The Flyers 2008 Post-Mortem

If you have told me that the Flyers would be in the Eastern Conference Finals just one year removed from being the worst team in the NHL, I would probably have tried to buy a quantity of whatever it was you were smoking or taking. To go from a team that couldn't get out of it's own way to advance in the playoffs to the final 4 in the NHL was beyond the expectations of the most stepford of Flyers fans.

But as great as the turnaround was, if you look at the big picture, it still appears as if there is a talent gap between what the Flyers have now and what the two teams going to the Finals have on their rosters.

First and foremost, they need to find a way to build some depth along the blue line. When Timonen and Coburn went down, the Flyers' defense was woefully inadequate for a run at the Cup. Now, not a lot of teams would be well equipped to lose their top two defensemen, but the mobility and talent gap between their top two defensemen and their bottom 4 defensmen was exposed for all to see. Not every player has to be Kimmo Timonen (although that would be great), but you'd like your defensemen to be mobile and good passers such that they can move the puck to the forward moving with speed, rather than the forward standing around and waiting to receive a puck bounced off of the boards with no real purpose.

Secondly, the Flyers need to find out who can play with Danny Briere. Early in the year, Briere and Simon Gagne developed some good chemistry. When Gagne became enmeshed with his concussion issues, Briere struggled with various linemates until the Flyers acquired Vinny Prospal the day before the deadline. The Flyers cannot afford to have a guy like Briere, in whom a ton of money is invested, struggling to find linemates for long stretches of 5-on-5 play. The assumption is that Gagne will come back and be the same player, but after what we've seen after Eric Lindros and Keith Primeau got laid up with concussions, that is not a great assumption.

Finally, I would be more comfortable going forward with this team if they developed a more systemic identity with respect to how they play. Think about it....what is the identity of the Flyers? If you believe the National media and uninformed trolls on message boards, the Flyers are a bunch of untalented goons. While Flyer observers know that is incorrect, what is apparent is that the Flyers don't have an identity they can look to when things aren't going so well in order to baseline their play. Are the Flyers a forechecking attacking team? Are they a trapping team? Are they a counterpunching team? They've been all of those things at certain points of last season and I'm not certain they are good at any one of them such that they could lean on that particular style to get them over in difficult situations.

Breaking down the roster observations by position.....

Forwards:

- Mike Richards is going to be the captain of this team next year whether Jason Smith is here or not (which he probably won't be). Richards made a huge leap as a player and his work in the playoffs only served to further raise his profile. He is to this team what Chase Utley is to the Phillies.

- Jeff Carter will get a big raise as a restricted free agent and probably cemented it with a stretch of dominant games that he had when Mike Richards was out just before the playoff run.

- If Simon Gagne can come back, that would be great, but it would behoove Paul Holmgren to have a plan B in case Gagne gets scatterbrained. Before the playoffs, I was very much in favor of resigning Prospal as that Plan B. Unless the words "surgery" and "Vinny Prospal" appear in the same sentence this week, he will not be getting any faster this offseason, and his lack of speed is probably why he disappeared for long stretches in the playoffs.

- A lot of people believe that RJ Umberger is going to be a big time player, especially after the Montreal series. While I appreciate what Umberger did, I'd be VERY careful if I were Paul Holmgren to not break the bank for this guy. For one thing, he just turned 26; he's not some young kid just out of junior hockey. He doesn't really have a line to call home and I don't see him getting much better than he is right now. He scored 12 goals during the regular season last year; 6 against the Pens alone. If they can keep Umberger for a year or two for a reasonable number that won't kill their cap, I'd be happy with that. But if Umberger holds out for money befitting a top 6 forward, that will be a problem. If that is the case, maybe you think about shopping Umberger, whose value may never be higher.

