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If you did not happen to read the two previous articles in this ongoing series on things that other NHL teams do that make sense, and that the Flyers should try here’s a quick review. In part one I presented the idea that the Flyers should follow the LA Kings blueprint of signing all their top prospects and bringing them into one place (the American Hockey League) as soon as possible so that they can build chemistry and continue to grow as a collective group etc.
In part two of this ongoing series of articles of things that the Flyers should try I presented the idea that Philadelphia should follow the model which teams like New Jersey, Ottawa, and Columbus are currently playing under that not only allows their youth to get the chance to play but entrusts them enough to take on leadership roles, instead of filling their roster with over the hill veterans like the Flyers do year in and year out.
Making Informed Decisions
Now that you’re all caught up let us now take a look at another area where the Flyers could benefit from taking a few other NHL team’s approach. This time in the area of selecting personal. Which for all intents and purposes we will focus solely on the team’s defense. It is no secret that over the last few seasons the Flyers defense has been among the league’s worst. This I believe can be directly attributed to their management’s choice in personal. After last season the Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher decided to make some major changes on the blueline. Trading away veteran defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and one of their struggling youths Philippe Myers, only to bring back a 31-year-old injury prone Ryan Ellis (who has only been able to play in a full 82 game schedule once in his 11-year career) and a big physical presence in Rasmus Ristolainen who is a career -174 player. So, in order to put things into better perspective to let you know just how far Philadelphia’s defensive unit is away from some of the league’s top teams. Let us take a look at a number of different statics both induvial and team based. This season the Flyers have given up an average of 3.43 goals per game. They’ve allowed 34 shots per game on average and have managed to give up 44 power play goals this season (which is nearly double what the league’s best defensive teams have given up this season) which has resulted in Philadelphia only managing to stop their opponents 75.42% of the time when they are on the power play. These numbers should be viewed as absolutely atrocious but should be expected when you view the Flyers defensive unit’s plus minus ratings from both this year and over the course of their entire career. In fact, out of Provorov, Braun, Sanheim, Yandle, Ristolainen, and York only the 35-year-old veteran Justin Braun is a career plus player with a +25 rating. As a whole this Flyers defensive unit is an embarrassing -54 for this season and a horrifying -271 for their careers.
Carolina Hurricanes
Now let’s take a look at a playoff bound team and how they compare this season using the same statics. The Carolina Hurricanes find themselves atop the Metropolitan Division once again and it’s easy to see why when looking at the solid defensive core that they have been able to put together over the years. Now, you would think when they lost their star blueliner Dougie Hamilton to New Jersey in free agency (among others to various other teams) this past off season, that their defense would have taken a significant hit as far as their effectiveness goes, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth this season. Instead of panicking after losing such players the Hurricanes wisely chose to sign/trade for players like veteran Ian Cole (who has a career plus minus average of +127), the Indigenous blue liner Ethan Bear, along with the controversial/yet inexpensive signing of offensive defenseman Tony DeAngelo. Which when these players were added to the likes of Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei, and Brent Pesce this newly formed defensive core quickly became a force down in Raleigh, North Carolina. With them leading or among the leagues best in every defensive stat you can think of. The Canes have given up the league’s lowest average of just 2.38 goals per game despite having a completely different goaltender tandem this season. They have allowed a very respective 29.05 shots per game and as far as their performance while on the penalty kill Carolina has only managed to give up 23 power play goals to their opponents this year which has resulted in them killing off (a league’s best) 89.10% of their penalty kills this season. Now, while a good deal of their success could be attributed to their Jack Adams Award winning coach-Rod Brind ’Amour’s systems that he has in place. At least part of the credit has to go to managements choice of personal in which they both brought in and the ones they decided to retain over the years. Collectively, the Hurricanes defensive unit is a +64 on the season and a combined +265 for their careers. Are you starting to see why the Flyers decisions in personal should be considered rushed and or foolish?
Tampa Bay Lightning
To further prove this theory let us look at the now two-time defending Stanley Cup Champs defensive unit. The Lightning have not seen a significant change on their blueline for years now, working under the premise of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. What’s even more impressive though is with the exception of their 2009 2nd overall pick (perennial all-star Victor Hedman) most fans of other teams around the league couldn’t even name you but maybe one other defenseman on the Lightning’s teams’ roster. Which Tampa is just fine with. Often overshadowed by their electric offense, the Lightnings defense rarely gets the praise they so deserve. This season Tampa’s defense has allowed an average of just 2.79 goals per game to be scored against them. They have allowed just 29.69 shots per game to be taken on their star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and have given up just 36 power play goals to their opponents this year. Leaving them with a very effective 80.65% penalty kill rate this season. So, while their offense maybe arguably one of the best in the league their defense is no slouch either. To better prove this statement not one defenseman in their lineup is a minus player this season or for their career. This season combined the Lightning’s blue line is a +56 and as far as career numbers go, no team even comes close to their unreal combined +499 average!
The Solution:
When you compare these above-mentioned team’s numbers to the current Flyers defensive unit’s statics, they are alarming! Clearly, management needs to rethink their way of constructing this team’s roster moving forward and it should start as early as Monday as they look to trade away their impending free agents with the trade deadline looming ever closer.
