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Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • NHL.com •
Forward statistical breakdowns of a season of... well, breakdowns for Philadelphia.
Simon Gagne
Season 76 GP 41 G 27 A 68 PTS +2 30 PIM 13 PPG
1st half 41 GP 19 G 11 A 30 PTS -12 30 PIM 6 PPG
2nd half 35 GP 22 G 16 A 38 PTS +14 0 PIM 7 PPG
Commentary: Gagne was a much better player in the second half of the season than he was in the first half. Early during the 2005-06 season, he was generating as many of his own scoring chances as he was finishing off plays set up by Peter Forsberg. In particular, he was turning defense into transition opportunities with regularity.
After suffering hip and groin problems last year, he got away from that and became much more of a one dimensional player offensively, over-relying on Forsberg to create offense for him.
In the second half of this season, dating back a few weeks prior to Forsberg being dealt to Nashville, Gagne said he was feeling better physically and the results showed on the ice.
He turned back into the player he was early the previous season and carried that through the remainder of the 2006-07 season, even after the Forsberg trade. He played like a franchise player in many games. Gagne also showed more of a take-charge disposition than he's ever shown in his previous career.
Mike Knuble
Season 64 GP 24 G 30 A 54 PTS +2 56 PIM 10 PPG
1st half 35 GP 17 G 11 A 28 PTS -5 38 PIM 7 PPG
2nd half 31 GP 7 G 19 A 26 PTS +7 18 PIM 3 PPG
Commentary: The frightening collision with Brendan Shanahan that broke Knuble's cheekbone and forced him to wear a face cage for the remainder of the season reduced his effectiveness when he returned to the lineup. Additionally, Knuble is the type of complimentary player who can score when paired with offensively gifted linemates but does not generate many of his own chances. Still a very valuable player on the club and a guy who always pulls his weight.
Jeff Carter
Season 62 GP 14 G 23A 37 PTS -17 48 PIM 3 PPG 2 SHG
1st half 21 GP 3 G 9 A 12 PTS -5 18 PIM 1 PPG 0 SHG
2nd half 41 GP 11 G 18 A 22 PTS -12 30 PIM 2 PPG 2 SHG
Commentary: Early this season, Flyers great Dave Poulin said of Carter, "I like him. Whe he stops trying to be too fine with his shots, he's going to score more consistently." Well, that didn't happen this season. Carter remained far too streaky in every aspect of his game, but especially scoring. He still misses the net far too often, trying to pick corners, and often makes one move too many with the puck.
He started the year with no goals in first 13 games. Later, he suffered a 15-game goal drought shortly after the Peter Forsberg trade. Carter struggled to handle more ice time and greater pressure.
In many of the Flyers games against playoff-caliber opponents, Carter seemed lost and overwhelmed, especially in his defensive assignments. In other games, he seemed like a burgeoning star. One encouraging sign was that he seemed to play a little more physically over the latter stages of the season, using his size to complement his skating ability.
Eventually, I think Carter will figure it out, but if I were Paul Holmgren, I'd be a little nervous going into next season counting on Carter to carry the second line, let alone center the first.
Mike Richards
Season 59 GP 10 G 22 A 32 PTS -12 52 PIM 4 SHG
1st half 29 GP 1 G 8 A 9 PTS -11 22 PIM 0 SHG
2nd half 30 GP 9 G 14 A 23 PTS -1 30 PIM 4 SHG
Commentary: After a brutal first half of the season, Richards came into his own. Unlike Carter, Richards really thrived when John Stevens asked him to step up into a bigger role over the latter part of the season. He was feisty, he was dangerous in all manpower situations and he won far more battles than he lost, despite giving up size. His play over the second half, despite his late season injury, is one of biggest rays of hope the Flyers can take into the offseason.
R.J. Umberger
Season 58 GP 16 G 12 A 28 PTS -32 41 PIM
1st half 41 GP 8 G 6 A 14 PTS -17 24 PIM
2nd half 40 GP 8 G 6 A 14 PTS -15 20 PIM
Commentary: Umberger's production was torpedoed by a one goal in 19 game stretch. Of greater concern, considering his current role with the team, was his spotty effectiveness forechecking. He was involved in too many defensive breakdowns and needs to display greater game-in and game-out commitment to doing the little things that help win games.
