The Flyers may have a log jam of Defensemen, but they need the right one to get them over the hump. The Defense was lossey-goosey, for the most part, all year, and down years from Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov didn’t help matters by any means.
Enter Alain Vigneault. Vigneault promises to make this team a consistent hockey team in the future with the hopes of winning a Stanley Cup with the orange and black, “We’ve got some real good players here,” Vigneault said. “These good players, in certain phases of seasons, have performed at an extremely high level. Now it’s my job, and I know I can do that, I can get them to be more consistent. The way that I prepare a team for games I believe permits a player to understand what he needs to do against that team to be successful. I’m also very adamant that a player has his part to do in that. At the end of the day this is a team sport, but you’re accountable to your preparation and to your performance.”
Vigneault continued, “What I was looking for in my new opportunity to coach were three things. First thing I was looking for was an opportunity to win. An opportunity in the short term to win a Stanley Cup. When I look at and analyze the parts we have here in Philly, when I look at and analyze the options that we have in improving this team, it gets a check mark from me.”
Defense wins Championships. Make no mistake about it, this is one main reason the Flyers as a whole remained inconsistent. Furthermore, the Defense was far too inconsistent to propel the Flyers into the playoffs. The Flyers Defense is a young Corps. that needs a Top 4 Veteran Defenseman to aide the youth movement. Here is a list of some possible free agents/restricted free agents Defensive targets that the Flyers may pursue:
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