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Robert Hagg

Justin Braun Out Through All-Star Break

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that defenseman Justin Braun will not play until after the All-Star break later this month. Braun is dealing with a groin injury, meaning Robert Hagg will get back into the lineup for the Flyers tomorrow night. Philadelphia has eight games remaining before the break.

Braun, 32, was one of the big offseason additions for the Flyers, meant to help stabilize a defensive group that was talented but inconsistent. While his ice time has dropped considerably since his days with the San Jose Sharks, he’s still seeing more than 17 minutes a night and will be missed most on the penalty kill where he is a regular.

Even though he was only acquired last summer, Braun is an interesting name to watch at the upcoming trade deadline thanks to an expiring contract. The Flyers have a whole group of young defensemen looking for more opportunity at the NHL level and even another prospect in Yegor Zamula that looks like he might have a future at the highest level. While the team is currently still right in the thick of the Metropolitan Division playoff race, if they should fall back in the standings selling off expiring assets like Braun will be a tempting strategy.

Philadelphia Flyers Might Have To Move A Defenseman

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The Philadelphia Flyers still are trying to sign several restricted free agents, including Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov, but with the two sides being far apart so far in negotiations, there is quite a bit of concern when it comes to Provorov. While it’s likely that the two sides will eventually come to an agreement, especially since Provorov’s camp is waiting for Boston’s Charlie McAvoy and Columbus’ Zach Werenski to sign first to provide some new comparables, the team could find themselves with too much depth on defense.

The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (subscription required) writes that if Provorov signs, the team will have eight NHL-caliber defensemen on their roster and unless the team is willing to roll with just 13 forwards next season, the Flyers will have to make a move to get to seven. Some forwards are obviously going no where. The team has two top-four defenseman already in Shayne Gosthisbehere and Provorov, while the team traded for Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun to add veteran leadership to their defense. The team is also really high on youngsters Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers, which leaves the team just two potential candidates to move.

The most obvious choice would be to send down Samuel Morin. He has potential, but has struggled to make an impact with Philadelphia so far. The problem is that the Flyers would be required to put him on waivers this season and risk losing the 24-year-old for nothing if another team puts a claim on him. While he only has eight games of NHL experience on his resume, there are some teams that would be quite interested in a 6-foot-6 defenseman who might be ready to become an NHL regular.

The only other option for the Flyers would be Robert Hagg, who already has two years of NHL experience and put up 20 points last season. While the team likes him, the team acquired a very similar player in Braun, who is more experienced and better defensively. Many have already wondered if the acquisition of Braun was meant as a sign that the team intends to move on from Hagg. However, Hagg is also no longer waiver-exempt and would almost assuredly would get claimed if Philadelphia put him on waivers, suggesting the team’s only option would be to trade him.

Regardless, no matter what, if the team doesn’t end up in a holdout situation with Provorov, which could be what the Flyers are waiting to find out before making a decision, the team must make a move at some point.

Radko Gudas Suspended Two Games

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The Department of Player Safety has issued their rulings, and this time Radko Gudas will miss only two games. The Philadelphia Flyers defenseman has been given a two-game suspension for his high-stick/slash on Nikita Kucherov last night. In addition to the suspension, Robert Hagg has also been issued a $3,091.40 fine for interference, the maximum allowable under the CBA.

As the accompanying video explains:

While we agree with Gudas’ assertion that this slash excessively forceful or violent, this is an intentional play by Gudas. A player who intentionally brings his stick down on the head of an opponent with a two-handed slashing motion, can expect to be penalized by the on-ice officials and in most cases be met with some form of supplementary discipline, be it a warning, a fine or a suspension. What causes this play to rise to the level of a suspension is Gudas’ disciplinary history. Specifically, his history of similar behavior.

The league goes on to explain this history of the Flyers defenseman, which includes a much longer ban for a more forceful slash to the head of Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault not even two years ago. It’s clear that the league is fed up with the fact that Gudas has repeatedly used his stick to attack the head of a player, even if in this instance it was not an extremely violent slash.

With Gudas’ history he’ll be looked at even more closely in the future and if another incident like this occurs you can bet the league will increase the suspension even further. While an effective defender, Gudas must start to avoid situations like this or risk much lengthier bans.

Philadelphia Flyers Assign Samuel Morin To Conditioning Loan

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The Philadelphia Flyers are finally getting a top young defenseman back on the ice. After a hiatus that dates back to November 2017, Samuel Morin is finally getting healthy. The Flyers have announced that Morin has been assigned to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms on a conditioning loan.

