When Mark Friedman was recalled on January 8, 2020, the Flyers were hoping he would be able to solidify the bottom Defense pairing until one of Justin Braun or Shayne Gostisbehere returned from injury. What did Friedman establish in his recall? Well, he has made a defenceman expendable if Chuck Fletcher needs trade bait.
Friedman, a Right-Handed defenceman, finally got a shot to make an imprint with the orange and black, and boy did he deliver. Drafted by the Flyers in 2014 at 86th overall. Friedman was one of the Phantoms best defencemen before his recall, after a really strong training camp with the big club. For the Phantoms, he registered three goals, to go along with 18 apples in 45 games played this season. Moreover, Friedman may have received an earlier call-up, but seven, at times eight defensemen, blocked him from seeing time with the big club. For his efforts the Flyers have re-signed Friedman on the first day of training camp to a two-year one-way contract with an annual cap hit of $725,000.
The fact is Friedman doesn’t make mistakes. He plays a solid, mistake free game. Friedman tallied first career NHL point on Connor Bunnaman’s first NHL goal during the recall. He also finished his recall with averaging 13:01 in ice time, 4 hits, 4 blocks, and 1 Takeaway with 0 Giveaways. Simply put, the young man doesn’t make mistakes.
A 5’10, 192 pound native of Toronto in Friedman turned pro in 2017. The play of Friedman could allow Fletcher to make a defencemen expendable, so that Fletcher could use that cap space to obtain a top six Forward if need be, or to plug a hole elsewhere within the lineup.
Friedman can provide a much needed spark to this club when given the chance, and he can kill penalties, as well. All in all, this signing is a good one, and Friedman could be part of the future make up of the back end for the Flyers.
