5 Flyers with Most to Prove This Season
With just about 2 and a half months until the Flyers open their season in the Czech Republic against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 4th, the Flyers look to have their roster just about set with the exception of one or two spots in their bottom six.
Once again this season, the Flyers will have two cores: one of the proven veterans and one of promising, young players that still have something to prove. We know about what we’re going to get from Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek, and Sean Couturier but it’s the young core and their offseason additions that will have to provide for the Flyers to truly compete in the Eastern Conference.
Ivan Provorov
Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
While Provorov still hasn’t agreed to a contract with the Flyers, it’s still a safe bet he will be on the Flyers’ top pairing and heavily relied on this season. After two excellent seasons to begin his career with the Flyers, his struggles last season were unexpected, to say the least.
Provorov’s offensive stats were expected to drop off a bit after leading the league in goals by a defenseman (17) in 2017-18 but it was quite alarming to see him struggle in his own zone after being so reliable in his first two seasons.
Going into his age 22 season, the Flyers need Provorov to return to form and earn the 6 or 7 million a year he’s going to receive.
Shayne Gostisbehere
Photo: Tom Mihalek / AP
Another one of the Flyers’ young defenseman that had unexpected struggles, Shayne Gostisbehere saw his offensive numbers drop off at an alarming rate last season. Going from 65 points to just 37 last year, Gostisbehere seemed off all season including on the powerplay where he posted a career-low 14 points.
Gostisbehere is probably never going to be a lockdown defender, but the Flyers rely too heavily on Gostisbehere to provide offense 5v5 and on the powerplay for him to struggle as much as he did last season.
Likely to be paired with one of Matt Niskanen or Justin Braun, the Flyers need them to play good defense so Gostisbehere can focus more on pushing the puck up ice and creating offense.
Kevin Hayes
Photo: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The major splash of the Flyers’ offseason, the Flyers needed another veteran center to provide and they hope to have gotten that in Kevin Hayes. While the contract he received will likely always be scrutinized, it was needed to bring in a top free agent like Hayes.
Hayes will likely slot into the 2C spot in the Flyers’ top-six. While it will take a lot to actually live up to the $7 million a year he will earn but the Flyers need him to provide the 50 points he’s been averaging over the past few seasons.
Nolan Patrick
Photo: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Going into his third season, Nolan Patrick has had flashes at times, but so far he is yet to really break out. With two 30-point seasons to start his career, he hasn’t quite lived up to the second center position he was put into but with the addition of Kevin Hayes, Patrick will likely move down to the 3C position and hopefully, the reduced pressure will help Patrick find his groove.
Going into the last year of his ELC, Patrick will have a lot to prove this upcoming season to earn his second contract and justify the Flyers investing a second overall pick in him in a draft that saw Elias Pettersson go a few picks later to the Canucks.
Carter Hart
Photo: Julio Cortez / AP
In perhaps one of the most stressful positions in sports, a goaltender for the Flyers, the soon-to-be 21 Carter Hart has the pressure of an entire franchise on his shoulders. For a team that has been looking for a franchise goaltender for over 20 years, Hart showed the potential to be just that last season.
Posting a 2.83 GAA and a .917 save percentage behind a porous defense as a 20-year-old rookie netminder, Hart showed flashes of brilliance last season and will be counted on as the Flyers top goaltender in 2019-20.
In Philadelphia, the goaltender is usually the first one to blame when the Flyers struggle and at just 21 years old, Carter Hart has everything to prove this season.
Featured Image: Eric Hartline / USA Today Sports
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Categorized:Flyers