Should the Philadelphia Flyers Be in the Market for a Goalie?

On the heels of recent reports about the Flyers maybe having an interest in bringing back Ray Emery, many fans are asking, "Do our first-place Flyers really need a goalie?"

At first glance of the Flyers' two current goaltenders: Sergei Bobrovsky (22-7-3, .918 save percentage, 2.48 GAA) and Brian Boucher (11-6-2, .916 save percentage, 2.38 GAA), the answer would be an emphatic "NO"!

But let’s go inside those numbers a bit, especially those of Bobrovsky. While he has an impressive 22 wins this season, just nine of those wins, including a shaky outing on Thursday against Nashville, were against teams currently in the top eight of their conference, while six of his seven losses have come against such teams. Boucher has fared slightly better with seven of his 11 wins against playoff-positioned teams, while four of six losses have come against the same group. 

That does say the Flyers are beating the majority of teams that they "should" beat, but do those numbers against the upper echelon of the NHL make you feel comfortable going into the playoffs?

While I believe Bobrovsky is making a strong case that the rookie is the Flyers' goalie of the future, with the talent assembled on the team this year, the time to win is now! With a combination of aging players, especially on defense, like Sean O’Donnell, Kimmo Timonen and Chris Pronger, along with rivals getting stronger and healthier by the day such as Pittsburgh, Tampa, Boston and Montreal—all of whom all have true No. 1 goalies—does Philly have the time to wait for Bobrovsky to mature into the superstar he “may” become?

What have we learned about the Flyers stance on this? Flyers GM Paul Holmgren, while always putting on a stone face, has said time and again the goalie position is not as important in years past and states annually that he is confident in his goaltenders. If so, then why has he frequently inquired about free-agent netminders?

In fact, as recent as this past offseason, he not only inquired, but tendered offers to Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco, before ultimately re-signing Michael Leighton. And with the latest rumors about Emery this week, maybe he is not as comfortable as he would have us all think.

The lesson is: listen to what I say, not what I do.  The fact is Paul Holmgren is no different than any of the Flyers faithful. He has to say all the right things to the media, but he sees the weaknesses in his team just like the fans do. If the opportunity presents itself, will he strike? The NHL trade deadline is February 28^th. Stay tuned!