My Flyers Top 25 Under 25 Ballot

As we move closer toward the end of the summer and the start of the next NHL season, it's time for one of the most informative segments on SB Nation's Broad Street Hockey, the Top 25 Under 25. BSH does a phenomenal job of this young gun/prospect ranking, and honestly it would be very helpful if the 29 other NHL teams did it as thoroughly as the Flyers site. (Trivial annoyance: I try to include other team's prospects in fictional trades and I never know how good any of their young guys are because we're spoiled in Philly and nobody else does it like BSH.)

Something new that they're rolling out this summer is the ability for readers of the site to contribute to the overall ranking.

And, without any more of me complaining about the rest of the SB Nation hockey blogs not being as good as Philly, here's my ballot.

Not Included

Brayden Schenn turned 25 today - happy birthday - and thus is no longer under 25.

Currently In The NHL

1. Sean Couturier

Some people may have the urge to have a certain phantom grizzly in the first spot, but it's Coots. I love Shayne as much as just about anyone, but Couturier is already SO important to the current roster that nobody could reasonably take this top spot from him.

His importance, largely, comes in the form of being able to take defensive pressure away from Claude Giroux. But (sorry for saying this again this year) he has a lot more to bring to the table offensively, and my hope is the signings of Dale Weise and Boyd Gordon also take some of the burden off of Couturier.

2. Shayne Gostisbehere

I can't really write anything that hasn't already been written, so just know that Shayne is the best and everyone loves him.

3. Scott Laughton
4. Nick Cousins

I waffled back and forth for my third and fourth picks, and it's an especially interesting decision because one of these guys will likely be exposed in the expansion draft next summer.

For me, Laughton's potential as a top-six winger outweighs Cousins' current role as a bottom-six center. That rings true especially when you factor in that GM Ron Hextall has his top two centers locked down for the rest of the decade. There are simply a lot more ways Laughton can contribute in a more meaningful way than Cousins.

Next Up

5. Ivan Provorov

I will not fault anyone who moves Provorov ahead of Laughton and/or Cousins, but for me the guys who have proven that they can hang at the NHL level are ranked higher.

That said, in looking at the guys not currently at the NHL level, it's impossible to have anyone ranked higher than Provy. He's going to - at some point - put on an orange and black jersey and immediately be the most talented defenseman on the team. Whether that is this year or next, I do not know.

If Hextall decides to send Provy back to juniors for another year, there will likely be a lot of people who are mad on line. I will probably be one of them. But, as nice as it would be to see him in the big leagues this year, think about how much nicer it will be to have a 22-year-old top-tier defenseman w
with a cap hit of $894k.

6. Taylor Leier

He has played a bit with the big club, but he's been primarily an AHL player up to this point. And Hextall has certainly not made it easy for him to return to the NHL; the Flyers have about a dozen guys capable of making up their bottom six next season. Leier seems to be the name that comes up most often when talking about Phantoms That Could Be Flyers.

7. Travis Sanheim
8. Samuel Morin

To a certain extent, having these two below Leier is the same logic as having Provorov below Laughton/Cousins. Sanheim and Morin, at some point, will likely contribute significant minutes on the blueline. Sanheim should eventually be a well-rounded NHL defenseman and Morin will hopefully break someone's entire torso against the side boards. But, for now, they are AHL players waiting for a broken penis to call them up to the NHL.

9. Travis Konecny

There will, without a doubt, be people in the final BSH rankings who rate Konecny significantly higher than 9th. But (unpopular opinion alert) I'm not sure his offensive skill is elite enough to overcome his size the way a lot of people seem to think it will. If you scroll down the end of the list quickly, you will find another smaller guy with a high skill level who can't seem to put it all together against NHL competition.

I'm usually really high on Tarvo, but for whatever reason I just got in a really negative mood before writing that paragraph. I'm sure he'll be great. Konecny-Giroux-Voracek, Stanley Cup 2018 here we come. (?)

10. Anthony Stolarz

I don't know what the fuck to do with these goalie prospects, but Stoli was an AHL All-Star last year. That has to count for something, right?

11. Robert Hagg

What do we make of Hagg? He's a gosh darn enigma. He's always been in the Ghost-Provy-Sanheim-Morin group, but he really fell off last year.

The good thing for him is there will be little to no pressure this season. There's not a spot to be had at the NHL level (and that becomes even more jammed if Provorov stays up for the season). He's not really competing for anything like Provorov and Sanheim and Konecny. He's going to be a solid AHL guy this year, and my hope would be the lack of pressure allows him to work on the skills he needs to be in the fight for an NHL spot in 2017-18.

I've Been Told These Kids Are Good But I Don't Really Know

12. Nicolas Aube-Kubel

He's been a point-per-game player in the QMJHL over the past three years, including the past two where he has been property of the Flyers. He'll make the jump to the AHL this year, and his name will maybe even be thrown in the mix of that dozen or so guys that could theoretically make up the bottom six of the Flyers.

13. Felix Sandstrom

He's the Flyers' best young goaltender not named Stolarz, and he's been tearing it up in the Swedish league and in the various national competitions he's competed it.

14. Cole Bardreau

I don't think anyone in the Flyers organization has made as much progress as Bardreau since the middle of last season. These days, his name finds itself Leier's in the "Phantoms That Could Be Flyers" discussion. He gets a lot of Danny Woodhead adjectives thrown around at him - gritty, hard worker, heart to make up for his size. He's going to have to battle to make it to the NHL, but Guys Like Him don't have a problem battling to overcome obstacles.

15. Philippe Myers

Myers could end up taking Hagg's place in the Young Defenseman pool. He's young, he's big, and he's not-so-quietly improving the offensive aspects of his game. And when you consider #47 and #55 currently on the Flyers roster, "the ability to have the puck on his stick and not have everyone on his team get nervous" might just be enough offense for him to be alright.

16. Oskar Lindblom

I'll defer to the recently-promoted Assistant General Manager of the Flyers, Chris Pryor, who will be able to better capture the essence of Lindblom with a bunch of vague cliches (source):

"We're really happy with where he's progressed. He's a lot bigger and stronger, and his skating has gotten better. The thing about Oskar is he always knew how to play the game. The kid has a great work ethic, head on his shoulders and you're starting to see the fruit of his labors paying off."

17. Petr Straka

He led the Phantoms in scoring for a chunk of last season until he got hurt, and lord knows this Flyers team could use an influx of scoring wingers. He's 24 and this is a contract year for him, so it's really Put Up Or Shut Up Time if he's ever going to make it to the NHL. His entry-level deal had an annual salary of $925k and this year's deal is only worth $650k. Prove us wrong, Pete.

These Are Some Other Names That I Know

18. Mark Alt

Mark Alt is the Perry Ellis of Flyers prospects. This man has been around for what feels like forever but he's only going into his fourth season in the system. Like Straka, Alt's on a one-year "Prove It" deal that pays him less than his entry-level contract.

19. Alex Lyon

Look, nobody knows a goddamn thing about goalies. Lyon could suck and be out of the organization next summer, or he could kill it in the AHL and give Stolarz some legitimate competition for the keys to the kingdom. He's highly regarded coming out of Yale, and the Lyon-Stolarz battle in Lehigh Valley might even make it worth the drive up North.