- Another player who could be moved is Mike Knuble. He is going to be another year older and another year slower. They would be wise to make sure they can replace Knuble's power play prowess, however, before they consider moving him. Sami Kapanen, while slowing down some, can still be a valuable 4th liner and solid soldier in the lockerroom. I suspect the Flyers will leave it up to Kapanen to see if he has another year left. He may just retire and return to Finland as he has threatened to do in the past.

- Whatever problems John Stevens has with Scottie Upshall (healthy scratch at time during the season), hopefully Upshall's playoff performance has swung the coach. More Upshall in the lineup, please.

- Steve Downie needs to work on his skating as well as his self-discipline. He will also need the benefit of the doubt from Stevens to some extent; Downie will not improve by sitting in the press box.

- Will Claude Giroux (QMJHL MVP) make the team out of camp next year? Alot of folks are assuming this without figuring out where, exactly, he would play. You can't put this guy on the 4th line. A little time on the Phantoms wouldn't hurt.

Defensemen

- It was amazing to watch the development of Braydon Coburn over the course of the year. He has truly developed into a top notch NHL defenseman.

- I've written this before, but Kimmo Timonen is an absolute beast. He is better than was advertised when the Flyers signed him.

- Randy Jones probably made himself some money with a really solid playoff. He is a restricted free agent and I have no problem with the Flyers bringing him back in a role no better than the 4 or 5 defenseman.

- Don't be surprised to see Lasse Kukkonen traded. I just don't think Stevens likes him.

- Youngster Ryan Parent, obtained in the Peter Forsberg deal, probably earned himself a spot on the team starting out of camp with a stellar effort under fire in the playoffs. I still don't understand, though, how a guy that skates as well as Parent has absolutely no discernible offensive skills.

- Now this is where things get a little tougher. Jason Smith was the perfect captain for this team, but his injuries (from what I read today, BOTH shoulders were seperated) and lack of foot speed kept him from performing optimally. Derian Hatcher practically had his knee drained every day and is fighting age (he's 35) and lack of foot speed. I think the Flyers can afford to have one of these slower, more physical defensemen back, but NOT both.

The thing to be aware of is that you can't simply jettison both of these guys without replacing their physicality. Both can fight and both are a bitch to go up against in the corners and along the boards. There were rumors about Smith wanting to go back to New Jersey (where he originally was drafted) for reasons I cannot possibly fathom (who would want to live in North Jersey?). Hatcher? He may retire or get bought out (he makes about $3.5 million). Regardless of the outcome of the situation with these two similar defensemen, the Flyers will need to replace those skills that they did bring to the table.

- Young Flyers defensemen to look for next year? "Nasty" Nate Guenin could supply toughness from the blueline next year (146 PIMs for the Phantoms last year). Guenin is probably the first call-up in case of injury. Oskars Bartulis is a rangy, smooth skating defensemen with offensive skills. Michael Ratchuk is an offensive minded defenseman that played with the Phantoms in the Calder Cup playoffs for 5 games and should be a big time player on the Phantoms next year.

Goaltending

- Martin Biron is the undisputed starting goaltending on this team right now. Whether it was the right thing to do or not to shuffle him in and out of the lineup during the regular season, this is Biron's team now.

- Antero Niittymaki will probably be back. He will be under contract in the coming year, but at what point do you actually start grooming a young(er) successor to Marty Biron? Biron is 30 and is not the biggest guy in the world. Biron cannot play as many games as say, Martin Brodeur. Niitty will suffice next year as a safety net, but I wouldn't give Niitty another contract, unless it is understood that he is the backup.

- Dovetailing off of the previous point, the Flyers definitely need to identify a young, up and coming goaltender to foster in their system in the next year or two. Phantoms goalies Scott Munroe, Martin Houle, and Michael Teslak are middling prospects at best.

Coaching

- There is a big movement to give John Stevens a long term extension. Not so fast, in my opinion. Stevens is a good, young coach, but I worry about his ability to shape the identity of this team. He was almost fired back in March and was publicly called out by Paul Holmgren to step up. I would wait until December, to see how the team comes out of the gate before I start awarding Stevens with a long term deal. Stevens might be the right guy now, in that he is a young, player-empathetic coach, but this team may need more of a task master to get to the next level.

