Projecting the Flyers Opening Night Lineup
The Philadelphia Flyers will enter the 2021-22 season with Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov as most prominent parts of their core. Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolinen, Cam Atkinson, James van Riemsdyk, and Kevin Hayes will also figure into the leadership group.
This veteran core is a good mix of players who have been in the playoffs and worn letters on their sweaters. The leadership is going to be stronger than ever.
General manager Chuck Fletcher addressed his feeling that the organization unfairly put a lot of pressure on young players last season. He changed up the roster with veterans and new voices to help add to this leadership group.
The additions will make for a new-look lineup regardless of what combinations head coach Alain Vigneault chooses. We could see the following lineup on opening night on October 15.
Flyers Offense:
Top Line: James Van Riemsdyk-Sean Couturier-Joel Farabee
This line showed effective chemistry last season. Farabee broke out playing alongside both players, and JVR seemed to have a resurgence in his goal-scoring ability as well. Both wingers play a similar role with a mindset to get pucks on net and crash the crease area. Pairing them with Couturier allows the them to focus more on their offensive games because of the center’s strengths defensively.
Couturier is a fantastic playmaker as well. These three are a deadly force together and will cause mayhem if they can continue to play how they played last season.
2nd Line: Wade Allison-Kevin Hayes-Cam Atkinson
Allison would make a great compliment to Hayes and Atkinson. Being a net front presence and a big body will help his linemates create a lot of opportunities.
With Atkinson on this line, you get a guy who not only is willing to the shoot the puck but a guy who has speed and great hands. He can carry the puck and allow Hayes to get into more open spaces. Both are good passers and can help each other on the break. Overall, this line will be dangerous if Allison can extend and improve upon the way he played last season.
3rd Line: Claude Giroux-Morgan Frost-Travis Konecny
The quick injury to Morgan Frost was a blow to the Flyers depth at center last season. In the two games last season before his shoulder injury, Frost looked pretty good.
For a 22-year-old kid who is coming back from injury, playing with a rejuvenated Claude Giroux and a struggling Travis Konecny on a third line will allow these three to create matchup nightmares. This third line, in my mind, could pass for a top line.
This line playing together will allow all three players to get looks against second and third pairing defensive lines and also third or fourth forward lines. Getting each of them confidence will allow this team to succeed in spaces they did not during the previous season.
4th Line: Oskar Lindblom-Scott Laughton-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
These three players will be among the hardest workers on the ice every game.
This line together will create chaos and tire out opponents. It’s the type of line that you can throw out against first and second lines to try to help cause mismatches for your top lines as well.
NAK did not play his best hockey last year. Overskating his shifts taking bad penalties cancelled out any positive effects he brought to the game. I believe he can bounce back and be the grinder we saw in his first season in the NHL.
Lindblom is now over a year removed from his cancer treatments. He looked stronger and stronger each game late last season. I think we will again see the Oskar Lindblom from before his cancer treatments in 2021-22.
He is a good penalty killer and a grinder as well. He fights for every inch of ice and every puck battle he gets into.
Laughton needs to be the leader on this line. He has good speed and vision and likes to battle and get under the skin of his opponents. He embodies what it means to be a Flyer, which is why he was rewarded with his contract extension and why so many teams were calling for him. You can put him anywhere in the lineup, and he also kills penalties at a high level.
Nate Thompson will likely get consideration for a lineup spot as a fourth-line center.
Flyers Defense
Top Pairing: Ivan Provorov-Ryan Ellis
Provorov finally has a partner to replace Matt Niskanen.
Ellis is a little shorter than Niskanen but brings a lot more physicality to his game. He will also allow Provorov to open up his offensive game once again and not have to worry about rushing back to the play to cover for a lesser partner.
These two together will most likely be the best defensive pairing we have seen in a long time. The only question is if Ellis can stay healthy. Luckily for the Flyers, Provorov has never missed a game in his five-year NHL career.
2nd pairing: Travis Sanheim-Rasmus Ristolainen
Even though Sanheim is still going through arbitration, he will be on the roster opening night. With great skating ability and good stick, he is a very valuable weapon.
He had to fix a lot of Phil Myers’ mistakes last season. Pairing him with a veteran guy who can skate will help his game elevate to the next level.
Ristolainen is a big, strong player who has been the Buffalo Sabres top defenseman for years. After playing for multiple head coaches with too many different partners over his career, he will finally have better stability in Philadelphia.
It’s hard to remember the last time the Flyers had a defenseman who could make other teams terrified to come down the center of the ice, but Ristolainen could do that.
This pairing will allow Sanheim to open up his game offensively as well. Sanheim and Ristolainen both have hard shots and can get them through to the net for deflections or rebounds. They will be a big improvement from last season’s second pair.
3rd pair: Keith Yandle-Justin Braun
Yandle and Braun will bring veteran stability on the backend of the Flyers blue line. They can also help young players like Cam York and Yegor Zamula in their development.
Justin Braun will be better as a third-pair guy, especially playing with Yandle, after being forced into top-pair minutes last season. The two of them together will be able to feed off of each other and fix each other’s mistakes with ease.
These two will likely play together to start the season, and it remains to be seen when York and/or Zamula will be ready to play at the NHL level full-time.
Sam Morin will also most likely be our seventh defenseman to start the year.
Flyers Goalies:
Starter: Carter Hart
Hart did not have anywhere near a decent season in 2020-21. The defense didn’t do him wonders, but neither he nor backup Brian Elliot was at his best.
Hart just signed a bridge deal which will lead to a longer term contract if he proves himself as the Flyers top goaltender. He hopes to return to the peak form we saw during the 2019-20 season and 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His confidence level coming into this season should be much higher than last.
Backup: Martin Jones
Jones may not be a glamorous pick up, but is a good back up for Carter Hart.
The time had come for a new backup to come in. The Flyers needed someone who can keep them in games more frequently when Hart has the night off.
Jones is returning to play for Flyers goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh, who he had a ton of success with back when he was with the Los Angeles Kings. He has gone through a few tough seasons with the San Jose Sharks, but the Flyers hope the reunion will reset his game in Philadelphia.
The defense has been revamped and should put the goaltenders in more favorable positions than they did in 2021-22. The presence of a stronger all around effort will be key in helping the Flyers recover from a season in which they allowed the most goals in the NHL.