20. German Rubstov
21. Roman Lyubimov

What? You thought I was going to miss the opportunity to include the Rubs Off/Lube 'Em Off duo? Come on. #PleaseLikeMy tweets:

Here's hoping we somehow gets a Rubs Off - Lube 'Em Off combination at some point in the future #FlyersTalk

— Jay (@jaylike) July 11, 2016

22. Radel Fazleev

He's a big beefy Russian with good hockey sense and more offensive skill than you'd imagine for someone who is best described as Big and Beefy.

23. Carter Hart

He was the first goalie taken in this Summer's NHL Draft, and for regional dialect purposes it's a shame he didn't get drafted by the Bruins. But he'll now officially be on the radar, and he's competing with Stolarz, Lyon, Sandstrom, and Harvard's Merrick Madsen for the title of Goalie Of The Future.

24. David Kase

He's Czech, so he gets to play in bigger tournaments than he would if he was Canadian or American. That's about where we are at the end of this Top 25 exercise.

I Really Like Tyrell Goulbourne

25. Tyrell Goulbourne

He's small but he plays with the heart of someone who is 6'6"/270. Ten years ago he probably would have been a fourth line guy to balance out the enormous salaries of the Flyers' top six and top four.

Jordan Weal

26. Jordan Weal

Sometimes I forget he's even on the team.

Steve Mason Played His 150th Game As a Flyer Last Night

Happy Friday! We made it. And the Flyers won again last night. And Wing Bowl is this morning. And it's a goddamn winter wonderland outside.

Everything is coming up Philadelphia, and it's beautiful. I'm not going to recap the game - I'd direct you to Sons Of Penn, Broad Street Hockey, and Barstool Philly for that. But I did see a tweet last night that made me think:

Steve Mason played his 150th regular season game in O&B tonight. He's only the 10th @NHLFlyers goalie ever to reach 150 games played #Flyers

— Alexander Appleyard (@avappleyard) February 5, 2016

So, obviously, we're going to rank those ten goalies in order of how much we like them.

10. Pete Peeters (179 games played)

He was more into swimming than hockey growing up, and he had one good season in orange and black. Then he was traded to Boston. He returned just in time to lose his job to Rox Hextall (who may or may not be somewhere on this list). Pete Peeters is a great name, but the goalie Pete Peeters is at the bottom of this list.

9. Doug Favell (215 games played)

Like Peeters, the most notable piece of Favell's story is the guy he lost the job to (like Hextall, that guy will also probably find his way onto this list). He was good enough to play the third-most games in franchise history, but you're never going to see anyone with a Doug Favell jersey in the Wells Fargo parking lot.

8. Antero Nittymaki (161 games played)

Nittymaki came out of the gate really hot, winning all three of his starts in his first year with the team (Robert Esche, who did not make this list, was injured). He was a promising young goalie and the future was as bright as could be.

So, naturally, the Flyers traded for Sean Burke and sent Nittymaki back to the minors for two years.

That lettuce on Cechmanek, wowwee

7. Roman Cechmanek (163 games played)

I still can't believe he only played three seasons in Philly. I feel like he was around for my whole childhood, just headbutting the puck out of harm's way every night.

The definition of bipolar, he was the best goalie in the world on some nights and he should have been sitting in the 200 level on others. In that respect, he encapsulated Flyers hockey: it's a goddamn rollercoaster, and we love every minute of it.

6. Wayne Stephenson (165 games played)

This may be a bit too high for Stephenson, but he was the backstop in the victory against the Soviet Red Army team, and that's one of the best Flyers stories ever. But, he loses points because that game inflated his ego and he held out for a raise, which management, uh, frowned upon.

5. Steve Mason (150 games played)

My initial thought in sticking Mason here was it's too high. How can he be fifth on the all-time goaltenders list for a franchise that's been around for almost 50 years?

Well, I have two answers: first, the Flyers have seemingly always had problems with their goaltending. Second, the comeback story of Mason coming to Philly (and his prospects for the future) means that if he backstops the team to any success in the next year or two, he's an all-time great.

4. Brian Boucher (174 games played)

Now we're getting into the actual all-time greats. Bouch may be the most likable goalie I've ever been able to watch in person. And now, his presence in my living room once a week on CSN Philly reminds me of how much I liked having him in net.

I think part of my nostalgia comes from the fact that he played in Philly for the first time when I was 7 years old, and then played his last game in orange when I was 20. That's an incredible span, and I'm just now realizing that I can add Bouch's career to the list of things that I grew up with (the other thing on that list is Harry Potter).

One note: even when he was in Phoenix, I was always up-to-date with how he was doing. This is the first time I've been okay with the incessant "Former Flyer" updates from the team's beat writers.

3. Pelle Lindbergh (157 games played)

I won't pretend to be a good enough writer to do Lindbergh's story the justice it deserves. Read this SI story or this story from Dave Isaac of the Courier Post. It's tragic, it was senseless, and it's always going to be an emotional subject for Philadelphia.

Let's move on to the final two spots on the list, and take a look at how they've grown up since their playing days.



1a. Bernie Parent (486 games played)
1. Ron Hextall (489 games played)

You ran rank these two in whichever order you prefer. Bernie was the original cornerstone. Hextall is the face of the current rebuild. Both of them had sweet mustaches back in the day but have grown up and now prefer goatees.

Combined, they played in more than a quarter of the games that they Flyers have ever played.

I'd love to just call this a tie and celebrate the two best goalies in Flyers history. But, I have to pick a winner, and I pick Hextall for two reasons.

First, he's currently orchestrating one of the best on-the-fly rebuilds in recent sports memory. And second, he holds the top three spots in the all-time Goaltender Penalty Minutes In A Season list.

Flyers Fans Should Be Rooting For The Winnipeg Jets

It feels like a daily occurrence when I find a tweet that causes me to think things about the Flyers. Today, this was that tweet:

Rumor Roundup: Trade dominoes will fall once Jets decide what to do with Byfuglien, Ladd: https://t.co/A7nL257TUc

— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) February 3, 2016

It's not breaking any news, and it's not even really coming out with any hot takes. Basically, it's compiling all of the reports from various media members about trade rumors for the Winnipeg Jets' Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd.

But for Flyers fans, there is an extra bit of depth to those rumors.

Because if Winnipeg decides to put Byfuglien and/or Ladd on the trading block to extract some assets for their rebuild, they immediately become the best available players at their position on the market. If you're a team with cap room and you're looking for a rental for a deep playoff run, you won't find anyone better than the two Jets.

If - and, granted, it's a big if at this point - the Flyers decide to be sellers at the trade deadline, their three best "rentals" for sale are forward Michael Raffl and defensemen Mark Streit and Evgeny Medvedev. Raffl, as I mentioned earlier today, is still a question mark. I've talked about Medvedev specifically in the past if you're interested. And Streit has long been our prized trade chip, either for this February or next year.

Raffl and Medvedev, if they aren't moved or re-signed this year, can walk away after the season for nothing. Obviously, Ron Hextall would like to avoid that and either lock them up long-term or sell them off for picks and prospects. Streit's in the same boat next year, but he's talented enough that someone might be willing to take him on right now.

There is going to be a general manager in the league who is desperate for a puck-moving defenseman. There will probably be more than one. But the value of  Streit/Medvedev decreases immensely if Byfuglien is available, because Big Buff is younger and better than either of the current Flyers.

