Two years ago, the Philadelphia Flyers inked defender Travis Sanheim to an eight-year extension. Some were concerned about the length of the deal while others were concerned about the financial stake. After all, Sanheim had yet to fulfill his promise. Last summer, the Flyers were actively shopping him and very nearly had him traded to St. Louis. The team had just traded away Ivan Provorov and it would seem that his defensive partner was next on the chopping block.
Heading into training camp, Sanheim returned to Philly with a renewed sense of energy. The rumors shook him up and he followed that with, what you could argue, was his best season yet. He became an offensive force for the first time and made some improvements in his defensive game.
As the Flyers went into a freefall in their last 20 games, he was a steady force. While other defenders faltered or got hurt, Sanheim remained a remarkable -5 in those games, a -20 for the season. While that is higher than we'd like for the year, the fact that he was just -5 in that losing stretch shows how much the Flyers depended on him.
Travis Sanheim can help lead the future of the Flyers defense
Sanheim scored a career-high 10 goals, 34 assists, and 44 points. He also had career highs in blocked shots (149), hits (94), takeaways (37), and average time on ice (23:48). He scored one shorthanded goal and assisted on three others. All of this culminated in Sanheim winning his second Barry Ashbee Trophy as the Flyers' top defenseman.
He comes into this season as the Flyers senior defender. Most likely, he'll be paired up with Cam York or a healthy Jamie Drysdale on the top line. Moving forward, his leadership will be critical to helping the younger defenders learn how to succeed in the NHL. After all, it took Sanheim seven years before he had his best season in the league. He could help some of the younger players catch up by teaching them the tools he had taken a career to develop.
York and Drysdale are still developing. There are others in the minors who are waiting for their chance. Rasmus Risotalainen is still recovering from an injury-riddled season. Nick Seeler and Erik Johanson will bring important veteran leadership to the team. However, it is Sanheim that the defense is going to be built around.
So, can Sanheim continue to become the leader that this team needs on defense? Is Sanheim ready to take on that role? After all, you could argue that the Flyers' best defender last year was Sean Walker. If the Flyers are going to make that leap forward from pretender to contender, they need a leader on defense to take charge.
This is Sanheim's time to shine. It is his defense to mold and lead. Now it is up to him to take the opportunity in front of him and move forward. The Flyers' success will depend on it.