Flyers: Have Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, and Justin Braun improved?
Flyers defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, and Justin Braun all had unique seasons, but the question is – did they improve?
With Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, and Justin Braun all locked into contracts that will see them play in a Flyers jersey past next season, it is imperative that they improve.
Shayne Gostisbehere had a season from hell. He was taken off the top powerplay, he was injured and he sat in the press box for most of the playoffs. There were a lot of bad stretches and very little of the Ghost magic that makes him such a dangerous player.
But this can’t be put entirely Ghost alone. The pairings for Ghost did not seem to work last season, ever, and that is on the coaching staff. The coaching staff needs to find a way to augment what Ghost does so well by finding him the right partner, much in the same vein of Provorov was complimented with Niskanen, who has since abruptly retired from the league.
Ghost will certainly not be as bad as he was last season, he is too special a player. But he is going to need the right support around him. The staff needs to accept that Ghost can’t play defense effectively in some scenarios.
The coaches must pair him with someone whose job is to mitigate those scenarios.
I think that guy is already on the team, it is Robert Hagg.
Robert Hagg had a good year despite the howls from the advanced metric crowds. The crowd has been waiting for four seasons for a large enough sample size and Hagg’s inevitable “return to the mean”.
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Hagg will never be a dominant offensive defenseman, he had that beaten out of him in the AHL. He is not quite a shutdown defender that tilt’s the ice. He is a hardworking and diligent player that blocks shots, takes the body, and sticks up for teammates.
He is relatively inexpensive and certainly serviceable, particularly as a bottom pair defender.
I don’t see Hagg getting much better this season, he is in his physical prime. I see Hagg as consistent as ever, eating up tough minutes and matchups for the team, and without much appreciation from the fan base.
Despite not living up to his salary number, Justin Braun did a decent job last season. There are several similar traits that both Braun and Hagg have.
He is not going to star offensively. He is not a shutdown defender, but one that is fairly solid that can eat hard minutes. This year Braun is cheap, signing a two-year $1.8 million per season extension. This seemed a fair deal under normal conditions, but in light of Niskanen’s retirement signing him was needed.
Braun will not get any better this upcoming season, and I thought I started to see some signs of decline in the playoffs. There are some concerns that Braun may start wearing down, and there are no easy minutes for defensive defensemen.