Ladd is two years older than Raffl, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone outside of a loony bin (or a Delaware County pizza shop) who doesn't think Ladd's the superior player. If he's on the market, Raffl becomes a less desirable target.

So, Flyers fans, we really should be rooting for Winnipeg to get hot and look like they're going to contend for a playoff spot this year. It's not going to be easy, because they're currently in last place in the Central Divison with a seven-point gap to get into second-to-last place. They're currently 9 points out of the second Wild Card spot, which is not an ideal place to be.

But, to end on a positive note, the teams standing in the Jets' way right now are the Canucks, Coyotes, Wild, Predators, and Avalanche. And holy shit, I just realized those five teams essentially are the plot of The Revenant. But two of the six are going to be in the playoffs, and Winnipeg has the talent in their top six and top four to be competitive.

Micah at HockeyViz.com projects the Jets to have a 10% chance to make the playoffs. The overwhelming favorites for those two Wild Card spots are the Preds and Wild, with the Avs and Yotes projecting slightly higher than the Jets.

It's definitely far from a lock, but if the Jets have a good month and look like they can make noise, that's going to be a very good thing for the front office in Philadelphia.

Recap: Ye Olde Flyers-Bruins Parlay

(Warning: This post got away from us. We have a lot of thoughts about our favorite hockey teams, and this is quite a long read. It’s a review of the games last night, and sort of a glimpse into the Bruins and Flyers for those of you who don’t follow religiously.)

There is a three-step recipe for turning a lame Tuesday night in February into a somewhat enjoyable Tuesday night in February:

1. Hockey
2. Gambling
3. Beers 

Simple, right? And when you can share that experience with a friend, it's even better. Last night, the Bruins hosted the Maple Leafs and the Flyers hosted the Canadiens. So we parlayed the B's and Fly's, threw up our middle fingers to Canada, and Ye Olde Flyers-Bruins Parlay was born.

A few things to note before getting to the games:

Loui v. Broons

There have been a bunch of rumors popping up over the past few weeks about negotiations between Loui Eriksson and the Bruins. This is going to be a tough one. It was reported that Loui is looking for a deal in the neighborhood of 6 years/$36M. When Don Sweeney heard those numbers, he probably sat back in his big leather chair, rubbed his hands together and said “Let the games begin” (he for sure did not do this).

The Bruins reportedly offered Loui a deal before Christmas but were rejected, as Loui’s camp believed the AAV and length to be unsatisfactory. The report also stated that the Bruins offered this contract as a gesture to get the ball rolling. As the saying goes, you can’t just dive headfirst into home, you gotta wine and dine.

Sweeney basically went on NESN a few weeks back and said that he isn’t interested in overpaying for players that aren’t consistent. He added that if he doesn’t believe the Bruins will resign a player in the offseason, he will look to move him (see Soderberg, Carl). Seeing as Loui has underperformed in his last three seasons, there is no way Sweeney gives him what he’s looking for. Personally, I’d be more comfortable with 4-5 years/$5M. But at 30, Loui is at the age where he is looking for security in the form of a lengthy deal.

The Bruins don’t have much leverage here. This would be a much easier decision if:

1. Brett Connolly was panning out as planned. But….he’s shit. I can’t stand watching him skate on the first line anymore, but that’s for another rant. Or
2. There was a decent market to move Loui. But…there’s not. There was a report that the Wild are interested in acquiring Lou-E’s talents, but they don’t seem to be the right fit in terms of a trade partner.

The Bruins only have two Top-6 wingers on their roster (Brad Marchand and Loui). With Pastrnak’s development hindered by injuries so far this year, the Bruins are in desperate need of resigning Loui.

Flyer Free Agents

The Flyers don’t have any contracts expiring this summer that are quite as vital as Loui Eriksson. The only unrestricted-free-agent-to-be is Michael Raffl, who might fetch about half of Loui’s desired money. He’s a useful possession winger with enough size and offensive talent to contribute anywhere in the team’s top nine. He also seems to be a great locker room guy, and from my point of view I think he’s a great presence. That said, I really don’t want to overpay him.

The most I think about it, the more similarities I see between Raffl’s situation and Eriksson’s. Of course both teams would like to keep their European wingers around, but there is probably someone in the league who will overpay. The Bruins might have to overpay because they’re looking to compete now. The Flyers have the luxury of not being forced into paying Raffl - might they even move him before the end of the month?

Smaller pieces like Ryan White, Jordan Weal, Radko Gudas, Brandon Manning, and Nick Cousins all figure to be re-signed at decent-value contracts. Sam Gagner is unrestricted and will probably walk this summer if he’s not shipped out before then. There isn’t a whole lot of noise to be made about this group.

There is, however, the curious case of Brayden Schenn. He’s obviously due a raise on his $2.5 million, and he’s playing like the kind of top-six winger that would deserve almost double that much. I would hope he sees his place here for the better part of the next decade - right next to Sean Couturier - and takes a hometown discount. And if an offer sheet from another team comes into the equation, the salary will result in that team sending a first- and third-round draft pick back as compensation.

Pasta Night

best hat pic.twitter.com/TqtHgNzSbk

— Stephanie (@myregularface) February 3, 2016

David Pastrnak was in the Boston lineup last night after spending the All-Star break in Providence (3GP/1G/3A). Pastrnak is looking to forget a first half of the season that was plagued by a fractured foot that cost him two months of ice time.

To be honest, I was less than thrilled to see him playing in Helsinki with the Czechs. But since his return to the Bs, he’s scored three goals and two assists in eight games. We know the kid has it in him - 37 points (10G/17A) last season in 46 games at 18 years old is no joke. He just has to stay healthy (and crash the net when he’s not scoring- see CBJ game).

Party In The Streets! Umberger's Out!

After one full, complete, 365-day calendar year of not scoring a goal - including half a dozen blown high-danger scoring chances over the past two weeks - Flyers coach Dave Hakstol finally decided to bench RJ Umberger.

Hak inserted Sam Gagner on the Sean Couturier line with Brayden Schenn, bumping Michael Raffl down to Umberger's usual spot with Scott Laughton and Matt Read. We'll talk more about the line combinations - and options going forward - later, but seeing Umberger's name in the Healthy Scratch box is always going to make me happy.

Now, to the actual on-ice action:

First Period in Boston

After a week off for the squads (aside from Bergy), the Bs came out flat early. The first three minutes were spent in the defensive zone, no thanks to Patrice’s absence during the first shift due to a lost tooth (not confirmed, but he took a puck to the face and immediately went down the tunnel)...he was back for his next shift.

The fourth line helped turn things around during their first call with some serious forechecking by Talbot and Rinaldo. I think it has to be said that Rinaldo has been a pretty solid fourth liner for the Bruins this year. And by said, I mean I whispered that so nobody heard me. I hate to admit it, but the guy hasn’t done too much to live up to the Bertuzzi-esque reputation. He’s done what successful Bruins’ fourth-liners have done in the past: play as hard as possible in the few minutes you get.

Anyways, we can just forget I said any of that and move on. Boston’s been able to prove the doubters wrong by staying in the top spot in Power Play efficiency for most of the season (25.9%), and they now sit second in the league, behind only the Washington Capitals (26.8%). Not terrible company. It didn’t take long to see the power play and they looked good in their first chance, moving the puck well and getting a few chances. This momentum led to a goal soon after their man-advantage expired.

