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Flyers Notes: Del Zotto, Defense, Raffl

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The start to this season hasn’t been a great one for Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto.  He suffered a knee injury in training camp that caused him to miss the first month of the season and since then, he has been a healthy scratch on several occasions with head coach Dave Hakstol looking for a better compete level.  Despite that, he still feels good about his play, writes Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post.

Through 19 games this season, the 26 year old has four goals and five assists which is pretty good production for a blueliner.  However, his ice time has been scaled back significantly as he is playing 18 minutes a night compared to 23:25 last season.

Being sat down while having your minutes cut is hardly a desirable spot for anyone to be in but the timing is particularly poor for Del Zotto, a pending unrestricted free agent in a market that isn’t all that strong when it comes to defensemen.  He told Isaac that his UFA status isn’t in his mind at the moment:

“I know I can contribute offensively and I’ve proven over the last couple of years that I can be a No. 1 defender and I have the ability to shut the other team’s top lines down. I think at this point whatever happens, happens. It is a business. I’m not too worried about it. I’m comfortable with my game. I know I can contribute and help the team win every night.”

While free agency may not be something Del Zotto is currently concerned with, he has to realize that a strong second half of the season would go a lot way towards cementing himself as one of the top free agent blueliners available.  Between that and being sat down at times, he’ll have plenty of motivation the rest of the way.

More news from Philadelphia:

  • Del Zotto is far from the only blueliner to make an impact offensively this season. Mark Streit, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Ivan Provorov are all in the top-35 league-wide for points by a defender, a byproduct of Hakstol’s request to have the back end get more involved at the offensive end, writes Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The decision to have them take more chances offensively certainly has worked so far as the Flyers lead the league in points by defensemen.
  • Left winger Michael Raffl is set to miss the next one-to-two weeks with a lower body injury that’s believed to be a knee sprain, notes CSN Philly’s Jordan Hall. This is the second time this season that the 28 year Austrian will be on the shelf as he also missed eight games with an abdominal injury sustained in mid-October.  In 27 games this season, he has seven goals and two assists and has frequently been up and down the lineup.

Snapshots: Top Rookies, Tougher Oilers, McKeown

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It’s been a good start to the season for rookies in the NHL. Auston Matthews scored a stunning four goals in his debut and Finnish top picks Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi also scored in their debuts. William Nylander had two assists.

However, two of the more impressive rookies to TSN’s Bob McKenzie are the Flyers’ Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov. McKenzie appeared on TSN 1260 in Edmonton, saying it’s “ridiculous how good [Provorov] is” and saying Konecny was their “maybe their best player” in their first game.

Despite their early success, McKenzie didn’t see either of them being in the Calder Trophy conversation, because neither will post the offensive numbers. He also joked that “everybody knows they already awarded the Calder the other night after the first game. People didn’t see that presentation afterwards, but Auston Matthews was presented with it after the game.”

McKenzie compared the style of play over the first two nights to Team North America in the World Cup, saying hopefully “the kids … will triumph because the first two nights of this season have been a joy to watch.”

In other new from around the hockey world:

  • David Staples of the Edmonton Journal took a look at how GM Peter Chiarelli turned the formerly soft Oilers into a much tougher team. The Oilers have added four tough and dependable NHLers in Eric Gryba, Zack Kassian, Patrick Maroon, and Milan Lucic for a total cost of two fourth round picks and three players who had no future in Edmonton: former starter Ben Scrivens who was toiling in the AHL, and fringe minor leaguers Travis Ewanyk and Martin Gernat. Scrivens and Gernat are now overseas, and Ewanyk signed with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. Staples writes that the new-look Oilers are able to “[answer] the bell if it comes to clobberin’ time, as it surely will.”
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have assigned defenseman Roland McKeown to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. McKeown was a healthy scratch in the Hurricanes season opening loss in Winnipeg. McKeown is a former second round pick of the Los Angeles Kings, acquired in the Andrej Sekera trade back at the 2015 trade deadline. The Raleigh News & Observer Chip Alexander believes the team is expecting newly-acquired defenseman Jakub Nakladal to be available for Sunday night’s game in Vancouver.

Radko Gudas Suspended Six Games

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After avoiding suspension for a hit earlier this pre-season on Jimmy Vesey of the New York Rangers, Radko Gudas has been given a six-game ban for his hit on Bruins’ forward Austin Czarnik.

This is not the first time Gudas has received discipline from the league. Last season he received three ejections in the span of a month, and was given a three-game suspension for a hit on Mika Zibanejad in December. Though he’s only technically a two-time offender now, the six-game ban is a strong message that his on-the-edge style will no longer be tolerated by the league.

The Flyers now have a lot of trouble on their blueline for the start of the season and will be hoping that Brandon Manning can play as soon as possible. With Michael Del Zotto out and now Gudas unavailable, 19-year old Ivan Provorov will be staying with the team. These injuries and suspensions are heaping even more responsibility onto sophomore Shayne Gostisbehere, as he looks to become the leader on the back-end for the Flyers this season.

