Philadelphia Flyers: Cracking Hextall’s Goalie Plan
The Philadelphia Flyers don’t have any NHL goalies under contract next year–what is Hextall’s plan??
Last summer, Michal Neuvirth was signed to back up Steve Mason. A former 2nd round pick, Neuvirth has plenty of talent, but has never nailed down an NHL starter job.
Mason, meanwhile, was coming off 2 excellent seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers. When the Flyers acquired him, his NHL career was on the brink of total collapse. Mason flipped that script, earning a new contract with top-notch play in a Flyers uniform. Furthermore, in my opinion, Mason was definitely one of the top-5 goalies in the NHL during the 2014-15 season.
Last season however, Mason had an up and down year. Mason particularly struggled early, possibly due to family illness distractions. When Mason sagged, Neuvirth was there.
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The season also ended as it began. Mason struggled in the playoffs, but Neuvirth again rode to the rescue. It was too late for Neuvirth to save the playoff series against a superior Washington Capitals team, but Neuvirth’s stat line of 2-1 with a .981 save percentage leaves a lasting impression.
Now, coming in to this season, it may be open competition between Mason and Neuvirth. Both goalies will be unrestricted free agents after this season, and Hextall has no plans to extend either goalie at the moment:
“Maybe we sign them both. I can’t predict. They’re both very good goalies. They both proved it last year. They both should be in their prime/entering their prime. We’re excited about both of them and essentially don’t have a fixed plan moving forward.…We’re just going to play this season and see how things go.”
The uncertainty of that plan make me a little nervous, but there’s something to be said for players earning their jobs. I’d still expect Mason has the inside edge on the job this season and beyond, but a repeat of last season and he might lose it.
Additionally, the lack of a “fixed plan” doesn’t mean no plan. More likely, Hextall has several options and is hoping one option naturally emerges as the winner.
If Mason and Neuvirth are long term options 1a and 1b, youngsters Anthony Stolarz and Alex Lyon are options B and C. Stolarz is a towering figure in net at 6’6″, and a former 2nd round pick. Now 22, he is coming off an allstar season in the AHL last year.
Lyon is only 23 years old himself, whom the Flyers signed out of Yale University last summer. Lyon led the NCAA in goals against average 2 years in a row, and tied for second last year in save percentage at .936. Lyon and Stolarz may have a goalie battle in the AHL just as Mason and Neuvirth will in the NHL.
I think all the pieces add together into something of a free-for-all for the long term Flyers job. It is plausible that any of the 4 goalies could be the Philadelphia Flyers number one goalie on opening day 2017.
As a former NHL goalie, you hope Hextall has some insight on goalies. The best I can tell is that Hextall doesn’t like making long term forecasts in net. Hextall goes for volume of options rather than a fixed plan. This philosophy is underscored even more when you consider Hextall has taken 3 goalies in the first 3 rounds of the NHL draft over the last 2 years at a time when other NHL GMs have largely given up on drafting goalies in the first few rounds.
This approach to the goaltending corps still makes me nervous. It hangs constant questions around the net, but it also ensures there will always a “next-man-up” waiting for a chance. Even if the Flyers were to lose a goalie like Stolarz in the expansion draft (a topic for another day), the Philadelphia Flyers can still expect good goaltending for the indefinite future, and that’s really the whole point.