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Flyers’ Umberger: ‘I feel like a different person’

Philadelphia Flyers  v New Jersey Devils

Philadelphia Flyers v New Jersey Devils

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Vincent Lecavalier isn’t the only Philadelphia Flyers forward who treasures a clean slate, as R.J. Umberger must want to run far away from his 2014-15 season.

He told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he feels “like a different person” coming into next season, and it sounds like that ultimately points to being a healthier player.

Apparently hip and abdominal surgery did that for Umberger, and he’s feeling more spry than he has in some time.

“It was bothering me so bad, I wasn’t able to train as intensely or as hard as I normally would,” Umberger said. “And from the start of the season, I wasn’t up to par or where I needed to be - and it continued to get worse as the season went on ...”

“I was basically skating on one leg.”

In defense of Umberger, his numbers really do give the impression that he could improve quite a bit.

Umberger has been pretty reliable to score at or around 20 goals, yet he was way off the mark last season, only managing nine goals and 15 points.

A change of scenery must have been jarring, but it’s reasonable to expect at least a slight bump in production.

That’s certainly the hope, as every Scott Hartnell fall-and-goal digs the knife a little deeper for Flyers fans.