As Flyers fans, we have been truly blessed with an immense amount of organizational talent and depth due to the current work of General Manager Chuck Fletcher and the previous work of former General Manager Ron Hextall. This vast amount of talent makes it tough to just hone in on one player for the MVP award, or as it is known to us Flyers fans the Bobby Clarke Trophy (Awarded to the Flyers Team MVP). While writing this article, I really looked at the stats of all possible Bobby Clarke Trophy candidates on the team. From that list, I narrowed it down to three players. Those three were Kevin Hayes, Travis Konecny, and Sean Couturier. From those three after really examining their stats I then, narrowed it down to two. Those two players and the Flyers dual Bobby Clarke Trophy winners, are Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier, with Hayes placing a very close 3rd.
First, let’s examine the season of Travis Konecny, and why he is deserving of this Bobby Clarke Trophy. Before getting into stats on Konecny, it must be pointed out just how valuable his tenacity to get under the skin of the other team truly is to the Flyers. That is likely to some, one of the things that does not always get noticed, but is a pivotal part of grabbing or maintaining momentum during a hockey game. Konecny is truly developing into a true leader for the Flyers both in the locker room as a vocal leader and on the ice as a very skilled offensive weapon, who is also an A+ agitator. Konecny is the true personification of what coach Alain Vigneault said at the seasons start to be a ……… Flyer. I believe you all know the rest. The intangibles Konecny possesses mentioned above, combined with his top season statistically are what put him as a dual MVP with Sean Couturier on the season.
Now let’s take a look at Konecny’s top season to date. This season Konecny in 66 games played has 24 goals, and 37 assists for a total of 61 points, with a +/- of -1. Konecny even in missing a few games this season is still the team leader in points with our dual winner Sean Couturier coming in second with 59. Another facet of Konecny’s game that really grew this year was his stellar play on the power play. This season he has five power play goals and 18 assists for a total of 23 power play points. He also has three clutch game winning goals on the season. Something fans and some experts tended to question about Konecny in the past, is how good would he be defensively? Well, this year at home he has been very good, and Konecny shows improvement each game on the defensive side of the puck. Konecny’s home stats this season in 35 games are, 13 goals, 19 assists, for a total of 32 points, with a +/- of +5. Not only was Konecny performing at a team MVP level offensively at home, but he was also performing very well on defense answering many people’s questions on his defensive ability. On the road Konecny in 31 games has 11 goals, 18 assists, for 29 points, with a +/- of -6. We can see from that data, his road stats are what bring him down on overall defense, but still only down to an overall -1 rating. For a player known more for his offensive finesse, it is a great sign to see that in his best overall offensive season he still performed fairly well on defense overall, and very well at home. Konecny’s improved defense, paired with his dynamite offensive season are what make him one of our two Dual Hart Trophy winners alongside Sean Couturier who we will get into now.
Sean Couturier, is the personification of a great two-way player. He wins key faceoffs for the team on the power play, and the penalty kill. He also is as effective of a forechecker in the defensive end, as he is in the offensive end. Those unmatched two-way skills, along with a superb offensive season of his own put him right in lockstep with Travis Konecny for the dual Bobby Clarke Trophy. Couturier, like Konecny, is a great leader for the Flyers leading by example on and off the ice, while being one of the team’s Assistant Captains. It is also pivotal to point out that a huge part of Couturier’s game, which is the ability to shut down the other teams best player. Having a guy who can provide great offensive support while containing the other teams top star is a dream come true for any coach and Vigneault has that in Couturier.
Let’s now examine the stats of our great two-way gem. In 69 games played this season Couturier has 22 goals, 37 assists, for 59 points, with a +/- of +21 to go along with it. Other than his marvelous +/- of +34 season he had in 2017-18, this season is Couturier’s next best in this particular category. It also places him in the team lead, with budding potential future All-Star defensemen Philippe Myers placing second at +17. Just like Konecny, Couturier has been a force on the power play this season. He has four power play goals and nine power play assists for a total of 13 points. Above just his scoring value on the power play is his ability to use his big frame to legally disrupt the defense, and create traffic leading to chances for his teammates. Couturier beats Konecny out by one in the game wining goals department with a total of four. Now time to get into the Nitty Gritty details of Couturier’s home and road splits. At home Couturier in 35 games played has 13 goals, 20 assists, for 33 points with a +/- of +17. He also has three of his four clutch game winners at home. On the road this season just like Konecny, Couturier’s +/- dropped some but is still an adequate +4. The rest of his road stats are nine goals, and 17 assists for 26 points. He also, has been money on the power play on the road with threw goals and seven assists. Couturier’s pure consistency on both ends as seen from his play this season, plus his clutch power play points on road among other stats mentioned above are the main reasons why he is one of our two Bobby Clarke Trophy winners.
It is a blessing to have an immense amount of talent on the team causing the inability to just fairly pick one Hart Trophy winner for the team. That means Chuck Fletcher and Ron Hextall before him, did a great job at building up the Flyers to have an ample amount of talent to go out and compete at top level despite injuries. Couturier and Konecny both had significant first seasons under the new coaching staff lead by Alain Vigneault, but this is just the beginning. We saw Konecny’s defense improve under Vigneault and his staff as well as his overall offense. That is likely to continue as he gets even more familiar with the system in year 2. Same goes for Couturier who got off to a bit of a slower start, but then has been on point ever since. Couturier is a player that under Vigneault can easily become the best two-way player in the league. Both Couturier and Konecny are going to continue to grow and blossom into their best selves under Alain Vigneault making them both potential team Bobby Clarke Trophy candidates for years to come. Plus, who knows, maybe one day for the overall Hart Trophy (League’s MVP).