Scotty Upshall
Season 32 GP 8 G 8 A 16 PTS +3 26 PIM
Nashville 14 GP 2 G 1 A 3 PTS -1 18 PIM
Flyers 18 GP 6 G 7 A 13 PTS +4 8 PIM
Commentary: Upshall was like a breath of fresh air in the lineup. He hustled every shift. He showed outstanding speed. He scored gritty goals. He scored pretty goals. He worked hard to come back from injury and lifted the caliber of his line. He still needs to prove he can maintain that level over a full season at the NHL level, but so far, Upshall looks like a potential key building block for Philadelphia.
Geoff Sanderson
Season 58 GP 11 G 18 A 29 PTS -16 44 PIM 3 PPG
1st half 26 GP 8 G 9 A 17 PTS -6 24 PIM 0 PPG
2nd half 31 GP 3 G 9 A 12 PTS -10 20 PIM 0 PPG
Commentary: Other than a five game scoring streak early in the season and some early good work on the point on the powerplay, Sanderson showed precious little value other than his vaunted skating ability. Many times this season, he demonstrated why he's generally played on non-playoff teams by making low-percentage plays or simply disappearing in crunch time.
Dmitry Afanasenkov
W/ Flyers 41 GP 8 G 7 A 15 PTS -19 12 PIM
Commentary: Too streaky offensively to play a regular scoring line role but he showed himself to be the Flyers best stickhandler. His continued role in Philadelphia remains uncertain. Could make for a good shootout and secondary powerplay unit player, but John Stevens seemed generally uninterested in testing him out in those capacities, despite encouraging him to shoot whenever possible. Defensively, he's reasonably solid but not a shutdown winger. That makes it tough for him to maintain a regular role unless he brings his maximum intensity with greater regularity.
Sami Kapanen
Season 77 GP 11 G 14 A 25 PTS -21 22 PIM 1 PPG 2 SHG
1st half 37 GP 7 G 4 A 11 PTS -8 8 PIM 1 PPG 0 SHG
2nd half 40 GP 4 G 10 A 14 PTS -13 14 PIM 0 PPG 2 SHG
Commentary: At this stage of his career, Kapanen brings more in terms of intagibles than anything else. He never gives up on a play or his teammates and was a contributor to a strong penalty kill. The offensive output is about what you can expect. Works hard defensively, but gets outmuscled (rarely outworked). As in previous seasons, Kapanen was ineffective on the point in powerplay situations, and should no longer play that role except in an emergency.
Ben Eager
Season 63 GP 6 G 5A 11 PTS -13 233 PIM
Commentary: His skating ability, agitating and fighting will keep him in the league but he still needs to play a little smarter in general and recognize when the club can ill-afford him to take a minor penalty for roughing, slashing or charging. When he sets his mind to it, the NHL's penalty minute leader can bring a lot of energy to the team and handle himself well in most fights.
Stefan Ruzicka
NHL Season 40 GP 3 G 10 A 13 PTS 18 PIM -6 1 PPG
AHL Season 29 GP 14 G 9 A 23 PTS 25 PIM -7 6 PPG
Commentary: Ruzicka shows flashes of potential but seems to lack the type of intangibles that players rarely develop over time. His hustle is spotty, he needs to be harder on the puck and to string together more back-to-back solid shifts after an effective shift.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, there are dozens of players around the league like Ruzicka-- players with strong junior credentials and decent but not overwhelming minor league numbers. The vast majority fail to become NHL impact players. Ruzicka pretty much needs to score to have an NHL role and I don't think he's going to do it consistently enough to stay in the lineup. He's skilled but no more so than a host of hockey players.
After a torrid start to the AHL season -- helped by added muscle on his frame-- he backslid. Had some promising games later in the season with the big club, but remained inconsistent.
Mike York
Season 66 GP 10 G 11 A 21 PTS -18
NYI 32 GP 6 G 7 A 13 PTS -9
Flyers 34 GP 4 G 4 A 8 PTS -9
Commentary: York was part of the problem, not the solution after coming over from the Islanders in exchange for Randy Robitaille (who had generally played well in his time with the Flyers). After finally playing himself into shape, York improved slightly, but not enough to make him an attractive rental to a playoff time and certainly not enough to merit consideration to be brought back to Philadelphia next season.
Ryan Potulny
NHL Season 35 GP 7 G 5 A 12 PTS 22 PIM +1
AHL Season 27 GP 12 G 12 A 24 PTS 34 PIM +2
Commentary: I thought the 2005-06 Hobey Baker finalist came along nicely in his first full season as a professional. He progressed fairly steadily in reading and reacting to plays in conjunction with the greatly increased speed and defensive pressure of the game (by contrast, Ruzicka seemed to either take too much time or force low percentage plays). It's still not a slam dunk that Potulny will be a regular with the big club, but I think he could compete for a spot and surprise some folks next year.
