Each day in the month of August we’ll be examining a different NHL team — from looking back at last season to discussing a player under pressure to focusing on a player coming off a breakthrough year to asking questions about the future. Today we look at the Philadelphia Flyers.
2017-18
42–26–14, 98 pts. (3rd in the Metropolitan Division, 6th in the Eastern Conference)
Playoffs: Lost in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins, first round
IN
James van Riemsdyk
Christian Folin
OUT
Valtteri Filppula
Colin McDonald
Brandon Manning
Petr Mrazek
Matt Read
RE-SIGNED
Samuel Morin
Alex Lyon
Robert Hagg
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It was a bumpy ride as the Flyers returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a year off in 2017. The end of November saw the team holding an 8-10-7 record as they were in the middle of a 10-game losing streak. “Fire Hakstol” chants rang throughout Wells Fargo Center, but general manager Ron Hextall was preaching patience and stuck by his head coach. That losing streak was then followed by seven wins in eight games and strong months in January and February that helped put them into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
The season ended in disappointment after a first-round exit at the hands of their rivals in Pittsburgh, but there were a lot of bright spots that were encouraging signs moving forward.
[Breakthrough: Travis Konecny | Under Pressure: JvR | 3 Questions]
Nolan Patrick, the No. 2 overall pick in 2017, had a strong rookie season with 13 goals and 30 points. Travis Konecny potted 24 goals and Scott Laughton and Jordan Weal saw extended ice time. That coupled with a 100-point season from Claude Giroux, an 85-point campaign from Jake Voracek, a 31-goal year from Sean Couturier and more steps forward for young blue liners Shayne Gostisbehere (65 points) and Ivan Provorov (17 goals, 24:09 TOI) set a nice foundation for 2018-19.
The addition of James van Riemsdyk could mean bye-bye to Wayne Simmonds. Or an extension. Who knows? Ask Hextall. But JvR’s addition gives the offense a boost and will aid their power play (JvR scored 11 PPGs in 2017-18).
Petr Mrazek is gone, so it’s Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth, who are both UFAs next summer, in goal again, with Carter Hart looming as the ‘tender of the future.
The Flyers have cap space to add a piece, if needed, and a highly-rated prospect pool. In a tough Metropolitan Division, they’ll need to get more from their youth and continue relying on their veterans in order to navigate an 82-game slate and find themselves as one of the lucky 16 teams playing in mid-April.
Prospect Pool
• Joel Farabee, LW, 18, Boston University (NCAA) — 2018 first-round pick
Known for his two-way play, Farabee enters his freshman year with the Terriers coming off a productive season with the U.S. National Team Development Program. He scored 33 goals and recorded 76 points with the U-18s and posted 40 points in 26 games during their season in the USHL. While serving as captain for the Americans at the U-18 Worlds, he scored four goals eight points in seven games. So you can see why the Flyers were happy to get him 14th overall in June.
“He disguises whether it’s a shot or a pass,” Hextall said after development camp in July. “He’s got really quick hands. A lot of guys will come down, the goalie knows where they’re going to shoot, so you see goalies make a save and go, ‘That was quick.’ It really wasn’t because they read the puck off the stick blade. The puck is really hard to react to. Joel hides things. If he’s going to shoot the puck, he’ll turn his hands real quick, bang and let it go. Or he’ll open up for a shot and he’ll pass the puck. A lot of top guys in the league, you wonder why they score or how that pass went through … they’re showing hands to the defenseman, to the goalie. Joel is one of those guys.”
• Carter Hart, G, 19, Everett Silvertips (WHL) — 2016 second-round pick
The 2017-18 WHL Player and Goalie of the Year was also the first player in CHL history to win the junior hockey goaltender of the year twice. He had a remarkable season with 41 wins, a 1.60 goals against average, seven shutouts and a .947 save percentage with the Silvertips. In the middle of that, he backstopped Canada to gold at the World Junior Championship with a 1.81 GAA and .930 SV% in six games. He’ll have a shot to get some time in the NHL, but he’ll likely be in AHL Lehigh Valley to get some seasoning as the Flyers figure out their goaltending situation for the future.
• Morgan Frost, C, 19, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) — 2017 first-round pick
Also getting a shot to stick with the big club is Frost, who put up 112-points last season. He’s doubled his goal output in junior in each of the last two seasons and his point total has jumped from 27 to 62 to 112 since 2015-16. He has playmaking ability and is a possibility to fill the third line center role. But Hextall has made it sounds like Frost is a little lower on the depth chart at the moment and like Hart, could see himself furthering his development in the AHL this season.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.