With last week’s edition a rousing success (at least for me personally), I figured we’d bring back the #AskSteezy mailbag for another go-around this week. Feel free to send me your questions on Twitter @GoingHard_inger
First up is fellow Flyerdelphia writer @estebomb, who asks “Hi Steezy, which non-Flyer left winger would you realistically pair with Giroux and Voracek? I’ll hang up and listen.”
Great question and one I expect the Flyers to look into this offseason. Michael Raffl spent some time up there earlier this season but Scott Hartnell has spent the majority of the past 2 seasons up there. I think Hartnell’s a useful player and his ability to drive play forwards (read this for more details on that) are a valuable skill for a Flyers team without many guys who do that well. I think he slots in best on the 2nd line with Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds, however, meaning that the Flyers should (and very likely will) look outside the organization for a new linemate for Giroux and Voracek. The top free agent options at LW this summer are Thomas Vanek, Matt Moulson, Mike Cammalleri, and Jussi Jokinen. While Vanek is the best player of the three, his contract will likely be for the 7 year max and north of $7M per season. The Flyers simply can’t afford to add another long-term contract at that type of salary to the team. My choice out of the free agents would be Moulson, who I think is a fairly undervalued commodity and who has thrived in a similar role on the top line with the Islanders. I think his contract would be much more reasonable (something similar to the 5-year, $22.5M deal Vincent Lecavalier got last offseason), and he would fit well with Giroux and Voracek. The Flyers could ice lines of Moulson-Giroux-Voracek, Hartnell-Schenn-Simmonds, Raffl-Couturier-Read, Laughton-Lecavalier-Rinaldo. Smells like goals to me.
(pic via Washington Post)
Another (relatively) realistic option that I would love would be Evander Kane. I think his combination of speed, size, and shot generation (currently averaging over 4 shots per game) would be a perfect fit with Giroux and Voracek. However, any Kane trade would likely mean Brayden Schenn going the other way to Winnipeg. If they do trade Schenn, it should be for an impact defenseman. So while I think Kane would be a fantastic fit alongside G and HD, I think the better course of action would be signing Moulson.
The Real Goose @NotTheRealGoose asks, “what is your ideal playoff matchup scenario?”
A very relevant question. With the loss to Columbus tonight, the Flyers are only up 2 points over the Blue Jackets for the 3rd playoff spot in the East. They’re 4 points behind the Rangers, so I think catching them for home ice is pretty much out of the question. There are really only three potential first round opponents for the Flyers: the Rangers, the Penguins, or the Bruins. The Bruins are far and away the team I would least like to see in the playoffs. They’re a dominant force blowing their competition out of the water. And honestly, I would rather see the Penguins in the playoffs than the Rangers. The Flyers are 10-2-1 in Consol Energy Center since it opened, while they haven’t won in Madison Square Garden since February 2011 (goals from Giroux, Jeff Carter, Dan Carcillo, and Kris Versteeg and a win for Brian Boucher). The Flyers, for whatever reason, match up way better against the Pens than the Rangers. Plus, Flyers-Pens is always a ton of fun. Give me the Penguins.
(picture via Philly.com)
Sara @SaraCivian asked for my prediction for the Bruins-Flyers game on Saturday afternoon (as well as noting that I am “dripping with steez”, which I am—it oozes out of every pore of my body).
I think you have to call a Bruins win here. They’re a buzzsaw. And besides, TD Garden has been a very tough place for the Flyers to play in recent years. They haven’t won there since the opening night of the 2012 season. Even though the game on Sunday was surprisingly very competitive and the Flyers even more surprisingly dominated possession, I’ll take the Bruins by a 4-2 score.
Joe M @dr_pizza_MD asks, “Who will be—in your opinion, obviously—but who will be the flyera backup netminder next season thx”
Dr. Pizza, I would think that Cal Heeter will be the Flyers’ backup goalie next season. He’s having a decent enough season in the AHL this year, and the Flyers seem to like him. Ray Emery is a free agent, and I don’t think he’ll be back as he’ll look to compete for a job somewhere else. And obviously they’re committed to Steve Mason as the starter with his new contract extension. I assume they’ll go cheap with the backup position due to their confidence in Mason, right or wrong, and Heeter will allow them to maximize their cap space to upgrade in other areas.
(pic via stlouishockeynews.com)
Chris Pereira @cpereira14 says: “Very impressed with Flyers over the last 4-5 games. I think they need to add a winger to play with Schenn and Simmonds and a DMan to lug the puck out of their own zone. Do you see a UFA they could sign or a possible trade they could make to acquire those assets in the summer?”
