Flyers: Shayne Gostisbehere is the key to Chuck Fletcher’s plan

Prior to Shayne Gostisbehere’s triumphant return to the Philadelphia Flyers‘ lineup, the consensus among the fan base was that general manager Chuck Fletcher was going to have to add a top of the lineup defenseman to balance out the top-4. If Gostisbehere can continue to hold down the fort on the top pair alongside Ivan Provorov though? Those plans suddenly change.

It’s only been a handful of games, but the duo of Provorov-Gostisbehere has won the shot chance battle rather handily (59.18 xGF% per Natural Stat Trick) and outscored their opposition 4-1. The pair have meshed well in the past, peaking during the 2017-18 season where they played nearly 800 minutes together at 5v5 posting a 53.24 CF%, 53.10 xGF%, and a +8 goal differential.

Since then Gostisbehere has struggled with injury and inconsistency so the “bad” Ghost could reappear at any time. For what it’s worth, Gostisbehere expressed to head coach Alain Vigneault before the season started that this is the healthiest he’s felt in years.

“I went through a tough time with injuries and really couldn’t be the player I wanted to be. I just told him I’m healthy, I feel really good right now. I think this is the first time in a couple years that I feel really good.” Gostisbehere said.

He certainly looks like it so far. Let’s say Shayne Gostisbehere does keep this up. Now, instead of searching for the ideal top-pair, right-handed rearguard to replace the loss of Matt Niskanen, who appears to have no desire to return, Fletcher can turn his focus toward fixing the logjam that is forming at the bottom of the defensive depth chart.

As of now, the quartet of Erik Gustafsson, Robert Hagg, Mark Friedman, and Justin Braun has left a lot to be desired. Hagg and Braun are too similar stylistically to play together on a nightly basis, constantly getting hemmed in the defensive zone and bleeding quality chances due to their inability to move the puck (45.26 xGF% per Natural Stat Trick).

Gustafsson has been nothing short of a train wreck with his ghastly turnovers and poor decision making. His risk-oriented style of play doesn’t truly fit a bottom-pairing role, to begin with. Friedman has yet to lock up a full-time role in the NHL and has not impressed the coaching staff in his limited appearances this season.

Replacing Niskanen this year was always going to be tricky, impossible even, considering the looming expansion draft. Acquiring another top-4 defenseman via trade would mean losing a valuable forward, losing one of Travis Sanheim or Philippe Myers, or losing additional assets to keep Seattle from poaching a valuable unprotected player. Needless to say, none of the above would make for ideal scenarios.

The poor timing of the expansion draft and Niskanen’s retirement always meant the Flyers were going to need to make do with what they had until they could go out next year and truly fill the hole. Adding a competent bottom-pair defender rather than a top of the lineup one is a more manageable scenario for Fletcher.

Having Gostisbehere fill in the top-4 hole on defense from within the organization affords Fletcher the ability to make tweaks to the bottom of the lineup and find pieces that fit together better. That is of course if “Ghost” continues to excel in his current role. If he can’t, Fletcher will have big decisions to make.