As we approach the 2016-17 season, we’re previewing what’s ahead for each of the 30 NHL teams. Here’s a look at the Philadelphia Flyers.
MAIN SUMMER HEADLINES
• Flyers unveil ‘gold’ jerseys for 50th anniversary
• Dale Weise signs with Flyers for four years and $9.4 million
Head coach: Dave Hakstol
GM: Ron Hextall
Team payroll: $71.96 million ($73 million salary cap)
2015-16 Record: 41-27-14 (Fifth in Metro)
GF: 214 (22nd in NHL)
GA: 218 (15th in NHL)
Result: Eliminated first round by Washington, 4-2
Acquisitions: Dale Weise, Greg Carey, Boyd Gordon
Key departures: Sam Gagner, Evgeny Medvedev, Ryan White
Rookies To Watch: Ivan Provorov is a much-hyped rookie who will make a strong push for a roster spot at camp, even though he’ll have to knock out a more experienced and highly paid blueliner to do it. Provorov, the seventh overall pick in the 2015 Draft, has a strong two-way game and is coming off a season in which he scored 21 goals and 73 points in 62 games with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. He’s strong and sturdy at 6-foot, 200 pounds, and is a strong skater as well.
After the breakout season from Shayne Gostisbehere last season, if Provorov and his all-round skills make the roster, the Flyers suddenly have a young and exciting blue line duo to build around.
Up front, Travis Konecny has turned heads with his very strong pre-season play. The 24th overall pick of the 2015 Draft, Konecny leads the Flyers with six points (three goals, three assists) in pre-season play. The 19-year-old had 101 points in 60 OHL games with Ottawa and Sarnia last season.
The Flyers will have a successful season if…
Philadelphia snuck into the playoffs thanks largely to a late-season charge when they won 14 of their last 22 games. A stronger start to the season would go a long way this time, after they won just six of their first 20 games a year ago. How can they accomplish this? Most people are expecting a big bounce back for Jakub Voracek who dropped from 81 points in 2015 to 55 points in 2016 — he’s one of the Flyers’ most dynamic and important offensive producers who can’t have another dark season.
And what about Gostisbehere? Was his 64-game rookie season a fluke or, at least, so good he’s bound to regress? It’s not likely he has another 15-game point coring streak again. A dip in the goal and point production he provided would be damaging to a team that is still rather thin on the blue line.
The Flyers will have a successful season if…
The defence doesn’t improve and/or the goalies play to their reputation outside of the city. Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth have actually been surprisingly good for Philadelphia, but is it a reliable tandem? Mason’s save percentage dropped 10 points year over year from 2015 to 2016, while Neuvirth couldn’t find a steady job in Buffalo. Not to mention the fact the defence allowed the eight-most shots against last season, which will make a goalies job all the more difficult.
Another slow start, especially on offence, could be enough to sink them this time. Pulling off the same kind of late-season surge again is highly improbable. The offence simply needs to be there — through the first 20 games of 2015-16, the Flyers averaged less than two goals a game, scoring 34 goals in their first 20 games.
