The Flyers Will Be Looking for Speed and Physicality This Offseason

After finishing last season as one of the league’s worst teams in the league under former Head Coach Dave Hakstol, it seems amazing that the Flyers were able to return to their rightful spot among the league’s finest this season, even securing the number one spot in the Eastern Conference during the round robin portion of the Tournament. The Flyers did so largely because of the hard work of Head Coach Alain Vigneault (AV) and General Manager Chuck Fletcher who were able to come in and change the culture surrounding the team in such a short time! Now playing the game the right way, the Flyers were able to get to the point that they were just one win away from heading to the Eastern Conference finals. 

Sadly though, they were playing against another well-coached team that has been rebuilding for a number of years: The New York Islanders. The Islanders simply out skated the Flyers and were more physical throughout the whole series, winning the races to the puck and dominating in battles along the boards. The series might not have even been as close as it was if not for the outstanding play of the Flyers’ young goaltender Carter Hart. The long shoremen peppered Hart night after night with an onslaught of pucks, managing most nights to double the amount shots-on-goal that the Flyers were able to produce. With that being said, as good as Hart is, he can only stop the pucks he can see. The Islanders knew this and managed to get multiple guys in front of the Flyers’ net to try and screen Hart on a nightly basis. This was most evident during the series-clinching game seven: Every time that New York had two or three guys both in front of and around Hart, they took a shot. This left the Flyers’ youthful defensive core to try and move them out, something that you think the 6’5 210-pound Philippe Myers and 6’4 181-pound Travis Sanheim would excel at, right? YEAH, NOT SO MUCH! These two (along with the rest of the Flyers’ roster) seemed out-muscled most of the series, which has been pointed out by this writer in previous articles and will need to be addressed moving forward. 

Myers and Sanheim, who are still growing into their frames, should think of this shortened off-season as an opportunity to just pack up and move into the team’s weight room with the Flyers’ Strength and Conditioning coach Jim McCrossin in order to gain the muscle required to clear the porch in front of Hart’s house (the crease) next season. Other players that will be more than willing to help with that next year are the 6’7 200+ pound defenseman Sam Morin who is set to return to the lineup, and the 6’3 defensive prospect Egor Zamula who is well on his way to playing full time in the NHL as well. So the defense will be fine.  

But let’s now look to see what offensive player Chuck Fletcher could potentially bring in through free agency who has the ability to match BOTH the speed needed to skate with guys like the Islanders’ Matthew Barzal and the physicality to match up with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck next season. 

One such player that would fit into Coach Vigneault’s system nicely and would no doubt “BE A FUCKING FLYER” (as AV so beautifully put it) is unrestricted free agent Zemgus Girgensons. This 26-year-old Latvian-born player who was drafted in the 1^st round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft has played for the Buffalo Sabers his whole career and currently stands at 6’2 and weighs 211 pounds. He is versatile in the way he can play both the center and wing positions (a trait that Vigneault covets). Girgensons plays with a sense of immense grit and intensity; He often shows this by laying some of the most bone-rattling hits you’ll see in today’s NHL. To go along with these massive hits, Zemgus has the ability to skate stride-for-stride with the opposing teams’ fastest players. His clean, long, skating strides helps Girgensons excel during breakaway attempts creating the space needed to be able to let rip his powerful wrist shot, or one of the deadliest backhands this writer has ever seen. At the same time, Zemgus tends to use his skating ability to shine in the defensive zone as well. So much so that it’s safe to say he is a 200ft player (yet another quality AV expects from his team). While applying these traits, Zemgus was able to total 12 goals, and 7 assists, for 19 points this season. 

While his career plus/minus may not reflect his outstanding defensive abilities, understand that he has played for the Buffalo Sabers his whole career and that the Sabers have been “rebuilding” since the departure of their All-Star goalie Dominik Hasek some twenty years ago. 

With the type of power, grit, and determination that is brought to the rink by Girgensons every night, the Flyers would be wise to acquire him in Free Agency. A similar contract as his previous “one year $1.6 Million dollar” deal that the Sabers gave him last season should be enough to have him wearing orange and black in no time. If the Flyers are willing/able to do so, expect to see Zemgus quickly inserted into the bottom six to help replace and upgrade holes in the Flyers’ lineup that were created from other players that are going to be departing soon. The best thing that could happen to the Flyers if they signed Girgensons might just be if his style of play were to become contagious within the locker room.