Morin, 23, suffered his initial groin injury early in the 2017-18 season and missed most of the year, skating in just two games for the Flyers in a season where he was expected to push for a starting job as a a rookie. However, Morin was able to come back later in the spring and returned to action with the Phantoms. In the postseason though, Morin suffered a far more serious knee injury that required major surgery. Morin went under the knife in May and was not even able to skate until late December. However, nine months after the knee injury and 15 months since his last game with Philadelphia, Morin is finally ready for game action.

Morin was selected by the Flyers with the 11th overall pick in 2013 and was considered to have the size and skill to be a core defenseman. Morin joined Ivan Provorov, Robert Hagg, Travis Sanheim, and Phil Myers as Philly’s next wave on defense that was expected to rival all blue lines across the league. However, it has not worked out that way. Provorov has developed into an elite defender, albeit in a down year, and Hagg has settled into a dependable stay-at-home role, but the Flyers are still waiting on the promise of the rest of the group, with Sanheim being the focus this season. Morin sticks out as the biggest disappointment, though. TSN’s Frank Seravalli notes that Morin has played fewer NHL games than all but one of his fellow 2013 first-rounders, due to injuries of course but also underwhelming performance. The Flyers hope that Morin’s injury history is just that and the young defenseman can move forward and take steps towards reaching his potential.

Eastern Notes: Zacha, Dahlin, Neuvirth, Hagg, Martin

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While there were a number of people that were shocked when the New Jersey Devils assigned Pavel Zacha to Binghamton of the AHL, head coach John Hynes felt that the team needed to do something that would have an impact on the 21-year-old first-rounder. Despite having already played 150 NHL games in his career, Zacha was pointless in 10 games and Hynes felt just scratching him wasn’t going to be enough to spark him, according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com.

“To scratch him one game and put him back in, we’re still not in a position right now where we could rely on him in key situations, and that’s what we need from him,” Hynes said. “We think it’s important that it’s not, ’Hey, sit in the stands for one game and watch.’ That is effective in some situations, but we need him to go down and play, and play a lot of minutes and play in situations and earn his confidence back and get his game back.”

The sixth-overall pick in 2015, Zacha hasn’t developed into the franchise player the team thought they were getting when they drafted him. He has so far only managed to total eight goals in two straight seasons, suggesting the team may have needed to give him time in the AHL before bringing him to the NHL. Zacha, who has played in just three AHL games in his career, needs to have time to regain his confidence while playing lots of minutes, something that he wasn’t going to get with the Devils.

  • While there is no official word on the injury, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who was forced to leave Saturday’s game against Ottawa in the second period after taking a shot off his leg, is expected to travel with the team to New York, suggesting that his injury may not be too serious, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. There is swelling, which means the team won’t be able to determine his status until tomorrow, according to The Athletic’s Jon Vogl. The team plays the Rangers on Sunday.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced that goaltender Michal Neuvirth has left the team and returned to Philadelphia to be checked out by doctors and could soon find himself back on injured reserve. The 30-year-old injury-prone goalie played in one game since being recalled from a conditioning stint on Oct. 25th, but allowed six goals in that lone start to the Islanders two days later, and now currently holds a .727 save percentage.
  • Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that one interesting development in Philadelphia is the offensive improvement surrounding Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg. The 23-year-old sophomore currently leads all defenseman, including Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov, with seven points (just two points shy of his totals last year). The scribe says that Hagg has seemed more comfortable joining the rush and going deeper into the offensive zone than he was willing last season.
  • New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said fourth-line forward Matt Martin remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. The 29-year-old has combined with Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas to form an impressive energy line for the Islanders. Martin already has equaled last year’s goal total of three in just 11 games.

Snapshots: Bobrovsky, Flyers Defense, O’Reilly, Holden, Gurianov

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This offseason could be a very interesting one assuming that teams don’t lock all the potential unrestricted free agents to contract extensions in the coming months. The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required) breaks down the top 25 UFA’s this coming offseason with an update on how contract negotiations are going.

One interesting note is for the No. 3 UFA in Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky, who is rumored to be asking for Carey Price money (around $10.5MM). That might be too much money for Columbus to offer, especially for a 30-year-old goaltender. Custance adds that the team could easily get outbid for the netminder’s services by the New York Islanders who might be extremely aggressive in adding a franchise-changing goaltender. Islanders’ general manager Lou Lamoriello is known to be a big fan of impact goaltenders, which goes all the way back to Martin Brodeur when he was in New Jersey.