It seems like Jimmy Hayes listened to the Bruins faithful that have been yelling “SHOOT!” at their TV screens every game. I get that Hayes’ game is to be a big body, screen and collect goals from in front. But he’s a big body, aka he can shoot the puck hard. We’ve seen him start to shoot from higher up in the slot, and even score a few. Tonight, on a furious-looking three-man-rush, Jimmy threw a shot on goal that rebounded perfectly to Brad Marchand. Marchand was in the perfect spot to score his 21st of the season, and he has scored at least 20 goals in all five of his full-length seasons since joining the League in 2010. Not bad for a dirtbag.

Boston controlled the pace for the majority of the first period, with the Bs missing a few juicy chances. One of which came on the power play on an ingenious (shout out Evan Turner) feed from Spooner to Bergy in the high slot. Patrice wasn’t able to settle the puck but was all alone.

That being said, Spooner is that dude. He had five SOG and created a ton of scoring chances for his line and the power play. Claude needs to stop trying to be Rainman and leave Spooner as the third-line centerman. He has been unreal this year and is one of the main reasons the Bruins found themselves in a playoff spot come the halfway point. Spooner has 36 points (10G/26A) in 49 games and leads the team in assists after recently passing the perennial assist leader, Bergeron. The thought of him developing into a Top-2 center while the Bs have Bergy and Krejci is erection-inducing. Spooner has been by far the most fun player to watch this season because of his creativity whenever he enters the offensive zone. The guy puts on a show and can make even some of the older guys in the league look like they have two left skates.

First Period in Philly

An All-Star first line center returning from Nashville, an aggressive fourth line that doesn’t get as much love as they should, and powerplay success resulting in a lead after the first period? It’s like the TVs were mirroring each other.

But while the Bruins’ early goal came from a smart play on the rush, both Flyers’ goals were products of Jake Voracek quarterbacking the powerplay unit. He fed two beautiful passes to Brayden Schenn, who dished one off to Wayne Simmonds and potted the other for himself. The powerplay has had its struggles - which can be equal parts surprising and frustrating to watch - but the boys in orange made it look like child’s play last night.

And then, in typical Flyers fashion, they allowed the Habs to climb back with a powerplay goal with under two minutes remaining in the first. Given how this season is going, I’ll never complain about a lead after the first. But it would be so refreshing to see them play a complete period just one time.

Something else that needs to be mentioned is the Wells Fargo’s constant, incessant, ridiculous booing of PK Subban. It’s not just when he dives or interferes or scores - it’s all the goddamn time. I am under the impression that it dates back to the Mike Richards era, but at this point it just makes us all look like assholes. My unofficial “Boo This Man” list is pretty short: Crosby, Kane. On a game-by-game basis, obviously we can boo other people too. But I don’t understand how this city can have that level of hatred for one of the most likable guys in the league.

Second Period in Boston

Toronto equalized midway in the second when Tuukka Rask had a puck take a rough bounce off a screen. It fell right on the stick of a guy who has scored two goals in 31 games and I don’t really want to talk about it. The Bruins didn’t seem to control the pace as much in the second and it only felt like the third line was bringing any intensity. If there has been one major character flaw in this year’s Bruins, it’s been a lack of consistency, and it was evident during the second period last night. Let's just skip that and move right on to the third.

Second Period in Philly

We were in good shape in both game after the first periods. The second periods kind of cratered. Within about fifteen minutes, Daniel Winnick equalized for Toronto and Jeff Perty equalized for Montreal. I started to question the unit cost of a Heineken and wonder if it was still in my budget.

I’ll follow Alex’s lead here and say let’s just skip right to the third periods.

The Song Remains the Same

My oh my, what a goal to start the third. After some serious forecheck board-work by Pasta in the corner, Krejci wizardly slap-passed to Marchand, who was waiting weak-side to put away his second of the game.

Marchand's 2nd goal pic.twitter.com/CBgoB6dT0u

— Stephanie (@myregularface) February 3, 2016

On the rush following the faceoff, Torey Krug rung one off the post which led to a scrum in front and resulted in a goal for Krejci. This was all set up by forechecking and net presence. On Krejci’s goal, both Krejci and Loui were crashing the net, causing mass chaos among the Leafs’ d-men and Bernier not being able to cover. This is what we want. This is what we need.

Wayne Simmonds scored his second of the night off yet another beautiful pass from Voracek, but the big story of the third period in Philly was the referees. Following a Subban cross-check to the back of Simmonds, Jake got in PK’s face.

Jake stickin' up for Simmonds pic.twitter.com/S6yCiH2zxr

— Sons of Penn (@SonsofPenn) February 3, 2016

Naturally, because this is Philadelphia, Subban’s initial hit was unpunished and Voracek was penalized for roughing. Jake, your thoughts?

ANGRY GINGER IS ANGRY pic.twitter.com/XC5xsXgGIy

— Sons of Penn (@SonsofPenn) February 3, 2016

And then, if you can believe it, things got worse. Radko Gudas was called for a phantom Clipping penalty with about seven minutes left in the game. I would include another GIF to keep this visually stimulating blog going, but I can’t because there was nothing that warranted a penalty. Lucas Lessio dumped the puck into the zone from center ice, took a hit from Gudas, and stayed down on the ice. He wasn’t concussed, or dead, or bleeding, but getting hit by Radko Gudas hurts. And then like a minute later, the whistle blew, Gudas was ejected, and the Habs were awarded a 5-minute power play to try to tie the game.

Gudas gets tossed for this hit on Lessio and he's not too happy about it https://t.co/SIKmLtallb

— Jordie (@BarstoolJordie) February 3, 2016

I don’t quite know how to describe what happened next. I’m assuming the whole team blacked out, because the Flyers’ usually questionable penalty kill held strong for the entire five minutes. Nobody was trapped on the ice for an unreasonable amount of time, the passing and shooting lanes were appropriately covered, and Team Dad Matt Read sniped the empty net in the final minute to put the nail in the coffin.

The Flyers win and leapfrog the Habs, and are sitting pretty in 5th place in the Wild Card. Last I checked, the Bruins were up by a pair of goals in the third. Let’s get this money so I can do some late-night Amazon-dot-com-ing.

Let me just flip my GameCenter Live back on to check on that other game....

But wait! Guess what! The Bruins blew a third period, multi-goal lead. The defense had more than a few brutal sequences, including the minute leading up to Komarov’s 17th goal of the season. Rask was hung out to dry more than a few times and the Bruins continued to let him down as Kadri scored the game tying goal soon after. All three of the Leafs’ goals came on screened shots from the blue line. You just hate to see that. You also hate to see literally anything good happen to Nazem Kadri.

So, overtime. We can live with that. The Bruins were a reasonable 4-5 in games decided after regulation, and everyone knows that the Maple Leafs are trying to tank their way to the top of the draft board. We’re good. No worries. Except the Leafs unveiled their new logo tonight and it is admittedly awesome. Maybe this gave them a boost (prob not but I’m running out of excuses for this Bruins team).

#TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/2GadFSDtCI

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 3, 2016

Overtime is normally called “free hockey”- this game was anything but. And after a nonsense holding penalty called on David Krejci, the Leafs converted on the man advantage and won the game. And we lost.