Up next, the defensemen...
Simon Gagne
Season 76 GP 41 G 27 A 68 PTS +2 30 PIM 13 PPG
1st half 41 GP 19 G 11 A 30 PTS -12 30 PIM 6 PPG
2nd half 35 GP 22 G 16 A 38 PTS +14 0 PIM 7 PPG
Commentary: Gagne was a much better player in the second half of the season than he was in the first half. Early during the 2005-06 season, he was generating as many of his own scoring chances as he was finishing off plays set up by Peter Forsberg. In particular, he was turning defense into transition opportunities with regularity.
After suffering hip and groin problems last year, he got away from that and became much more of a one dimensional player offensively, over-relying on Forsberg to create offense for him.
In the second half of this season, dating back a few weeks prior to Forsberg being dealt to Nashville, Gagne said he was feeling better physically and the results showed on the ice.
He turned back into the player he was early the previous season and carried that through the remainder of the 2006-07 season, even after the Forsberg trade. He played like a franchise player in many games. Gagne also showed more of a take-charge disposition than he's ever shown in his previous career.
Mike Knuble
Season 64 GP 24 G 30 A 54 PTS +2 56 PIM 10 PPG
1st half 35 GP 17 G 11 A 28 PTS -5 38 PIM 7 PPG
2nd half 31 GP 7 G 19 A 26 PTS +7 18 PIM 3 PPG
Commentary: The frightening collision with Brendan Shanahan that broke Knuble's cheekbone and forced him to wear a face cage for the remainder of the season reduced his effectiveness when he returned to the lineup. Additionally, Knuble is the type of complimentary player who can score when paired with offensively gifted linemates but does not generate many of his own chances. Still a very valuable player on the club and a guy who always pulls his weight.
Jeff Carter
Season 62 GP 14 G 23A 37 PTS -17 48 PIM 3 PPG 2 SHG
1st half 21 GP 3 G 9 A 12 PTS -5 18 PIM 1 PPG 0 SHG
2nd half 41 GP 11 G 18 A 22 PTS -12 30 PIM 2 PPG 2 SHG
Commentary: Early this season, Flyers great Dave Poulin said of Carter, "I like him. Whe he stops trying to be too fine with his shots, he's going to score more consistently." Well, that didn't happen this season. Carter remained far too streaky in every aspect of his game, but especially scoring. He still misses the net far too often, trying to pick corners, and often makes one move too many with the puck.
He started the year with no goals in first 13 games. Later, he suffered a 15-game goal drought shortly after the Peter Forsberg trade. Carter struggled to handle more ice time and greater pressure.
In many of the Flyers games against playoff-caliber opponents, Carter seemed lost and overwhelmed, especially in his defensive assignments. In other games, he seemed like a burgeoning star. One encouraging sign was that he seemed to play a little more physically over the latter stages of the season, using his size to complement his skating ability.
Eventually, I think Carter will figure it out, but if I were Paul Holmgren, I'd be a little nervous going into next season counting on Carter to carry the second line, let alone center the first.
Mike Richards
Season 59 GP 10 G 22 A 32 PTS -12 52 PIM 4 SHG
1st half 29 GP 1 G 8 A 9 PTS -11 22 PIM 0 SHG
2nd half 30 GP 9 G 14 A 23 PTS -1 30 PIM 4 SHG
Commentary: After a brutal first half of the season, Richards came into his own. Unlike Carter, Richards really thrived when John Stevens asked him to step up into a bigger role over the latter part of the season. He was feisty, he was dangerous in all manpower situations and he won far more battles than he lost, despite giving up size. His play over the second half, despite his late season injury, is one of biggest rays of hope the Flyers can take into the offseason.
R.J. Umberger
Season 58 GP 16 G 12 A 28 PTS -32 41 PIM
1st half 41 GP 8 G 6 A 14 PTS -17 24 PIM
2nd half 40 GP 8 G 6 A 14 PTS -15 20 PIM
Commentary: Umberger's production was torpedoed by a one goal in 19 game stretch. Of greater concern, considering his current role with the team, was his spotty effectiveness forechecking. He was involved in too many defensive breakdowns and needs to display greater game-in and game-out commitment to doing the little things that help win games.