2016-17 Season Preview: Philadelphia Flyers

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With just days remaining before the NHL gets back to playing meaningful games, Pro Hockey Rumors is starting to wrap up their Season Preview series. This evening we move on to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Last Season: 41 – 27 – 14, 96 points, fifth in the Metro. Lost to Washington in round one of the playoffs.

Cap Space: $40.834K (According to Cap Friendly)

Key Additions: RW Dale Weise (free agent – Chicago); C Boyd Gordon (free agent – Arizona); Roman Lyubimov (free agent – KHL)

Key Departures: C Sam Gagner (free agent – Columbus); C Ryan White (free agent – Arizona); D Evgeny Medvedev (free agent – KHL); C R.J. Umberger (buyout – unsigned)

[Related: Flyers Depth Chart]

Players to Watch: Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth. Philadelphia should be just fine up front with Claude Giroux (67 points), Jakub Voracek (55 points), Brayden Schenn (26 goals, 59 points) and Wayne Simmonds (32 goals, 60 points) leading the way offensively. The Flyers boast a tremendous crop of young blue liners led by Shayne Gostisbehere, who is set to be joined this season by 19-year-old Ivan Provorov. Not far behind is Robert Hagg and Samuel Morin. The key for the Flyers will be to once again get quality goaltending out of Mason and Neuvirth.

Last season when the Flyers surprised some by making the postseason, Mason and Neuvirth combined to stop 91.7% of shots against which was good enough to tie them with two other teams for fifth best in the NHL. The Flyers also allowed 2.56 goals-per-game, a rate bested by 11 clubs in the league. The goaltending was indeed good last season and it was a big reason why the Flyers made it to the playoffs.

The questions is: can they again be that good or better? Since joining Philadelphia, Mason, a former Calder Trophy winner, has stopped 92.2% of the shots he has faced. But that rate is inflated by a 92.8 save percentage in 2014-15. If we remove that season, Mason has a 91.9% save percentage with the Flyers, which is still a solid number.

The bigger question is Neuvirth, who prior to 2015-16 had never recorded a save percentage better than 91.4% in any season in which he appeared in more than 13 games. Over the last three seasons, Mason has started 161 games for the Flyers, which means in all probability Neuvirth will get close to 30 starts. The Flyers need Neuvirth to be at least league-average in those starts to give them a good chance to contend in the highly competitive Metro Division.

Key Storylines: Can the Flyers take the next step? They improved by 12 points over their 2014-15 season total and while it’s not likely they’ll experience another double-figure leap in points, the next step in their progression is passing some of the teams that finished above them . This past season the Flyers finished 8th in the conference, grabbing the second wild card spot and a guaranteed reservation with the regular season’s best team, the Washington Capitals, in the playoffs. Earning a higher playoff seed and a playoff series win would constitute a successful campaign.

It wouldn’t necessarily be the end of the world if the Flyers took a marginal step back. They still have a ton of young talent getting closer to the NHL and with Mark Streit ($5.25MM AAV) and Michael Del Zotto ($3.875MM AAV) both set for free agency, the Flyers might have a little bit of money to spend next summer, assuming they rely on prospects to fill those openings. Then again, Gostisbehere is likely going to eat up much of that available cash on his next deal, presuming he has another productive campaign in 2016-17.

GM Ron Hextall and head coach Dave Hakstol have the Flyers on the right track. Hextall has extricated the club from some, not all, but some of their onerous contractual obligations. At the same time the franchise has added a lot of young talent to the organization that will begin to bear fruit as soon as this season.

Snapshots: Flyers Rookies, Kronwall, Jordan, Rod

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The Flyers may have a pair of rookies in their opening night lineup. Forward Travis Konecny and defenseman Ivan Provorov have both looked good so far in the pre-season; Konecny is leading the team with six points in six games and Provorov is playing big minutes on a pairing with Mark Streit.

Konecny has played up and down the lineup so far in the pre-season, and figures to be a feisty bottom-six forward with the potential to move up the lineup as needed. He can play either wing or center. Count head coach Dave Hakstol among those impressed by Konecny’s “ability to read a play and make things happen.”

Meanwhile, Provorov has shown great chemistry with Streit after another wonderful season with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL, with 21 goals and 73 points in 62 games. He might be the best of many high-end defensive prospects in the Flyers system.

Seeing as Konecny and Provorov are both still junior-eligible, they’ll need to either play in the NHL or go back to junior. Expect both men to get at least nine games to show he’s ready.

  • The Red Wings may be without Niklas Kronwall to start the season. The veteran defenseman has a knee injury according to Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. Coach Jeff Blashill says if Kronwall isn’t available on opening night then the Red Wings will carry eight defensemen to start the season.
  • Former Hurricanes depth defenseman Michal Jordan has signed with Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL. It was reported earlier this off-season that Jordan was seeking a one-way contract as an unrestricted free agent (UFA). The Hurricanes had apparently offered him a two-way contract but Jordan wasn’t interested. Jordan has 3 goals and 7 points in 79 NHL games over the last four seasons.
  • And speaking of players signing overseas, San Jose Sharks 2014 second-round pick Noah Rod has signed a five-year extension with his Swiss club, Genève-Servette HC. According to ESPN’s Corey Pronman, Rod does have an out-clause to come to North America to play with the Sharks.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

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