Hey look the Bruins blew it pic.twitter.com/wxBhnNlbwH

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) February 3, 2016

With both Detroit and Tampa idle, the Bruins had a chance to jump into 2nd in the Atlantic with two points. But the Bruins are the Bruins and the one point OTL leaves them tied with Detroit and Tampa at 58 points. The Lightning host the Wings Wednesday night.

A Few Quick Bruins Notes

Torey Krug is electric on the power play. This has been evident all season, and last, but you just can’t take your eyes of Krug when the Bs are a man up. While Torey isn’t a top 4 defenseman at even strength, his skillset absolutely shines on the man advantage. A few heavy slappers led to some real scoring chances during this game and I’m looking for the Bruins to remain towards the top of the PP% rankings for the rest of the season.

After spending the past few weeks of Colin Miller being a healthy scratch, we saw Claude Julien scratch Joe Morrow and insert C. Miller into the second D pairing. Be careful what you wish for.

Colin looked uncomfortable handling the puck along the blue-line and cost the Bruins a few offensive possessions. I’m guessing this was just a case of rust, because in his limited time this season, Miller has definitely showed that he should stay in that second pairing. Also, Kevan Miller didn’t look horrible. I know, it’s like bizzaro world where K. and C. Miller just swapped abilities. K. Miller made some plays on both ends of the ice tonight and that’s all you can really ask from a guy who spells Kevan with an “a” (and does things like this).

The Bruins look to escape their home-ice struggles as they travel to Buffalo to face Eichel and the Sabres on Thursday, and the Flyers will travel to Nashville to face the Predators. We'll see you on Friday morning, and hopefully we’ll be less poor than we are today.

The Flyers Are Going Into The All-Star Break

As the Flyers ride off into the sunset/All-Star break fresh off a thrilling win over the NHL-leading Capitals, it's a good time to look back at the first 47 games of the season and take inventory.

Division Standings

The Flyers are in 7th place in the 8-team Metropolitan Division with 50 points. They're chasing Carolina (54 points), New Jersey/Pittsburgh (55), the New York teams (56/59), and Washington (74).

There are, of course, a lot of teams to climb in the division. Carolina and New Jersey are generally thought to be in "rebuilding" mode, so maybe they could tank down out of our way. Nobody is going to catch Washington. The Rangers and Penguins are too old and overpaid to not give everything they can to compete for a Cup this year. And the Islanders have established themselves as one of the top teams in the East.

So, finishing high enough in the division to make the playoffs is almost certainly out of the question. How else can we maybe sneak in?

Wild Card Standings

As it stands now, Boston (57 points) and Pittsburgh hold the Wild Card bids to the postseason. New Jersey, Carolina, Montreal (52), Ottawa (52), and Philadelphia are all reasonable contenders for those spots, and it will be interesting to see who's buying and who's selling at the trade deadline.

Wild Card Part II: Buyers & Sellers

Carolina and New Jersey are both projected to have more than $8 million in cap room at the end of the season, and that's before we factor in what the 'Canes might do with the Staal brothers and Jeff Skinner. If you're a fan of those two, are you rooting for them to bottom out and target Matthews/Tkachuk/Chychrun/Nylander/Puljujarvi/Laine? If you get a ready-for-the-NHL rookie and throw some money at a couple free agents, you could maybe compete next year.

One major note I want to make here: I am so glad that I am a Flyers fan and not a Hurricanes or Devils fan. Those rosters... woof.

Boston and Philly are in situations similar to Jersey and Carolina, though with much less cap room and much more demanding fans. Both teams have their core group of forwards locked down with minor exceptions (Marchand/Eriksson for the Bruins, Schenn/Raffl for the Flyers) and they have some work to do on figuring out their defense. Time will tell if these two are buying or selling.

Pittsburgh, Montreal, and Ottawa all planned on competing this year and that doesn't figure to change as the year goes on. I think you can mark each of these three as probably buyers in February.

The Sabres, Maple Leafs, and Blue Jackets are not going to compete this year and will likely also be selling off current assets for future assets.

Out West, the Jets and Flames will probably look to move some older pieces to build around younger cores. The Canucks probably have to go down with their ship with the Sedin twins. And I have absolutely no idea what's going on in Edmonton. Rough time to be a hockey fan from Western Canada.

Rough time to be a hockey fan from Canada in general, I guess.

Emergency Flyers Lineup Volume 8

Bad, baaad fucking news, boys. Sean Couturier is going to be too injured to play tonight in Pittsburgh. It's a mysterious lower body injury, and nobody really seems to have a read on what's wrong with him.

So fuck.

The Flyers announced the scratch after warmups this morning in Pittsburgh, and it seems like Flyers twitter is in absolute shambles right now. Coots generally is tasked with shutting down the Malkin line (and Giroux tends to play against the Crosby line), This gameplan, recently, has been almost unbeatable against Pittsburgh - the Flyers have won their last 64 matchups with the Penguins.

But tonight is going to be tough, and it's deeper than just "we can't stick Coots on Malkin." The game is in Pittsburgh, which means Penguins coach (Googles who that is) Mike Sullivan is going to have the ability to seek the matchups that he desires. So if he doesn't want Crosby/Malkin going against Giroux's line, he can yank them off and send them out against the Ryan White line or the RJ Umberger line.

(Puts gun in mouth)

We can fix this. We need to balance at least three lines so that we don't leave a crappy trio out there to get torched. If we happen to notice three guys are playing like crap, we'll sit them or heavily shelter them.

Necessity is the mother of invention, so to speak, so here is version 8 of the Flyers 2015-16 lineup card (the general theme of these lines is "let's throw some shit at the wall to see what might work"):

Laughton - Giroux - Vandevelde

Laughton's two shortcomings this season have been (1) lack of ice time/ability to get into a rhythm (2) issues in the defensive zone. So let's throw him with the captain to let him get some solid usage and put him with two of the better defensive forwards that we have.

If Laughton stinks again early, I'd LOVE to see a White-Giroux-VV line. I advocated for this months ago, and I don't think there's a better time for that trio than a game against Pittsburgh where we're scrambling. 25-28-76 is a phenomenal bunker/trenches type of line.

Voracek - Schenn - Read

Brayden hasn't really showed that he can center a line yet, but Voracek is talented enough that he carried the Bellemare/Vandevelde experiment to a respectable line. Mix in Read, who's stellar basically from end to end, and this is another line that can chew up minutes against the Penguins' big boys.

There's also quite a big of offensive skill here, so they could punish the Pens' bottom six if given the chance.

Simmonds - Bellemare - Raffl

This is a prototypical checking line, essentially just a pair of upgrades on the usual White-Bellemare-Vandevelde line. They should be solid in all three zones (maybe even a little devious in the attacking zone), and they're all big enough to carry their own defensively.

Umberger - Weal - White

And now it all goes to shit. Even if we shelter this line or swap White and Laughton, Weal is a total question mark. Umberger is a thumbs down emoji with the font size dragged all the way up as big as possible. Ideally they'd play 8-10 minutes, but Umberger was -2 (with two missed open goals) in under 6 minutes on Tuesday.

If the goal is to mitigate the damage, we need to split up the Giroux/Voracek/Simmonds line and the Raffl/Schenn pairing. It's nice to be top-heavy when you can play matchups and the team is at full strength, but we don't have either of those luxuries tonight.

