Flyers have depth at Center and plenty of other options
Puzzle Pieces: The Edges
While not quite as helpful as the corners, the edges are important pieces in structuring the puzzle. In the puzzle of Flyers’ centermen, Claude Giroux and Scott Laughton would be the edges. Giroux was a top centerman in the league for nearly a decade, and could still be today.
Laughton has battled his way up the lineup, starting his climb as a 4C and establishing himself as a plus 3c.
With Hayes, Couturier, Giroux, and Laughton playing center the Flyers would be quite formidable down the middle. The catch is that both Giroux and Laughton saw a lot of time on the wing last season.
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While Giroux can play center at a high level, the question becomes: should he?
Giroux will turn 33 years old in January. He has two seasons remaining on his contract. In order to keep Giroux, the team’s best offensive player, it may be best for him to turn over the hard miles at center to someone else.
A shift here or a game there probably won’t hurt Giroux but if there are other options that can make life easier for the captain, the team should probably go for them.
Giroux has played a good two-way game for many years but has been a standout offensively for many years. As in the past, the Flyers will rely a great deal on Giroux for scoring this season. The move to the wing will allow Giroux to focus more on scoring which should give the whole team a boost.
Laughton is more likely to see more time at center this season than Giroux.
Laughton was having a breakout season before literally breaking. Laughton missed four weeks after breaking his finger in October of last year. Laughton finished with a career-high on goals and would have likely set a career-high in points had he not gotten hurt.
It seems that the team likes Laughton more on the wing, where he can concentrate on forechecking and scoring. The change seemed to agree with Laughton as well, however, depending on how the rest of the lineup pans out it may be best for the team for Laughton to take the third-line center role.