2014-15 LEADING SCORERS
LW Jakub Voracek (22 G, 59 A, 81 P)
C Claude Giroux (25 G, 48 A, 73 P)
D Mark Streit (9 G, 43 A, 52 P)
LAST SEASON
After a good 2013-14 season for the Philadelphia Flyers, you could argue that they underperformed in 2014-15. They missed the playoffs and did bad enough to earn the 7th overall pick in the upcoming draft. Despite their poor performance, however, the past season saw great years from their top line duo of Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. Voracek had a career year recording 81 points which led to him signing a long term deal with the team, while Giroux finished just behind him with 73 points.
At the trade deadline, the Flyers realized that it was clear they weren't making the playoffs, so they sold some of their roster players for prospects and draft picks. They traded veteran defenseman and fan favourite Kimmo Timonen to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a 2nd round pick in 2014 and a 4th round pick in 2016, and then soon after traded Braydon Coburn to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Radko Gudas, a 2015 1st round pick and a 2015 3rd round pick. They finished the season with a record of 33-31-18 while placing 12th in the Eastern Conference, so not too much to be proud of. However, Flyers fans were unaware of the change that was coming heading into the offseason.
OFFSEASON
IN
Christian Marti
Evgeni Medvedev
Aaron Palushaj
Sam Gagner
Tim Brent
Michal Neuvirth
Davis Drewiske
Chris Conner
Jason LaBarbera
Colin McDonald
Chris Porter
OUT
Hal Gill
Andrew Gordon
Nicklas Grossman
Chris Pronger
Jason Akeson
Oliver Lauridsen
Matt Konan
Andrew Johnston
Rob Zepp
Zack Stortini
Carlo Colaiacovo
Ray Emery
Blair Jones
Jay Rosehill
The Flyers shook up their coaching staff at the beginning of the offseason, firing head coach Craig Berube and bringing in former University of North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol. Heading into the 2015 NHL Draft, they used their 7th overall pick to select Russian defenseman Ivan Provorov from the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. GM Ron Hextall then surprised fans, when he swung a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and acquired the Leafs' 24th overall pick in exchange for the 29th and 61st overall picks in that same draft. They then used the pick obtained in the trade to select forward Travis Konecny from the Ottawa 67's of the OHL.
Overall, the draft for the Flyers was eventful, and heading into free agency they improved their roster by signing Michal Neuvirth, and also swinging a deal with the Arizona Coyotes where they acquired forward Sam Gagner along with a draft pick in exchange for Nicklas Grossman and the contract of all-but-retired Chris Pronger. They also brought in Tim Brent and Jason LaBarbera along with Russian defenseman Evgeni Medvedev to improve their roster. Overall, this was a well thought out offseason and needless to say, they improved.
NEXT SEASON PT 1. OFFENSE
The Flyers will look to see the majority of points from their top line duo of Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux, as usual. New acquisition Sam Gagner will try to make a name of himself and rebound after poor previous year, while fellow signings Chris Porter and Tim Brent will provide depth. Look for rookies Scott Laughton and Nick Cousins to work to solidify themselves full time spots on the team.
NEXT SEASON PT 2. DEFENSE
Defense is the most interesting position for the Flyers heading into next season. They lack a true top two defenseman, but will look to be lead by Michael Del Zotto and Mark Streit in the upcoming season. That being said, they have a large amount of defensive prospects that will be pushing for a full time NHL job, including Samuel Morin, Travis Sanheim, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Ivan Provorov. There won't be enough spots for all of these prospects, but expect at least one of them to make the team out of training camp.
NEXT SEASON PT 3. GOALTENDING
The Flyers have a better goaltender to back up Steve Mason this year in Michal Neuvirth, but don't expect the starts to be lopsided. Neuvirth has proved in the past that he can be a starting goalie, so expect them to split most of the calls between the pipes. If one or the other gets injured, Jason LaBarbera will be waiting for the call to replace them.
POSSIBLE 2015-16 OPENING NIGHT LINEUP
Brayden Schenn - Claude Giroux - Jakub Voracek
Matt Read - Sean Couturier - Wayne Simmonds
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Sam Gagner - Michael Raffl
R.J Umberger - Ryan White - Colin McDonald
Mark Streit - Michael Del Zotto
Nick Schultz - Andrew MacDonald
Luke Schenn - Evgeni Medvedev
Steve Mason
Michal Neuvirth
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