Available Free Agents Who Could Help

- The cap will go up a bit, and barring some huge move to free up a ton of cap space, I'm not sure the Flyers will be huge players in the free agent, unlike last year where they scored Briere, Timonen, and Hartnell.

The obvious free agent who would help immediately is Brian Campbell, former Sabre defenseman. There are other, cheaper options for a puck rushing/moving defenseman. Namely, Colorado's John Michael-Liles, Ottawa's Wade Redden, and Montreal's Mark Streit.

Biron Denies Habs Again! Flyers Win!

Martin Biron stopped 36 of 38 shots and RJ Umberger contributed 2 more goals as the Flyers downed the Habs by a score of 4 - 2 in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series. The Flyers now lead the series 3 games to 1 and can end the series on Saturday in La Belle Provence.

There was a huge surprise revealed before the game as the Canadiens chose to start rookie Jaroslav Halak in goal over rookie franchise goalie Carey Price. I have to think Price is hurt, because the Habs put all of their eggs in Price's basket when they traded away Cristobal Huet.

This game closely resembled the last couple of games, with Montreal maintaining territorial control of the ice, only to have Biron turn them aside time and time again. The first period was completely dominated by Martin Biron, who stopped 14 shots in the period. Halak was tested early, on a Jeff Carter breakaway, which he turned aside rather confidently.

The second period began much the same way as the first, but after Umberger scored on the power play for the 1 - 0 lead, the Canadiens seemed to sag and you could make a credible argument that the Flyers established themselves much better in the Montreal zone.

The third period was played fairly evenly and the Flyers increased their lead to 2 - 0, when Scott Hartnell rammed home a rebound off of a Vinny Prospal shot that hit the intersection of the post and the crossbar. It was Hartnell's first goal in what seemed like forever.

With about 7 minutes left to play, Marty Biron's luck changed for the worse. A shot from the point was deflected past Biron by Derian Hatcher to cut the Flyer lead to 1 and just 37 seconds later, Saku Koivu potted the tying goal. Instead of playing tentatively, the Flyers picked up the pace and eventually, earned a power play in the form of a stupid interference penalty taken by Steve Begin.

Danny Briere made Montreal pay by scoring on the power play on one of those goals from the side of the net, where he elevates the puck in a tight space past the goalie. You know the type of goal....the type he scored against the Flyers like a billion times over the course of the past couple years when he was with Buffalo. The Flyers made that goal standup and eventually, RJ Umberger added an empty netter to put the icing on the cake.

You have to hope that the Flyers learned from the Washington series and will put all of their effort into finishing this series in Game 5 in Montreal this Saturday.

Did you notice?

- Mike Knuble returned and looked like he didn't miss a beat. So much for catching up to the pace of the game.

- Good to see Vinny Prospal show up tonite....2 assists for Prospal and that line had a little more energy tonite than earlier in the series.

- Mike Richards pasted one of the Kostitsyn brothers behind their own net in the 3rd period?

- Derian Hatcher looks pig-dog slow out on the ice and it especially showed in the 37 second stretch where Montreal scored their two goals. Like Jason Smith in the last series, Derian Hatcher is not helping this team right now.

- Anyone catch that cool picture of Jim Dowd that was shown during the Flyer broadcast that showed a team picture where every player picture was Dowd in one of the 10 or so uniforms he's worn in his NHL career? Dug around on the net for the picture, but couldn't find it. If I can post it, I'll will.....just like if I can find the Dave Mustaine vid.

- Alexei Kovalev stick his leg out and cause a knee-on-knee collision on RJ Umberger that went uncalled in the 3rd?

