Philadelphia Flyers: 5 Predictions For 2013-14 Season
Five Predictions For The Philadelphia Flyers' 2013-14 season
The NHL offseason is its own sort of hell for diehard hockey fans, especially in the month of August when not much is going on. Although there are a few free agents still left on the market, the Philadelphia Flyers are not making moves, which is smart since the team still needs to figure out what they are doing with all of their defenseman and if they are going to re-sign Simon Gagne.
So what do hockey fans sit around doing when they can’t watch their favorite sport? Well for one, they watch other sports, but the other more important thing they do is speculate for next season.
The Flyers have a lot of question marks right now considering that Claude Giroux is injured. This problem will be resolved early on since he is expected to miss most of training camp but will be ready for the season opener in early October.
The other things that have been speculated are: where Vincent Lecavalier will fit into the roster? Who will get the starting job, Steve Mason or Ray Emery? Which rookies will break out this season? There’s been a lot of talk about Tye McGinn getting more ice time this season and Scott Laughton potentially earning himself a permanent roster spot.
There are a lot of things that we’re been thinking about in terms of the Flyers prior to the start of the season, but to answer some of those questions, here is a list of five predictions for the Flyers' 2013-14 season.
5. The Flyers Will Make it to the playoffs
This should really be a no brainer. Yes, the Flyers had a terrible season in 2012-2013, but we also have to remember why the season was terrible. They went into their typical rough spot that they usually do mid-season, but they didn’t have the luxury to make up for it due to the season only consisting of 48 games. They also were dealt a bad hand with the amount of players on the team who had injuries. Next season, they will be back and they most certainly will make it back to the playoffs. Maybe they’ll even bring back the Cup.
4. Kimmo Timonen will retire
As much as this will pain a lot of fans who love the veteran defenseman, this is probably Kimmo Timonen's last season with the Flyers. Timonen’s age and his penchant to get injured all the time will be a factor when it comes to his retirement.
3. Ray Emery will get the starting job
Although there is a lot of speculation on which goaltender will get the starting goalie job, something about Ray Emery is screaming yes. My gut feeling tells me that the team will utilize a 50/50 tandem goaltending split at first, similar to what the St. Louis Blues did with Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot, but ultimately Emery will break out. Perhaps it’s because of his history with the team or because his last season with the Chicago Blackhawks was such a success. This could change if Emery does not stay healthy.
2. Vincent Lecavalier will join the top line
The Flyers have talked about adding Vincent Lecavalier to the top line alongside Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek, but nothing is set in stone. Sure, this may change depending on how training camp progresses, but Lecavalier’s talents and what he can teach the young captain will set the line once the season starts. His age is an issue to some, but he also has the opportunity to be a good mentor to his teammates.
1. Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek will bounce back
Claude Giroux will return to the superstar goal scorer that we know and love, and he’ll get a lot of help from linemate Jakub Voracek. Giroux’s last season was not completely terrible as he was logging at least a point a game, but he just wasn’t scoring as much as he had in the previous year. This season, the team's captain will be back. Giroux and Voracek will no doubt become a dynamic goal-scoring duo in Philadelphia next year.
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