s panic move to hurry up and re-sign Justin Braun and bring in the then-unrestricted free agent defenseman Erik Gustafsson (after Niskanen’s decision was announced) have proven to be epic failures. Nevertheless, this should not excuse the team’s defensive core’s sudden lethargic play, and their total disregard of the basics that they were taught in peewee hockey. You cannot blame Niskanen or Chuck Fletcher for this type of play. Some examples of the disregard that has been seen this season coming from the Flyers blueliners is the inability (or willingness?) to complete a check or showing little to no effort to stand the opposition up at the blue line. The ones accused of doing this are the 6’5 Philippe Myers and the 6’4 Travis Sanheim; Both of whom were gifted with NHL frames but don’t use them. Instead, they’d rather try and poke check some of the best players in the league as they skate right by them. 

Another example would be the carelessness of the teams’ defense to let an opposing player slip in behind them so they can set up a screen in front of their goalie. This has been happening way too frequently and has to stop! They are not “clearing the porch” so their goalies can see. The defense just either stands beside them or doesn’t even realize they’re there and stands in front of them- assisting them in screening their goalie. How the coaching staff is allowing this to happen and not screaming at them as soon as they come to bench is beyond me.  

Then, there is the common occurrence of the Flyers’ defense: Deciding to chase the player with the puck rather than cutting off the pass during odd-man rushes (better known as two-on-ones). This is defense 101 here, guys. The defensemen should ALWAYS allow his goalie to take the shooter during these defensive breakdowns and the defense should always take the option of the pass away so that their goalie does not have to suddenly dive all the way across the crease to try and stop the puck.  I could go on and on naming countless mistakes that the Flyers’ defensive core continues to make this season, but I think you get my point. 

Blame it on what you want here guys: Niskanen, Fletcher, the sheer number of games in such a short time span, or a combination of all three; but these mistakes are simply unacceptable! The Flyers’ defense is not facing anything that any other club in the league isn’t having to deal with now or has had to deal with in the past. 

The defense as a whole has become lazy and needs someone to come in with a great work ethic and “never quit” attitude to remind them how the game is supposed to be played. Sam Morin has created a little spark in that sense through his aggressive play and ability to stand up for his teammates; but let’s be honest: he can only do so much. What the team needs to try and acquire this off season is a great leader with some experience and who can be an on-ice coach of sorts. 

Everybody’s first thought would go to Dougie Hamilton who is currently playing with the Carolina Hurricanes and is an unrestricted free agent this off season. I would agree, to an extent. You would have to admit that he does put a check in all the Flyers’ boxes as far as needs go and would be the obvious choice to help bring an immediate resurrection to this ill-fated defensive core. For starters, he is a coveted right-hand shot that the Flyers so desperately need. Hamilton, who is now 27 years old, would bring in size at 6’6 and 227 pounds that would surely add some grit and toughness. Along with that, Dougie would bring with him his blistering shot from the blueline that would be welcomed to this- and any- defensive core. He is a former top-ten pick of the Bruins who has bolstered the Carolina blue line for some time now. On top of all that he is a career plus-66. Seems like just what the Flyers need right? Well, us and every other team out there as well. There’s no doubt that Hamilton has the right to choose this off season where he wants to go but what makes you think he would want to come to join the dumpster fire that is Flyers’ organization right now when he could stay with the Hurricanes or go to any other true contender that he likes? The Flyers won’t have a lot of cap space this off season (unless by some miracle they can find a way to relieve themselves of a big contract). Therefore, I don’t see them being able to offer Hamilton the type of money he is going to be asking for. This season Dougie has made $5.75 million and could very possibly see around $7-8 million per season be offered to him this off season. This will prove to be far too rich for the Flyers. 

