Lots of Flyers fans were upset when the team signed Christian Dvorak to a one-year deal worth $5.9 million. It is especially intriguing when you consider that Jack Roslovic, a younger center but with a longer history of performing, is still a free agent and would probably come at half the cost (although personally, I wouldn't mind seeing if they could find room for him now). It makes sense. Maybe that money could've been used somewhere else.
However, we don't know the full story about what goes on with free agent negotiations. We also don't know what the Flyers management team sees, values, or what they are looking for. There are some very compelling reasons that Dvorak was signed to be a Flyer. Let's take a look at them.
What Dvorak Brings to the Table
Dvorak is not a prolific scorer; however, in all but two of his nine seasons in the NHL (both of which were injury-marred seasons), he has scored 10+ goals. And to be fair, he's been stuck on the Team Formerly Known as the Arizona Coyotes and the Montreal Canadiens, two of the worst teams over the last 10 years. You are only as good as the players around you, and if you aren't getting fed the puck, you aren't going to score. Simple as that.
In the faceoff circle, Dvorak is a star. He has a career win rate of 53.1% He hasn't had lower than 55% in three of the last four seasons. That's pretty stellar. I know faceoff percentage isn't as sexy a stat as goals scored, but let's look at how important it is. Winning a faceoff in your zone keeps the puck away from a sharpshooter who can send a screamer towards the net. Likewise, winning a faceoff in the offensive zone gives your team a chance to put the puck on net. It gives you a sizeable advantage on both sides of the ice, especially on the power play and penalty kill.
It's unclear as of yet as to where Dvorak will fit on the Flyers. You'd expect, with his price tag, that he would be one of the top three centers and not on the fourth line. I think we're going to have to see who meshes best at training camp. Sean Couturier and Noah Cates have two of the center spots locked up. The Flyers seem as if they want to give Trevor Zegras a chance at center. So, we'll have to see.
Dvorak's stats are decent when you consider that he played on bad teams. He is hoping to take an underachieving team and make it better. At least that's the reason why the Flyers signed him at the start of the offseason. Will it pay off, or will they have buyer's regret? We'll have to wait and see.