goes the goalie carousel. The circus that is the Philadelphia Flyers goaltending situation has once again come to a head, this time on the brink of elimination from the playoffs. Once again the Flyers are mired in a "who's the #1 goalie" dilemma and at this point, the Flyers have no room for error, nor do they have time to work through this.
We'll be changing this blog a bit from the last Flyers goaltending blog, because let's face it, this is getting old for everyone. It's a broken record since the trading of Hextall to Quebec for the Lindros rights. In addition to breaking down the goalies on the roster, we'll be looking at the impending UFA's for July 1 to see who might be a good fix for this mess...if there is such a mythical beast.
Sergei Bobrovsky
We start with the brightest spot for the goaltenders. Simply put, Bobrovsky is the future of the Philadelphia Flyers in net for the foreseeable future. The man they call Bob, had a stellar outing to start the season but floundered down the stretch. The rigors of the NHL schedule, coupled to the faster pace of the North American game seemed to take their toll on the young netminder who never played more than 35 games in the season. In his rookie campaign he started 54 games, posting a 2.59 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. In his four playoff appearances this year (two starts, two in relief) his numbers rose, but was pulled early after a bad start in game 2 against Buffalo. His record is 0-1 with 3.50 goals-against average and .875 save percentage. While it's easy to say he was bad, he played absolutely beautifully in game 1 against buffalo, yielding only one goal, but was bested by Ryan Miller posting the shutout. If you have watched Bobrovsky play you know he is a young incredibly athletic netminder, and for playing without a goalie coach in Russia, he has an immense amount of raw talent. With a year or two in an NHL system, Bobrovsky will have time to develop the technical side to his game, because the athletic aspect seems to be covered quite well. He will also need to work on his puck handling as it certainly leaves something to be desired at the moment. However, barring a miracle season by Nic Riopel or Johan Backlund, Sergei Bobrovsky will be the man behind the mask.
Brian Boucher
The longest tenured Flyer goaltender, if you add up all his tours with Philadelphia organization, this being his 3rd, has had quite the story to tell. Traded to Phoenix with a 3rd round draft in 2002 for Michael Handzus and Robert Esche, then bouncing around the league, until he signed a minor league deal with the Phantoms in 07, then returning for this third tour with the Flyers in 2009. He has the most starts of anyone on the Flyers in the playoffs (42), so he has seen it all, including the 3-1 collapse against the Devils in 2000, as well as the 0-3 come from behind series win against the Boston Bruins. A well traveled journeyman, Boucher has proven his mettle more as a backup goaltender than a starter, although he does have the record for consecutive shutouts with 5. Boucher has seemingly embraced his role as the elder backup/mentor to the younger starter, a situation he knows the other side of as well. In the 1999-2000 playoff run, a younger Brian Boucher stole the starting job from veteran netminder John Vanbiesbrouck. Beezer took Boucher under his wing, and helped the young goalie with what can come along. Boucher has never been forgotten by the Flyer faithful, through all the ups and downs. Last year when injured during the Boston series, he was received warmly and loudly (see video)
Unfortunately, "Boosh" is an unrestricted free-agent, and with other goalies under contract, he will most likely be the odd man out at the end of the season. While he may not be the best or flashiest goalie in Flyers history, it seems that he will be one of the ones best remembered.
Micheal Leighton
What can be said about Michael Leighton? The man has seen almost as many teams as Mike Sillinger. A career that seemed destined to be a life of backing up, or playing in the minors took a turn last season when the Flyers, who were decimated by injures at the goalie position, claimed Leighton off wires from the Carolina Hurricanes. An insurance policy that stole the show not once, but twice. He took over for Boucher when he was injured and took the team on a dramatic run up the standings, until he too got bit by the injury bug with a high ankle sprain. Then on his first day back he had to replace Boucher who was injured in game 4 of the Boston series, and then backstopped the team to game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. Yes, let us not forget the dreadful goal he gave up to Patrick Kane to lose, but without Leighton it's a distinct possibility the Flyers would've been golfing by then. The biggest surprise to most Flyers fans came in the off season when GM Paul Holmgren decided to sign Leighton before the free agency period, seemingly passing on many other FA goaltenders. The icing on that cake was that Leighton was hiding a nagging back injury until after he signed his contract and was forced to leave a preseason game. He spent the majority of the early season on the IR, then appeared in one game (a win 4.00 GAA) and was sent to the minors to recuperate and get more playing time, as both Bobrovsky and Boucher were playing too well to upset the balance. Called up towards the end of the season, Leighton has seen action in two games this year. Coming in relief in game 5 against Buffalo where he was solid despite giving up the OT goal, but was dreadful in game 6. Doing his best Dan Cloutier impression, a beach ball would have easily passed him. Leighton signed a two year deal last summer so he will be on the roster in some fashion, barring a trade in the offseason.
