The Philadelphia Flyers returned to the playoffs, for the 17th time in the past 19 seasons, where they were eliminated in seven games by the New York Rangers.
Ryan Ellis
Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Flyers team that has challenges
going forward, as they try to fit under the salary cap and try to maintain their
hold on a playoff spot. New GM Ron Hextall has lots of talent on hand, but has
issues to face too. For one thing, they ranked 23rd in puck possession last
season and its not easy to sustain success when the other team has the puck so
frequently. Perhaps the biggest issue to handle this summer will be what to do
with Vincent Lecavalier, last summers big free agent acquisition who fell flat
after joining the Flyers. A buyout would be awfully expensive, so maybe the
Flyers could find team willing to take on Lecavaliers contract while
Philadelphia pays some of the salary. The Flyers have enough skilled players,
and young, developing forwards, that they should still be decent on the attack.
Then, there is the defence, where they are faced with the prospect of losing
their best defenceman, Kimmo Timonen, to retirement, and are paying a lot of
money to guys who arent pusing the puck in the right direction when they are on
the ice. It might be easier to convince Timonen to play another season, to buy
some time, rather than overhauling a defence corps that needs improvement. Even
once the lineup is sorted, Hextall looks at a goaltending situation which
remains a question mark. Steve Mason is coming off a good year, his best since
his rookie year of 2008-2009, but what happens if Mason regresses towards his
previous norm? Hextall appears to be taking the long view to his new job. "I
like young players and I like draft picks," Hextall told CSN Philly. "My vision
is to build this team and to continue to make this team better through the
draft. That doesnt mean we wont make trades. At some point if its a good enough
player, and weve got to trade a young player, we may look at that. But its not a
vision of mine to trade young players for older players." With all of the
decisions that Hextall gets to make as a first-time GM, he has a team that will
expect to make the postseason again next year, yett hes walking a fine line,
fine enough that a few wrong decisions or even a couple of bad breaks could be
enough to cost them. Of course, the flip side is that the Flyers are close
enough that a few sharp decisions and a few good breaks could put them right
back in the playoff mix again next season. The TSN.ca Rating is an efficiency
rating based on per-game statistics including goals and assists -- weighted for
strength (ie. power play, even, shorthanded) -- Corsi, adjusted for zone starts,
quality of competition and quality of teammates, hits, blocked shots, penalty
differential and faceoffs. Generally, a replacement-level player is around a 60,
a top six forward and top four defenceman will be around 70, stars will be over
80 and MVP candidates could go over 90. Sidney Crosby finished at the top of the
2013-2014 regular season ratings at 87.12. Salary cap information all comes from
the indispensable www.capgeek.com. CF% = Corsi percentage (ie. percentage of
5-on-5 shot attempts), via www.extraskater.com. GM/COACHRon
Hextrall/Craig Berube Returning Forwards Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit
Claude Giroux 79.42 82 28 58 86 53.2% $8.275M Jakub Voracek 72.97 82 23 39 62
55.2% $4.25M Wayne Simmonds 72.45 82 29 31 60 48.5% $3.975M Scott Hartnell 71.05
78 20 32 52 54.3% $4.75M Matt Read 70.55 75 22 18 40 49.9% $3.625M
Sean Couturier 66.80 82 13 26 39 49.1% $1.75M Vincent Lecavalier 65.68 69 20 17
37 45.3% $4.5M Michael Raffl 62.99 68 9 13 22 52.6% $1.1M Zac Rinaldo 55.14 67 2
2 4 46.4% $750K Jay Rosehill 54.71 34 2 0 2 44.1% $675K Free Agent Forwards
Player Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Brayden Schenn 66.46 82 20 21
41 47.9% RFA $3.11M Steve Downie 62.47 62 4 20 24 49.6% UFA $2.65M Adam Hall
57.58 80 4 5 9 44.0% UFA $600K After having finger surgery last August, it
turned out that Claude Giroux wasnt in peak form to open the season, and he
started out with no goals and seven assists in the first 15 games, but Giroux
was a force after that, scoring 79 points in 67 games the rest of the way. Hes
one of the premier power play point producers in the league and no one has
scored more total points in the past four seasons. Jakub Voracek has emerged as
a real offensive threat, a solid complement to Giroux on Philadelphias top line.