After all, in 315 games between Philadelphia and Columbus, Bobrovsky has a .922 save percentage, two Vezina Trophies and has finished in the top 10 in Vezina voting four times.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers had lost four of six games before Saturday’s game and Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that head coach Dave Hakstol decided to make a change as he separated his top pair defensemen in Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov which turned out to be key in their 5-2 win over New Jersey. Gostisbehere was matched with Christian Folin, while Provorov was paired with Robert Hagg. The top four held to the Devils to just 21 shots on goal in the victory. Provorov was also much more noticeable on the offensive end of the ice. Previously held to just one point in the first seven games of the season, the 21-year-old posted two assists on Saturday. “(Hagg) is a little heavier body to play with Provy in some of those situations,” said Hakstol. “He obviously has a different look than Ghost. He doesn’t do as much with the puck, but he provides a heavier presence, so that changes the look of that pair.”
  • Speaking of lines, the St. Louis Blues shook up their lines Saturday as well as center Ryan O’Reilly found himself with two new wingers Zachary Sanford and David Perron on the second line, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. After his line put up two goals and three assists Saturday (including O’Reilly’s first goal as a member of the Blues), that line may not break up any time soon. “I thought ’O’Ry’ was outstanding obviously in all areas of the game,” Yeo said. “So that line gave us some really good minutes.”
  • NHL.com’s Gary Lawless writes that some of the Vegas Golden Knights’ success in their last three games comes from moving defenseman Nick Holden into the top-four. The veteran defenseman was originally signed to serve as a third pairing defenseman this offseason, but with Nate Schmidt (suspension) and Deryk Engelland (injury) both out, Holden has filled in admirably, averaging 18:54 ATOI. Holden did have a similar role back in 2016-17 when he was with the New York Rangers, so the 31-year-old already has quite a bit of experience playing in that role.
  • After a postseason run last year where Dallas Stars prospect Denis Gurianov was often a healthy scratch and was beginning to look like a bust, the 21-year-old seems to have turned the corner early this season as he has been dominant as he enters his third year with the AHL, writes SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks. The 12th-overall pick in the 2015 draft is starting to show off his potential as he is riding a five-game scoring streak and has five goals and seven points in seven games.

Metropolitan Notes: Riikola, Duclair, Mrazek, Hagg

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are already loaded at the defense position, but the team is finding it harder and harder not to notice Finnish defenseman Juuso Riikola, who has dominated the preseason with his impressive play. The 24-year-old did it again today with a highlight-reel goal (link here) in a 7-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, it isn’t just his offense, a few minutes later Riikola made an impressive defensive play on the other end of the ice.

“His hockey sense jumps out at you,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a real good puck mover. He can skate. He’s a mobile guy. What’s really surprised me is his willingness to embrace the physical aspect of the game. He’s not afraid to stick his nose in battles, and he’s done a real good job in that regard.”

Jonathan Bombulie of the Tribune Review writes that while it’s hard to imagine Riikola bumping one of the team’s top-six defensemen, his well-rounded game may be having Pittsburgh management consider keeping eight defensemen instead of holding onto 14 forwards.

“We’ll let the training camp play out,” Sullivan said. “But certainly, he’s a guy that has raised eyebrows and he’s going to make decisions for the coaching staff very difficult.”

  • Brian Hedger of NHL.com writes that Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella has made it his mission to try to figure out how to harness the speed and skill that winger Anthony Duclair has and how to take those abilities and turn him into a dominant NHL player. Duclair who is already on his fourth team at the age of 23 has struggled since his rookie campaign when he netted 20 goals. Since then, his totals have decreased to five in his sophomore campaign and 11 between two teams last year. “I need to watch,” Tortorella said. “Why is this his fourth team? I need to ask that question. Why? Maybe I can find out by watching and maybe I can help him by watching, to maybe have him stop some habits that made this happen, as far as him bouncing around. This guy here, talking to a couple of his [former] teammates, there’s so much there. I think we have to take a little responsibility to try to get it out of him, but it has to be a two-way street [and] he has to give too. So, we’ll see where it goes.”
  • Michael Smith of NHL.com writes that Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour has been quite impressed with goaltender Petr Mrazek, who has been sharp in two consecutive outings, though he’s only faced 19 shots in 70 minutes so far. Is that enough to choose a starter? “Well, for me it certainly is,” Brind’Amour joked. “For him, I don’t know. He’s looked good from day one, and he looked good again tonight. Just real calm in there. The one goal he had zero chance on. It was a breakdown on our part.”
  • After struggling early in preseason, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg is slowly working his way back “up to speed,” according to NHL.com. Head coach Dave Hakstol has been impressed with the physicality that the 6-foot-2, 204-pounder brings, but has worked Hagg hard on other areas of his game that have been weak, including managing gaps and being more clean with the puck. Hakstol has frequently played Hagg in the preseason, so he can work on those key skills.