The Flyers defense is a mess, and the team continues to rely heavily on their former 2015 first round pick Ivan Provorov, who they not only wrongly consider him to be a number one defenseman but play him at times up to 25 minutes a night. Ivan at best is a good number two guy and should not be expected to handle the same kind of responsibility that the Flyers placed on Mark Howe, Eric Desjardins, and Kimmo Timonen before him. He is simply not on their level. With that being said the Flyers put themselves in a tough spot after building a defense over the years that were more interested in scoring goals then preventing them. With previous rosters chalked full offensively minded players like Shayne Gostisbehere, Philippe Myers, and Travis Sanheim they were doomed to fail. On top of all that they have struggled for many years because of their lack of physicality. The start of this coming when the team unwisely traded away the league’s most physical defenseman over the last 5-years (and league leader in hits the last two seasons) Radko Gudas, to acquire veteran blueliner Matt Niskanen (from the Washington Capitals) for what turned out to be only one season of play. This forced Chuck Fletcher to then trade away the Flyers 1st round pick this past off season and the most physical defenseman on Philadelphia’s roster yet again in Robert Hagg to the Buffalo Sabers to acquire the very physical Rasmus Ristolainen. A head scratcher if you ask me because even though the Flyers were able to resign Risto. recently his physical play does not make up for his horrible plus minus rating that has apparently followed him here from Buffalo. But the damage has been done with the long-term signing of Rasmus. Making it that much more important that the Flyers pick the right defenseman to wear the Orange and Black moving forward.
With the Flyers likely losing defenseman like Justin Braun, Keith Yandle, Sam Morin, Kevin Connauton, and Nick Seeler due to them currently playing with expiring contracts this season there will be room to possibly bring guys in to help the cause next season. But before Chuck goes out on a shopping there are some things to keep in mind. Rookie Cam York has played well enough to deserve one of the open roster spots next season but with both Provorov and Sanheim playing the left side is it fair/smart to make Cam then slot in on the third defensive pairing or play his unnatural side? Or should the team look to regain cap space by trading away Provorov or Sanheim at the deadline to make space for York? The other thing the team must weigh its options with is whether they should trust Ryan Ellis’ health moving forward. When in the lineup Ryan is no doubt the first pairing talent this franchise so desperately needs but having him take up $6.25 million in cap space this year to play in just four games this season was a tough pill to swallow. In saying all that the Flyers will most likely look to sign just one veteran defender to help led the teams now moderately youthful defensive core next season just in case history happens to repeat it’s self and Ellis finds himself on the Injured Reserve once again.
Ian Cole
So, by now you may be wondering just who the Flyers should be looking to target this off season. Well, if this writer had it his way, I would say the first target to replace the knowledge and veteran leadership that both Justin Braun and Keith Yandle brought to the team this season would be to sign the Carolina Hurricanes impending free agent defender Ian Cole. Cole is a 33-year-old left hand shot defender who stands at 6’1 and 225 pounds which allows him to play with the kind of grit the Flyers seek more of to go along with players like Rasmus Ristolainen and forward Zack MacEwen. But unlike Ristolainen, Cole can play a defensively responsible game as evident by his two Stanley Cup Rings and his previously stated career +127 plus minus rating. With York potentially going to be a every game player next year the Flyers should be able to afford to pay Cole something similar to his moderately expensive $2.9 million dollar contract that he received from the Canes this season.
Jan Rutta
Now, if Cole either decides to re-sign in Carolina next season or proves to be a little to costly for the Flyers liking then they should target Tampa Bay’s impending free agent defender Jan Rutta. Who like I said before you may not have really heard of previously but he is an excellent defender none the less. Jan is a 31-year-old 6’3 204 pound blueliner with a right-hand-shot, who to his credit has averaged a +14 on the season this year and is a +35 over the course of his now 6-year career. Like Cole, Rutta also is a two-time Stanley Cup winning defenseman who would bring a wealth of experience to the struggling Flyers defense. Rutta is coming off a much cheaper two-year deal with the Lightning that paid him a mere $1.3 million this season, and while Tampa Bay may wish to re-sign him, they may not have the funds in which to do so if they desire to re-sign their star forward (impending free agent) Ondrej Palat as well.
At the end of the day Flyers management must do a better job moving forward when selecting players to fill out their roster. In fact, with the Flyers now in a post Giroux era it has become downright imperative that Chuck Fletcher strengths this defensive core quick, fast and in a hurry in order to counterbalance the loss of their long-time offensive crutch (Giroux). In order to do that the teams management must resist their long time obsessions of signing another offensive defenseman who is oblivious of what his primary job duty is (preventing goals) and more worried about scoring them. The other being they mustn’t sign another big name, has been who is well past their prime to patrol the blue line at the Wells Fargo Center next season. Instead, the Flyers should look to solidify their teams defense by looking at ALL of a potential blueliners stats not just the ones found in the points column so that they can make a more informed and worthwhile decision.
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