Philadelphia Flyers Evgeni Medvedev Gone
The disappearance of Evgeni Medvedev from the Philadelphia Flyers roster puzzles most involved.
In the dark days of the Communism, Stalin and other “Great Leaders” were known to “disappear” uncomfortable people for the regimes. It took so long for Evgeni Medvedev to finally play outside Russia, it would be ironic if he came to America only to be disappeared.
Medvedev got off to a pretty strong start for the Philadelphia Flyers this year. He wasn’t pulling the toughest minutes or matchups, but he looked pretty good in the chances allotted to him. He skates well, manages the puck very well, and has a nice shot from the point. If anything, it looked like his team responsibilities would expand as the season unfolded. Instead, he was suddenly yanked from the lineup.
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The mystery started during the Flyers road trip at the beginning of the month. On the first game of the trip against Vancouver, Medvedev was by all accounts a healthy scratch. He didn’t mention anything to the media about any injury before the game. The next morning, however, he was suddenly absent from the team skate, and was reportedly returning to Philadelphia due to an upper-body injury.
Apparently Medvedev was not forthcoming to the team about an injury. The first anyone knew anything about it was Medvedev talking to team trainer Jim McCrossin on the team plane. “I believe he got hurt in the last game [in Buffalo] and he told Jimmy last night on the plane,” Hextall said. “That’s the first we knew about it. Literally, no one knew anything. And then on the plane, Jimmy comes up to me and said, ‘Medy’s hurt.’”
Everyone knows Medvedev is still working on his English. Furthermore, by Medvedev’s own admission he hadn’t played very well in the preceding game against Buffalo. “Last game, no good. The last game, I was minus-1,” Medvedev said.
Maybe it was the language barrier, maybe Medvedev was reluctant to cry injury after a bad game, but whatever it was it created an awkward situation. “I’m going to get to the bottom of that,” Hextall said.
Medvedev’s injury was not supposed to be long term, but he has only played once since then. That game was the 5-2 loss against Washington. Medvedev played nearly 20 minutes in that game along side Mark Streit. His game ended on a sour note, coughing up the puck on a forecheck for Washington’s 5th goal. Both he and Streit finished the game with a mediocre Corsi rating, getting overwhelmed by the Backstrom line.
Still, it’s hard to imagine that Medvedev’s performance in that game was so bad to warrant an extended benching. There has also been some speculation that Medvedev wasn’t himself after getting up slowly from a hard hit in the same game. For what it’s worth, Medvedev played the full game, and Hextall insists he’s healthy and available to play.
Whether Medvedev has a lingering injury, or if his scratching is purely Hakstol’s decision, it’s tough for fans to figure. Taking Hextall at his word, Hakstol simply appears to prefer Brandon Manning in the lineup.
Manning and Medvedev possibly dueling for lineup spot
In recent games, Manning has been paired with Shayne Gostisbehere on what is clearly the third pair judging by minutes and matchups. Manning additionally gets minimal penalty kill shifts, and plays on the second power play unit.
The Manning-Gostisbehere pair has been poor at 5v5. Despite their protected minutes and matchups, most games they have the worst possession figures amongst Flyers defensemen. While Gostisbehere should remain in the lineup for the offensive sparks he brings (mostly to the power play), Manning offers no such unique asset.
The Flyers are currently paying $8 million to Medvedev and Andrew MacDonald NOT to play. That is enormously wasteful, although there’s nothing they cannot undo that commitment now. While the Flyers can hardly buy a goal (or a win) these days, any player’s spot on the team should be in jeopardy, and the Flyers need to be tapping into all their assets.
It certainly seems that Medvedev has tools that could help the Philadelphia Flyers. His puck moving could create a few opportunities in transition and up front, and he certainly can help the second power play unit.
Hextall did not dig someone up from Russia and pay $3 million to be spare parts. It’s expected that a player who’s never played in the NHL, and whom doesn’t speak English, will have some difficult moments of transition. Perhaps that’s what is happening now, but the entire situation remains frustratingly murky. Regardless, Medvedev has too much to offer to remain disappeared from the game day lineup for an extended period of time.