Flyers Goaltending Downgrade

Do you ever feel like you have to clap your hands in front of someone that you’re talking to and yell, “FOCUS!” I’m talking about that A.D.D. co-worker that never knows what the hell is going on. I’m talking about 5 year old that had too much sugar and is running amok. I’m talking about the friend that had too much to drink and just keeps yelling the word “BALLS” to no one in particular. And right now, I’m talking about the Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and his philosophy on building a team.

The Flyers look like they’re building up to make a strong push towards the Stanley Cup THIS year. At the Draft, Holmgren simultaneously added one of the biggest pieces they needed AND traded away a big part of the Flyers future in the Chris Pronger trade. Whether you agree with the long-term intelligence of the trade, you have to respect that they’re going after the Cup here and now. They targeted a player that they thought was a difference-maker and made it happen. There’s no worrying about “next season,” they’re going for it now. And if they win the Cup next season, then everyone will agree that it was a great trade.

My hesitation with the Flyers is the same as it was at the beginning of the playoffs; which was the same as the beginning of last year. A goaltending tandem can work over the course of a long, 82 game season. Obviously, no one can play all 82 games—not Martin Brodeur and certainly not Martin Biron. But when you get to playoff time, you need to have that ONE GUY that can carry a team through 4 rounds and 16 of the most grueling wins at the toughest time of the year. Fringe guys just aren’t good enough.

The problem is the Flyers may have lost focus on their MOST glaring need. Adding a defenseman that can play 25 minutes a game in any situation is something that would make even the best team in the league better. Chris Pronger and his defense will make any goaltender look better. But at the end of the day, to win a Cup you need a guy that is capable of keeping you in games that you don’t deserve to be in and even steal a couple of games throughout the 2 month playoff marathon.

The biggest hurdle to signing a big name free-agent goaltender for the Flyers is the salary cap. With their noses firmly pressed against the Cap ceiling, they weren’t going to have the flexibility to go after a guy like Nikolai Khabibulin. But just because they couldn’t go after the elite, that didn’t mean they had to go dumpster-diving. Sometimes, the move you DON’T make is the BEST move you make.

Stop and take a step back—I’ll give you a scenario and you tell me if you think it’s a good move. You have 20 skaters that have a legitimate chance to make a run at the Cup. Do you think that a cocaine snorting goaltender that was exiled to Russia is going to be the answer to your puck-stopping prayers?

Ok, you don’t think that’s a great idea? How about bringing back a guy into the organization for the 3rd time? Remember, the last time he was with the organization—he was a Phantom, not a Flyer. If he couldn’t make the team last time, why should we think that he’s improved over time? It’s not like we’re talking about a bottle of Peter Michael Les Pavots here.

Don’t let his stats last season fool you—the Sharks defense was the best in the league in shots against and their offense was 7th in goals scored. So in the games where he actually got to play, he didn’t face many shots and he knew his team would score. That is what you call, “putting your goaltender in a position to succeed.”

Herein lies the biggest problem with the moves that Holmgren made this offseason. It almost seems like Holmgren made moves between the pipes for the sake of making moves. Are they a #1 goaltender away from being the favorite in the Eastern Conference? Is either Ray Emery or Brian Boucher the #1 goaltender they’re looking for? Probably not.

The truth of the matter is that he just traded one tandem for another tandem. They brought in a couple of new goaltenders, but they still don’t have the #1 guy that they were looking for. So that begs the question, was it an upgrade?

Lets first look at the back-ups—we’ve been over Brian Boucher’s recent history. He’s bounced between the AHL and the NHL more than Pamela Anderson working a jackhammer. If he can’t hang in the NHL for any consistent amount of time, I doubt he’s going to be the kind of guy that can be depended on.

On the other hand, there is former Flyer goaltender (and current Lightning backup) Antero Niittymaki. His numbers were comparable to the starter in Philadelphia even though he was used largely as a backup. He’s younger, cheaper and his stats have improved each of the last 3 seasons. With a much improved defense in Philly, chances are he would have again improved on his statistics this season. In Tampa, all bets are off. Obviously, I’d take the younger, cheaper guy who is still improving (yes, even after this). Advantage: Niittymaki

As far as the starting goaltenders go, I think Ray Emery’s baggage has been well documented. He became such a distraction in Ottawa, they decided that it would be best for everyone involved if they went into the season with Martin Gerber as their starting goaltender. They wanted Emery in Ottawa as much as Dany Heatley wants to be in Ottawa; thus they cut ties with the notorious locker room problem-child. After the rest of the league took a collective pass on the former Cup finalist, he was forced to travel halfway around the world to continue his hockey career.

Then again, if the Flyers really want to go back to the days of the Broad Street Bullies, I can’t think of a better fighter from the goalie position. So he DOES fit with their team concept.

In this corner, we have former 1st round pick and current free-agent Marty Biron. His biggest problem in his career hasn’t been his play necessarily, but the expectations people had for him as he graduated from the QMJHL. As back-up to Ryan Miller in Buffalo and his relatively inconsistent play, he hasn’t fulfilled that potential that made him a #1 pick in 1995. But again, let’s take a step back. He has a career save percentage of .912 (including .918 and .915 in his 2 full seasons with the Flyers). Both his career save percentage and GAA are better than Emery’s—AND he played in the NHL last season. And last time I checked, he hasn’t blown up any locker rooms. Both from a character and a positional standpoint, Advantage: Biron

I see that Holmgren is trying to make a few moves to address the goaltending position, but damn it man, FOCUS! The Flyers don’t need to replace their 2 adequate goaltenders with 2 guys that COULD be adequate. They need ONE guy that is GREAT. I’m not even sure that either of the guys have the POTENTIAL to be great anymore. There’s an old saying: “if you have two goaltenders, then you don’t even have one.” The Hurricanes are working a tandem with Cam Ward. The Flames aren’t worried about finding a Ying to Miikka Kiprusoff’s Yang, nor are the Canucks looking for a guy to split time with Roberto Luongo. If you’re looking for someone to play half the games, you might as well look for someone that can play the majority of the games!

Unfortunately for Flyers fans, it looks like the goaltender moves only served to downgrade the most important position on the team. The forwards look great and the defense has a 6’6” reason that it’s much improved. But the one place that management should have been focused on has taken a step backwards. There has been a lot of action around the position, but it’s a downgrade nonetheless.

Maybe Holmgren knows something that we don’t. Maybe the KHL is more difficult than the NHL. Maybe Brian Boucher found the fountain of youth and is ready to return to 2002 Brian Boucher. Then again, maybe my friend will sober up and stop yelling “BALLS” too. I’m not holding my breath.

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