Over the past two seasons, Voracek ranks 23rd with 108 points and hes a skilled,
big winger that can be difficult to remove from the puck. Voracek, 24, also
happens to be hitting his prime. Coming off a career year, Wayne Simmonds had
career-highs in goals (29), assists (31) and points (60), while playing a
career-high 16:46 per game. Hes missed nine games, total, in six NHL seasons and
only two players (Alex Ovechkin, James Neal) have more than Simmonds 32 power
play goals over the past three seasons. Hes not an ideal possession player, but
contributes plenty otherwise. A solid two-way player who plays tough minutes,
against quality opposition with more defensive zone starts, Matt Read has also
scored 57 goals in three seasons and played a career-high 18:48 last season. Hes
valuable because he can play a variety of different roles and ranked third among
Philadelphia forwards in ice time per game. Read frequently rides shotgun with
Sean Couturier, the 21-year-old who plays a shutdown role. He scored a
career-high 39 points last season, but only three of those points came on the
power play, so there is potential for more offensive production if he is given
the opportunity. He had 96 points in each of his last two junior seasons and
scored 28 points in 31 AHL games as a 20-year-old, so the pedigree is there for
Couturier to take on a bigger role offensively, if he gets the chance.
Vincent Lecavaliers game went off a cliff last season. He had poor possession
numbers, despite offensive zone starts and relatively easy quality of
opposition; 37 points in 69 games was his lowest points per game since 2001-2002
and he ended up playing 15:11 per game, his lowest time on ice since his rookie
year, 1998-1999. Hes still under contract for four more seasons which is more
than a little problematic for a 34-year-old coming off a bad year. Austrian
winger Michael Raffl made a surprising jump to the NHL, almost directly from
Leksands in Swedens second tier, and while his production was modest, he had
respectable possession stats, which makes him a reasonable option as a depth
forward. Hes 25 and may not have enough offensive upside to fit higher on the
depth chart. Hes a physical presence on the fourth line, but Zac Rinaldo gets
buried in possession terms, and has seven goals and 470 penalty minutes in 165
career games. Among those lucky few who play enough to register at least 400
penalty minutes over the past three seasons, Rinaldos production is on the low
end. Jay Rosehill has fought 14 times in 45 games over the past two seasons, so
hes a heavyweight face-puncher, if thats required. Hes also put up eight points
in 117 career games and has been overmatched when it comes to puck possession,
which is why he ends up as a part-time player. Progress has been gradual for
Brayden Schenn, who did set career-highs with 20 goals and 41 points last
season, but he also had poor possession stats despite facing relatively easy
competition. It may be fair to wonder whether Schenn and Couturier are
blossoming as effectively as possible, as they both compete for playing time
down the middle behind Giroux. As the Flyers look to improve long-term, yet also
under some financial constraints, they could look to free agent wingers like
Mason Raymond, Benoit Pouliot or Radim Vrbata as possibilities to fit in a
scoring role without necessarily breaking the bank. Returning Defence Player
Rating GP G A PTS CF% Cap Hit Mark Streit 70.79 82 10 34 44 50.4% $5.25M
Andrew MacDonald 64.68 82 4 24 28 44.5% $5.0M Braydon Coburn 63.48 82 5 12 17
51.1% $4.5M Nicklas Grossman 61.23 78 1 13 14 47.2% $3.5M Luke Schenn 59.95 79 4
8 12 47.7% $3.6M Chris Pronger $4.941M Free Agent Defence Player
Rating GP G A PTS CF% Class 13-14 Cap Hit Kimmo Timonen 69.12 77 6 29 35 55.0%
UFA $6.0M Erik Gustafsson 65.67 31 2 8 10 48.3% RFA $1.0M Hal Gill 53.39 6 0 0 0
47.6% UFA $700K In the past seven seasons, there have been four defencemen to
produce at least five 40-point seasons and one of them is Mark Streit, who
missed one full season (2010-2011) in that span as he recovered from shoulder
surgery. Streit may not be driving play, but the Flyers can do worse than
getting respectable possession numbers to go along with his offensive
production. Its difficult to imagine what the Flyers saw from Andrew MacDonald
in 19 games to warrant a six-year, $30-million contract extension, because
MacDonald has been a puck possession nightmare, whose with-or-without-you stats
show that nearly everyone fares better without him. There has been some evidence
