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The Philadelphia Flyers did not live up to expectations last season. After losing a competitive seven-game series to the New York Rangers in Craig Berube’s first year as the Flyers’ coach, many were expecting Philadelphia to be just as formidable a team in the 2014-15 season.
They weren’t even close.
The Flyers only managed to finish with 84 points, good for 24th in the entire NHL. Philadelphia’s defense was, once again, one of the worst in the league and the Flyers’ secondary scoring was almost nonexistent. Even with two of the NHL’s top point-getters in Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek, the team finished 21st in goals per game average.
One of the few bright spots for the Flyers last season was the phenomenal play of Steve Mason in net. It’s safe to say that, if not for Mason, the Flyers could have been a bottom-five team. Ray Emery was an unreliable backup and when Mason missed time after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, we were all given a glimpse of just how ugly things could have been if Mason were out for a longer period of time.
The Flyers are coming into this season with a lot to prove and they’ll need to do it with a team that is very similar to last year’s, but they are more than capable of turning things around.
One of the biggest developments of the offseason was obviously the hiring of new head coach Dave Hakstol from the University of North Dakota. While many were expecting the Flyers to take a run at a tenured coach like Mike Babcock, Todd McClellan or Dan Bylsma, Hakstol was the right hire. At North Dakota, Hakstol had taken seven of his teams to the Frozen Four and finished with an overall record of 289-141-43. This summer, Hakstol even flew all the way to Czech just to have dinner with Jake Voracek. Not only is he showing that he wants to coach for the Flyers, but he’s taking a legitimate interest in his players, which is an extremely refreshing sight.
Gone are Nicklas Grossman and Chris Pronger‘s contract, thanks to Flyers’ GM Ron Hextall‘s use of unbelievable negotiating sorcery. In comes Sam Gagner, who the Flyers got in return from the Arizona Coyotes.
Gagner has underwhelmed throughout his entire career. Since being drafted sixth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2007, he has never lived up to the unbelievable hype surrounding him in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. But for the very first time, he is on a competitive NHL franchise with a legitimate supporting cast that he’d never had the luxury of playing with in either Edmonton or Arizona. Do not be surprised if Gagner is able to have a breakout season with the Flyers.
While there is still a ton of work to be done defensively, the Flyers are headed in the right direction. Not only did the Flyers extend Nick Schultz this past February, who was arguably Philadelphia’s most consistent defenseman last season, but they extended Michael Del Zotto this summer as well, who really started to look like the electrifying player he once was during his early years with the Rangers.
While Mark Streit is getting up there in age, the Flyers will likely have a couple prospects make the leap to the big club this season. Youngsters like Shayne Gostisbehere and Samuel Morin were on the cusp of making the opening night roster last season, but Hextall ultimately thought it would be best to let them season in the minors for a little longer. Both have showed that they are ready to make the leap and it would not surprise me to see either one, if not both of them on the team at some point this season, which would definitely help turn the blue line around.
The Flyers have a lot of improvements to make, but the small number of changes made this offseason were all steps towards becoming a competitive team in the Metropolitan Division again. Obviously, Philadelphia won’t be winning the Stanley Cup this season, but don’t be surprised if this is the first season in a string of many that leads to the Flyers becoming one of the top teams in the NHL.
Ryan Quigley is a Sports Writer for www.RantSports.com covering the NFL and the NHL. Follow him on Twitter @Quigs311 or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.
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