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Philadelphia Flyers Remain Or Remove: Phil Varone

By Benjamin Gabrych

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 14: Phil Varone #44 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates against the Washington Capitals on March 14, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 14: Phil Varone #44 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates against the Washington Capitals on March 14, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The 28-year-old forward didn’t produce a whole lot for the Philadelphia Flyers this past year, making this decision rather obvious.

Phil Varone started his 2018-19 campaign in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms following a  70 point year with Lehigh Valley and won the Les Cunningham Award for being the leagues MVP in the previous season. He continued that success, posting 28 points (11 Goals, 17 Assists) 22 games with the club. General Manager Chuck Fletcher called him up to the Philadelphia Flyers roster for his excellent performance and, well, it all went downhill for the 5’10 forward from there.

Varone netted just seven points (3 Goals, 4 Assists) in 47 games for the Flyers while averaging a mere 7:55 Time on Ice (TOI) minutes from former Interim Head Coach Scott Gordon. He was, in my opinion, hardly noticeable while on the ice and while that can mean he wasn’t doing anything horrifically wrong, it also means he wasn’t doing anything noteworthy.

The Vaughan, Ontario native didn’t possess the puck very well, either. Varone had a Corsi-For percentage and Fenwick-For percentage of 43.99% and 42.80%, ranking dead last among Flyers skaters who have played at least 300 minutes of TOI at even strength, according to Natural Stat Trick. He wasn’t able to create or prevent much in terms of scoring chances, too, sitting in the bottom three of both High Danger Chances-For and total Scoring Chances-For percentages. Some of this is due to the low ice time he received, but Gordon also coached Varone while with the Phantoms, so if he didn’t trust a guy who had success in his system in the AHL, it likely means no other NHL bench-minder would, as well.

There’s a reason why Varone has spent most of his professional hockey career in the AHL; it’s simply because his skill set doesn’t translate to NHL level play. He wasn’t, isn’t, and likely never will be an NHL caliber player, which has been evident through his brief, five-year tenure in the best hockey league in the world.

Must Read. Who Are Some Under The Radar Trade Candidates On The Flyers?. light

I wouldn’t be opposed to Fletcher signing Varone to a two-way contract this offseason, but there won’t be a whole lot of room in Lehigh Valley with guys like Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, Isaac Ratcliffe, and Maxim Sushko coming up. His time in the Flyers organization is all but over, and I do wish him the best for the future because he always seemed like a nice guy.

Verdict: Remove. 

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