(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images for NHL)
Welcome to this three-part series on the Philadelphia Flyers' 2009-10 season preview! First up: forwards!
Possible line combinations:
Simon Gagne-Claude Giroux-Danny Briere
Scott Hartnell-Mike Richards-Jeff Carter
Daniel Carcillo-Ian Laperriere-Arron Asham
Riley Cote-Jared Ross-Darroll Powe
Key Departures: Joffrey Lupul, Mike Knuble
Key Acquisitions: Ian Laperriere
Up and coming: Jared Ross, Darroll Powe, Jonathan Kalinski, Andreas Nodl
Everybody get on the bandwagon!
Barring injuries (we say that an awful lot with this team, don’t we?), the Flyers will once again have one of the best teams in the league on offense. Last season, they were the only team with six 25-goal scorers.
Although Joffrey Lupul and Mike Knuble are gone, we will see the emergence of Claude Giroux as a dominant player in addition to a healthy Danny Briere, who can be counted on for at least 20 goals and 60 points.
Captain Mike Richards will only get better (although it’s tough to imagine him surpassing the 90-point or even the century mark this season). Just barely the runner-up for the Selke Trophy, he was compared to Pavel Datsyuk earlier this summer by The Hockey News.
True, it’s a bit of a stretch, but think about it: a dominant offensive forward who can both put up many points and contribute enough in the defensive end to get national recognition. Plus, he’s a helluva leader. Quite the package, no?
In addition to the offense available on the top two lines, the Flyers have great depth as well. Carcillo, contrary to popular belief, can indeed score goals. He simply needs to replace many careless penalties by using that aggression offensively.
Asham showed us last year that he has great hands and can stickhandle in close, perhaps putting up some more points. Laperriere is unbelievable on faceoffs and may even be put out in a penalty kill situation.
On a potential fourth line, there will be the Black Aces; those guys who are just barely in the NHL. Powe and Ross are bona fide checking line forwards, but there are doubts as to whether Riley Cote will be on the NHL roster much longer.
With three enforcers who can also score, Cote, who rarely contributes offensively, may not have a place on the Flyers’ NHL roster too often, even if he is a fan favorite.
No thanks, I’m staying back:
The Flyers were second in the league in penalty minutes in 2008-09 with 1408 (just behind Anaheim) and were shorthanded more times than 22 other teams in the league. With five potential rough guys on the team (Hartnell, Carcillo, Laperriere, Asham, Cote), the Flyers are set to take even more penalties.
The days are over where the team can intimidate others by fighting and hacking away at players (too bad, because from what I’ve seen, those games in the 70s were tons of fun!). Now are the days where a hack of someone’s leg or wrist is going to be called immediately. The instigator penalty has put players in shambles and has, in many opinions, killed part of the game.
But opinions about the game aside, the Flyers cannot risk being shorthanded for half of every period. No matter how many shorthanded goals a team has and no matter how dominant a penalty kill is, nothing kills momentum and offensive opportunities than taking a penalty.
Another potential problem is the abundance of centers on the roster. Claude Giroux, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter are all first-line centers, yet only one can be on the first line.
Coach Stevens needs to figure out the best pairings in training camp and throughout the preseason. It cannot take two months of regular season to discover the best pairings or the Flyers may already be out of the playoff race.
Five players on the team have the potential to top 70 points (Briere, Gagne, Giroux, Richards and Carter), yet Stevens must make the most of this talent by maximizing the playing time of all five forwards.
Lastly, the Flyers often had a problem with backchecking last season, specifically in the playoffs. They must remember that good offense evolves from stellar defense. By stopping the opposing team’s scoring chances, you in turn create your own. If the Flyers have three to four players defending on every rush, very few chances will arise for opposing teams.
A funny thought:
Do you realize that if the Flyers’ third-line is the one suggested (Carcillo-Laperriere-Asham), it might garner more penalty minutes than some full teams do. Scary thought, really.
Keys to success:
-Finding good line combinations
-The French Connection (Gagne-Giroux-Briere). Come on, those three together are much better than Perreault, Martin and Robert.
-Be aggressive, but legal
-Give the young guys a shot
-Playing some defense
Grade: A-
Give me a team in the Eastern Conference that has the depth of the Flyers. Don’t say Pittsburgh, because two superstars do not equal depth. It equals two superstars. The Flyers are set to have some big things happening this year.
Next up: Defense!
Alan Bass is a Senior Writer for Bleacher Report, the Community Leader for the NHL and Philadelphia Flyers’ section, and a writer for TheHockeyNews.com, Prohockeynews.com, Insidehockey.com and Hockey54.com. You can contact him at BergHockey24@gmail.com.
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