that his neutral zone defence is an issue, and that would have to improve in
order to give MacDonalds new contract some value. Braydon Coburn hasnt
materialized offensively the way that might have been expected after a 36-point
season in 2007-2008 but, as a big guy who can skate and move the puck, hes been
able to hold his own in a shutdown role. The question going forward may be just
how effective Coburn could be if Kimmo Timonen doesnt return. Its pretty clear
that, over time, Coburn has been better with Timonen. Stay-at-home defender
Nicklas Grossman scored a career-high 14 points last season and that indicates
certain limitations to his game, the same that are inherent to many stay-at-home
defensive defencemen. Grossman gets eaten alive in relative possession terms,
yet he played more last season (1491 minutes) than he had in any previous
season. This is the disconnect that comes between old-school coaching and
analytics that emphasize positive shot differentials. After a decent showing in
his first (lockout-shortened) season in Philly, Luke Schenns game regressed
dramatically. In six NHL seasons, Schenn has alternated between having seasons
with at least 21 minutes of ice time per game seasons in which hes played fewer
than 17 minutes per game. Last season saw him play 16:32 per game and his
per-game scoring rate (0.15 points per game) was the lowest of his career. Even
with that reduced ice time, Schenn ranked third among defencemen with 260 hits
last season, which means he didnt have the puck that much, but the Flyers may
need Schenn to handle a bigger role again in the future. There are some holes on
the Philadelphia defence. Maybe it was part of the reason that they were so
quick to sign MacDonald to an extension. A mobile, undersized defenceman,
Erik Gustafsson couldnt earn a regular spot on the Flyers blueline and made the
decision to sign in the KHL for next season. Chris Pronger, while on the
payroll, hasnt played since November 19, 2012 and isnt going to play again.
39-year-old Kimmo Timonen could be on his way to retirement, but it wouldnt be a
surprise to see the Flyers or another team try to convince him to keep playing.
Timonen has been a stalwart on the Flyers blueline, putting up strong possession
numbers while facing top-tier opposition. If he really is going to leave, that
would create a significant hole. Philadelphia could use a quality addition on
defence even if Timonen returns, so if Timonen leaves, might as well make it
two. Free agents Sami Salo, Anton Stralman or Raphael Diaz might help and taking
a shot at top AHL defenceman T.J. Brennan (from nearby Willingboro, NJ) might
improve the Flyers ability to move the puck from the back end. Returning
Goaltender Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Cap Hit Steve Mason 73.37 61 33 18 7
2.50 .917 $4.1M Free Agent Goaltender Player Rating GP W L OTL GAA SV% Class
13-14 Cap Hit Ray Emery 64.77 28 9 12 2 2.96 .903 UFA $1.65M Has 26-year-old
Steve Mason found what hes been looking for in Philadelphia? In four-plus
seasons with Columbus, Mason had a .903 save percentage, and was one of the
worst starting goaltenders in the league over that time. But, in 68 games with
the Flyers, Mason has a .920 save percentage. His real value may be some point
in between, but having a point in between counts as progress. Should the Flyers
lose Ray Emery to free agency, they will need to find a suitable backup for
Mason. How much the Flyers will be willing to spend will likely depend on cap
space, but a veteran with some measure of reliability would be ideal. If not,
why not take a chance on Alex Stalock, a 26-year-old who was very good in 24
games for San Jose last season? Top Prospects Player Pos. Team/League Stats
Scott Laughton C Oshawa (OHL) 40-47-87, +12, 54 GP Samuel Morin D Rimouski
(QMJHL) 7-24-31, +12, 54 GP Shayne Gostisbehere D Union (ECAC) 9-25-34, +33, 42
GP Nick Cousins C Adirondack (AHL) 11-18-29, -9, 74 GP Mark Alt D Adirondack
(AHL) 4-22-26, -16, 75 GP Anthony Stolarz G London (OHL) 2.52 GAA, .926 SV%, 35
GP Robert Hagg D Modo Ornskoldsvik (SHL) 1-5-6, even, 50 GP Jason Akeson RW
Adirondack (AHL) 24-40-64, -17, 70 GP Tye McGinn LW Adirondack (AHL) 20-15-35,
-20, 54 GP Taylor Leier LW Portland (WHL) 37-42-79, +48, 62 GP Petr Straka RW
Adirondack (AHL) 9-18-27, -4, 60 GP Brandon Manning D Adirondack (AHL) 8-23-31,
-24, 73 GP Picked 20th overall in 2012, Scott Laughton has already played a
handful of games for the Flyers, and the gritty forward had a strong season in
the Ontario Hockey League. He should be able to challenge for a job next season.
