5 Flyers Starters Who Could Be Benched for Opening Night

With training camp underway, the revamped Philadelphia Flyers roster has begun to take shape, and many experts and amateurs alike have made their predictions for the team’s starting lineup when the first puck drops. 

The Flyers' lineup is not without question marks. The majority of people agree on the starting forwards, defensemen and goalie.  This premature decision-making on the part of the fans and media has caused them to overlook some prospects who are seriously competing for starting roles, and training camp may be more competitive than it appears on the surface.

Here are five projected starters that may warrant a second thought, and their possible replacements for the start of the 2011-12 season. 

Andreas Nodl

In 2010-11, Nodl looked ready for a breakout season.  Despite playing significant time with the Flyers’ captain, Mike Richards, Nodl amassed only 22 points last year, and entering his fourth year of development with the team, it seems that the team is better off investing ice time elsewhere. 

On a team where offense is the primary concern, a forward like Nodl, who does a variety of things but none of them very well, is taking the place of a forward who could make more significant contributions. 

Few Flyers fans will wonder, “Where’s Nodl?” if he doesn’t make an appearance in the lineup on October 6th. 

Replacement: Sean Couturier.  Couturier is young and needs to put on some weight after a battle with mononucleosis, but there was a time when he appeared to be the likely No. 1 pick in the 2011 NHL entry draft, and recent years have shown that No. 1 picks can be NHL-ready very quickly.

If the Flyers feel that time on the big stage will do more for Couturier’s development than time in juniors or the AHL, the third line could have an open slot.  Peter Laviolette would have to shuffle his excess centermen, but that’s something Lavy has done before.

Likelihood: Low.  The Flyers showed with the development of James van Riemsdyk that they aren’t looking to do too much, too fast.  Unless Couturier shocks the world in training camp, the Flyers will deal with Nodl in the lineup.

Andreas Lilja

The only significant offseason acquisition on defense was also a puzzling one, as the Flyers allowed an aging, big defenseman that fans loved to walk in favor of an aging, big defenseman that fans have no interest in.  Why mess with a good thing?

Besides, the Flyers have had a few different defensemen waiting for years to have a shot at the third pairing, and it makes little sense to plug a 36-year-old into that role and force the youngsters to continue to wait.

Replacement: Erik Gustafsson.  Gustafsson is the most talked-about defensive prospect in the Flyers' system, and his 5’10” frame seems to hardly be a problem on a team that stitched an “A” on Kimmo Timonen’s jersey. 

The Flyers are high on his puck-moving ability and his on-ice vision.  Isn’t it about time he got to exercise those muscles at the NHL level?

Likelihood: Moderate.  While it seems stupid to pay Lilja $700K and then send him to the minors, Matt Walker received that treatment before playing a regular-season game last year.  If Gustafsson is ready, the Flyers will put him on the roster and work around his higher cap hit.

Blair Betts

Betts has been praised for the last two years for his abilities on the penalty kill and in the faceoff circle.  He has contributed 30 points in two seasons as a Flyer.  The fans in Philly love his work ethic, but the recent addition of Max Talbot has resulted in some competition at the fourth line center position and on the penalty kill, and the need for a little more grit may make Betts expendable.

Talbot is expected to take Betts’ spot if Betts becomes a free agent at season’s end, and if the former Penguin can fill Betts’ role on day one, Laviolette may look to see which Adirondack Phantoms are ready to break into the NHL.

Replacement: Zac Rinaldo.  Talbot is the replacement at the position, but the replacement on the roster is Rinaldo.  Rinaldo and Betts’ similarities start and end with the fact that they both belong on the checking line, but Betts simply does not possess the physical toughness that the new Flyers roster may lack.

Rinaldo is gaining a reputation as the sort of player that you notice when he’s on the ice, and if you don’t, you’d better watch out.  To say he likes to take the body is an understatement, and that sort of sentiment is always welcome in the house that still talks about Schultz, Clarke, Hextall and Brashear.

Likelihood: Low.  The Flyers have gotten more technical in recent years, and a role player like Betts can be hard to come by.  If Laviolette feels his other players can play with an edge, he’ll leave Rinaldo in the locker room or in the minors.

Jody Shelley

Last summer, Jody Shelley signed a three-year, $1.1 million deal to be the Flyers’ enforcer.  The move is still difficult to understand.

No city loves a fighter more than Philly, but the city has seen enough of them to know that they just don’t hold up at age 35.  Fighters who don’t win don’t scare opponents, and an enforcer who doesn’t scare opponents is a waste of roster space.

Replacement: Tom Sestito.  The Flyers brought Sestito in from Columbus because he can throw punches with anyone who is willing, and at 6’5”, 225 pounds, it might be difficult to find a list of guys who are willing.  That’s exactly the sort of attitude the fourth line needs to remain feared in the NHL.

No matter how successful this Flyers team is, fans are going to get nostalgic for Fedoruk, Brashear and Cote until the next great enforcer comes along.  Sestito could be that enforcer.

Likelihood: High.  Shelley is 35 and costs $1.1 million.  Sestito is 23 and costs $550,000.  Simple math.

Ilya Bryzgalov

Yes, he costs $5.67 million per year.  Yes, he was the blockbuster acquisition for the Flyers in the offseason.  Yes, he is the next Ron Hextall (as if we haven’t heard that before). 

There is no reason for Bryzgalov to be on the bench when the season starts.

No reason, that is, except…

Replacement: Sergei Bobrovsky.  “Bob” was virtually unknown to Flyers fans and the media at this time last year, but an injury to Michael Leighton and an unbelievable preseason resulted in Bobrovsky becoming last year’s opening-night starter, and he won his first bout (against the hated Penguins). 

Bob had his ups and downs as the season wore on, and fans began to resent him as quickly as they had come to love him, but having a year under his belt makes a huge difference for Bob.  He understands the league and the language better, he is more adjusted to the demanding workload of the NHL and he has gotten to spend more time with his coaches to work on his technique.

His natural reflexes are among the best in the league, and no one in the Flyers organization should count him out of the starting role in net.

Likelihood: Very low.  Very, very, very low.  But the likelihood of him starting opening night at this time last year was lower. So...anything could happen.