Fact or Fiction: Are the Flyers a Goalie Graveyard: Part Two

When it comes to long-time Flyers franchise storylines, there is none more well known, and none more painful, than the “goalie graveyard” argument surrounding the team’s inability to have consistent success between the pipes. In the first part of this article, I took a peek at the 20 goaltenders that played for the Flyers from the franchises’ inception in 1967 up to about the turn of the century with the 1998-1999 season.

I analyzed the starters and backups that had over 10 games played for the team, ignoring any backups that never saw ice, and 11 different guys that drifted in for a game or two, because when it comes down to it, these guys aren’t what contributes to an enduring narrative. Interestingly, I concluded that in those first 32 years the Flyers in no way lived up to this narrative, having incredibly consistent goaltending outside of a few transitional years.

Starting with the 1999-2000 season with these same rules, we meet the Flyers in the first year of the post-Hextall era with starter John Vanbiesbrook and his backup Brian Boucher. Vanbiesbrook was a longtime league veteran by this point, having served as Hextall’s backup the previous season, but it was the hotshot rookie who stole the show in his first season.

Brian Boucher would win the NHL’s All Rookie honors in that initial year, as well as finishing in the top 10 for Vezina voting, as he posted a fantastic rookie campaign while Vanbiesbrook struggled. Boucher would remain the backup the following year though, as the Flyers had just drafted a 29 year old Chezchoslovakian named Roman Cechmanek who took advantage of that extra “seasoning” and tore the league up in his rookie season.

Coming in fourth place for the Hart Trophy and second for the Vezina in his rookie season led Cechmanek to becoming the established starter for the Flyers for the next two years. Boucher served as his backup initially, before being traded to the then Phoenix Coyotes in a deal that sent Robert Esche back to the Flyers as he would become the new backup in Philly. This pairing would go on to win the Jennings Trophy in their only year together, with Cechmanek also finishing in the top 10 of Vezina voting.

The negative to drafting a goalie at 29 meant that Cechmanek quickly reached his 30s, prompting the Flyers to trade him away, granting the much younger Esche the starting spot. It was a move that was for the best, as the lockout would see Cechmanek return to Europe to play, and when play resumed following the lockout’s end, he wouldn’t come back to North America.

Esche’s first year in control was a good one, leading the Flyers to first place in the Atlantic Division and a game seven Conference Finals loss to the eventual Championship Tampa Bay Lightning. The backup position was a little more fraught in this first year, with veterans Jeff Hackett and Sean Burke both playing significant games after Burke’s acquisition at the trade deadline.

The following season would see Flyers prospect Antero Niittymaki, fresh off a dominant AHL season that saw the Phantoms win the Calder Cup (a game a much younger Collin was in attendance for), get his first shot at the big leagues. It was in a tandem with Esche that saw both of them struggle individually, as the team carried the goaltenders to an Atlantic Division championship, something the would become a trend for the Flyers.

Injuries would quickly emerge as a major factor in Niittymaki’s sophomore season, as despite winning the starting job from Esche, recurring hip injuries severely impacted his play. Choosing to forgo a surgery that would keep him out for most of the season, Niittymaki slogged through the season on cortisone injections before eventually losing the starting job once the Flyers acquired Martin Biron.

Esche departed the following offseason, and the team returned to the playoffs with Biron as Niittymaki continued to fulfill backup duties. While neither goalie put up outstanding numbers, the team managed a wildcard spot off the strength of the rest of the team, making it to the conference finals before being eliminated. It was in part due to Biron’s poor playoff performance that saw him post a .904 save percentage in playoffs, and a horrendous .876 in the Flyers final series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Biron and Niittymaki would be the duo the next year as well, but both found their way out of Philly when the Flyers made a big splash in the goalie market signing both Ray Emery and Brian Boucher in free agency. But of course, the Flyers aren’t allowed to have nice things, so both of them missed significant amounts of time with injuries, prompting Michael Leighton to step in for long stretches where he played fantastic before he too would be injured.

Riding the three injury riddled goalies the, Flyers managed a fantastic Cinderella run to the cup final before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks. One of the prevailing narratives of the time was the fact that neither team’s goaltending was particularly great, leading some to question if the days of needing an elite goaltender to succeed were over. They weren’t.