It's worth noting that Johan Backlund is also under contract with the Flyers, but his playing time is almost as elusive as Neil Little's. Look for him to be down with the Phantoms again next season. Now onto the impending UFA market. All following information will be taken from Capgeek. It is also worth noting that the salary cap is expected to rise by approximately 3million, so the Flyers will have some much needed space, but will still need to shed salary to potentially sign some of the more high priced UFA's
For the sake of sanity, and time, here is the list of the top 10 UFA goaltenders salary wise. We will whittle it down before really diving in.
| Player | Pos | Team | Age | Cap Hit | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giguere, Jean-Sebastien » | G | TOR | 33 | $6,000,000 | 2011 (UFA) |
| Vokoun, Tomas » | G | FLA | 34 | $5,700,000 | 2011 (UFA) |
| Bryzgalov, Ilya » | G | PHO | 30 | $4,250,000 | 2011 (UFA) |
| Leclaire, Pascal » | G | OTT | 28 | $3,800,000 | 2011 (UFA) |
| Roloson, Dwayne » | G | TBL | 41 | $2,500,000 | 2011 (UFA) |
| Smith, Mike » | G | TBL | 29 | $2,200,000 | 2011 (UFA) |
| Hedberg, Johan » | G | NJD | 38 | $1,500,000 | 2011 (UFA) |
| Osgood, Chris » | G | DET | 38 | $1,416,667 | 2011 (UFA) |
| Turco, Marty » | G | CHI | 35 | $1,300,000 | 2011 (UFA) |
| Conklin, Ty » | G | STL | 35 | $1,300,000 | 2011 (UFA) |
Immediately, let's strike off all backups off this list. So adios to Conklin, Osgood, Smith, Turco, Hedburg. That leaves the top 5 goalies on this list, but it's safe to say that Pascal Leclaire will be looking for work anywhere, but I can't even imagine the Flyers taking this kind of risk. So the four that are left are Giguere, Vokoun, Bryzgalov and Roloson. One would expect Roloson to either re-sign with Tampa Bay or retire, depending on their post season run so we rule him out. Giguere will certainly be available as Toronto has James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson on their roster, and Reimer has staked his claim to the starting position for the Leafs. Giguere also brings a winning pedigree, capturing both the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe trophy in 2007 with the (then) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The drawbacks to Giguere are his potential salary demands and his durability. He has missed 20 games this season due to recurring groin/"lower body" injuries. While he isn't on par with Rick DiPietro in terms of injuries, it is a cause for concern. Wherever he ends up, the team will need a capable backup.
Tomas Vokoun has been one of the best goalies with a losing record. Playing down in Florida, he's averaging a save percentage of .923 and a goals-against average of 2.56. Respectable numbers for a goalie on a team that has been in the bottom of the league during his tenure. While that could be seen as a reflection of his abilities, it comes down to the team in front of him, which to be kind has been...well awful. There were surely be teams knocking on Vokoun's door July 1, and assuming his asking price is right, the Flyers are sure to have their fist on his door. Obvious drawbacks are that he has little playoff expirience, and he was a loser in both series, although his numbers were impressive.
Ilya Bryzgalov is the last on the list and is already being coveted by some, including one of the Flyer's beat writers. Since being claimed off waivers by the Phoenix Coyotes, Bryzgalov has been one of the best goaltenders in the league, helping to take Phoenix out of the basement and into the playoffs for consecutive seasons. He has posted 21 shutouts during his tenure in the desert, including 15 in the last two seasons. Ilya has become of the elite goaltenders in the league. With the ownership issue in Phoenix STILL unresolved and possibility of moving back to Winnipeg, a move Bryzgalov has already commented on with disapproval, he seems the most likely to move out of the desert. He is also the cheapest of the top three on the list, although he would most certainly be looking for a raise. His most recent playoff performance will call for some detractors to say he won't be worth it, but his track record over the past few seasons have been impressive, and at 30, there's still plenty of gas left in the tank.
A far more pressing concern will be finding the space to sign a new goaltender. While the cap is expected to rise, the Flyers have key FA's to re-sign and other line up issues to address. Whatever happens the rest of the playoffs for the Flyers, they will certainly need to find a way to fix the glaring problems not only in their net, but in front as well. Watching the Flyers, their team defense has been terrible, and they seemingly lack the heart of last season's team. At the end of the day, this season will be looked at as a failure, barring another miraculous come back and then hoisting the Cup, but the blue print for success is there. Now is the time to finally put them all together.
No comments:
Post a Comment