Flyers’ Defensive Depth Could Prove Invaluable

NHLHS Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent David Strehle looks at Paul Holmgren’s offseason defensive acquisitions and how it affects the club, especially with Chris Pronger’s knee injury and NHL investigation into the validity of his contract.

After the Philadelphia Flyers six-game loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals, GM Paul Holmgren knew he had to make changes to his team during the offseason.

One area was the teams’ defense.  With the first two pairings of Chris Pronger – Matt Carle and Kimmo Timonen – Braydon Coburn set in stone, the rest of the Flyers’ blueline needed a makeover.  Anytime any other pairing was on the ice in the Finals, it was apparent the Flyers were hanging on for dear life while the “big four” got a quick breather on the bench before taking their next shift.

The most glaring liability appeared to be Ryan Parent.  The oft-injured 23-year-old, who had played in a career-high 48 games during the 2009-10 regular season, had a horrific Cup Final, culminating in a game six in which he saw just 41 seconds of ice time, but still managed to finish a -1.  It seemed that each time Parent had taken a small step forward in his development over the course of the three-plus seasons he spent in Philadelphia, he would immediately take two big leaps backwards.  It had become painfully evident that one of the staples acquired from the Nashville Predators in the Peter Forsberg trade back in the Spring of 2007 was never going to develop into the rock solid, shutdown rear guard that had been projected for so long, at least not in Philadelphia.

Parent needed to be moved, and Holmgren wasted little time in doing so.  On June 19, just 10 days after the Cup was clinched by the Blackhawks, Parent was traded back to the Nashville Predators for the rights to defenseman Dan Hamhuis.  Hamhuis was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, so Holmgren had less than two weeks to work out a deal with the 27-year-old blue liner and his new agent, Wade Arnott.  When contract talks went nowhere, Holmgren dealt Hamhuis’ negotiating rights a week later to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third round selection in next summers NHL Entry Draft.

When free agency opened up on July 1st, Holmgren instead chose the trade route again.  He acquired Andrej Meszaros from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a second round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.  Meszaros had been a huge disappointment in Tampa.  With much expectation and responsibility to help turn things around for the Lightning, the 6′ 2″, 220 pound defenseman didn’t perform up to the level of play that he had achieved during his time with the Ottawa Senators.

Head coach Peter Laviolette will have many options regarding how to use Meszaros, and there will be no pressure to be a top two rear guard in Philly.  At first glance, the deal appeared that Lightning GM Steve Yzerman had pulled off a fleecing of epic proportions.  Meszaros had been a failure with the Bolts and dumping his $4 million salary, with four seasons still left on the contract, was seen as a major coup. But the jury will have to wait to render its final verdict on the deal until after it is seen just how well Meszaros fits in and on what pairing he ends up.

One only has to remember back less than two years ago for another defenseman seen as a flop that was acquired by Holmgren from the Lightning. Carle, a rookie sensation with the San Jose Sharks during the 2006-07 season, hadn’t been able to attain the same success in any other season and was traded to Tampa Bay.  But he would be quickly vilified and made a scape goat in Tampa for the club’s bad start to the 2008-09 season, having been the return in the trade of popular Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle.   After just 12 games with the Bolts, Carle was shipped off to the Flyers for forward Steve Downie and disappointing defenseman Steve Eminger.  With Downie’s career rising from the ashes and Carle becoming a vital cog as Pronger’s defensive partner, the trade has worked out nicely for both clubs.

Coburn was re-signed on July 1st for another two years at $3.2 million annually.  Following another up-and-down regular season, the smooth-skating 6′ 5″, 220 pound defenseman showed in the playoffs why he was the eighth overall selection by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2003 Entry Draft.  In addition to his puck moving abilities, Coburn played with grit and determination and became a very dependable and crucial player for Laviolette. His continued improvement could be a big factor in the teams success moving forward.

Later in the day on July 1st, Holmgren inked Sean O’ Donnell to a one year, $1.3 million deal.  The 6′ 3″, 237 pound veteran of 15 NHL seasons will turn 39 years old in the first week of the regular season, but he has been more than durable.  He has missed just 11 games over the past six years, and provides experience and another large, physical body in front of the Philadelphia net.  Add in the fact that he was a teammate of Pronger’s on the 2007 Stanley Cup-winning Anaheim Ducks team and the fact that he is a warrior, and it’s clear that O’ Donnell will be a great fit with the Flyers.

On July 19th, Holmgren turned his sights to moving popular forward Simon Gagne and his $5.25 million salary.  Even though Gagne had struggled with injuries over a good portion of his career, it had to be a difficult decision for Holmgren to make.  But with Gagne set to become an UFA at this time next year, the Flyers’ GM wanted to get something in return for him instead of letting him walk away for nothing.

Once again, Tampa Bay would be Philadelphia’s trading partner.  Yzerman sent 30-year-old Matt Walker and a fourth round draft choice to the Flyers in exchange for Gagne.   Though not an offensive defenseman, the 6′ 4″, 215 pound Walker gives the Orange-and-Black an aspect they did not possess last season, and that is a right-handed shot from the blue line.  Add in the fact that Walker is another tough, big body to protect the Flyers cage, and it’s abundantly clear that the area in front of the Philly cage could be marked with a surgeon general’s warning as possibly being hazardous to your health if you dare enter.

Laviolette will have all sorts of options available to him as to which defensemen are paired together.  With Pronger undergoing arthroscopic surgery to his right knee on July 27th, and the probability that he will not be completely healthy as training camp opens on September 17th, the Flyers head coach will have plenty of opportunity to experiment.

Also in the mix is the continued investigation by Bill Daly and the NHL into Pronger’s contract extension that he signed with the Flyers last summer as part of the fallout from the Ilya Kovalchuk contract ruling.  If Pronger’s contract with Philadelphia is voided by the league, Pronger would become a free agent.  If that were to happen, expect the Flyers to re-sign Pronger in an adjusted pact, one that the NHL would approve.

With the depth that Holmgren has assembled on the back line, if one defenseman doesn’t perform well enough, another will be able to be moved into his place.  Or if Laviolette just wants to give his opponent another look, he should be able to move partners around without sacrificing results on the ice.  The abilities of his blue liners has made this defense almost like a machine with equal-quality interchangeable parts.

When Pronger is healthy, the pairings should look something like this:

Pronger-Carle

Timonen-Coburn

Meszaros-O’Donnell

Walker-Oskars Bartulis

Without making any upgrades to the goaltending situation, Holmgren will be relying on his defense to make a difference for the 2010-11 version of the Flyers.  Only time will tell if that philosophy can work to push a team to an eventual Stanley Cup championship or not, but the pieces are in place for Laviolette to make a valiant attempt.

David Strehle
NHLHS Flyers Correspondent / NHL Writer
dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PhilaDAVEia