Philadelphia Flyers: 3 Biggest Question Marks Entering Season

The Flyer fixed up a couple holes in their team this offseason, but still left some issues untouched. Today, we look at what they still could have problems with in 2015-16 and if that will continue to affect their success.

The Defense

The Flyers did very little to better their current NHL roster, especially in regards to their defensive pairs. They did sign Yevgeni Medvedev, a veteran defenseman from Russia who can bring some stability to the defense since losing Kimmo Timonen. Yet, they still have undesirables in Luke Schenn and Andrew MacDonald taking up precious roster and cap space.

Dec 3, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Luke Schenn (22) reacts after a goal by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen as the Anaheim Ducks celebrate during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Unless L. Schenn and/or MacDonald can be moved, no change can really happen. The defensive prospects can’t take a spot unless the Flyers clear the cap and roster space, and only these two would make sense to go. Hextall would have to work some real magic to move one of these guys for something valuable, and it’ll have to happen during training camp when a team might have an injury and will want to make a deal.

Deal or no deal, the Flyers are going to either have one solid defenseman pair and the rest will be okay to mediocre. Even if you move one of the losers off the roster to make space, then you have a young player in there that will need to get accustomed to playing in the NHL. It’d be a gamble, but at least with a prospect there is hope for better production.

The Coach

I’ll be the first to say I’m very excited for the Flyers under Dave Hakstol. I believe his system and coaching style is exactly what this team needs, and he’ll most likely boost the development of young players like Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn.

However, this is all speculation. Hakstol still has to coach a game in the league before we know what kind of coach he will be at this level. He also has to prove his system of development and play style will translate to the NHL successfully. Lots of experts say it will, but the Flyers have almost always struggled in the beginning under new coaches.

Maybe this time it will be different, as Hakstol is advertised as a very different coach. Not Chip Kelly of the Eagles level of different, but close. Lets hope he can help Hextall turn this team into a winner.

The Consistency

If the Flyers don’t start winning against lowly teams and continue to win against all the best ones, they’re still going to suck. They need to find a way to play a consistent high level of play throughout the season, not just at certain parts. This goes for Jake Voracek and Claude Giroux as well, because if they just kept up the pace of scoring they had their final totals would have been a lot higher, not that it would’ve changed the fate of the team that much.

The defense can’t be terrible three out of four nights. The team shouldn’t be scoring a ton against the Minnesota Wild then getting blown out by the Arizona Coyotes a couple games later. Extended losing streaks against some of the worst teams in the league is so unacceptable it is painful to even think it happened with the Flyers.

Coach Hakstol has to get these guys playing good hockey for most of the time, not just some of the time and when its convenient. This is something I want to see be worked on the most with the team, as they have the talent to win more games than they did last year.

While these question marks may make it seem the Flyers are in for another bad season, they’re just question marks. They’re just worries that could be dispelled within the first few weeks of the season if they can play well.

Only one more month until training camp!

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