Broad Street Buzz
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Examining the Flyers Place in the Metro

By Seth Humeniuk

Mar 22, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) skates with the puck against Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) skates with the puck against Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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So… Where do the Flyers Fit in Here??

After this season, you’d have to put the Flyers in the pretenders tier. However, I believe there’s enough of that great 2019-20 team left that I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if they ended up contending next year. However, I think the best place for them in the Metropolitan Division pecking order at the moment is in the middle-tier sandwiched between the Penguins and Rangers.

Last season was bad in ways that almost seemed statistically impossible, so I wouldn’t put any trust in this team to make the playoffs. Then again, the Flyers did manage to post a positive points percentage despite enduring one of the worst defensive/goaltending seasons we’ve seen this century, AND they’re returning the majority of a corps that was considered a true Stanley Cup contender before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sure, they expect to lose a top-six forward or middle-pair defenseman to Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, but many other teams will be in the same boat. The good news is that the Flyers have the resources to go out and address their gaping holes, especially on defense, but they will absolutely need to do so in order to contend.

Honestly, this Flyers team may be the most difficult to project in quite some time due to all the uncertainty of the offseason and the bipolar nature of the team the past few years. Maybe they contend for a playoff spot, maybe they contend for the first overall pick. We probably won’t have a good sense of how this team will do until training camp opens up in October, so stay tuned for another piece then!

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