Good morning Flyers’ nation and welcome to Gunny’s weekly Muster. Every week I will be doing a recap of Flyers hockey covering the good and the bad from the week prior. I will also give my win/loss predictions for the upcoming week and my breakout performer prediction for each game. The season starts tonight and that means the road to the Stanley Cup is under way. For this week’s installment I am going to cover a few topics I believe to be a key to a successful season for the Philadelphia Flyers, as the Philadelphia Flyers approach the line of departure for “Operation Lord Stanley” there are still some uncertainties many fans have surrounding the current roster. The first round I am going to send down range is for the veteran left winger James van Riemsdyk and the question “can he still produce at the high level expected or has his quality years passed him?”.
It should come as no surprise that my question is what James van Riemsdyk will we see this season? Will we see the point producing forward that played in Toronto or will we have the steadily declining veteran who has filled our roster for the past two season and is a $7 million a year cap hip until the end of the 2022-23 season? There is no question that when JVR is contributing he is worth all the salary Philadelphia is paying him but another season of 19 goals and 21 assists is just not acceptable for a top line veteran that is expected to put pucks in the net. There is depth on the left side for the Flyers with the impressive Joel Farabee who proved last season to be hungry and ready for the big show, the return of Oskar Lindblom who was diagnosed and beat Ewing’s Sarcoma last season and was playing lights out before his diagnosis and the always steady Michael Raffle, who may not be the flashiest, but is consistent night in and night out. A calming outlook to the uncertainty that is James van Riemsdyk is the depth at forward for Flyers and could spell trouble for JVR if he gets off to a slow start. With young and talented names like Morgan Frost, Linus Sandin, and Connor Bunnaman the pressure is on the veteran van Riemsdyk to perform or risk his minutes to the up-and-coming talent that fills the lineup at forward. It should be noted that coach Alain Vigneault is not afraid to play his young talent over a struggling veteran as we saw last season when defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere was a healthy scratch for several games throughout 2019-20.
This brings me to my next round I am going to fire down range, all last season one of the hottest topics discussed about the Philadelphia Flyers was “What should be done with Ghost?”. The Philadelphia defenseman was at one point in his career a dangerous blue line sniper and the talk of the town, but the last two seasons have been a disappointment and the praise of number 53 has quickly turned to calls for his trade. I am much more optimistic than most about Gostisbehere and believe that injuries caused a drop in his production and his confidence. Ghost underwent surgery to repair those lingering injuries and made a return during the Flyers’ playoff run, many fans will point out that his performance was nothing to write home about, but I believe that with time he will regain the confidence he once had and will be sniping from the blue line like the Ghost the city of Philadelphia fell in love with. Gostisbehere is currently on the “unfit to play” play list and missed Sunday’s scrimmage, coach Alain Vigneault said the team was not allowed to discuss Ghost’s absence allowing me to believe that it has something to do with COVID-19 protocol and not another bout with the injury bug. With Mark Friedman looking to be an extra defenseman and names like Egor Zamula, Nate Prosser, and Wyatt Wylie all fighting for a position on the Flyers roster, I would not be surprised if the Flyers move on from Shayne Gostisbehere if he does not show quick improvement and the Ghost of old.
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My final round for this week’s grouping is a bright spot for Flyers fans and that is that the Flyers have found an elite goalie in Carter Hart. The 22-year-old phenom proved he is a franchise goalie and only looks to be improving. Although Hart had a few rough patches during last season he stayed poised and showed the makings of a disciplined net minder. With the retirement of defenseman Matt Niskanen during the off season the game in front of him will look and feel different but expect Hart and the rest of the defensive core to make quick adjustments and highlight reel saves from our goaltender. Filling the role of back up goaltender will once again be Brian Elliot who showed that he is perfect for the role and can carry the workload if Hart has struggles. There should be no doubt that Carter Hart will have another fantastic season, helping lead the Flyers to a deep playoff run.
Last year was a breakout season for the always talkative Travis Konecny, compiling a team leading 61 points with 24 goals and 37 assists, TK proved that he is as dangerous as he is aggravating to all opposing teams. The Flyers organization and fans knew how important resigning Konecny was during last year’s off season, but nobody expected him to play at the level that he did, I do not expect his game or chirps to slow down but I do believe that we will see a new player have a breakout season and that is Joel Farabee. The 14th overall pick in the 2018 draft for the Flyers fought hard for a roster spot last season and showed that he is comfortable playing in the NHL. After scoring 21 points as a rookie, I expect Joel Farabee to pick up where he left off and carry that momentum into an outstanding sophomore season. With the early lines having him paired with center Kevin Hayes and opposite wing of team captain Claude Giroux I believe we will see a 40-point season out of the young work horse that is Joel Farabee.
The future is bright for the Philadelphia Flyers, they dominated the metro last season and looked good against the Boston Bruins. I believe that the Flyers will secure the top spot in the MassMutual East Division and make a legitimate run for the Stanley Cup. Remember to keep your socks dry and stay positive my friends as we get ready to launch “Operation Lord Stanley”!
Semper Fi,
Gunny
GAME PREDICTIONS FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 13 – JANUARY 17
JAN 13- PITTSBURGH PENGUINS AT PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
FLYERS 3-1 W (FIRST GOAL SCORED BY KEVIN HAYES)
JAN 15- PITTSBURGH PENGUINS AT PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
FLYERS 2-0 W (FIRST GOAL SCORED BY JOEL FARABEE)