It's going to be a rough ride, and we're going to find out a lot about how much fight this team has. I expect absolutely ferocious games from everyone, but especially Giroux, Del Zotto, and Brayden Schenn. I'm also going to be keeping an eye on Shayne Gostisbehere, because this feels like a milestone game for him (his first against Pittsburgh) and I'm excited to see how he handles it.

(Update: The Flyers have recalled Sam Gagner! Here comes the hungry cavalry! I could see him being slotted in for Read with Voracek/Schenn (bumping read down to Umberger's spot) or just swapping Gagner in directly for Umberger. If Gagner goes to that fourth line, I'd bump White up to Giroux's line to leave us with Laughton-Weal-Gagner as the sheltered line.)

Follow along on twitter, I'll be going back and forth between #coldones and chugging bleach. Let's go Flyers.

Let's Find Evgeny Medvedev A New Home, Part 2

Last night's performance was a rough one for the Flyers. Everyone stinks except Gostisbehere and there is no hope in the world and so on. It was, however, a decent night for Evgeny Medvedev; he contributed pretty significantly on offensive and defense:

What a pass from Medvedev to Read here on the PP. #TastyKakes pic.twitter.com/Lm3xkXR4qe

— Jordie (@BarstoolJordie) January 20, 2016

Medvedev for Medvedevezina https://t.co/Py10uGW6jr

— Jordie (@BarstoolJordie) January 20, 2016

It's time to revisit the idea of trading Evgeny Medvedev before this season's deadline. I initially wrote about this nearly a month ago as a remedy for the crowded blueline. Obviously, with Luke Schenn now playing for the Kings, the logjam is no longer an issue. But allow me to overreact to one bad game:

The Flyers aren't going to do anything this year. I've been optimistic basically all year, and I still think they are a solid, middle-of-the-pack team in the East. So I have a few bullets to go through:

• A middle-of-the-pack team does not need a 33 year old defenseman for the future
• Medvedev's 1-year contract means he's going to need more money (and more years) this summer
• Del Zotto and Gostisbehere will definitely be back next season
• Schultz, Gudas, and Manning will likely be back as well
• Mark Streit is a question mark, but I can't imagine him netting enough assets to justify moving him
• That's six defensemen returning to clog up the pipeline for Ivan Provorov, and we don't need more bodies in his way

So, ipso facto, we should trade Medvedev at the deadline to obtain an asset or two for the future. I get the sense that this was Hexy's plan all along; if Medvedev impressed, he's worth a moderate hall at the deadline. If he was a bust, then he'd be gone after one year anyway. 

On a much more positive note, trading Meddy to a legitimate contender would also allow him to really experience playing in the NHL. We all know the playoffs are a different animal altogether and the chance to really fight for a Stanley Cup would be a great way to end his rookie season in North America. 

As blasphemous as it might sound, in my heart I hope we cut a deal with the Capitals. Medvedev getting to experience that run with Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, and two other less-known Russians would be incredible to follow. I went over that in my last post (link above). 

Now, after that thousand word intro, I want to take a look at what we could actually fetch from Washington for Meddy. I'm using SB Nation/Jasper's Rink to check out our options. Here are some limitations:

• I'm using the JR Top 25 Under 25 list to see how they evaluate their prospects. It's not perfect, but it limits the pool to younger guys and the parallel list on BroadStreetHockey was solid
• Andre Burakovsky (#1 in their Top 25 Under 25) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (#2) are almost certainly off-limits
• Forward prospects, especially wingers, would be ideal
• But some additional depth at the blueline wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing
• Age matters. An 18 year old is a full decade behind the Giroux/Voracek core, whereas a 22-25 year old should be ready to jump in and contribute immediately

Jakub Vrana, Center/Winger, Drafted 13th in 2014, 19 years old

The young Czech is cut from the Travis Konecny mold, in that he is small (5'11") but has shown solid puck possession skills. The JR outlook for this year sounds like he's good enough to play in the NHL but there isn't a spot for him quite yet. Well, my friend, we have plenty of spots for you in Philly, and one of those might even be on the opposite wing of the second-best Czech player in the NHL. 

Madison Bowey, Defenseman, Drafted 53rd in 2013, 20 years old

My favorite part of Bowey is the fact that he captained his junior team (Kelowna) to a WHL Champsionship. Not to bring up Konecny again, but I really believe that leadership in juniors is a great trait for a young player. We don't need a kid who can't even drink yet to lead the team, but it shows a maturity off the ice that is always welcome. 

On the ice, Bowey was a point-per-game player as a defensemen when he won that WHL trophy, and he's a right-handed shot. Those are a huge need for the Flyers going forward, as Radko Gudas is currently the only righty on the roster. 

Nate Schmidt, Defenseman, Undrafted in 2012, 24 years old

The exact quote from JR: "Schmidt's a good skater and a smart player, and those attributes set his floor pretty high." There is a lot to be gained from a defenseman that won't wow you like Ghost or Provy but earns a modest amount of money to contribute.

Now, if Schmidt was the entire haul for Medvedev, I'd riot. But I love the idea of him as a throw-in player, like Gudas last season. Schmidt's on the books at $750k this year and $875k next year, and then he's a restricted free agent. That's a dream contract for the Flyers; if he can chip in like an upgraded Brandon Manning for a couple years, that gives the prospects time to develop without handicapping the roster for years down the road.

Christian Djoos, Defenseman, Drafted 195th in 2012, 21 years old

Again right from JR: "Djoos' size will probably always be a concern, especially for a defenseman. But what he lacks in size, he makes up for in speed and passing ability." Hmmm... if only the Flyers had any sort of track record turning undersized, offensively talented defensemen into contributors. 

Tom Wilson, Winger, Drafted 16th in 2012, 21 years old

Tom Wilson is a sonofabitch, I know. But he's also just about to turn 22, and he seems like the kind of player that would benefit from a change of scenery. He's cast in the goon role in Washington, though he projected as a higher-end skill player coming out of juniors. 

I could see him fitting into the Flyers two ways: the easy comparison is Ryan White, who plays with very little skill but throws his weight around. The more challenging comparable (from a coaching standpoint) would be Wayne Simmonds. Big body? Check. Physical net-front presence with skill to create powerplay goals? I hope so. Ability to smash someone in the mouth if the throw a dirty hit? Hell yeah. 

And shit, now I've talked myself into trading for Tom Wilson. 

Coots Is A Legit Selke Candidate This Season

We've known for a couple years now that Sean Couturier is an elite defensive center. He's been making headlines (and getting a lot of love recently) because he's played a stretch of great offensive hockey, but his bread and butter will always be shutting down the other team's best line.

The Frank J. Selke Trophy is awarded annually to the forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game. In the past 10 seasons, only 5 players have won the award: Rod Brind'Amour (2x), Pavel Datsyuk (3x), Ryan Kesler, Patrice Bergeron (3x including the last two), and Jonathan Toews (1x).

The Selke Award winner (or at least that caliber of player) always seems to be a crucial piece to a Stanley Cup team. Brindy led the Hurricanes to the Cup. Datsyuk did the same with his second Cup in Detroit. Kesler, a bit of an afterthought now, was a key piece of the Canucks team that won the Presidents' Trophy and went to the Stanley Cup Finals. Bergeron was key in the Bruins' Cup run of 2011. Toews, of course, needs no introduction here.