Big Flyers Game Tonite (and other hockey stuff)

- Habs coach Guy Carbonneau hasn't announced a starter, but I'd be stunned if it weren't Carey Price. The Habs made their bed with Carey Price when they traded Cristobal Huet for a virtual bag of peanuts.

- "Obi-wan" Knuble should be back in the lineup for the Fly-boys tonite. I wouldn't put him back on Carter's line right away, but I think he's definitely been missed on the power play.

- We haven't seen the best game from either of these two teams yet. Need the Flyers to assert themselves offensively and stay out of the penalty box. Saw on Bill Meltzer's pre-game report on Hockeybuzz.com that respected veteran official Bill McCreary will be on hand tonite officiating the game. I wonder if that assignment has anything to do with the Flyers carping in the press about the officiating. From Mike Richards on anti-Flyer bias from officials:

“We know the circumstances we're in,” he said. “We know if we go into a scrum, the odds are we're not going to come out on top of it. We just have to know that and get out of there. That's the mindset we have; we can't take that extra jab ... we'll get called for it.”

- File this under "I totally saw this coming".....Former Flyer Joni Pitkanen, pending restricted free agent, is apparently looking for WAAAY more money than he's currently worth. Sorry, Flyer-bashers.....Paul Holmgren will be vindicated for this deal (if the play of Joffrey Lupul hasn't done so already). I wonder if the light will ever go on for Joni. For a stark comparison on Joni's play, one only needs to look at the way fellow countrymen Kimmo Timonen and Lasse Kukkonen play....both play with passion and grit....two things sorely lacking in Pitkanen's game when he was in Philly. The sad thing is that Pitkanen has more raw talent than both of them.

Flyers-Habs Round 2 Preview

Round 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs begin tonite for two teams that had to go to a Game 7 in order to meet up.

Montreal defeated a plucky Boston Bruin team in 7 games and were led by rookie goalie Carey Price, who turned aside 25 shots to lead his team. The Flyers, as we all know, had it a little tougher, going to OT, before Joffrey Lupul ended matters with his first goal of the playoffs.

At first blush, this matchup doesn't look good for the Flyers. They were swept in the season series with Montreal, losing all 4 matchups by a combined total of 15 - 6. In the games with Montreal, the Flyers just looked slow and flatfooted. The interesting thing about the losses to Montreal is that everytime the Flyers seemed to be facing the Habs, it was during a period of time when the Flyers weren't playing well. They lost twice to Montreal, back to back, during that 10 game losing streak they had in February that almost blew the Flyers' season. The first time they lost to the Habs, it was their 3rd loss in 4 games and their second loss against the Habs came after they had just blown out the Pens by a score of 8 - 2 in an emotional game. It wasn't as if the Habs saw the Flyers at their best this year.

What does that mean? I think it means this series will be closer than many of the pundits realize.

Forwards:

Unlike Washington, Montreal does not have that one sniper who can single-handedly carry the team like Ovechkin. Also unlike Washington, Montreal is a deep and talented team at forward. Alex Kovalev has rejuvenated his career this year and is the statistical leader of this team. Captain Saku Koivu, though oft-injured nowadays, is still the heart and soul of this team and can still play a little bit (40 assists in 77 regular season games) when he's out there. Montreal also has good young talent, featuring the flying Kostitsyn brothers, Sergei and Andrei. Both have developed nicely, with Andrei being the more prolific scorer with 26 regular season tallys. Both centers Tomas Plekanec and Christoper Higgins scored over 25 goals this year. Overall, Montreal is very, very fast at forward.

