While fans of the Philadelphia Flyers are once again watching other teams battle it out for Lord Stanley's Cup, this year it is a little different. We have some optimism for next season. We made it to the playoffs for the first time in ages. The future is bright, and we might not need a lot of pieces to improve. Most of what will help this team become a serious Cup contender will come from the natural and organic growth and maturity of young players. So, until we are there, who can we cheer for?
This year, it comes down to two teams: the Vegas Golden Knights and the Carolina Hurricanes. And while it may surprise you, the team for Philly fans to cheer on is the team that bounced us from the playoffs. That's right, Flyers fans. Pick up a red towel and root for the Canes. But why?
Why Root for Carolina?
It's hard to root for a divisional rival. It's also hard to root for a team that knocked you out. So why Carolina? First of all, there is no beef between the two franchises. There is no harsh history, as with teams like the Rangers, Devils, or Pens. And while it's been a while, if it had been the Canadiens, there would have been a history there.
First of all, Carolina's style of play has been fun to watch. They've been dominant on every side of the puck. Likewise, they have battled out each game. They won five of their twelve wins in overtime, including two against Philly. Even the games against the Flyers were close, and that makes it more impressive when you see the laundry list of injuries the team was playing with.
Ok, so the Hurricanes have been impressive, are there other reasons for rooting for them? Yes. There are three big personal connections to the team.
First is Shayne Gostisbehere. Gostisbehere was a big-time fan favorite during his time here. He is an offensive force on the power play and is fun to watch. He alone makes the Canes easy to hope to win the Cup.
Secondly is former Flyer Sean Walker. Granted, he spent 3/4 of a season in Philly, but he went from a throw-away piece in the Ivan Provorov trade to a top-line defender and garnered us a first-round pick in a trade. That pick was then packaged for the Flyers to select Jack Nesbitt.
Finally, there is Rod Brind'Amour. He was one of the best and most popular Flyers in the 90s. He, much like current head coach Rick Tocchet, was the epitome of what it means to be a Flyer. As head coach of the Hurricanes, he had a lot to say about this current iteration of the Flyers. However, it is his "Once a Flyer, always a Flyer" quote that will send chills down the spine of every Flyers fan. How can you not root for that?
So Why Not Vegas?
There's no beef there. Ok, we can be jealous that a team that is less than 10 years old is heading to its third Stanley Cup Finals. But some personal reasons make it awkward.
First, there is head coach John Torotrella. Vegas fired head coach Bruce Cassidy on March 29th as the team was slumping towards the playoffs near the end of the season. Under Tortorella, the team went on a 7-0-1 run to end the season and took the second seed in the West.
It's nice to see that he has another shot to win a Stanley Cup. It would've been nicer had he been able to do that in Philly. He is the ninth all-time winningest coach in NHL history with a championship under his belt. He knows hockey. However, everywhere he goes, he ends up leaving a wreckage of personal experiences with his players. The ones who play for him either love him or hate him. There is no other. He almost had this team into the playoffs, but ran Sam Ersson into the ground and may have ruined his confidence. Hey, he may be a great guy one-on-one, but it's not easy to cheer him on.
The other reason it is hard to root for Vegas is because of the resurgence of their goaltender, Carter Hart. In Philly, he was often hurt and inconsistent. He'd go through stretches as if he were the team's savior in net and then seem like he'd never play goalie before.
In 18 games, he went 11-3-3 with a 2.71 GAA and a save percentage of .891. Those are not bad, mostly what you might find in a good backup goalie. In the playoffs, he's been solid with a .922 save percentage and a GAA of 2.22. That's comparable to Dan Vladar's numbers (.922, 2.18). The last thing I want is for Hart to become yet another former Flyer goalie that we'll pine about and say, "We should bring him back." Go to Google and do a quick search and see how many times someone mentions a trade/signing for: Alex Lyon, Anthony Stolarz, Sergei Bobrovsky, etc.
So, while Vegas is a fun team to watch in their own right, it's pretty clear. Carolina is the team that Flyers fans should be cheering on. Although Brind'Amour, I gotta warn you, we're coming for you next season!
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