The Philadelphia Flyers could use another addition to their forward core.
As you probably know, the Philadelphia Flyers haven’t won a Stanley Cup in a long while. It’s been almost 50 years, in fact. The Flyers philosophy towards building a team hasn’t changed much during that time. They have a solid core down the middle and treat almost every other position as fillers. Remember Paul Lawless, Mike Bullard, etc.? They weren’t rental players, they were more like gap fillers. The team didn’t trade for players, they traded for parts that they hoped would fill the void. Has it worked?
It is safe to say that the Flyers have not been serious cup contenders since they played the Blackhawks back in 2010. That team had Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and a budding young star named Claude Giroux. That team also had a true leader named Chris Pronger. All they needed was an actual NHL-caliber goalie, but I digress.
When looking at the roster for this year’s team, there is one thing that Philadelphia is missing. One role that they have struggled to fill. That role just so happens to be a true power forward. Power forwards, like Mark Messier or Joe Thornton knew what the team needed (e.g. goal, big check, fight). Today’s power forward is a little smaller, a lot faster; but just as passionate as yesterdays. Division rivals like Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby have their names on the Stanley Cup for a reason. They never give up on the team or themselves. They are winners because losing is hardly found in their DNA.
The Flyers of today are trying to fill the void with Michael Raffl, but he doesn’t have the touch around the net. They also have James van Riemsdyk, but he doesn’t have that physical presence you’d look for out of your typical power forward. The last time Philadelphia had something even close to that was Tim Kerr.
While guys like Wayne Simmonds and Scott Hartnell were good, Kerr was a different breed. He scored over 50 goals in three consecutive years from 1984-87. He would plant his feet in the high slot, wait on the pass from a fellow teammate, and wouldn’t let a soul stop him from scoring. If Kerr had played hockey for the Flyers today, with all of the clutching, grabbing, and interference out of the game, he may have scored 100 goals a season.
Now, it’ll be tough for current General Manager Chuck Fletcher to add a player even close to Kerr’s level of talent because Hall of Famers don’t grow on trees, but the message remains the same. Fletcher should look to bring in a power forward that can grow with the franchise when the trade deadline nears, though the team’s lack of cap space could hinder his ability to do so.