Conjuring The Ghost
Entering the 2018-2019 season in the orange and black with a respectable 65 points ( 13 goals and 52 assists ) combined with a +10 on-ice rating from last season, it was apparent that 25-year-old veteran D- man Shayne Gostisbehere had not only thrown the monkey off his back from his less than stellar sophomore 2016-2017 season, but also managed to toss him to the nosebleeds of the Wells Fargo Center.
However, finishing the 2018-2019 season has proven otherwise. In fact, going into the last regular season game in South Philadelphia today against The Carolina Hurricanes, Shayne Gostisbehere enters with a dismal 9 goals, 28 assists, 37 points and a -21 on ice rating after missing only five games.
Rumors and speculations have begun to circulate within the NHL discussion boards and social media threads about possibly trading the Veteran in an effort to strengthen the blue line, though absolutely nothing has been confirmed as of yet throughout the Flyers front office, and most likely wont if and when a move is made drastically and without warning.
After all, how and what could you possibly gain from trading one of the most dynamic pucks carrying and offensively talented defensemen The Flyers have ever seen? This season’s numbers aside, there are hundreds of intangible contributions Gostisbehere supplies that any casual fan can easily let go sight unseen. Despite The Flyers 39 goals out of 232 Power Play Opportunities this season heading into game 82, it’s not without remarkable effort from ghost to hold the blue line night in and out while contributing remarkable zone possession and a “shoot now, pass later” mentality that has served the team on many occasions prior to this season.
In fact, it’s the special team’s zone-entry (or lack thereof) that has resulted in landing the team 23rd in the league on the power play. With the offseason looming just hours away, The Flyers front office will have their work cut out for themselves for the next six months before training camp starts in September. The positives do outweigh the negatives considering the unforeseeable events that shocked us all this season while losing Ron Hextall as GM and hiring interim coach Scott Gordon from The Phantoms to replace Dave Hakstol behind the bench. Not to mention, the surreal talent waiting in the wings in our prospect pool just chomping at the bit to make camp and of course, our Franchise goaltender getting his feet wet this season in Carter Hart.
Gostisbehere could end up seeing a much younger and hungrier blue line to help him create more space and time to shine not only on special team units but five on five.
Only time will tell, but sometimes it’s what we harp on with the stat boards and what we don’t see on the ice for every shift that can define a player’s role on the team and every intangible they bring to their game.
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Categorized:Flyers