So, then what? Well, I think that the Flyers will have to play money ball if you will, but instead of looking at on-base percentages (baseball), the Flyers’ general manager Chuck Fletcher should be looking deeper into some stats that others often overlook but are crucial to any good NHL defenseman’s game. This effort would help to find a more reasonably priced option that will produce, nonetheless. One such person who fits that bill and will be an unrestricted free agent this off season is right-hand-shot defenseman Adam Larsson of the Edmonton Oilers. This wildly underrated blueliner (who was previously traded heads up for Taylor Hall), has a mean streak in him and was drafted by the New Jersey Devils back in 2011 in the first round with the 4^th overall selection. He stands at 6’3 and weighs in at 208 pounds. Larsson, who is now 28 years old, made just $4.16 million this season. However, this is where looking at those overlooked stats gets interesting. Adam currently sits second in the entire league in blocked shots with 113 to his credit thus far. Think about it: It’s hard to score on a goalie if the shot does not ever get to him, right? Adding a veteran player to the lineup this off season who is willing to sacrifice his body in order to negate a scoring attempt, could be something that proves contagious. Additionally, Larsson has totaled 132 hits to his credit thus far this season- a number that is good enough to see him ranked 13^th in the league overall in this category on the season. This proves that Larsson is not one who is going to retreat into his own zone when the opposition is barreling down on him; Rather, he tends to wait for them to drop their heads to look at the puck or glance over to see if anyone is on that rush with them before Adam unloads an explosive hit at the blueline that seemingly ends their rush and thus creates a turnover in his team’s favor (which is evident in the video provided).  If you compare these numbers given to (the more expensive and sought-after) Hamilton’s- who has just 40 hits on this season with only 48 blocked shots- you can see that Dougie’s numbers simply don’t compare.  

    Continuing on in this search for the next veteran defensemen who could be brought in to help show the Flyers’ young defensive core the right way to play the game would bring us to Alec Martinez- currently of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Alec is not the right-hand-shot the Flyers so covet (seeing that he shoots from the left) but he does bring some much-needed Stanley Cup experience. Martinez was drafted by the Los Angels Kings’ organization where he helped that team to win 2 Stanley Cups championships during his time there- Even clinching the 2013-2014 championship with the game winning goal. Knowing when to step up and score a big goal when his team needs it the most and when to stay back is a trait that Alec has proven time and time again to be able to do and is a quality that most of the Flyers’ offensively-minded defense still need to learn to do. While Martinez is now 33 years old, he has demonstrated lately that he can still be effective and shows no signs of slowing down: Alec’s offensive side is still obviously there as he has scored 23 points on this season so far. Although, what is most impressive about this aging defender is the fact that he still manages to do all the little things right. Like leading the entire league in blocked shots this season with 128 and maintaining a remarkable NHL’s 9^th best plus/minus average of plus-22 on the year as well, which only helps to improve upon his career plus-50 rating he has been able to preserve over the course of his nearly 650 NHL games played. That’s why, with all this being said, the Flyers might be wise to look to bring in this well-accomplished defender, who has an expiring contract of just $4 million at this season’s end, in order to help promote the proper techniques and good habits that their still inexperienced defense core needs to learn. 

So, while in search this off season for defensive help, the Flyers’ GM should look to add one of these three veteran defensemen mentioned above. All have fantastic shots from the point and have been known to join the rush when they see fit, while at the same time still managing to get back afterward making sure to be defensively responsible at the same time (a quality that most of the Flyers’ offensively-minded defense still need to learn to do). While some may possess tremendous size and strength, others mentioned have proven to still be able to utilize their elite hockey IQ, cunningness, and work ethic that allowed them to hoist the Stanley Cup twice before. Signing any one of these players would help to bring back some stability and confidence to the rest of this group. By signing one of these responsible veterans who play the game the right way, it will ensure that both the current crop of Flyers’ defenders and those still in Lehigh Valley will have someone on the club who can lead by example and call them out when they make easy mistakes or start to show lazy efforts. By acquiring one of these veteran players the Flyers could bring a sense of calmness and security to their goalies, while simultaneously redeeming the level of self-respect within the defense.