Philadelphia Flyers: Giroux and Voracek Should Be Split Up

The 2014-2015 season didn’t exactly play out the way the Flyers hoped. After finishing the season with an unimpressive 33-31-18 record and placing 12th in the Eastern Conference, the team missed the playoffs for the second time in three years.

There’s plenty of blame to go around, but a common theme was the lack of secondary scoring.

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In December, team owner Ed Snider blasted the Flyers in an interview with beat writer Sam Carchidi: “Never seen anything like it in all the years I’ve been in hockey. Even when we were an expansion team somebody chipped in here and there.”

At that point in the season, Jake Voracek had 32 points, Claude Giroux had 27, and Brayden Schenn, who was the other winger on the top line, had 17. Although the scoring balanced out a bit toward the end of the season, Voracek and Giroux still finished first and second in points, respectively.

The Flyers totaled 215 goals for. Combined, Voracek and Giroux scored 47 of them, or nearly 22%. Now, let’s add in Michael Raffl. Assuming all 21 of his goals were scored while playing on the top line, that number rises to 32%. While it’s unrealistic to expect each line to do 25% of the scoring, Snider is right: “You can’t be a one-line team and win in this league.”

Feb 10, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux (28) before the game against Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

So, how can this be fixed? The obvious answer is to have all players not on the top line up their scoring. Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier need to contribute more than what they have. Vinny Lecavalier, Matt Read, and RJ Umberger need to rebound in a major way.

The defense also needs to step up, because the forwards can’t score if the puck never makes it past the blue line. However, that’s another topic for another day, and one I don’t have the willpower to tackle anymore.

But there’s another option. What if Hakstol played (and kept) Giroux and Voracek on separate lines?

It may sound scary at first, but it’s not a totally outlandish idea. Former head coach Craig Berube tried it for a few games last February. Giroux centered Raffl and Simmonds and Voracek played on Couturier’s wing. Like many high school relationships, the breakup didn’t last very long and the two were soon back together.

The Hockey Writers’ Bill Schoeninger touched on this topic a few weeks ago, and I agree with much of what he said: Giroux and Voracek are both talented enough to carry their own lines, and the Flyers have the depth to fill in the holes. The only thing I disagreed with was his proposed lines.

Instead, here are the lines I’d like to see:

First line: Raffl – Giroux – Simmonds

Schoeninger’s proposed top line has Giroux centering Read and Simmonds. I like Simmonds there, but I’d keep Raffl in the role he’s thrived in during his time in Philadelphia. He plays well on the top line, and there is no need to fix what isn’t broken.

Second line: Read – Couturier – Voracek

His second line had Raffl and Voracek playing on Couturier’s wing. As I said above, I’d keep Raffl on the top line, but Couturier is undoubtedly the team’s 2C. Couturier has played well with both Brayden Schenn and Matt Read, so they’re interchangeable to me. However, because it improves the third line, I’m going to choose Matt Read.

Third line: Schenn – Umberger – Gagner

I don’t disagree with this line, but I don’t think Hakstol will play Umberger on the wing. You can now see why I left Brayden Schenn for this line. Gagner is still a huge unknown. He may play his way off the third line, but he isn’t a very good defensive player. Umberger didn’t do much of anything last season, so hopefully sticking him with two solid offensive guys will help. If he gets injured or is relegated to the press box, it’s also a nice slot for a call-up. Laughton or Cousins would both look good there, I think.

Fourth line: White – Bellemare – VandeVelde

The fourth line was great for the Flyers last season, so I don’t see any reason to mess with it. That just leaves Vinny, who I have no idea what to do with (and, I’m assuming, either does management).

Even if it doesn’t pan out, it’s something I want to see Hakstol try. The Flyers’ offensive corps is a huge jigsaw puzzle, but I believe these lines make sense. They don’t pull anyone out of position, they retain some semblance of familiarity/chemistry, and they distribute talent evenly enough that secondary scoring shouldn’t be as much of an issue as it has been.

Next: Will Laughton Make the Team?

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