The 11th pick last summer, Samuel Morin is a towering blueliner who could become
an intimidating presence, but he skates well for his size and has improving puck
skills. A third-round pick of the Flyers in 2012, Shayne Gostisbehere finished
an impressive junior campaign with national-champion Union College. Hes not big,
but Gostisbehere can skate, move the puck and work the point on the power play.
Taken in the third round in 2011, Nick Cousins is a two-way centre who went
through a learning process in his first pro season. Hell need to get stronger
and continue to improve if hes going to take the next step, but the 20-year-old
can play a feisty game that should endear him to the Flyers. Acquired from
Carolina in January, 2013, Mark Alt is defenceman with good size and physical
game who had a solid first pro season, during which he saw power play time and
played a big role in the AHL. A second-round pick in 2012, Anthony Stolarz has
posted a .924 save percentage in 55 OHL games since leaving Nebraska-Omaha. At
6-foot-6, Stolarz has prototypical size, yet hes a 20-year-old goaltender so its
likely to take some time before hes ready to mount a challenge for an NHL job.
Drafted in the second round last summer, Robert Hagg is a steady defensive
defenceman who joined Adirondack late last season after a solid season in the
Swedish Hockey League. He could use time to develop, but Hagg holds promise as a
well-rounded blueliner. Undrafted winger Jason Akeson has forced his way into
consideration for a spot with the Flyers, after scoring 172 points in 208 AHL
games over the past three seasons. He took a regular spot in the Flyers top nine
in the first round of the playoffs, and had respectable possession stats to show
for it. Power forward Tye McGinn was a fourth-round pick in 2010. Hes scored
seven goals and 10 points in 36 NHL games since, and had 34 goals and 61 points
in 100 AHL games over the past couple seasons. A fourth-round pick in 2012,
Taylor Leier is a skilled two-way forward who plays on a powerhouse Portland
team and has improved steadily over three WHL seasons. Signed as a free agent
after he failed to come to terms with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Petr Straka has
some offensive upside and was okay in his first pro season. Hell need to produce
more to warrant further promotion. Undrafted out of the Western Hockey League,
Brandon Manning is making it hard to ignore his contributions, racking up
penalty minutes to go with improving point totals. Flyers advanced stats and
player usage chart from Extra Skater DRAFT17th - Dylan Larkin, Alex Tuch, Josh
Ho-Sang. FREE AGENCYAccording to www.capgeek.com, the Flyers have approximately
$59.6M committed to the 2014-2015 salary cap for 16 players. Check out my
possible Flyers lineup for next season on Cap Geek here. Needs: One top nine
forward, depth forwards, one top pair defenceman, depth defencemen, backup
goaltender.What I said the Flyers needed last year: One top six forward, one top
four defenceman, goaltender.They added: Vincent Lecavalier, Michael Raffl,
Mark Streit, Ray Emery. TRADE MARKETVincent Lecavalier, Brayden Schenn,
Luke Schenn, Nicklas Grossman. Scott Cullen can be reached at
[email protected] and followed on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook.
Mike Ribeiro
Jersey .com) - The Utah Jazz look to put an end to their five-game losing
streak when the Denver Nuggets visit Salt Lake City Monday night.
