Despite all the hollering that went on around Flyers circles as the start of free agency came and went, GM Paul Holmgren has managed to remake the Flyers roster without essentially blowing it up. Alot of new faces and a couple tough departures later, the Flyers may in fact be in better position to challenge for the Cup than they were just a few weeks ago.
Although it is a bitter pill for nearly all Flyers fans, Simon Gagne is gone. That is going to take some serious getting used to. But as a result, the spotlight is going to shine brighter and hotter on a number of Flyers.
In fact, every section of the Flyers’ roster is going to be under greater scrutiny this coming season than it has in a long, long time. And not just for the obvious reasons. Yes, the Flyers were a mere 2 wins from a Cup Championship. That in itself tends to ratchet up the pressure. As great as this past spring’s playoff run was (and make no mistake, it was incredible), it left some bitter tastes as weaknesses were exploited in the Finals. There’s nothing like getting so close to the Promised Land of hockey and just falling short. But essentially every area (except goaltending) has undergone some notable change.
But beside the natural, aforementioned pressure on the team as a whole, there will also be a ton of pressure placed on individual players. There are a number of Flyers who were not expected to be on the roster next season, underperformed last season, showed great potential and promise, or have to live up to the contracts they were handed this offseason.
So, which Philadelphia Flyer is going to be under the most pressure in 2010-11?
Click here to cast your vote!!!
Jody Shelley 
Even though he has yet to play a single minute as a Flyer, Shelley has already been tagged as a pariah of sorts. Shelley’s role is clear. He’s here to crack skulls. And while that would normally lend itself to some level of respect amongst the Flyers faithful, there are two aspects of Shelley’s signing that are problematic. First, the addition of a dedicated enforcer would seem to be unnecessary considering that both Ian Laperriere and Dan Carcillo are returning and capable of handling the fisticuffs when duty calls. Second, Shelley carries a $1.1M price tag…money thought by many to have been better saved or applied to the top shelf goaltender so many were clamoring for. Fair or not, Shelley is going to have his work cut out for him to justify his presence on the Flyers’ roster. Who knows…just getting into the lineup on a regular basis may prove difficult considering that Riley Cote was a healthy scratch for most of last season. Does Shelley offer anything more than Cote could besides a greater ability to whoop ass? His numbers say no. We shall see.
Michael Leighton
“Leights” finds himself in both the most exciting yet nerve wracking scenario of his roller coaster career. Two remarkable runs as the Flyers starter last season, including the final stretch to the cusp of a championship, have afforded the late-blooming Leighton the confidence of the Flyers organization and the chance to secure his first undisputed starter’s job. Even while much of the Flyers fanbase was collectively pumping their fist in the air demanding a proven elite goaltender, GM Paul Holmgren held firm and resigned Leighton to a new 2 year, $3.1M contract. But the onus is on Leighton to prove that he deserves the job and can make people forget the soft goal that clinched the Stanley Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks. He will have plenty of competition as journeyman Brian Boucher (who had his own stretch of playoff brilliance), Johan Backlund, as well as prospects Joacim Ericsson and Sergei Bobrovsky will be attempting to challenge for a spot when training camp rolls around.
Claude Giroux
As one of the most promising young talents to come through the Flyers organization in years, the expectations for Claude Giroux are enormous. He has shown that he can be one of the most potent weapons the Flyers have, especially during the last playoff run when he was second in Flyers playoff goals with 10. However, a hot and cold regular season had many wondering if he could really put it together and get up to the pace of the game over the long haul. Now, with two full NHL seasons under his belt, Giroux will be looked to to provide that breakout year and put more goals on the board. The bulk of the goals lost with the departures of Joffrey Lupul and Mike Knuble in the summer of 2009 were never actually replaced. And now with Simon Gagne leaving for the Tampa Bay Lightning, the need for consistent goal scoring will be even greater. Time for “Gee-Roo” to put those Peter Forsberg-like puck handling and play-making abilities to greater use.
Scott Hartnell
The struggles of Scott Hartnell during the course of last season were nearly as well publicized as the BP oil spill. Every beat writer and blogger in Flyerdom was stunned not only with the lack of points production from the multi-faceted winger, but also with his seeming inability to avoid bad penalties at the worst of times. The result was a tidal wave of trade rumors and speculation that the Flyers would be seeking to convince Hartnell to waive his no trade clause so they could shed his $4.2M cap hit. As it turns out, Hartnell was rumored to be having some personal off-ice issues. Fortunately for the Flyers, those issues were also rumored to have been cleared up in time for the playoffs, where Hartnell suddenly became the force Flyers fans expect. It will now be up to Hartnell to put his personal past behind him and produce a bounce-back season the likes of which will keep him from once again turning into trade rumor fodder.
Nikolai Zherdev
Zherdev may be the most intriguing off season move made by the Flyers. After a one year trip to the KHL, Zherdev has returned to North America by signing a one year, $2M contract with the Flyers. Widely touted as a smart move, it also poses the highest risk and highest potential reward. Zherdev’s explosive offensive abilities are no secret, but he also brings with him a reputed questionable work ethic. We all know just how well that will go over with Sgt. Laviolette, and one would have to assume that Zherdev was also made well aware of it before putting pen to paper. But what Zherdev may not be aware of is the fact that his contract is preceived by many to be the reason Simon Gagne was pushed out the door. The only way Zherdev is going to be able to put those Gagne loyalists at ease is to locate the twine and do it often.
