One day before the draft the Flyers are dealt with a bombshell as Matt Niskanen has informed the Flyers he plans to retire, and I can confirm this.
The trickle down effects of Niskanen retiring now begin and so does speculation: Thee Flyers planned to move on from Justin Braun, and Shayne Gostisbehere was on the trade market. Will the Flyers go after Alex Pietrangelo now? All valid concerns and questions. With Niskanen retiring the Flyers would be free of his $5.75 million salary, thus freeing enough space to re-sign Braun possibly, or make a run at Pietrangelo.
There were some players on the Flyers roster that had a lot to prove this season, and Matt Niskanen was one of them. He knows all too well that he had to be better this year, as Niskanen is a vocal leader in the locker room. Niskanen knew if he did not improve from last year, then the Flyers could have missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Does it all fall on Niskanen? Well, no, but he is a class act, to which he would say it would.
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Niskanen was dealt to the Flyers in exchange for Radko Gudas this past off-season. It was a cap saving move by the Washington Capitals to part ways with Niskanen. For the Flyers, it signaled a change in a big way on the backend this season. Gone are Gudas and Andrew MacDonald. Enter Justin Braun and Matt Niskanen. One thing that became apparent on the backend is that Chuck Fletcher wanted stability, and the ability to make it difficult for opponents to enter the Flyers zone. Moreover, Fletcher wanted voices, and those that can properly teach the young Flyers blue line to have successful hockey careers. Niskanen definitely provided all the above, especially for Ivan Provorov,
In 2017-18, Niskanen’s Corsi-For percentage was 49.84%, his expected goals was 52.90%, and high danger chances was 52.20%. This past season, Niskanen’s Corsi-For dropped down to 36.99% (-12.85% from prior year), his expected goals was 44.44% (-7.46% from prior year), and high-danger chances was 45.65% (-6.55% from prior year).
Simply put, Niskanen had a down year. A down year by his standards. However, Niskanen remained fantastic in the locker room, according to his teammates. Moreover, his ability to take away space on the ice is something that the Flyers could benefit from in a big way. Especially, with how young the Flyers blue line currently is with the average age being 26.17-years-old.
Offensively, Niskanen’s numbers were similar from the Stanley Cup run in 2017-18. He tallied eight goals last season, which was a one goal improvement from last year. In addition, his 17 assists were five less than the previous year. Keep in mind that Niskanen missed some time with injuries in 2017-18, as well, so his numbers could have been higher if were 100% healthy the entire year.
Niskanen has been exactly that and then some this season. He makes it tough for opponents to enter the zone, and has quick exits out of the defensive zone. This leads to a quick transition offensively for the orange and black. Niskanen averaged 21:54 per night in ice time, has registered eight goals and 25 apples, tallied four PP goals and nine PP assists, 84 blocks to go along with 124 hits, and has registered 14 takeaways and 56 giveaways. Simply put, he was steady on the backend, as Niskanen has played well in any situation the coaching staff asks of him.
Overall, Niskanen has shined for Fletcher and the Flyers young blue line. He appeared to be the glue that holds it together, as teams always have that one player to do just that. Moreover, Niskanen is also an instrumental voice that holds the defense together in a big way for the orange and black in the locker room. Whatever the future holds for Niskanen and the Flyers he definitely made an imprint on this current Flyers team in just one season.
Hopefully they will come to their senses and keep Ghost. Better to work on talent than ship him out.