The Flyers will not hold the dominance in the center position that it did in the Washington series. Briere, Richards, and Carter are going to all have to hold their own against the center combination of Plekanec-Koivu-Higgins. In a way, not having to worry about Ovechkin may free up Mike Richards to be more aggressive offensively. Danny Briere seems immune to the boos that he will certainly receive from the Montreal faithful, and I'm sure the Flyer faithful will find someone to hate (I nominate Kovalev). For the Flyers to be successful, they will need more offense from Upshall, Lupul, and Hartnell, as power play specialist Mike Knuble will be unavailable for the beginning of this series. By the way: Riley Cote should never see the ice in this series. Slight edge: Montreal

Defensemen:

Get to know the name Mike Komisarek. He is an American born player and he reminds me more of Scott Stevens than any other young player since Stevens left hockey. He is a shutdown d-man and Danny Briere will probably see alot of him. Montreal also has two more offensive-minded defensemen in Andrei Markov (16 goals) and Mark Streit (13 goals). Roman Hamrlik (remember him? first pick of the NHL draft about a billion years ago?) also lines up on the blueline for Montreal and it's good to see he's alive.

The Flyers are definitely at a disadvantage on the blueline, speed-wise, against Montreal. Fortunately, one of the goats from the regular season in the games against Montreal, Jim Vandermeer, no longer plays here anymore. But that doesn't mean the Flyers aren't going to have trouble with the speedy Montreal forwards when Jason Smith and Derian Hatcher are on the ice. As such, those two older, but tougher Flyers will need to punish the faster Montreal forwards when they get the chance. Especially Hatcher.

On the other side of the coin, as with Mike Richards, I think you'll see a little more offense from Kimmo Timonen, as he's not going to have to be inside of Ovechkin's jersey for 7 games in this series. Not that he won't have his hands full defensively, but the assignments cannot be compared. Someone from the blueline like Lasse Kukkonen or Randy Jones will need to play a little over their heads to make this matchup even. Edge: Montreal.

Goalies:

Montreal goalie Carey Price gets a lot of attention for his accomplishments at the junior level. He is much bally-hooed. However, he is still a rookie with only 41 NHL regular season games under his belt and 7 playoff games. He hasn't won a thing at the NHL level and did not play minor league hockey. He is good, but he's still young.

Martin Biron held the Flyers in during the tumultuous game 7 against Washington and broke through with his first playoff series win. He's playing his angles well and is controlling rebounds, which will be important in this series.

I'm going to go against some of the conventional wisdom and say this matchup is Even. I understand Price's pedigree, but he's not even old enough to drink yet. I understand that folks want to annoint this guy as the next Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden (two rookie Montreal goalies that led them to Stanley Cups), but I have a little more respect for history than that. He may well be the next one in that great line of Montreal goalies, I don't know. Let's see this kid do it first before we put him in the hall of fame.

Coaches:

Former captain of the Canadiens and current coach Guy Carbonneau is widely respected in hockey circles. He is considered one of the greatest defensive forwards to have ever played the game. In his second year as coach, his team won the Northeast division and had the best record in the conference after completely missing the playoffs last year. He is almost definitely a coach of the year candidate.

John Stevens didn't have anything close to Carbonneau's on-ice career, but as a coach, Stevens definitely has more experience when you consider his minor league success. Like Carbonneau, Stevens' team missed the playoffs last year. Unlike Carbonneau, Stevens' team almost missed the playoffs this year and if they did, he probably would have been fired. His players like him, which is good or bad, depending on how important you think such things are. Slight nod to Montreal.

Intangibles/Conspiracy theories:

Wouldn't a Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Eastern Conference final make an excellent story? Or how about Montreal's drive for another Stanley Cup? As the last Canadian team, will the officials have a say in this affair? Doesn't Montreal have some sort of kharma deficit for burning out police cars after their Game 7 win in a FIRST ROUND playoff series? I'd say this is Even.

The Prediction:

Some are predicting either a Montreal sweep or Montreal winning in 5 games. Me? I think that Montreal will have at least one game where they make the Flyers look just plain bad and blow them out. I also think that the Flyers will have at least one game where they just punish Montreal physically. This series will be closer than some think. Unlike most, I think the Flyers can win this series if they assert their physicality and get a break here or there. However, just looking at the two teams, it's hard to pick against Montreal here, despite that I'm a huge Flyer fan and season ticket holder (see you at the game on Monday!). Montreal in Six tough games.

