Another Disappointing Season For The Flyers

Summer has come too early once again for the Philadelphia Flyers after a disappointing outing against the New Jersey Devils. The Flyers overachieved in round 1, taking it to cross state rival Pittsburgh only to get it given back the same way against Jersey. Philly has more talent than Jersey, but it's not always about talent, in the NHL playoffs, it's about who plays the best at the right time. On paper, the Flyers shouldn't have even made the playoffs. The traded Captain Mike Richards to Los Angeles, Power Forward Jeff Carter to Columbus, Kris Vesteeg to Florida, while letting go reliable cog, Ville Reino to Buffalo. They lost Chris Pronger for most of the year with post concussion syndrome and they had upwards of 9 rookies playing significant minutes through out the whole season. Yet, the Flyers seem to flourish at times and showed signs of becoming a real powerhouse. The team MVP goes to GM Paul Holmgren. It seems to me he was given orders to 1. get rid of Richards and Carter and their contracts and partying ways 2. Get Ilya Bryzgalov, the best goal tender in last season's free agent market 3. fill in everyone else with solid 2 way players. Holmgren did it and probably will never get the credit he truly deserves. Looking at the future of the Flyers, it's hard to say what will happen. There is a reason why teams like Detroit, New Jersey and Pittsburgh are always successful, they have a nucleus of homegrown talent and they perform for 8-10 years in the same environment. The Flyers have yet to do that, they get very impatient and deal guys for various reasons and it seems that this order comes from ownership not the GM. Here's what the offseason will look like for the Orange and Black: Goal Tending: They are stuck with Ilya Bryzgalov's contract until 2020. I think he's a decent goalie, but far from spectacular. He has potential, but you don't pay $51 million on potential, that's just bad business. They will probably look to move Sergei Bobrovsky while he has some value. Not sure what they will get for him, but I would assume he will be moved for draft picks. Defense: Colburn and Grossman are locked in for a few years as is Mezaros. Timmonen is getting up there in age and I wouldn't be surprised if his career is winding down. Matt Carle is a free agent and I would think they would want to sign him, he's consistent and seems to play well in this system. The have a few young guys with a tremendous upside; Eric Gustaffson and Marc Andre Bourbon and have a huge question mark in Chris Pronger. I kinda have a feeling Pronger's career is over. Pavel Kubina proved to be a wasted trade as he was scratched in most of the play off games. Offense: Rookies like Sean Couturier, Matt Read, Braden Schenn and Eric Wellwood look to be around here for a long time, at least until ownership deems fit to move them. Claude Giroux is the center piece of the team and will probably become the team's next captain. James Van Reimsdyck is showing he should be around for the long haul, at 23, he is big, strong and can skate well. He also is a playmaker and in time will be a great power forward. Wayne Simmonds found a home in Philly and I see great things for him. Scott Hartnell might be one of those guys sent packing in the off season, though his presence is always a welcome site. He is a true agitator and more importantly has a knack for finding the net. Jake Vorachek is a free agent who will receive numerous high price offers and it will be interesting to see if he takes a home town discount. Danny Briere is a prime time player when April comes, but I am not sure how much longer he will be around, considering his cap hit. Jaromir Jagr was a tremendous signing this off season, but I think it might be a 1 and done with his Flyer career. All in all, it was a solid season for the Flyers, just a disappointing ending and with the Phillies getting old at once, it's going to be a long summer here in the City of Brotherly Love.