Chris and I are on the same page with the Flyers’ biggest needs. I covered the winger thing earlier in the mailbag: I would put Hartnell with Schenn and Simmonds and find another winger for Giroux and Voracek. As far as the defense goes, they definitely need to add a puck-mover to the back-end. Matt Niskanen is probably the top option available in free agency, but he’s going to get a massive contract and the Penguins will likely keep him with Kris Letang’s health scares. Tom Gilbert of the Florida Panthers would be a great buy-low option. He has 3 goals and 28 points in 73 games for the Panthers, with a 51.7% Corsi For% and 2.0 Corsi Rel% despite having an O/DZ Start% worse than every Florida defenseman but Dmitry Kulikov and facing a 28.7% QoC that was the 3rd-hardest among Panthers blueliners. The Hockey News’s scouting report for Gilbert says he “is very mobile and a good skating defenseman. Moves the puck quickly and efficiently out of the defensive zone, and can also provide his team with offense. Good on the pinch, he knows his way around the offensive zone. Can log big minutes.” That’s basically everything the Flyers need on defense. The main knock on Gilbert is that he isn’t physical enough for someone who is 6’2, 204, but with the glut of physical defensemen the Flyers insist on employing, you would think they’d be able to figure that out. If Kimmo Timonen hangs up his skates, Gilbert would be a great replacement for him on the top pairing. Mark Fayne of the New Jersey Devils is another free agent I would love to see the Flyers target. He hasn’t scored a lot this year (4 goals, 10 points), but he has a robust 55.8% CF% (2nd among Devils defensemen behind Andy Greene) despite an O/DZ Start% of 46.9% that is the worst among New Jersey blueliners. His 29% QoC is the 2nd-hardest among Jersey defensemen as well. He has decent puck-moving ability as well. He’s performing a true shutdown role, but unlike the Nick Grossmanns and Andrew MacDonalds of the world, he actually performs well. If they make these two signings, Timonen retires, the Flyers let MacDonald walk, and they trade Grossmann, the Flyers could ice a defense of Gilbert, Fayne, Coburn, Streit, Gustafsson, and Schenn. That’s a very serviceable defense that can win you NHL hockey games. Offer-sheeting PK Subban would be the ultimate power move, but that’s a conversation for another day. Knowing the Flyers they’ll re-sign MacDonald and call it a day.
(pic via zimbio.com)
Kurt @Kurt_BSH inquires, “How confident are you in Steve Mason, Flyers Playoff Starter, on a scale of 1-10?”
Honestly, like a 4. I don’t think it would be possible for any Flyers goalie to give me a confidence level above a 7, but Mason has a few strikes working against him. Despite his solid play this season, he’s been a historically terrible goalie. I keep waiting for the wheels to come off, whether that’s fair to Mason or not. Throw in his 17 goals against and .878 save% in a 4 game sweep in his only playoff appearance before this, and that’s another negative against him. King Biscuit doesn’t inspire much confidence in me for the postseason, but I’d love to see him prove me wrong.
(pic via Philly.com)
Legendary Flyers fan FGSB @FlyGoalScoredBy asks, “What is your dream 2nd PP unit for the Flyera?”
Couturier-Lecavalier-Schenn, Read-Streit. I like Streit’s shooting ability from the point and Vinny’s proven himself to be most valuable this season on the man advantage. Schenn likes to play around the net and can thrive in a similar role. Couturier and Read are choices based mainly on personal preference—I think they should both be given as many offensive opportunities as possible since their defensive usage shackles them a bit. Read’s got goal-scoring talent and Couturier has a big frame if he learns how to use it around the net more. One of them can handle playing the point (I go with Read because his shot is better), while the other can play lower in the zone. Keep Andy MacDonald and Steve Downie far away from the 2nd PP.
(pic via Zimbio.com)
River Chapman @RivChvp asks, “How many illegal things would you do for a Doughty to start and stay on the Flyers?”
We could have had him if we bottomed out a year later (2nd pick in the 2008 draft). Instead, we ended up with JVR and ultimately Luke Schenn *shakes fists at the sky*. Seriously, Doughty is exactly what the Flyers need. He’s a #1 defenseman in all senses of the term in both ends of the ice. I would do immoral things to get him on the Flyers. I would punt a toddler. I would cease communication with my family for a year. I would probably commit arson. The list goes on and on. I really like the Flyers.
