A new season of Flyers hockey is here. Lettttttts gooooooo Flyerssss. Without further delay, here are our answers to your questions.
Samuel Morin figures to be the seventh defenseman for now. Chuck Fletcher may make a trade or two, so that’s a possibility. However, as it stands right now Morin is the seventh defenseman until unfortunately, an injury arises. Morin would then get his shot to prove his worth. He is one of the hardest workers, as Morin stays at the Skate Zone every Summer to workout. Many times he’s the last player off the ice. His day will come soon enough.
In my preview/prediction article that was published this past Tuesday. I predicted Sean Couturier to pot 39 goals. He will post 39 goals, to go along with 46 apples for a total of 85 points.
Jakub Voracek posted 66 points last season. This season he should average nearly a point per game. The Flyers need him offensively. Is there anyone on the roster that could produce offensively the way Voracek produces? This pre-season the Flyers ranked 24th in Goals Per Game, averaging just 2.0 GPG. If the Flyers are under .500 through the first 25 games of the season, I could see a core player being dealt.
Morgan Frost will be called-up midway through the season. German Rubtsov will need some games with the Phantoms, as he was hurt for most of last year. It appeared he needed to get back into game shape late in the pre-season, right before he was sent back to the Phantoms. However, I do see him being recalled at some point, as well. Either or would be great. NAK could be recalled if Tyler Pitlick does not stay healthy. Let’s see how this plays out through the first few months of the season.
“I can tell you that that’s not a secret for success. See how sharp I am. Listen, I’ll go back to what I just mentioned about the way I prepare my teams. I think that will have a very solid impact. Let’s not shy away from the players’ responsibility in this. It is their responsibility to get themselves in that mental state, that mental zone where you go out on the ice and you execute, you perform and you compete. I’m going to make sure that each and every one of our players understands his part in this. I am and my staff are going to our part as far as giving them the information that they need for the upcoming opponent and what they need to do have success as a team against that opponent.” – Alain Vigneault on Thursday April 18, 2019
Trust me when I say, this will not be tolerated with the Vigneault regime. Vigneault will bench players if he has to. Slow starts will eventually be a thing of the past for this organization.
Jakub Voracek posted 66 points last season. This season he should average nearly a point per game. The Flyers need him offensively. Could the Flyers replace his production with another player on the current roster, asides from Couturier, and Giroux? Who knows, however the orange and black know that Voracek will produce almost a point per game. This pre-season the Flyers ranked 24th in Goals Per Game, averaging just 2.0 GPG.
Giroux is the engine that runs the Flyers. He posted an 85 point season. Again like Voracek, who on the current roster could replicate his numbers, asides from Voracek and Couturier? Fletcher knows just how valuable Giroux is, and that’s one reason he would like to see Giroux stay on the Wing.
If the Flyers are under .500 through the first 25 games of the season, I could see a big named player being dealt.
Right now the obvious way out of cap hell is a trade. Fletcher said he doesn’t want to place Patrick on LTIR unless he absolutely has to. Injuries also happen, so that could afford Fletcher some more cap space flexibility. The youth could be called up to fill the void, so their cap hits aren’t too heavy of a price for the Flyers to take.
If Fletcher is looking for a trade. Robert Hagg would be more attractive than Samuel Morin, as teams know exactly what they would be receiving in Hagg, as opposed to an unknown in Morin (Due to injuries).
At the end of the season the Flyers have some contracts falling off the books, so that should also help the cap crunch: Justin Braun ($3.8 million), Brian Elliott ($2 million), Tyler Pitlick ($1 million). The Flyers also have Alex Lyon, Andy Welinski, TJ Brennan, Kyle Criscuolo, Kurtis Gabriel, and J.F. Berube falling off the books, as well.
Simple solution for short-term cap relief is a trade.
Alain Vigneault should be given a full season as Head Coach before people start to critically judge him. He inherited a new team with lots of new faces, and a change of the culture in the locker room was a must. Moreover, this is a young team with a lot of moving parts early this season. One training camp and pre-season is not enough time to master the lines of the team, D pairings, as well as, building a winning culture in the locker room. These things take time, and AV should be given that this season.
AV has done a wonderful job in the locker room this training camp. The locker room has a different vibe than it did last year. The majority of the players seem to be refreshed, and I think a lot of that has to do with AV. It appears the culture of the locker room is a good one right now. Let’s see how this goes this season.
Joel Farabee will have the most impact for Flyers rookies this season. I believe his stint in the AHL will be a short one. As it stands right now, I think the Flyers could have trouble scoring. In the event this happens, Fletcher’s hands will be forced to call him up.
AV has done a wonderful job in the locker room this training camp. The locker room has a different vibe than it did last year. The majority of the players seem to be refreshed, and I think a lot of that has to do with AV. It appears the culture of the locker room is a good one right now. Let’s see how this goes this season.
Sean Couturier will pot 39 goals, to go along with 46 apples, en route to the Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward). The sky is the limit for Couts, and I think he will take full advantage of that.
AV was upset after the loss to Lausanne HC this past Monday in Switzerland. He appeared to at least call out one Veteran, although Vigneault never gave a name. That was a messy loss, and maybe he did that to spark the team. Maybe it was what the team needed. Let’s evaluate this going forward for at least a month, before anyone makes a determination on this matter. This team is still in search of chemistry with line pairings, and D pairings. It’s a little too early to be critical of his message at this point.
Jakub Voracek posted 66 points last season. This season he should average nearly a point per game. The Flyers need him offensively. Could the Flyers replace his production with another player on the current roster, asides from Couturier, and Giroux? The answer is, this is to be determined, however the orange and black know that Voracek will produce almost a point per game. This pre-season the Flyers ranked 24th in Goals Per Game, averaging just 2.0 GPG. No one is safe in Av’s system, so if Voracek deserves a benching he will get a benching.
If you would like to see your questions submitted in our weekly mailbag. Just submit your question on our Facebook page or on Twitter using #Flyersmail. Thanks to all the fans for another great mailbag, and Let’s go Flyers. Without your support, we wouldn’t be here today.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
