Philadelphia Flyers Snubbed: “Near-Stars” Poised for Postseason Success

On January 30th, the NHL will showcase a new style of All-Star Game, taking a page out of the pond hockey handbook that kids in Canada and the northern United States grew up with and allowing captains to pick their All-Star teams instead of following the conventional All-Star format of East vs. West.

The captains of these teams will be selecting the best players from the best teams in the NHL...except the Philadelphia Flyers.

The best team in the Eastern Conference will be represented only by 23-year-old Claude Giroux, a shifty puck-handler who plays center and winger, power play and penalty kill.

Giroux is undoubtedly deserving of the honor; No. 28 in orange appears to be having the breakout year that was foretold after a masterful display of 21 points in 23 playoff games last spring during the Flyers’ memorable run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Through 42 games in 2010-11, Giroux has racked up 36 points and leads the team in power play (6) and shorthanded goals (3).

Nonetheless, Flyers fans undoubtedly find themselves questioning the decision. Giroux is certainly deserving of the honor, but is he the only player on the team that has earned a spot on the roster? Is he even the most deserving player?

Flyers captain Mike Richards is cut from a similar cloth as Giroux and played for Canada’s gold medal-winning team in Vancouver last year, yet will find himself watching the action at the RBC Center from his apartment in Center City.

Like Giroux, Richards spends time killing penalties, and he also quarterbacks the Flyers power play. While playing even strength, Richards has spent much of the season on a line with young, non-established players like Andreas Nodl and James van Riemsdyk, who have managed to combine for 35 points this season largely thanks to Richards’ guidance and skills.

The captain himself leads the team with 38 points and plays more than 19 minutes per game. Despite his impressive statistics and his well-deserved reputation as one of the game’s top defensive forwards, the NHL will instead showcase Patrik Elias of the pathetic New Jersey Devils and Ales Hemsky, whose 24 points in 28 games are impressive, but considering he has played 50 games in the past two seasons, Richards seems like a more deserving candidate.

Center Danny Briere is living up to his big contract for the first time since the Flyers made him their centerpiece following the miserable 2006-07 season. Briere, with the consistent contributions of linemates Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell, has scored 22 goals and is plus-19 this season, stats that Flyers fans have been anticipating for years only to be disappointed.

Assuming Briere remains healthy, this All-Star snub could find himself winning the team MVP award for the No. 1 seed in the East.

Yet Giroux will remain the only player from the City of Brotherly Love to skate in Raleigh during the last weekend in January. No Sergei Bobrovsky, no Andrej Meszaros, no Ville Leino.

Should Flyers fans be disappointed? Absolutely. But fans should also keep in mind exactly what this says about the team. 

When your team leads the Eastern Conference in points earned and has no standout star, no single obvious reason for the team’s success, no Steven Stamkos on the team...then your team is going to be tough to beat. 

Flyers fans can take comfort that instead of having a line of All-Stars, they have a team of Near-Stars. The team has nine players with nine goals or more and six forwards with 29 points or more.

Conversely, the Flyers’ Atlantic Division rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, have only four players with nine goals or more and two forwards with 29 points or more. While the Flyers and Penguins have had comparable success this season on paper, the beginning of the playoffs may tell a different story.

As teams get more competitive in the spring, the Flyers will have the ability to produce points from three lines, while the Penguins will be relying on Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to carry the team through the playoffs. Injuries, slumps and solid defense by opponents could make the playoff run very difficult for the Penguins and other teams with a small corps of All-Star players.

Teams that play the Flyers will not only need to find an answer for Giroux, but also for the red-hot Briere line, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, out-of-exile Russian dangler Nik Zherdev and up-and-comers like Nodl and van Riemsdyk.

In addition, opponents will need to put points on the board through six solid defensemen that are collectively plus-80. 

Last season, the Flyers’ defense performed admirably through the team’s playoff run, but the burden fell on the shoulders of Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn to carry the defense. Third pairing Lukas Krajicek and Ryan Parent rarely saw 10 minutes of ice time per game.

The offseason additions of Meszaros and Sean O’Donnell give the Flyers six defensemen to fear and will allow the “top four” to play less time and therefore be more effective during a long playoff run.

Flyers fans may have trouble understanding how such a successful team is sending only one player to Raleigh this season, but in many ways it is a blessing in disguise. The team is poised for long-term success primarily because no single player or line carries the team in order to win each night. 

Some nights, the Briere line is unstoppable. Other nights, Richards and Nodl grind their way to the winning goals. Still other nights, the big six defensemen block shots and take away passing lanes and allow the team to win one-goal games.

Fans should keep in mind that the reason only one Flyer dons the All-Star jersey this month may be the same reason that the whole team puts on “2011 Stanley Cup Champions” caps in June.