I'm interested to see how they handle Leino and Zherdev...the two of them and Versteeg all seemed to struggle with the concept of dump and chase and don't make blind passes to no one. Then again, there were times were all three excelled...usually when playing the dump and chase game the Flyers are built for and that's how Lavy wants them to play.
I think Leino's price tag will have to drop after how he played in the playoffs and it really makes me glad they didn't sign him to an extension during the season.
We'll see on him.
Zherdev? Too many games scratched. He had times where he was on fire and other times he was barely noticeable. He played his best games when he was skating hard and playing physical. I don't think he's a 35-40 goal scorer on any team in the NHL. I think he's probably good for 20-30 if he plays 75-80 games and works hard all of them. Too many ifs, but I wouldn't be upset to see him come back at a cheaper price tag than his 2 million from this year.
I don't think I want Bryzer here...he's not done anything in the playoffs albeit being on a Phoenix team can't always be the best, but then again look how the Flyers played this year. I think the goaltending was marginal most of the time.
I can't say the goaltending shook the confidence of the rest of the team, but at the same time, the team just didn't play the same as they did during that 48 game stretch where they won 34 of them. It seems they got comfortable being average since they had locked a playoff spot, but never adjusted for the playoff intensity.
I just don't see how a team that scratched and clawed its way in last year made it to the Cup finals and then a team that dominated for a large portion of the season couldn't get it going in the playoffs at all this year.
Carcillo is a player I like, unfortunately his reputation is his biggest problem. He can't draw power plays because he's constantly getting called for matching minors because of his history...then he pulls a stunt like last night after being in control for the entire playoffs...he blatantly cross checks a dude in the back as he's trying to limp off the ice. WTF are you thinking?
The Flyers have a better record when Carcillo skates, but I think his overall effectiveness is way down, mostly due to that reputation.
I thought Boosh might earn himself a contract after finishing off Buffalo, but he was just brutal 3 out of 4. I mean, even Game 2 where he looked good...that second goal has to be a save. Had he made that save and the rest of the game went according to schedule, they win 2-1 and go to Boston tied rather than in a 2-0 hole. I still doubt they would have won the series after how they responded in Game 3 by being in a 0-2 hole 63 seconds into the game, but that's another story.
There's just so much that went wrong, but after seeing the end of the season and the Buffalo series, I can't say I'm surprised they're out already.
Whatever they do, they need to address the crease. They lived on their 4-5 goals per game for a long time during the season and clearly, that's not always going to be there (2 shutouts against during the Sabres series, and under 2 goals per game average for the Boston series).
They have to figure out that goaltender situation. I'm still convinced this team has what it needs to win the Cup next year, IF IF IF they pay the taxes for a goaltender who is capable of pitching a shutout once in a while.