Yesterday, TSN's Scott Cullen published his mid-season NHL awards ballot. His Selke winner was Bergeron, who is without question a deserving candidate. His writeup also mentioned 8 other candidates, two of which were singled out as "runners-up": Carolina's Jordan Staal and Philadelphia's Sean Couturier.

My Twitter friend Charlie O'Connor beautifully broke down Couturier's Selke bid on BroadStreetHockey earlier this week (link here), so I won't rehash everything he wrote. But I want to break down some very (VERY) basic numbers to show why we should cherish Sean Couturier, and, also, additionally, Ron Hextall.

Here are Coots' comparables, in terms of age and salary. 

• Patrice Bergeron (30 years old) - $6.875m cap hit for 7 more years
• Jonathan Toews (27) - $10.5m for 8 more years
• Pavel Datsyuk (37) - $7.5m for 2 more years
• Ryan Kesler (31) - $5m cap hit this year, then $6.875 for 5 more years
• Jordan Staal (27) - $6m for 8 more years
• Anze Kopitar (28) - $6.8m cap hit this year, then a reported $10m for 8 more years
• Nicklas Backstrom (28) - $6.7m for 5 more years
• Mikko Koivu (32) - $6.75 for 3 more years
• Frans Nielsen (31) - $2.75m, expiring after this season
• Joe Thornton (36) - $6.75 for 2 more years

This season, Coots (23) is on board on his rookie/RFA contract, and his cap hit is a measly $1.75 million. And he's essentially in second place in the Selke race in the whole goddamn league. 

Next year is the first year of Couturier's 6 year, $26 million extension. It will keep him at a cap hit of $4.33 million until he is 29. At that point, he will be at the tail end of his prime, and he'll likely have either an A or a C on his sweater. 

When you look at Coots' comparables, his best/prime years should be his age 26-30 seasons, and his useful years may extend well beyond his prime. This is the first time I've really looked at his future/potential like this, and I have to say I expect HUGE things from Couturier in the next decade. 

The Sean Couturier Graveyard

Here lie the bones of the men who unsuccessfully attempted to play hockey against Sean Couturier. May they rest in peace for eternity.

October 14 - Chicago Blackhawks

Couturier played most of his time (about 8 of his 11 minutes at even strength) against Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. He played them even in Corsis, held them off the score sheet, and assisted on Matt Read's goal to ice the game. 

October 21 - Boston Bruins

The Couturier-Read-Simmonds line spent most of their ice time matched up with Boston's Eriksson-Krejci-Pastrnak line. The Coots line out-Corsi'd the Krejci line by 2-4 (depending on the player) and held them off the score sheet at even strength except for a Krejci assist on Jimmy Hayes' goal. 

During the Bruins game, Couturier was cheap-shotted in the head by Noted Scum Of The Earth Zac Rinaldo. He was out with a concussion until November 5th. 

November 5 - Calgary Flames

The Flyers were in Calgary for this game, and thus didn't have the luxury of being able to match the Coots line against the Gaudreau-Bennett-Monahan line. They played pretty evenly against all four Flames lines and all three defensive pairs, and they murdered all of them. This was a big "Welcome Back Coots" game, in which his line finished +15 Corsis at even strength and played with a little big of life, which they'd been lacking in his absence. 

November 7 - Winnipeg Jets

Another road game, another night that Dave Hakstol was unable to get the Coots line matched the way he would have liked. We're adding the Jets' line of Burmistrov-Stafford-Ehlers to the graveyard, because they were shut down and out-Corsi'd, but this is one of the less impressive sets of bones in the boneyard. 

November 12 - Washington Capitals

This was the biggest test (to that point) of the season for the Coots line. They were at home, and Hakstol matched them up with the Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Oshie line for about 8 of their 11 even strength minutes. The Coots line out-Corsi'd the Ovi line by half a dozen, and out-High-Danger-Scoring-Chance'd them 3-2. Oshie scored (it was a greasy rebound goal if I remember correctly), but you can't blame this loss on the second line because they played as well as anyone can against that Caps line. 

November 14 - Carolina Hurricanes

The Couturier line followed up one of their toughest matchups with one of their easiest. At Carolina, the Canes seemed to aim for the matchup of Rask-Terry-Lindholm against Couturier-Read-Simmonds. The boys in orange (and white) out-Corsi'd them by double digits and were each +1 for the night, but failed to generate anything that showed up on the scoreboard. Simmonds was credited with a goal, but it was a Brandon Manning pass to set up a Shayne Gostisbehere shot from the point that ended in a goal (his first NHL point, by the way). The rumblings were in full force by this time - Flyers Facebook was overrun with people criticizing this line, despite the fact that they had shut down everyone in the graveyard through the first month of the season. 

November 17 - Los Angeles Kings

Home game. High-powered line on the other side. Coots line shut them down. The Carter-Toffoli-Lucic line is an intimidating one, and the Coots line played them even in Corsis and didn't even allow a single high-danger scoring chance at even strength. Lucic scored with a minute left in the game when Hakstol put out his "Can't Handle The Puck, Can't Generate Any Kind Of Zone Exits, Hopefully Will Block Some Shots" lineup. But nobody cared, because this was the night the Shayne Gostisbehere era officially began. 

November 25 - New York Islanders

Road game. High-powered line on the other side. Coots line shut them down. This time it was Tavares-Nelson-Okposo, who were out-Corsi'd by double digits by Courutier & Co. The Flyers lost again, but again you cannot blame the shutdown line. They allowed one goal from one of the best lines in the Eastern Conference, but - stop me if you've heard this one before - the Flyers couldn't generate enough goals to win. 

November 28 - New York Rangers

The Flyers entered Madison Square Garden having not won a game there since the team captains were Richards, Carter, Pronger, and Timonen. The whole team, really, dominated the Rangers in this 3-0 shutout. But the Coots line was exceptional: they spent most of their time matched up with the Miller-Fast-Lindberg line, kept them off the scoreboard (obviously), and out-Corsi'd them. Simmonds scored twice and assisted on Couturier's goal. This was also the night that Luke Schenn fought someone and got an instigator penalty that was served by his younger brother, which is a really cool thing to have happened. 

December 1 - Ottawa Senators

The Coots line spent most of the game playing against the Stone-Lazar-Zibanejad line, who they out-Corsi'd by double digits (Couturier finished +12 at even strength). Coots had a goal and two assists, Simmonds had one of each, and Gostisbehere scored again. All was well in Flyerland, as the win brought the team to .500 on the season.

December 8 - New York Islanders

I know the Coots line already killed them, but they spent almost the whole game against that Tavares-Okposo-Nelson line and dominated them again (+9/13/15 Corsis). Unfortunately, Jaro Halak made 43 saves on 46 shots and Steve Mason made 7 saves on 10 shots, and the Flyers lost in a shootout (on that filthy move by Okposo). 

December 17 - Vancouver Canucks

With a new linemate, the expectations for Couturier's offensive game are increased. But playing with Simmonds and Voracek isn't going to diminish his influence on the defensive end. And it should actually lead to him playing even more against the other team's top competition. Against Vancouver, the New Coots Line was matched up against both Sedins (and then just one after Henrik got hurt). The line all finished with a positive Corsi differential against the Sedins, Alex Burrows (their usual third), and Bo Horvat (who filled in for Henrik). But shutting down the top line, they kept the whole Canucks team off the scoresheet. The three of them also combined for a goal, as Jake and Wayne assisted on Sean's goal in the third period. 

