Awards the Flyers Should Bring Home to Philly This Season
There’s no denying that the Philadelphia Flyers have had a phenomenal 2019-20 season thus far.
Not only has Flyers Nation taken notice, but so has the rest of the NHL.
As a result, the Flyers are up for a pretty impressive number of awards and trophies.
Let’s recap those.
Frank Selke Award // Sean Couturier
This one should be an absolute “no-brainer”. To be clear, the Selke Award is given annually to the NHL forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game. No player in the NHL did that this season better than Sean Couturier did. He’s constantly up against the opponents’ best offensive threat.
Check out exactly just what he did against his opponent’s top centers in the graph below. He was named the mid-season winner of the award. He also led the NHL in Faceoff winning percentage with an incredible 59.6% and finishing with a plus (+) 21 on the season.
Just how important is Couturier to the Flyers?
Well, 10 days ago he won his second consecutive Bobby Clarke Award given to the Flyers team MVP. Coots should have already won this trophy, but for whatever reason, he was denied. That won’t be the case this season. No player in the NHL deserves the Selke Award more that Sean Couturier does.
Jack Adams Award // Alain Vigneault
The Jack Adams Award is given annually to the NHL coach who is “Adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success”. Anyone think that’s not Alain Vigneault? Vigneault has the Flyers playing like a well-oiled machine. Vigneault has the bottom 6 forwards playing better than any other bottom 6 in the league, from veterans like Raffl, to newcomers like Grant and Pitlick, to youngsters like Aube-Kubel. Vigneault has been a major factor in why Provorov has had a bounce-back season after a down one last season. He’s rejuvenated the careers of Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun. Grant came in at the deadline, and Vigneault immediately put him in a position to succeed and he did just that.
Every youngster who has been called up during the course of the season has played well and contributed, thanks to Vigneault using them at the right spot at the right time. His use of Carter Hart and Brian Elliot has been absolutely perfect. Vigneault has pushed all the right buttons.
Remember when everyone wanted the Flyers to bring in Quenneville as head coach?
Fact is, Vigneault was absolutely the right choice for this group and he’s proven that over the course of the season, and him naming of Michel Therien and Mike Yeo as his assistance was incredible, its like the Flyers have 3 head coaches behind the bench.
Bill Masterton Award // Oskar Lindblom
The Bill Masterton Award is given annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. This is another no-brainer. What youngster Oskar Lindblom has gone through since being diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a form of cancer, has been nothing short of miraculous. Add to the fact that although Lindblom has had all of the Flyers organization, Flyers Nation, and really all of the NHL behind him, keep in mind that he had to go through all of that while practicing social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost in complete isolation. No one should have to go through that.
HAPPILY, Oskar Lindblom has completed his radiation treatment and is on the road to a return to the ice, possibly as soon as next season. I cannot be happier for the young man. No one has gone through more than Oskar Lindblom has this season and he’s done it with the utmost class and dignity. I can’t think of anyone who has ever deserved the Bill Masterton Award more than Oskar Lindblom does this season.
Jim Gregory GM of the Year // Chuck Fletcher
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The Jim Gregory Award is given annually to the top NHL General Manager, as voted upon by all 31 current NHL GM’s, 5 NHL Executives, and 5 media members. Chuck Fletcher has to be a shoo-in, right? Absolutely EVERYTHING Fletcher has done has turned to gold.
- He fired head coach Dave Hakstol and replaced him with Jack Adams nominee Alain Vigneault.
- He signed UFA Kevin Hayes to a multiyear contract. Hayes is by far the UFA from the last offseason who has had the biggest impact on his new team, to the point where that contract looks like an absolute steal right now.
- He shored up the defense by trading for rejuvenated veteran defensemen Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun.
- At the trade deadline, he picked up Derek Grant, who came in and was by far the best deadline day pick up for any team in the NHL.
- He traded Hartman for Pitlick, which was an absolute steal.
- He signed youngsters Wade Allison, Linus Hogberg, Wyatt Kalynuk keeping them all in the organization.
No GM has done more of the “Right moves” than Chucky has and he should have been a slam dunk for this award.
The Stanley Cup // The Philadelphia Flyers
Well, why not? When the NHL suspended its season, there was no hotter team than the Philadelphia Flyers. They were 9-1 in their previous 10 games, that 1 loss came at the hands of the Bruins, but the Flyers were clearly the better team that night. The Flyers were having so much fun on the ice and it showed.
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In my over 30 years of following the team, I can honestly say this is the tightest knit group I can ever recall. I think I heard the comparison of this year’s Flyers with last year’s version of the St. Louis Blues thousands of times. The Flyers are big, strong and their players play a full and complete game.
From Coots to G to Hayes they’re all responsible and play both defensively and offensively, to guys like JVR, Voracek, and Konecny playing the best 2-way games of their careers. They have the best bottom 6 in the NHL, with Aube-Kubel, Grant, Pitlick, and Raffl leading the way. They have an incredible young goalie in Carter Hart who is full of highlight reel saves and has been absolutely exceptional at the very tender age of 21.
The youngsters and youth movement we’ve heard about for the longest time have finally arrived.
All in all, the Flyers have all the elements in place to win it all, and I don’t see why they can not only make a push but win it all.
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