Braydon Coburn
As one of the Flyers’ top 4 defensemen almost since his acquisition in 2007, the talented 25 year old Coburn has had alot on his plate. In the 2008-09 season, Coburn was actually considered to be the Flyers #2 as he played alongside regular partner Kimmo Timonen. But the pickup of Chris Pronger at the 2009 draft effectively pushed him back to the second pairing as the Flyers did not want to break up the chemistry between him and Timonen. The reduction in responsibility and minutes would have seemingly given Coburn the room he needed to mature his game and learn from a veteran like Pronger, who has a comparable size and frame. However, Coburn struggled through much of the season and did so while losing much of the physical edge he had displayed through the previous year. Speculation grew regarding his contract status over the summer, but he and the Flyers avoided arbitration by inking a new 2 year, $6.4M contract. Now, with his potential transformation from young talent to top tier defenseman just over the horizon, Coburn needs to validate the confidence the Flyers have shown in him.
Jeff Carter
As the centerpiece of the most talked-about Flyers trade scenario of the past year, there is undoubtedly going to be alot of pressure on Carter. Despite his 108 goals over the last 3 seasons, Carter was thought to be the likeliest candidate for a salary dump, mainly based on his lack of a no trade clause and his often frustrating inconsistency. No one can deny that Carter has a terrific scorer’s touch, however, his defensive game lacks and his lackluster followup play in front of the net easily denies him another 10-15 goals each year. His inability to produce during the postseason has also become an issue. His 12 playoff goals in the last three playoff years have been a sore spot at times when the Flyers were looking for a scoring catalyst. Also, considering that many Flyers fans would have preferred to part ways with Carter than Simon Gagne, many will be looking for Carter to be a monster in 2010-11 to justify the preference Paul Holmgren showed him over the 10 year fan favorite.
Danny Briere
As the most salary cap-expensive player on the Flyers roster, Briere will face alot of scrutiny as long as he wears orange and black. However, his injury history and respectable-but-not-earth-shattering regular season offensive numbers have made him a target, especially during offensive slumps. The logjam at center also caused Briere to spend much of last season on the wing, where his weak backchecking stuck out like a sore thumb on many a night. However, Briere does have something going for him…his playoff production. The injury to Jeff Carter in the 1st round against NJ gave Briere a chance to return to center, and as a result, there were many hockey writers who believed that Briere should have received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP despite the Flyers’ loss. He also may have made a case for the honor back in 2008 had the Flyers gotten past the Penguins in the ECF’s. This coming season, it is unclear whether or not Briere will get to work the middle again as the riches at center remain. But in either case, Briere is going to have to work through and earn his top dollar contract. Showing up for the playoffs alone will not be enough.
Ville Leino
As one of the biggest and most welcome surprises of the Flyers’ 2010 postseason, Ville Leino has earned himself alot of admirers and even more eager observers. Leino set a Flyers playoff record for points by a rookie with 21, shattering the previous record of 15 set by Brian Propp in 1980. That number also tied him for the all-time NHL record set by Dino Ciccarelli back in 1981. And that all happened after sitting out the first 4 games of the ECQF against the Devils. However, through just more than a year in the NHL, the 26 year old Leino has had a tough time staying in the lineup during the regular season. Leino was a healthy scratch for weeks on end with the Red Wings before being dealt to the Flyers, where he sat for an additional month before finally getting to dress. He was in and out of the lineup again until Jeff Carter was injured in the first round of the playoffs. But once the spotlight shined brightest, Leino was amongst the most dangerous people on the ice every night. The challenge for him this coming season will be to live up to that performance and show an ability to maintain a high level of play all year long. Leino has more experience than the average sophomore, so the learning curve is much shorter.
James van Riemsdyk
As the 2nd overall draft pick back in 2007, JVR’s arrival had been eagerly awaited. Finally, his rookie season came, but the excitement was tempered by an inconsistent and rocky performance. Much of the difficulties can and should be attributed to the tall order of adjusting to the level of NHL play and the length of the season. After all, his prior season included just 43 total games between the University of New Hampshire and the Phantoms. This season, he played in 78 regular season games for the Flyers, and 21 playoff games. However, he was a healthy scratch in 2 of the Flyers Cup Finals games because it was rather clear that he was in over his head. Even so, van Riemsdyk showed enormous potential at times. After adding some strength and muscle in this offseason, hopes are high that he will be able to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. The skill set is there and it is deep. It is up to JVR to now make the leap and help Flyers fans forget that if it hadn’t been for the draft lottery, the Flyers would be watching Patrick Kane in a Flyers jersey instead.
Posted under: Braydon Coburn, Brian Propp, Chicago Blackhawks, Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, Flyers, James van Riemsdyk, Jeff Carter, Joffrey Lupul, Johan Backlund, Kimmo Timonen, Michael Leighton, Mike Knuble, New Jersey Devils, Paul Holmgren, Peter Laviolette, Pittsburgh Penguins, Scott Hartnell, Simon Gagne, Tampa Bay Lightning, Ville Leino
![[Valid RSS]](/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
