Flyers have new faces, same goal

Nick Tricome

The Flyers have experienced one of the most bizarre off-seasons in recent memory.

They traded away their two star players in Mike Richards (the now former captain) and Jeff Carter. Then they lost key players in Ville Leino, Darroll Powe, Sean O’Donnell, Dan Carcillo, and Brian Boucher to free agency and other trades.

In return, the Flyers brought in Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn from Los Angeles (Richards trade). The Flyers also received Jakub Voracek and the eighth overall pick in the NHL draft (Carter trade), which they used to pick Sean Couturier, who was heralded as a top prospect.

In free agency, they brought in Maxime Talbot, and Andreas Lilja (played for Pittsburgh and Anaheim respectively last year).

Oh yeah, and they signed this guy named Jaromir Jagr (pictured). He left the NHL three years ago to play in Russia, but he is supposedly really good.

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And before all of that happened, the Flyers acquired the rights to goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, but he did not officially get signed until after the blockbuster Richards and Carter trades. The 30 year old goaltender received a nine year deal, and for the first time in a long time, the Flyers situation in net finally looked stable.

But for all the Flyers got in return, it still looked like the Flyers took a step back.

Players that have proven to be key to the team’s success were gone, and these new players came with some big question marks.

How would Bryzgalov perform in a larger market, after spending his career on small market teams like Anaheim and Phoenix?

What would Jagr be able to contribute to the team, after being away from the NHL for three years?

Would Schenn and Couturier even play in the NHL this season, much less stay there the entire year?

How were Voracek and Simmonds supposed to fill the huge hole left by Carter and Richards?

This shocking and confusing rebuild came only one year after this team fell just short of winning their first Stanley Cup since 1975. What was this organization trying to do?

Fast forward to October 12, 2011. All speculation vanished, and it became apparent that this newly rebuilt team was even more focused on bringing the cup to Philadelphia, than any other Flyers team in recent years.

After showing a lot of promise in the pre-season, the Flyers opened up with a 2-1 victory over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins on the road.

Then it was on to New Jersey, where Bryzgalov helped the Flyers accomplish a feat that hasn’t been reached since game four of the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals. A 3-0 shutout over the Devils.

The Flyers beat the Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks 5-4 in a scoring frenzy, in their home opener four nights later.

Only one week into the season, this newly re-vamped Flyers team was able to shutout a good Devils team, and both Stanley Cup Finalists.

The absence of Richards and Carter was a little easier to forget, thanks to this team’s great play.

Veterans Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, James Van Riemsdyk, and the newly appointed captain Chris Pronger have picked up the wait considerably this year.

Voracek, Simmonds (pictured), and Jagr have also contributed heavily to the team. They have added a lot of depth to the team, and have quickly made themselves key players.

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Couturier, the eighth overall draft pick, earned a spot on the roster, and will be on the team for the whole season.

Brayden Schenn started the season with the Flyer’s minor league team, the Adirondack Phantoms, but was eventually called up to Philadelphia. Unfortunately, Schenn broke his foot in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on October 26, and the injury will keep him sidelined for 4-6 weeks from that date.

The Flyers hit a few more rough patches as well.

Chris Pronger suffered an eye injury after getting hit in the face with the blade of a stick in a 4-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 24.

Then Ilya Bryzgalov went into a slump that reached its worse in a 9-8 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on October 27. Bryzgalov did not start in goal that night though; he replaced Sergei Bobrovsky after he allowed five goals.

Bryzgalov let up four more that clearly frustrated him. After the game, Bryzgalov admitted to playing poorly and said he was “lost in the woods.”

Bryzgalov words made many worry that he would not be able to snap out of his slump, and that he could not handle the pressure of playing in Philadelphia.

In the very next game, those worries were put to rest. Bryzgalov stopped all but one shot in a 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at the Wells Fargo Center.

Without Pronger, the defense went into a slump as well. However, much like Bryzgalov, the defense snapped out of it against Carolina at home.

It is still early in the season, but this team has already faced some tests, and so far they have been able to get through them.

It’s been 36 years since the Flyers brought home the Stanley Cup. Now that this team has had the opportunity to show what they can do, could this possibly be the team that finally does it?