Philadelphia Flyers Holiday Nice List
As Santa makes his list and checks it twice, it is time for the fans to look at which Flyers have been nice this season.
Claude Giroux: The Nicest
Giroux has been a very good, and some times great, player over the past decade for the Flyers. He has proven critics (me) wrong and has aged more like a fine wine rather than old hockey pads. Giroux, again, is leading the team in points this season proving he can still be productive, even while not dominating like he did in his prime.
Oddly, despite his place amongst franchise greats, and another solid year, Giroux is drawing more sustained friendly fire than at anytime I can remember. The critiques are things like “coach killer” or “bad leader”. While it is hard to validate such claims against Giroux, it is clear to me that the franchise and the management has let Giroux down often and severely, over the last decade.
Giroux is at the end of his contract, and this team is going no where, my present for Giroux would be that he gets sent to a contender, maybe the Pens or Colorado, and gets a legit chance to compete for the cup.
Cam Atkinson: Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice
The acquisition of Cam Atkinson was a showdown between tenacity and talent. Atkinson was a tenacious goal scorer who always seemed to be giving maximum effort. Jake Voracek was an all world talent, that could never harness that ability into dominance. Atkinson’s disposition and work rate have made the difference in the trade and for the Flyers. It is safe to say without Atkinson’s efforts the team would be last place in the division.
Atkinson leads the team in goals and shots. He is always looking to score and watching him play has been a bright spot on the season. My present to Atkinson would be a centerman that focuses on setting him up every single shift.
Carter Hart: From Naughty to Nice
Last year was uncharacteristically bad for Carter Hart. The stats were bad, the record was bad, and at times, the play was bad. Hart was not able to escape the downward vortex that was last year’s team. While all this was a disappointment to fans, seeing Hart lose his mojo and composure was the reason he was put on the naughty list.
Being a goalie is not easy, and it is nearly impossible while playing for the Flyers, but there was so much hope placed in Hart to be the foundation of the franchise. Last season his surreal calm and unflappable nature gave way to a, totally justified, emotional/mental break down. In a town that has seen the likes of Ilya Bryzgalov and Roman Cechmanek, it was an unwelcome sight. Especially considering mental fortitude was thought to be one of Hart’s key strengths. Some worried the team may have broken him.
This year the team has not been much better in front of Hart, but Hart has been great. After a .877 save percentage last season, Hart is at a healthy .918. Better still, if you remove the clunker against Tampa, Hart has a .932 save percentage. This would place him in the top ten keepers in the league. Hart makes in on the nice list by playing fantastic, and keeping an even keel in difficult circumstances on a below average defensive team.
My gift to Hart would be a better supporting cast. Even though the Flyers have stirred things up on defense, I am hard pressed to find significant improvement over last season.
Best holiday wishes and merry Christmas to all!