Tag: Matt Niskanen

Reports surfaced this week that the Flyers could start to explore the possibility of a trade involving Ivan Provorov, first discussed on the 32 Thoughts Podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek.

Since getting introduced as Special Assistant to the GM, Danny Briere is looking to make a name for himself. If this season continues to get worse, he might soon be in position to be Chuck Fletcher’s replacement.

Before the puck drops on the Flyers 2021-22 season, their busy offseason and several new faces bring about a number of storylines. Let’s take a look at 10 storylines that are worth watching this season for the Flyers.

Monday’s win for the Flyers over the Bruins required overtime, despite Boston icing their ‘B’ team. Part of that was quality goaltending. But the Flyers also showed that they are still a work in progress in some areas as the preseason draws closer to an end.

The competitive juices were flowing with the first scrimmage of Flyers training camp, as the team looks to build more chemistry ahead of the preseason opener on Tuesday.

After a busy offseason, is there still a chance for young players to make their impact on the Flyers roster this season? The possibility exists for sure. It always does. The road to get there is just going to be much more difficult this time around.

For the better part of a decade, the Flyers have utilized the same core group and struggled to consistently put together successful seasons. After their most frustrating one to date, Fletcher knew action was necessary. “We just can’t keep bringing the same players back year after year and expect different results. We had to make changes this year,” Fletcher said.

As GM Chuck Fletcher and assistant GM Brent Flahr met with the media on Tuesday morning, it marked the beginning of what should be a busy few weeks for the team. They need to get better. They know it. And they know time is of the essence.

From a mid-January start with some early positive results to one final win/loss to the New Jersey Devils in mid-May to conclude the 56-game campaign, here are five takeaways from the season.

Depending on how his offseason goes for the Philadelphia Flyers, Chuck Fletcher might end up seeing his way out the door if he isn’t careful.

Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher addressed the moves made by the team on trade deadline day, trading Michael Raffl and Erik Gustafsson and re-signing Scott Laughton, while also starting to take a glimpse into what should be a busy offseason.

The Flyers may be sitting fifth in the East, three points out of a playoffs, still very much mathematically alive. But their defense is in shambles. Almost every core player that was expected to produce on the higher end offensively has shown struggles. The goaltending has been questioned. To put it simply, the Flyers are a mess right now, and it’s become clear that the current system is just not working.

GM Chuck Fletcher didn’t gloss over the cold hard facts of where the Flyers rank in various categories. He called out the puck management problems. But his most telling response came when he was answering a question regarding Erik Gustafsson that ultimately transferred over into the defense as a whole.

If you thought it couldn’t get any worse than that, the Flyers had another thing in store for you on Saturday. A close game on the scoreboard unraveled again and the Flyers were left to pick up the pieces from another embarrassing effort and loss. It presents a lot of questions as the team moves forward, watching their start of three wins in four games completely fade away.

The Flyers managed to get a point in Thursday’s game with a late power-play goal that tied things up and forced overtime and the eventual shootout, but it is a relatively lucky point for the Flyers to earn, given how the game played out. It could have easily been two points…and it could have easily been no points. Five takeaways from Thursday’s shootout loss to the Bruins.

The start of a new season is finally upon us. The Flyers make their return on Wednesday night when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Before they do, let’s take a look at 10 storylines that will be worth watching as the season progresses.

Shayne Gostisbehere admitted he hasn’t been healthy in quite some time and that even returning during the summer showed he wasn’t where he wanted to be. In a pre-camp conversation with Vigneault, he simply wanted to express that he was healthy and wanted to help the Flyers win.

As camp opens, the Flyers will face some questions that could make or break their success in the upcoming season. While they are widely regarded as a team that should make the playoffs and have a successful run, there are a lot of “ifs” that the Flyers are dealing with. Here are five of the questions the Flyers are facing as they hit the ice for the first time this year as a group.

Training camp begins for the Flyers in just three days, starting with physicals and off-ice proceedings on Jan. 3, then the first on-ice workouts on Jan. 4. As the calendar officially turns to 2021, here are five New Year’s Resolutions for the team.

As 2020 draws to a close, here are some of the topics discussed in the State of the Flyers, a short playing year with a lot of progress made.

Shortly after the NHL released the schedule, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher spoke to the media, covering a range of topics surrounding the 2020-21 roster and how the Flyers will manage things in a shortened season.

For Kevin Hayes, a newcomer to the Flyers last season, this was the reason he had signed in Philadelphia. He wanted a chance to win and saw the potential the Flyers really offered as a key part of their success, and he believes that last season’s playoff run is only scratching the surface.

Alain Vigneault’s second season as Flyers head coach will begin next month on Jan. 13, when the NHL opens the 2020-21 season. The 56-game condensed schedule, realigned divisions, empty arenas and shortened training camp present a new set of challenges.

The Flyers will be tasked with finding a way to replace Matt Niskanen’s 20 minutes or more a night and produced points at a solid rate. On the surface, newly-signed Phil Myers could see his role increase and play on the right side of Ivan Provorov on the team’s top pairing.

The Flyers announced that they have re-signed Myers to a three-year deal worth $7.65 million, a $2.55 million average annual value.

Re-signing Phil Myers could very well be the last order of business for the Flyers this offseason, outside of waiting for when the 2020-21 season will begin. The Flyers are limited on cap space and have some players waiting in the wings for a chance to earn a regular spot in the NHL.

Flyers forward Nolan Patrick has accepted the team’s qualifying offer, returning on a one-year, $874,125 deal.

The Flyers announced on Monday that they have signed defenseman Erik Gustafsson to a one-year deal worth $3 million.

The guys talk about the surprising news of Matt Niskanen’s retirement and the Flyers response by re-signing Justin Braun. They also discuss how it affects the Flyers offseason plans. Additionally, they look at some of the roster moves around the league and more.