The Flyers Morning Muster

Photo Credit: Zack Hill

Reveille…..Reveille…..Reveille! Wake up, grab your self some chow and pour yourself a cup of that “battery acid.” The smoking lamp is lit so smoke em’ if you got em.’ This is the Morning Muster and today we are going to talk about this season’s Flyers MVP. Sure the easy ones come to mind, Sean Couturier (Coots), Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov (Provy), and even Kevin Hayes, but what about that dark horse on the team? The one whose work behind the scenes made the players mentioned above shine. For me the player that stands out is an easy one and it is none other than Matt Niskanen.

When Chuck Fletcher traded Radko Gudas for the 12 year veteran Matt Niskanen last June, many questioned the trade and others went so far as to say that it was going to be a bust. However, Chuck Fletcher saw the value in what Niskanen would bring to this Flyers organization. Coming off of a Stanley
Cup win in 2018 where in 24 games he averaged 25:23 time on ice, one goal, two assists, with 57 blocks, 47 hits and 14 takeaways to help secure the Washington Capitals win their first Stanley Cup Championship. It was clear watching their playoff run that Matt Niskanen was a major contributing factor, but with an early exit in the 2019 playoffs and the question of age slowing the veteran down, Fletcher was able to take a gamble that there was still plenty of gas left in the tank.

I think it is safe to say that Chuck Fletcher’s read was spot on and Matt Niskanen was poised to once again be a staple of success for a team making a deep playoff push. Paired up with Ivan Provorov, this
tandem proved to be an immediate success. With a combined score of 69 points between the two, it is hard to find a better defensive pairing and their play in the defensive zone was just as impressive. Niskanen recorded 124 hits and tallied 85 block shots in the 68 games that he played this season. The face of the Flyers defense was without a doubt Provorov, but Niskanen stepped up to the plate and played the quiet but vital role of the supporting cast member. The question has to be asked, would Provorov had been able to play the way he did this season and find the success that he did without Niskanen on his opposite side? It is hard to answer that question but it is clear to see that his goal production nearly doubled with 13 less games played due to the COVID-19 season stoppage. A measure of value that cannot be seen on a stat sheet is the value of leadership. The best leaders are not always the loudest, but are the ones whose actions and selfless play inspire others to play to that same level. Niskanen’s play this season was selfless and inspiring and that could be seen by the way the younger defenders stepped up and played night in and night out. Mistakes were made but a lack of effort was hard to find, even from a struggling Shayne Gostisbehere. Niskanen may not be the star of the team or the first name to be mentioned for Flyers MVP, but his name does deserve to be in the discussion.

On and off the ice there was a level of respect shown by the players who witnessed firsthand the sacrifices Niskanen made for not himself but for his team, OUR TEAM.

-The Gunny