Knuble Propels Flyers in 2 OT

Mike Knuble scored a typical Mike Knuble goal in the second overtime period and the Flyers took Game 4 of the best of 7 series with the Caps by a score of 4 - 3.

The victory enables the Flyers to take a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the series as it heads back to Washington for game 5.

This game featured the Washington Capitals coming out with much more of a snarl than in recent games and it felt like they pressed the action much more than in either Game 2 or 3. In particular, the recently demoted Niklas Backstrom played with good intensity and scored the Caps' first goal.

As for the Flyers, they seemed to play a little tentatively in the first period and through most of the second. While they were enduring their period of being somewhat off-kilter, Jeff Carter held down the fort offensively, scoring the first two Flyer goals. The first Carter goal was on a nifty backhand just 42 seconds into the game that really got the already juiced up crowd in a frenzy.

That the game even went to overtime is thanks to Danny Briere, who seems to be coming up big every night in this series. Briere scored the game tying goal half-way through the 3rd period, and after that goal, you could feel that the Caps were sagging and starting to doubt themselves a bit. Every foray down the ice by the Flyers after the Briere goal seemed like that could be the rush that ended the game and sent everyone home happy.

When the game went into overtime, play seemed a little tentative in the beginning, which you would expect of two relatively young teams. The Flyers got the best of the shot total in OT (18 - 12), but the Caps definitely had their opportunities in the OT, but Martin Biron made the saves when he had to. Biron's clutch saves set the stage for Carter-Upshall-Knuble line to work their magic.

Random Thoughts on the game:

- Kimmo Timonen is an ANIMAL! Another good game of containing Ovechkin, who did notch 2 power play assists, but did nothing at even strength.

- I'm sorry, but the hockey gods owe Patrick Thoresen a goal.

- Danny Briere trying to get Nik Backstrom to drop the gloves in the first period?

- Having not seen much of Mike Green, it appears he is going to be a truly elite player when he learns to control his emotions. In game 3, it was the Upshall fight. It this one, it was a roughing call after Derian Hatcher (legally) pasted him into the boards. While the roughing call he took in the 2nd period was ticky-tack, he shouldn't have put himself in that position to begin with. As Ed Van Impe used to say, you have an entire career to get revenge on a guy.

- The Flyers' power play appears to be having issues, going only 1 of 7. If their power play had clicked at all, this game would have never gone to OT.

- The Caps took 2 too many men on the ice penalties. Not good.

Seen at the game

- I was in attendence at the game last night....the crowd was rowdy and energetic. The weather was BEAUTIFUL outside before the game.

- I wish the Flyers wouldn't whip out the "God Bless America" montage in the playoffs until a Game 7 situation or the Cup Finals. A game 4 in a first round series is not when you need "God Bless America".

- The thundersticks have GOT to go. No more thundersticks. Since when does a Flyer crowd need thundersticks? Save the thundersticks for hockey markets like Anaheim and Nashville.

- Hatred for thundersticks aside, I like the orange paper helmets. They look goofy, but my kid seemed to enjoy his this morning. Definitely a good, original idea.

- If you went to the game, and you hung out by the Bud Light pavillion, you may have seen this one BIG FUCKING LOSER with a Rangers jersey on. You have tickets to the game and are not a fan of either team, that's fine. But to show up to a Flyers-Caps playoff game in a Rangers jersey? On top of that, it was a Jagr jersey. Did this asshole not have anything else in his closet to wear? Big. Fucking. Loser.

- On the other hand, two enterprising guys had a couple of pretty cool homemade shirts. One referred to Mike Knuble as "Obi-wan Knuble", a Star Wars reference, which the geek in me really sort of dug. The other, had a "Kukkonen for Cocoa Puffs" shirt, replete with Lasse Kukkonen's picture with the Cocoa puffs logo.