Photo Credit: Matthew Slocumb/Associated Press
For years now, the Philadelphia Flyers have lived and died on the over-evaluation of certain players like Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov by promoting them as if they are elite players at their respected positions; but are they?
Claude Giroux
There’s no denying that Claude has been anything less than consistent since his induction into the league some fifteen seasons ago. During his 1,000 games played for the Flyers, he managed to score a notable 900 points, which equates to a .900 point per game average if you do some easy math. While those stats are nothing to sneeze at, the question remains should Philadelphia have considered him elite (putting him in the position to have to carry the franchise for so many years)? Or should they have taken him at face value and realized that while Claude is a good player, he was/is nothing more than a tremendous number two type player in actuality? Hear me out. During his fifteen years playing on South Broad Street, Giroux was only able to reach the 100-point club once in the 2017-2018 season and has come nowhere close ever since. In fact, throughout his now 1,018 NHL regular-season games, he has only managed to score 298 goals (which averages out to him posting a very unimpressive 0.288 goals per game average) and 629 assists totaling 923 points. Now, I get it Giroux is viewed as more of a setup man, but in my mind, that only further proves my point. What if the Flyers did not over-evaluate Giroux’s talents and pay him as if he was a franchise player? Might they then have been able to sign a true elite-level talent for which Claude could have set up and helped win the Flyers multiple championships during his time here? You still don’t believe me that Giroux is nothing more than a fantastic sidekick? Let us then compare his numbers to perhaps one of the best #2’s in the league, Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom. Drafted out of the same 2006 draft class as Giroux, Backstrom (better known as that guy who plays with Ovechkin) has managed to play in 1,058 regular-season games to date and has scored just 264 goals and 747 assists for a total of 1,011 points. Eerily close, right? The only difference is that Backstrom, who never was expected to be THE GUY, has achieved what to date Giroux has not, a Stanley Cup! Now, this is not an article designed to bash Giroux but rather one to try and shed light on the Flyers organization’s failures over the years.
Mark my words Claude Giroux will go down as one of the all-time greats to wear a Flyers uniform. Still, he could not give this organization another banner during his time here because management never gave him the type of player, he needed to complete that task. That type of player is one that could be counted on to score the way Auston Matthews does for the Toronto Maple Leafs (scoring 60 goals this season), Ovechkin has for the Caps over the years (this year scoring 50 goals), or even Chris Kreider did for the Rangers (scoring 52 goals this season). Instead, the main piece the Flyers choose to pair with Giroux over the years is another version of himself, a setup man, in the form of Jakub Voracek. For ten long years, the Flyers faithful were made to sit and watch as these two above-average passers (who were being paid over eight million dollars a year) played hot potato with the puck while on the power play. Mainly because both were reluctant to take the fan’s advice and “SHOOT THE PUCK!!”
That all changed recently for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent (Giroux) when he was able to pick his preferred destination at the deadline due to the full no-trade clause built into his contract. His choice was to go to Sunrise, Florida’s lovely sunny weather, to play with the Panthers. Once in Florida’s red, blue, and gold jersey, Giroux was able to instantly build chemistry with one of the league’s true elite level talents, Jonathan Huberdeau, who was able to produce 115 points during the regular season. Once surrounded with this type of talent that Giroux so desperately needed during his time in Philadelphia, he was able to post three goals and 20 assists for 23 points in the last 18 games of the season for the Panthers. A 1.27 point per game pace as opposed to his 0.73 P.P.G. average this season through 57 games played for the Flyers. Although his stint in Florida is still a small sample of time, it has been long enough to make one wonder just what type of point production the now 34-year-old Giroux could have had during his prime in Philly if he was only given the right help?
Ivan Provorov
The same could be said for the Flyers’ so-called #1 defender Ivan Provorov. Since the Flyers took him with the 7th pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, the now 25-year-old Provorov has been viewed by the team’s management as/and expected to be the next Kimmo Timonen or Eric Desjardins for the club. But sadly, Ivan’s numbers over the last six years don’t add up to his predecessors! During Kimmo’s seven years in Philly, he was able to play in 519 games, where he scored 38 goals and 232 assists for 270 points—all the while maintaining a +44 average. Desjardins numbers during his 738 games played for the orange and black over the course of the 11 years he was here were 93 goals, 303 assists, for 396 points. Where during that time, Eric held a +143 average. Provorov numbers look slightly different: through 450 regular-season games played, Provy has 59 goals, and 131 assists, for 190 points. To go with that, his current plus-minus rating is holding steady at a less than impressive -11. I don’t want to hear any excuses for his play. During their time, all three of these defensemen played in front of a less than stellar cast of goaltenders. All three were forced to play the majority of their time with the Flyers with inadequate defensive partners. Desjardins was stuck playing with Chris Therien, who Eric carried to a career plus-minus rating of +130. While in Philly, Timonen drew the short straw while playing with Braydon Coburn for years, and he was able to help Braydon hold onto a +24 rating during his time with the Flyers. I get that Provorov was dealt a crappy hand this year with Ryan Ellis getting hurt early, but he at least he had the luxury of playing one season with a Stanley Cup-winning defenseman such as Matt Niskanen.
Let’s face it as much as Philadelphia would like Provorov to be a true # 1 defender like Tampa Bay’s two-time Stanley Cup-winning Victor Hedman, Nashville’s Roman Josi, or LA’s multi-cup winner Drew Doughty; he is not. Heck, let’s be honest here. Ivan isn’t even close to younger stars like Colorado’s Cale Makar, the Rangers’ Adam Fox, or Detroit’s rookie Moritz Seider. Is Ivan a first-pairing defender? Yes, but he, like Giroux, is not a legitimate # 1 guy. The Flyers have just been treating Provorov as such because they have no one better currently to throw out on the ice. Ivan would serve the team better if he weren’t forced to play over 25 minutes a night. Playing on the power play, the penalty kill, and most of the time during 5-on-5 play will surely take its toll on this still-young defender soon enough. Like Claude, when the Flyers management finally thinks they have squeezed every last ounce of production out of Ivan, they will send him packing as they have done with so many players before him. Then you can expect him to succeed in his mid to late thirties in a place with the wherewithal to utilize him correctly.
To put it bluntly, the Flyers have to stop believing that these types of secondary pieces are something that they are not. This organization has been misusing its so-called star players for years now. For far too long the Flyers have expected one good offensive player and one decent defender to be sufficient enough to carry the weight of their less than adequate supporting cast. Until this team’s management wakes up and spends their time and money appropriately on getting these types of players the help they need to succeed, the team is doomed to stay dormant in their current state of mediocrity.
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