Ryan Johansen
Predators Jersey .1 million contract. The club said that Boll will earn
$950,000 in 2012-13 and $1.15 million in 2013-14. The 26-year-old Boll had two
goals and one assist with 126 penalty minutes in 54 games with the Blue Jackets
in 2011-12.
http://www.nhlpredatorshockeystore.com/roman-josi-jersey/ . The Grizzlies erased most of a 25-point deficit before Durant, the leagues
scoring champion, got hot.Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray is entering
his 12th year in the CFL and his third with the Argos. Hes coming off a season
where he was injured twice, missing eight games, but still put up some
eye-popping numbers. Ray passed for just under 2,900 yards, completing 77 per
cent of his passes. He threw 21 touchdowns against just two interceptions,
finishing with a mind-numbing QB rating of 126.4. Ray sat down on Saturday for a
chat with Mike Hogan, the play-by-play voice of the Argos on TSN 1050. MH: Whats
different about camp this year? RR: The same basic philosophies are still there
that coach (Scott Milanovich) carries on about how we practice, our tempo and
what he expects from us, but there is a new feeling. We have a new defensive
staff, a lot of new guys on defence. Offensively, were returning a lot of guys
and coaches so it feels pretty similar. MH: On your side of the football, its
good that you have the continuity that you do (Chad Kackert, Dontrelle Inman and
Joe Eppele are the only 2013 starters not back this year). Can you put into
words how important that is at this stage? RR: It just makes things so much
easier. Thinking back to the first year here, there was so much to learn, trying
to get used to a new system and trying to get used to all the guys around you.
Last year and this year, weve all played together and have a lot of game
experience together and were still running the same stuff out there, so youre
not trying to get used to everything and you can go out there and try and
improve on things from the previous year. MH: Whats your relationship like with
Coach Milanovich in the off-season? Do you keep in contact continually trying to
tweak things, or do you go home to Northern California and just ignore football
for a couple of months? RR: I pretty much go home and get away from football.
Hell call me every now and then and tell me whats going on, say if they have any
new ideas and really just see how the off-season is going, but its only a couple
of times a year. Other than that, I try to get back and relax and just get
refreshed for the new year. MH: Your first two seasons in Toronto saw very
different results. The first year couldnt have gone any better, winning the
100th Grey Cup. Last year, everything was going fine when you were on the field,
but you had to deal with a couple of injuries. When you look back at last
season, just how frustrating was it? RR: It was, just missing so mucch time and
having to watch and rehab and do all that.
Mike Ribeiro
Predators Jersey. It was fun to watch the guys play, to go out west and
have that four-game winning streak, but not so much fun because youre sitting
there watching and cant be out there playing. It was a weird year. We wrapped up
first place and were just waiting around to see who we were going to play and
had such high expectations and just werent able to get it done in the playoffs.
MH: After the Argos were beaten badly in the 2010 Eastern Final by Montreal,
some of them took it very hard, thought about it a lot in the off-season and
used it as motivation. Did you think about losing last years Eastern Final
often? RR: You think about it a lot, especially when you feel like you had a
great opportunity to win the game. Sometimes when you get beaten pretty badly,
its easier to swallow those than the ones that are close games where you had an
opportunity to keep moving on. Its funny because were getting ready to play
Hamilton in our next game (Thursday at Varsity Stadium), putting that film back
on and then watching it (laughs) brings back a lot of not-so-good memories. So
ya, that keeps you motivated. When you think about it, you try and work harder
and you think about the next time you do get an opportunity like that to try and
seize it. MH: There are still four running backs competing for the starting job.
(Steve Slaton and Jeremiah Johnson are the new imports, up against returnee RB
Curtis Steele. Also in the mix is University of Manitoba rookie Anthony Coombs)
All of them seem to add something different to the mix. How would you assess the
group? RR: Its been pretty fun watching them in camp. Curtis has a pretty good
feel for what were trying to do out there. He gives a ton of effort on every
play. The new guys are both very gifted athletes. Thats the position that we
expect the most out of, with pass protection, running and catching out of the
backfield and weve got three guys that can do it very well. Then you put Coombs
in there and watching him, especially in one-on-one drills, he runs routes
almost like a receiver, so hes going to be a good weapon for us. MH: Grey Cup or
bust? RR: Thats what it is every year (smiles). Thats the expectation that
(General Manager) Jim Barker and Coach Milanovich have put on us. Theyve built a
great foundation here and we feel like we should be able to go out and win every
year and have a chance to get to the Grey Cup.
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