Season Preview: Philadelphia Flyers
Major Additions: Daniel Briere, Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timmonen, Joffrey Lupul, Jason Smith
Major Subtractions: Todd Fedoruk, Mike York, Geoff Sanderson, Joni Pitkanen
Analysis
Wow! Talk about big changes over the off-season. Will it mean big changes in the standings?
I’m not quite convinced just yet. While I greatly respect many of the changes the Flyers made, such a large influx of players often results in an adjustment period that can yield… disappointing results in the short term.
Are the Flyers a better team than they were a few months ago? Of course! But the improvements on paper won’t necessarily result in immediate improvements on the ice. Case in point: Daniel Briere. He bounced around the league for years before becoming an offensive powerhouse in Buffalo. Obviously the changed rules helped a small, fast player like him, but what about the premiere offensive talents he got to play with. Can Briere be reasonably expected to repeat his recent success without the likes of Johan Hecht, Maxim Afinogenov and Chris Drury in supporting roles?
The one area the Flyers can be expected to improve immediately and drastically is in goal. Martin Biron is an instant upgrade and has really deserved a better shot at an undisputed #1 position than he ever received in Buffalo. That change alone should rocket the Flyers at least into playoff contention.
Unless the new additions gel almost immediately, the Flyers will struggle to make the playoffs once again. They missed the playoffs a year ago by a whopping 32 points and few teams above them got substantially worse. But they certainly won’t be the pushover they were last season, and substantial improvement in their young players could easily catapult them from bubble team to challenging for the division title (though I wouldn’t count on it).