Flyers Rumors & Emotions Are Swirling In Philadelphia

Recently surfacing was a rumor of a trade involving Flyers Shayne Gostisbehere, after learning he was going to be a healthy scratch for a third straight game. The once star defensive prospect in Gostisbehere apparently asked teams management for a trade. This rumor has not yet been verified or refuted by the Flyers organization.

Gostisbehere has failed to impress new Head Coach Alain Vigneault with his play thus far this season. Even more so, he has found himself being a -5 on the year, with just one goal and five measly assists to show in 22 games that he has suited up for. These numbers are a far cry from what we saw out of the young puck moving defensive prospect from Union College, who had a cannon for a shot coming from the point. Moreover, when Gostisbehere’s MVP efforts helped the 2014 Dutchmen win their first ever Frozen Four National Championship against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In the final game alone he was an astounding +7 with a goal and two assists to his credit.

Moving forward into the not so distant past, Shayne’s struggles from last season have seemed to have spilled over to this year. The 26-year-old defenseman at times has found himself frustrated with his inabilty to score. Fixating so much on this particular aspect it really has lead to a down right avalance when it comes to his level of play on the defensive side of the puck. One would think that a NHL defenseman should focus on being the best that he can be at preventing goals first and foremost, only after then having his secondary focus on scoring them. This has not been the case with Ghost this season, nor in years past.  

At this point, it’s hard to envision seeing Ghost wearing an orange and black sweater much longer. It’s hard to fathom that Flyers General Manager Chuck Flecther has not at the very least done his due diligence with shopping Ghost. Especially since they are stuck paying him $4.5 million, until the end of the 2022-2023 season.

With that being said lets take a look at the current Flyers Defensive lineup:

Ivan Provorov, Matt Niskanen

Travis Sanheim, Justin Braun

Robert Hagg, Philippe Myers

At first glance it may not seem like the most flashy of pairings, but for the first time in a long time the Flyers have a well balanced lineup on the back end. Every line has a ying and a yang, if you will. With an offensive defensman on one side, and a defensive defensman on the other. This allows the offensive defenman to be able to jump up into the rush, while having the reassurance that his linemate will stay back to guard the blueline. Another thing that this current defensive unit offers is the fact that they have three left-handed shots, and three right-handed shots. This is something the Flyers have not had in quite some time.

In the last three games, while Ghost was in the press area as a healthy scratch, these six guys mentioned above have managed to play outstanding as a unit. In doing so, they even managed to hold the Vancouver Canucks this past Monday to just 17 shots total. This kind of play of lately has to be a calming, breath of fresh air, to the goaltending duo of Carter Hart and Brain Elliott, both of whom are playing lights out as of late.

With defensive prospects like Cameron York, Yegor Zamula, Wyatte Wylie, and Wyatt Kalynuk just to name a few, just waiting in the wings for their chance to dawn the orange and black. You might find yourself asking, do the Flyers really need Ghost anymore? Or, might his $4.5 million salary cap hit be better used on a sniper/winger (Enter your Christmas wish list for the Flyers roster here)? After all, the Flyers may be able to get that in return for him, who knows right?

Photo Credit: Zack Hill