Sean Couturier Is A Second Line Center

I was browsing Twitter this morning and I came across the following exchange between Sean Tierney (who I did not follow until today but is a good follow if you like analytics), Collin Mehalick (A+ follow if you like the Flyers), and Muneeb Alam (A++ follow if you like hockey):

Name the top 60 defensemen you like. All top pair quality. #morningmath

— Sean Tierney (@SeanTierneyTSS) December 17, 2015

@SeanTierneyTSS my favorite is "X is not a top six center" <can't name 60 better>

— Muneeb Alam (@muneebalamcu) December 17, 2015

@muneebalamcu @SeanTierneyTSS oh man do we ever hear this re: couturier

— collin mehalick (@collin) December 17, 2015

 Clearly, my belief is that Coots belongs in the second line center spot (especially if he's flanked by Wayne Simmonds and Jake Voracek), but I wanted to make my list to see where he falls. I'm going to go throwback Bill Simmons category style with this, and we'll see what happens.

The Unquestionable List Of Top Ten Centers That We Can Knock Out Quickly

In no particular order (wink face):

• Claude Giroux, Flyers
• Tyler Seguin, Stars
• John Tavares, Islanders
• Evgeni Malkin, Penguins
• Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings
• Steven Stamkos, Lightning
• Jonathan Toews, Blackhawks
• Anze Kopitar, Kings
• Patrice Bergeron, Bruins
• Sidney Crosby, Penguins

If you have any one of these guys on your team, they are centering the top line. If you have more than one of these guys on your team, then you have an issue with cap allocation and you probably aren't that good. 

Older Guys That You Would Probably Maybe Take Over Couturier

Age, of course, plays a factor in this discussion. Coots just turned 23. He has like ten years of his prime left (I popped a boner typing that sentence). Long term, I'd rather have him than any of these guys. But I'll entertain this list because I think it's going to end up being unequivocal that Sean Couturier is one of the 60 best centers in the NHL:

• Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings (37)
• Joe Thornton, Sharks (36)
• Henrik Sedin, Canucks (age 35)
• Tomas Plekanec, Canadiens (33)
• Patrick Sharp, Stars (33)
• Mike Cammalleri, Devils (33)
• Mikko Koivu, Wild (32)
• Jason Spezza, Stars (32)
• Alex Steen, Blues (31)
• David Backes, Blues (31)
• Frans Nielsen, Islanders (31)
• Eric Staal, Hurricanes (31)
• Joe Pavelski, Sharks (31)
• Jeff Carter, Kings (30)
• Ryan Getzlaf, Ducks (30)
• Paul Statsny, Blues (30)
• Carl Soderberg, Avalanche (30)
• David Krejci, Bruins (29)

To varying degrees, you could argue that you'd rank these guys over Couturier on a year-by-year basis. I'm fine with including them in this exercise, but if you would rather have Nielsen/Statsny/Soderberg than Couturier, please include your Twitter handle in the comments so I can mock you and then block you. 

Young Guys That Are In The Discussion

On the other end of the spectrum are guys who have the same amount of years left (or more), and that makes the discussion a little gray. Flyers fans - or at least the ones that are not #bad and #dumb - will rave about Coots' upside. I'm sure the fans of these teams would do the same for their guys:

• Nick Bjugstad, Panthers (23)
• Mikael Granlund, Wild (23)
• Jonathan Huberdeau, Panthers (22)
• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oilers (22)
• Mark Scheifele, Jets (22)
• Mike Zibanejad, Senators (22)
• Boone Jenner, Blue Jackets (22)
• Victor Rask, Hurricanes (22)
• Vincent Trocheck, Panthers (22)
• Sean Monahan, Flames (21)
• Alex Galchenyuk, Canadiens (21)
• Filip Forsberg, Predators (21)
• Aleksander Barkov, Panthers (20)
• Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche (20)
• Leon Draisaitl, Oilers (20)
• Max Domi, Coyotes (20)
• Jack Eichel, Sabres (19)
• Dylan Larkin, Red Wings (19)
• Connor McDavid, Oilers (18)
• Oscar Lindberg, Rangers (24, but in his rookie season)

There are a bunch of no-brainers here. Rookies Domi, Eichel, Larkin, and McDavid look to all be on their way to that first group. Forsberg and MacKinnon are already among the league's best. Zibanejad and Scheifele are especially interesting, because they were taken with the two picks before Couturier. 

(Side note: find me a trio of guys that got drafted back-to-back-to-back with more talent and more confusing names. you can't.)

Guys In Their Early-To-Mid-Twenties

• Matt Duchene, Avalanche
• Ryan O'Reilly, Sabres
• Evgeny Kuznetsov, Capitals
• Nicklas Backstrom, Capitals
• Ryan Johansen, Blue Jackets
• Kyle Turris, Senators
• Mathieu Perreault, Jets
• Tyler Toffoli, Kings
• Derick Brassard, Rangers
• Bryan Little, Jets
• Leo Komarov, Maple Leafs
• David Desharnais, Canadiens
• Tyler Bozak, Maple Leafs
• Mike Hoffman, Senators
• Tyler Johnson, Lightning
• Artem Anisimov, Blackhawks
• Brandon Pirri, Panthers
• Logan Couture, Sharks
• Martin Hanzal, Coyotes
• Derek Stepan, Rangers
• Tyler Ennis, Sabres

Similar to the previous group, there are a few guys here who are almost unquestionably above Coots in anyone's ranking. There are also a lot of guys here who are almost unquestionably below him. 

In Conclusion

On Sean Couturier as a top six center: yes. That's the top ten (10), the guys over 30 (18), guys younger than Coots (20), and guys in their mid-twenties (21). Add it all up and you get 69 players (nice) than could possibly be in the discussion with Couturier. Axe whoever you want to axe, because I'm sure there are at least a couple dozen players that could be chopped off the ballot. Here's how I did that:

The top ten guys, obviously, are above Couturier. 

Factoring in age/the future, Couturier is above just about everybody in the 30+ group. Ignoring age, I'd concede everyone in that group except Sharp, Koivu, Spezza, Nielsen, Statsny, and Soderberg. That's 12 more to bring our running tally to 22 guys above Coots. 

Continuing on in order of descending age, the mid-twenties group are all largely established. I'd be fine putting Coots right smack dab in the middle there, so let's add another 10 to bring our tally to 32. 

The youngsters are tricky, because most will be making about 15% of Couturier's salary next year. I'll concede the four star rookies, MacKinnon, Barkov, Forsberg, Galchenyuk, and Monahan.

Our final tally is 41 centers that we'd rank above Sean Couturier. That leaves a lot of room to concede more names in case I missed any. He's capable of shutting down any line in the league, and he's now paired with a couple of offensive talents - so the sky is the limit. 

On the rest of the league, in bullets form:

• I would not like to be a Sharks fan because they are a bunch of geezers. 
• Edmonton and Florida seem to be in great shape for the next few years. 
• Every team in the league is represented here (70 players divided by 30 teams makes for an average of 2.3 per team), and the most common for this exercise are Detroit (3), Buffalo (3), San Jose (3), Montreal (3), Colorado (3), St. Louis (3), Edmonton (3), NY Rangers (3), and Florida (4).