It’s a quarter of the way through the season and it has become very apparent that the Flyers’ defense is faltering. Between Matt Niskanen’s unexpected early retirement and the COVID-19 virus running rampant throughout the team’s locker room, the Flyers find themselves among the league’s worst- both in killing penalties, and in shots allowed. This has only made the team’s goaltender Carter Hart’s goals against average skyrocket, and his save percentage plummet.
Currently, the Flyers’ struggles as of late should not be just written off to any of the above list of excuses but rather their absence of basic fundamentals while playing in their own end (things that they should have learned in youth hockey or “Defense 101” if you will). For example: Instead of standing a player up at the blue line by putting on the breaks and either administering a check along the boards or applying an effective poke check, the Flyers’ defense often retreats into their own zone, allowing the opposition to advance on the Flyers’ net and/or giving them time to skate deep into Philadelphia’s defensive zone and wait for reinforcements to show up before launching an onslaught of shots at the Flyers’ goaltender. Why the Flyers would not be more physical in this instance (and others like it) is beyond me; but considering they have a 6’5 defenseman in Myers and a 6’3 defenseman in Sanheim guarding the blue line who try to use an ineffective poke check on some of the best players the east has to offer as they pass by them- instead of laying a big hit- seems lazy considering their size!
Another area where the Flyers’ lack of physicality has become a problem is in front of the team’s goaltenders. The defensive core as a whole frequently fails to remove opposing players from out in front of the net. In fact, they will often further hinder (not help!) Hart’s vision by standing beside the offensive player screening their goalie (while not trying to enforce any means to remove them from the area) or worse- standing in front of said screener, totally unaware that they have even snuck in behind them! You learn at a very early age in youth hockey that you should always watch your six so that this never happens!
Furthermore, another common mistake this season from the Flyers’ blue liners (that seems to be a recurring one) transpires when the orange and black find themselves on a two-on-one with the opposition coming down on their goaltender. The mistake is that the team’s defense tends to play the shooter, instead of the player awaiting the pass like they are supposed to! The problem with this is that when the Philadelphia defenseman commits to the shooter it commonly results in a wide-open opportunity for that player receiving the pass.
These kinds of incidents cannot keep happening, because more and more teams are starting to take notice of this and are beginning to exploit the Flyers’ weaknesses. This lackluster defense that the team is currently playing has star players of the Eastern Conference salivating for the next time they come to the City of Brotherly Love! Time and time again this season you have watched as guys like Boston’s David Pastrnak (who has scored multiple hat tricks against the Flyers this season) being left unattended to do his thing. The Rangers’ Chris Kreider who was living his best life last night untouched in the crease was the latest player THIS WEEK to score three goals in a single game against the Flyers! Then, you have legends like Washington’s Alex Ovechkin being left wide open in his office (at the top of the faceoff dot) only to score multiple goals in a game. Other elite players include the Islanders’ Matthew Barzal, the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, and the Sabers’ Jack Eichel picking up 2 to 3 points a night as well when they play the Flyers, which leaves most fans (this writer included) frequently screaming “why isn’t someone on him?” and “he was wide open!” If you watch other teams tackle the chore of containing these elite players they execute the task quite nicely. Most commonly by assigning their best defender to follow them around the ice, staying so close that whenever that player does accept a pass they can take them off the puck!
The reason for this difference in play is, unlike last season (with Niskanen in the lineup), the Flyers now lack an experienced veteran blue liner (that has achieved what every kid playing hockey grows up dreaming about)- one that they respect enough to have coach them while out on the ice and in the locker room; One that is willing to go out and lead by example by shutting down the opposition’s best players with ease. That’s why it is high time that Philadelphia finally goes out and properly addresses this void left behind by Niskanen and fills it with someone similar!
One player that the team should look to acquire that could fill this need is Arizona’s assist captain Niklas Hjalmarsson. This now 33-year-old Swedish defenseman who stands at 6’2 and 196 pounds may come with a hefty expiring contract of $5 million, but he also would bring with him a fist full of Stanley Cup rings: Three to be exact, all of which he obtained while playing as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. He would also bring with him an old-school defensive style, in which he pairs physicality with defensive intelligence (a style of play that has allowed him to stay effective over the course of his career): Something that his career plus 112 rating can attest to! Unlike the Flyers’ current defensemen, Hjalmarsson does not back down from anyone. Examples of this include: His ability to stand up players at the blue line laying a huge check to take the encroaching player off the puck; his by the book decision making while being involved in a two on one, thus keeping the player with the puck at bay next to the boards while still managing to cover the pass as well; Patiently waiting until that player is forced to either shoot from a bad angle or decides to attempt the pass where Niklas is able to pick it off.
Perhaps where his play would come to aid the Flyers the most right now though, is his willingness to clear the porch. Bodying guys out from in front of his teams net with ease, Hjalmarsson makes sure that his goalie is going to have the best view possible when a shot does come their way; and if in the rare case he cannot, or his team’s defensive scheme has broken down completely, he is more than willing to sacrifice his body in order to stop that shot from touching twine.
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Even though you may not find Hjalmarsson’s name on the stat sheet that frequently, it is these types of plays mentioned above that make a player like him so valuable. As for why Arizona would be willing to part with a player like Hjalmarsson (who can play both sides of the ice) you only have to look at their payroll: Playing in not-the-most ideal location for hockey often makes it hard to convince free agents to both come to the desert and stay once their contract expires. Because of this, the Coyotes often have to over-pay for any and all free agents. So with the aging veterans contract set to expire (and Niklas already telling the team that he might be willing to move his no-movement clause in this last year of his contract) it only makes sense for Arizona- who most likely will not be making the playoffs this season- to try and get something for him, rather than see him walk at years end just to sign elsewhere next season in the pursuit of one more shot at hoisting Lord Stanley’s cup before he hangs up his skates for the last time.
For all these reasons this writer thinks it would be wise to trade for a player like Hjalmarsson (who comes with a much-needed Stanley cup pedigree and would be a welcomed addition to the team’s penalty killing unit) instead of the rumored younger Mattias Ekholm from Nashville who still has a year left (after this one) on his contract. The hope is that it would cost the team less assets to obtain him and not hinder the Flyers defensive prospects Cameron York, Yegor Zamula, Wyatte Wylie, and Mason Millman from making their NHL debut when they are ready. Doing this would probably see the Flyers having to give up a guy like Erik Gustafsson and a 3rd or 4th round pick for Hjalmarsson with the Coyotes retaining around $2 million of Niklas’s salary for the rest of this year, or if the Coyotes did not want to retain salary, the Flyers could add in expiring winger Michael Raffl to the proposal. This deal would negate the need to give up a more capable roster player or a high-level prospect and, say, a 1st or 2nd for Ekholm (who is currently on the Predators injured reserve list). For as you know- next season is set to be a costly one already for the Flyers with Carter Hart, Nolan Patrick, Travis Sanheim, Scott Laughton, Michael Raffl, and Brian Elliott all requiring new contracts at this season’s end and, adding to that, then the possibility of having to bear the weight of Ekholm’s $3.75 million dollar contract next season would only make it that much harder to retain the players that they have in-house already.
Will the possible addition of Hjalmarsson be enough to have the Flyers’ names etched into the 34.5-pound crown jewel of the hockey world for the first time since 1975? Who knows, but it would definitely help to solidify this young defensive core and make for a strong playoff push this season!
