The Flyers may have a bevy of new players, but this is still Simon Gagne's team.
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2006-07 record: 22-48-12, 56 points. 5th in division/15th in conference. Did not qualify for playoff contention.
Coach: John Stevens (2nd season)
General Manager: Paul Holmgren (2nd season)
Home arena: Wachovia Center
Capacity: 19,519
Last season was a tumultuous season for the Flyers. Ownership reacted in knee-jerk fashion after the team was embarrassed 9-1 in Buffalo on October 17th as Bobby Clarke was axed as GM and Coach Ken Hitchcock was relieved of his duties. Paul Holmgren stepped in as GM and John Stevens was named head coach.
The team was decimated by injuries with no forward from their starting lineup able to play all 82 games. Peter Forsberg was whisked out of town at the trade deadline, so this season should improve as far as the injuries go. Simon Gagne, Mike Knuble, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards all missed time, compromising the offense.
The Flyers were pretty awful in all facets of the game last season. They finished with 56 points, worst in the league. They had a goals-for/goals-against ratio of
-89 and finished 28th in the league on the powerplay. Only three regulars finished on the plus side. But things may look better this season as GM Paul Holmgren has acquired younger, faster players such as Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen and Daniel Briere. Additionally, last season’s trade deadline pickup of goaltender Martin Biron should equate to more wins for the Flyers.
Depth Chart
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Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
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Simon Gagne |
Daniel Briere |
Mike Knuble |
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Sami Kapanen |
Jeff Carter |
Scott Hartnell |
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Joffrey Lupul |
Mike Richards |
Scottie Upshall |
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Ben Eager |
R.J. Umberger |
Stefan Ruzicka |
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Boyd Kane |
Ryan Potulny |
Steve Downie |
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Defence |
Defence |
Goaltending |
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Kimmo Timonen |
Jason Smith |
Martin Biron |
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Derian Hatcher |
Denis Gauthier |
Antero Niittymaki |
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Braydon Coburn |
Lasse Kukkonen |
Martin Houle |
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Alexandre Picard |
Randy Jones |
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Forwards
The Flyers should be competitive this season with their top three lines. Gagne, Knuble and Briere should have great chemistry together and can be one of the best lines in the NHL. Briere is coming off of a great season in which he scored 95 points for the Sabres. It is an improvement over Forsberg at this stage. A second line of Hartnell, Scottie Upshall and Joffrey Lupul should mix well. Upshall showed good potential once he got out of Nashville, scoring 13 points in 18 games for the Flyers. Hartnell was having a career year until he went down with an injury last season, missing 18 games. With a healthy Richards and Carter, the checking line will be a force but RJ Umberger must improve on his abysmal -32 from last season.
Defence
The Flyers finally said goodbye to Joni Pitkanen and his -25. He also took with him 43 points and an average ice time of 24:33 per game. He will be replaced by Timonen, who will quarterback the powerplay and has shown a bit of a scoring punch himself over the years. He finished with 55 points last season and should make the fans forget quickly about Pitkanen. Veteran Jason Smith will mentor youngsters Randy Jones and Alexandre Picard while Derian Hatcher, who was the only Flyer to appear in all 82 games, will kill penalties and clear the crease.
Goaltending
Last season’s tandem of Antero Niittymaki and Robert Esche were just putrid. With sub .900 save percentages, wins in the single digits, goals against averages of 3.38 and 4.32 respectively, they finished at the bottom of the league in goaltending stats. Biron was picked up at the trade deadline and appeared in 16 games for the Flyers last season. His six wins in those 16 games were almost half of what Niittymaki and Esche earned for the entire season. He will be the go-to guy for the Flyers with Niittymaki serving as backup. Biron was warming the bench in Buffalo with the emergence of Ryan Miller but he was always a stellar goaltender who should add stability in goal and steal a few wins for Philly.
Outlook
With the anticipated emergence of the Gagne-Briere-Knuble line as one of the NHL’s elite, a solid second line, a strong checking line, some added scoring punch from the blueline and Biron between the pipes, the Flyers will be a competitive team this season. However, having to leapfrog seven teams to make the playoffs will be a tall order.
