As we wrap up the first year of “Examining Flyers Offseason Moves,” it is now time to take a look at Chuck Fletcher’s best move of the offseason. That move was acquiring Veteran defensemen Matt Niskanen from the Washington Capitals, in exchange for fellow defensemen Radko Gudas. Apart from just his skill which is still pretty darn stellar at the age of 33, Niskanen also brings Veteran leadership as a former Stanley Cup champion with the Capitals. Fletcher did an amazing job last offseason at bringing Veteran leadership into the locker room in addition to Niskanen, with fellow “Examining Offseason Moves” players like Tyler Pitlick and Justin Braun. All of them have at least some experience in the postseason. Braun has played in 84 playoff games, Niskanen 125, lastly Pitlick has gotten his feet wet in the playoffs with six games himself last season with the Stars.
Just as Braun has been very valuable to Travis Sanheim, one of the Flyers rising star young defensemen, so has Niskanen to another. That other aforementioned rising star or arguably already a star, is Ivan Provorov. Both Provorov and Niskanen were coming off of down years from the 2018-19 season, leaving some fans ( Washington Capitals fans) with some growing concern about Niskanen, and where he was going to fit in the teams plans coming into the season. Those concerns were soon switched to cheers as he traded to Philadelphia, and Niskanen and Provorov banded together to help each other have great bounce back years. This paved the way for them to create the Flyers top pairing. Niskanen has been huge for Provorov this season, who ended the year with 36 points. In three out of his first four seasons in the NHL, Provorov has tallied 30 points or more. His one off year was in 2018-19, which in hindsight, was an off year for the team as a whole until Scott Gordon came in as interim coach, and then finally the team started to show some promise. Niskanen has brought much needed veteran saviness and leadership to the blue line. Furthermore, on top of that he’s brought great skill, which can both be utilized on the Power Play and the Penalty Kill. That’s a very valuable commodity for any coach to have let alone one of the best in Head Coach Alain Vigneault.
Moving on now to the top notch season that Niskanen has put together for our beloved Flyers in 2019-20. First, we must all remember unlike Pitlick and Braun the other “Examining Offseason Moves” topic players, we do not need to worry about re-signing Niskanen, at least not as of yet. Niskanen is under contract until the end of the 2020-21 season, with a cap hit of $5.75 million and a MTC (Modified Trade Clause). Wrapping up, Niskanen has put together one heck of a season as mentioned before, and with his experience in the playoffs there is no reason to believe that his good play will not carry over when the season reconvenes. Niskanen registered eight goals, and 25 assists for a total of 33 points, with a +15 rating in 68 games played. He is just what the Flyers needed a guy who is great at making the first pass up the ice or even leading the rush himself if needed. Moreover, his defense has been stellar this year, as well, allowing him to as said before be used on both the PP and the PK. Niskanen has proven General Manager Chuck Fletcher was once again right by trading Gudas for him, even though Gudas was coming of a good season, as compared to Niskanen’s down year. However, Niskanen has taken care of business just like Pitlick and Braun alike making Fletcher’s first offseason as Flyers GM a very successful one. Hextall gave him the bulk of the puzzle (Flyers farm system and Cap space), but it was up to Fletcher to find the correct remaining pieces. He did just that with the three aforementioned players. With that being said, Chuck Fletcher is deserving of our praises for finding the right pieces to the puzzle to form the Stanley Cup contender that the 2019-20 Philadelphia Flyers are today.
