Yes, the Flyers’ season is done, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be tuning in for some post-season hockey this summer because you might just be watching a potential 2021-2022 Flyers goaltender.
During the Flyers’ end-of-the-season press conference that happened just days after the regular season ended, both Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher and Head Coach Alain Vigneault insisted that the team will be looking outside of the organization for help in-goal. Needless to say, both were unhappy with their team’s goaltending situation this year. Chuck later reaffirmed that in the press conference by saying that the goaltending situation has been a constant struggle here for years. I don’t know about you but that tells me that Brian Elliott is sure to have played his last game in Philadelphia.
On the same token, while I think that everyone here in Philadelphia knows and still believes in Carter Hart to be our team’s future in between the pipes, most would agree that the Flyers have to bring in some much-needed reassurance for next season just in case Carter does not rebound quite as fast as we are all hoping he will. This past season Hart’s numbers were polar opposites from the ones he put up in the 2019-2020 season where he was able to produce some pretty respectable numbers in the regular season with a 2.42 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .914 save percentage (SV%) only to better those numbers in the post season with a very commendable 2.23 GAA and a .926 SV%.
This season proved to be a great deal different though with Hart looking like a whole different goaltender altogether posting a horrendous 3.67 GAA and a dreadful .877 SV%. With Carter’s confidence at an all-time low, Hart’s play began to be affected and, with Vigneault seeing no end in sight to Carter’s struggles, Alain found it necessary to even label Hart as a healthy scratch at times this season. While Hart seems to be taking these unexpected struggles as a nice hard dose of reality and using them to fuel his fire to come back next season better than ever, the damage maybe already done. This hiccup in his development has left Flyers’ management (who currently find themselves on the hot seat as well given the teams less-than-stellar season this year) with a strong desire to possibly renovate the Flyers’ soon-to-be-vacant backup goaltending position- moving on from the now 36-year-old Brain Elliott to a more contemporary NHL goalie tandem. In that scenario, the coach then has the choice of not one but two goalies who are more-than-capable to take on the NHL’s best teams on any given night; as opposed to having a stereotypical backup who you have to strategically find games in which to play him against the below .500 clubs on your schedule so that your starter will then have a chance to rest.
With the mask mandates slowing lifting and more and more people choosing to get vaccinated, next season should be back to at least “abby-normal” which means an 82-game schedule. In saying that, in today’s game most teams are not playing their starters the old Martin Brodeur 70+ starts a season anymore. The average starter now a days is lucky to hit 55-60 games played in a single season, which requires the backup to start a greater number of games- more than they might have, say, 10 years ago. This means that if a team does wish to truly compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup, they must have a serviceable 1A option who can be trusted to adequately play against any team on any given night.
The Flyers thought that this was not going to have to be a necessity after Hart (the then still just 21-year-old) carried his team to the brink of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in the ‘19-‘20 season, but he has proven that he might need a little more time before he is capable of taking on the brunt of the load.
With all that being said, one such goalie Flyers fans should be keeping an eye on right now is Frederik Anderson of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This 6’4 238-pound Danish born goaltender has been the consummate professional over the years. In fact, this 31-year-old- who is now in his eighth season in the NHL- has managed to achieve the 30-win mark in 4 of the 8 seasons he’s played thus far. Additionally, if not for the COVID pandemic shortening the season last year, he would have been sure to hit that plateau once again- seeing that he was able to amass 29 wins in the 19-20 season; A feat that helped him to achieve the honor of being named to the NHL All-Star Team for 2020.
Now, you may be thinking: why would the Maple Leafs be willing to let this unrestricted free agent just up and leave town without a fight? To answer that question, I would then ask you to look no further than his partner Jack Campbell: a former 1st round pick of the Dallas Stars. This now 29-year-old took it upon himself to step up his game this season when Frederik was out for a bit with a nagging lower body injury.
Up to this point Campbell has always played second fiddle to a talented goaltender but, with this opportunity, Jack might now be looked at as one of their equals by posting a 2.15 GAA and a .921 SV% this season (which included two shutouts). Campbell was also able to achieve a record of 17-3-2 on the year. Combine that with a very affordable contract that pays him just $1.8 million next year, and it may just be enough for Toronto to allow Frederik to walk right out the door this off season. Especially since the Maple Leafs only have $11 million dollars in cap space to spend this summer. With almost half of their offensive unit without a contract next season and over a third of their defensive core set to become free agents as well, it seems almost implausible to think that the Leafs will have the capital left to re-sign this veteran netminder after having to fill out the rest of their roster.
In fact, Toronto may have already found themselves a new partner for Campbell anyway. His name is David Rittich who they traded for this season at the deadline. So, if the Leafs do decide to move on from Anderson because of cap restraints the Flyers would be wise to give him or his agent a call this offseason.
Another goaltender who Philadelphia fans may want to keep an eye on this post season is James Reimer of the Carolina Hurricanes. This now 33-year-old is no stranger to changing teams. He has already played for four different teams over the course of his twelve-year NHL career to date. But don’t assume that him using his frequent flyer miles over his tenure means that he has not played well during his stints with his past teams. On the contrary, Reimer has found success in just about every place he has made a stop in so far. Carolina being no exception to the rule. In 22 games played this season James won an incredible 68% of his starts. With those 15 wins on the ‘20-‘21 season Reimer managed to sustain a 2.66 GAA and a .906 SV%.
But herein lies the problem for James: He has an expiring contract at the season’s end, and this soon to be unrestricted free agent is currently part of a three headed monster in net for the Hurricanes, which includes former Flyer Petr Mrazek and the up-and-coming youngster (25-year-old) Alex Nedeljkovic who averaged an impressive 1.90 GAA and a .932 SV% this season over the course of 23 regular season GP. With Nedeljkovic’s overwhelming success down in Raleigh this season most people close to the team say Alex is primed to take over as the Canes starter next season at a much cheaper price than what Reimer would be asking for.
So, if Carolina does in fact decide to move on from James next season, he should then be added to the growing list of names of experienced goaltenders that the Flyers should look to try and bring into the fold next season. Both of these goalies listed above would immediately be an upgrade in the blue paint next season. Signing one of them would also give some much-needed reassurance to the Flyers’ management in case Hart continues to struggle next season. By bringing in one of these playoff goalies it would alleviate some pressure from the still-developing Hart; and, if you can do that, it just may allow Carter to return to the form he was in last season. On top of that, it will allow the Flyers to win more games when Hart is not in net. When paired together, this new tandem of Hart and either Anderson or Reimer should then be good enough to have the Flyers back in contention next season.
Is this ultimately the decision that this team will make? Who knows. But what is for certain (judging by the statements made by both Chuck Fletcher and Alain Vigneault recently) there WILL BE changes coming in net this off season!