Andrew MacDonald Out Six Weeks After Off-Season Injury

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The regular season is a month away and training camps have not even opened up yet, but the Philadelphia Flyers have already suffered a major loss. The team announced this morning that defenseman Andrew MacDonald has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out for an estimated six weeks. MacDonald reportedly suffered the injury during a workout away from the team, according to GM Ron Hextall. 

MacDonald, 32, is in his sixth season with the Flyers and his eleventh overall. The veteran defenseman has had ups and downs in his career, but provides experience and leadership on the young Philly blue line. An alternate captain for the team and the oldest skater on the roster, MacDonald’s loss, especially at the start of the season, could be a blow to the Philadelphia locker room. With a six week window for recovery, MacDonald is sure to miss all of camp and the preseason and will likely miss the first two weeks or more of the regular season.

In his absence, the Flyers will need to lean more on their young defensive core. Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov, and Robert Hagg have established themselves as the next wave of top defenders for Philadelphia and were primed to take ice time and responsibility from MacDonald this season regardless. Now they will especially be thrust into more responsibility, as will veteran Radko Gudas. Travis Sanheim and Christian Folin will now begin the season with guaranteed starting jobs now that MacDonald is out, giving the Flyers a rounded out top six. With Samuel Morin sidelined for at least a few more months with an ACL injury, one big question now is who begins the season as the Flyers’ extra defender until MacDonald can return.

Flyers Re-Sign Robert Hagg To Two-Year Deal

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UPDATE: The Flyers have now confirmed the extension with Hagg.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed their final restricted free agent, agreeing to an extension with defenseman Robert Hagg. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie was the first to report that the two sides have come to terms on a two-year, $2.3MM contract. CapFriendly adds that Hagg will make $1MM this year and $1.3MM next year, with a cap hit of $1.15MM. The 2013 second-rounder will again be a restricted free agent at the end of this deal.

This is a very team-friendly conclusion to lengthy negotiations between the Flyers and Hagg. Although Hagg was a rookie last season, the 22-year-old showed positioning and composure of a much older, more experienced blue liner. Hagg led all rookies with 238 hits, a mark that was also tied for seventh-best among all players. He also did so with just 32 penalty minutes on the year. Additionally, Hagg led all rookies in blocked shots. He stepped into a top-four role with the Flyers without any difficulty and showed the potential to be a dominant shutdown defender.

As such, many expected that the Flyers would jump into an expensive, long-term deal for the young rearguard. Instead, the played it safe, taking a short term and very comfortable salary instead of trying to figure out long-term value. Philadelphia has a plethora of talented young defenseman, including Ivan Provorov who will need an extension next summer, and were smart not to set a precedent that they all deserve massive extensions. The team will likely enjoy great value for Hagg over the next two years, after which they will have to pay him his due for a strong defensive game that few others his age possess.

Contract Talks Between Flyers And Robert Hagg Are Progressing

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Contract talks with restricted free agent defenseman Robert Hagg are progressing, GM Ron Hextall told reporters, including Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia News.  The team is targeting a two-year bridge contract for the Swedish blueliner.

The 23-year-old completed his first full season at the NHL level in 2017-18 and acquitted himself fairly well.  While his offensive numbers weren’t anything special (3-6-9 in 70 games), he was a strong physical presence on their back end, recording 238 hits which ranked as the seventh-most in the NHL.  He also logged more than 18 minutes a night in the regular season.

It’s likely that Hagg will slot in on the third pairing once again next season, especially following the departure of Brandon Manning to Chicago in free agency.  That will allow him to ease his way into a larger workload while still providing Philadelphia with plenty of salary cap flexibility heading into next summer when wingers Wayne Simmonds, Travis Konecny, and defenseman Ivan Provorov are all in need of new contracts.

Hextall was also asked if the Flyers plan to pursue any other free agents or trades this summer but he indicated that the team is probably done shopping and that they are comfortable with internal options for their remaining vacancies, such as third line center.  That means that once Hagg (their last remaining RFA) is signed, we probably won’t be hearing much from then until training camp opens up in mid-September.

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