Scotty Upshall
Season 32 GP 8 G 8 A 16 PTS +3 26 PIM
Nashville 14 GP 2 G 1 A 3 PTS -1 18 PIM
Flyers 18 GP 6 G 7 A 13 PTS +4 8 PIM
Commentary: Upshall was like a breath of fresh air in the lineup. He hustled every shift. He showed outstanding speed. He scored gritty goals. He scored pretty goals. He worked hard to come back from injury and lifted the caliber of his line. He still needs to prove he can maintain that level over a full season at the NHL level, but so far, Upshall looks like a potential key building block for Philadelphia.
Geoff Sanderson
Season 58 GP 11 G 18 A 29 PTS -16 44 PIM 3 PPG
1st half 26 GP 8 G 9 A 17 PTS -6 24 PIM 0 PPG
2nd half 31 GP 3 G 9 A 12 PTS -10 20 PIM 0 PPG
Commentary: Other than a five game scoring streak early in the season and some early good work on the point on the powerplay, Sanderson showed precious little value other than his vaunted skating ability. Many times this season, he demonstrated why he's generally played on non-playoff teams by making low-percentage plays or simply disappearing in crunch time.
Dmitry Afanasenkov
W/ Flyers 41 GP 8 G 7 A 15 PTS -19 12 PIM
Commentary: Too streaky offensively to play a regular scoring line role but he showed himself to be the Flyers best stickhandler. His continued role in Philadelphia remains uncertain. Could make for a good shootout and secondary powerplay unit player, but John Stevens seemed generally uninterested in testing him out in those capacities, despite encouraging him to shoot whenever possible. Defensively, he's reasonably solid but not a shutdown winger. That makes it tough for him to maintain a regular role unless he brings his maximum intensity with greater regularity.
Sami Kapanen
Season 77 GP 11 G 14 A 25 PTS -21 22 PIM 1 PPG 2 SHG
1st half 37 GP 7 G 4 A 11 PTS -8 8 PIM 1 PPG 0 SHG
2nd half 40 GP 4 G 10 A 14 PTS -13 14 PIM 0 PPG 2 SHG
Commentary: At this stage of his career, Kapanen brings more in terms of intagibles than anything else. He never gives up on a play or his teammates and was a contributor to a strong penalty kill. The offensive output is about what you can expect. Works hard defensively, but gets outmuscled (rarely outworked). As in previous seasons, Kapanen was ineffective on the point in powerplay situations, and should no longer play that role except in an emergency.
Ben Eager
Season 63 GP 6 G 5A 11 PTS -13 233 PIM
Commentary: His skating ability, agitating and fighting will keep him in the league but he still needs to play a little smarter in general and recognize when the club can ill-afford him to take a minor penalty for roughing, slashing or charging. When he sets his mind to it, the NHL's penalty minute leader can bring a lot of energy to the team and handle himself well in most fights.
Stefan Ruzicka
NHL Season 40 GP 3 G 10 A 13 PTS 18 PIM -6 1 PPG
AHL Season 29 GP 14 G 9 A 23 PTS 25 PIM -7 6 PPG
Commentary: Ruzicka shows flashes of potential but seems to lack the type of intangibles that players rarely develop over time. His hustle is spotty, he needs to be harder on the puck and to string together more back-to-back solid shifts after an effective shift.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, there are dozens of players around the league like Ruzicka-- players with strong junior credentials and decent but not overwhelming minor league numbers. The vast majority fail to become NHL impact players. Ruzicka pretty much needs to score to have an NHL role and I don't think he's going to do it consistently enough to stay in the lineup. He's skilled but no more so than a host of hockey players.
After a torrid start to the AHL season -- helped by added muscle on his frame-- he backslid. Had some promising games later in the season with the big club, but remained inconsistent.
Mike York
Season 66 GP 10 G 11 A 21 PTS -18
NYI 32 GP 6 G 7 A 13 PTS -9
Flyers 34 GP 4 G 4 A 8 PTS -9
Commentary: York was part of the problem, not the solution after coming over from the Islanders in exchange for Randy Robitaille (who had generally played well in his time with the Flyers). After finally playing himself into shape, York improved slightly, but not enough to make him an attractive rental to a playoff time and certainly not enough to merit consideration to be brought back to Philadelphia next season.
Ryan Potulny
NHL Season 35 GP 7 G 5 A 12 PTS 22 PIM +1
AHL Season 27 GP 12 G 12 A 24 PTS 34 PIM +2
Commentary: I thought the 2005-06 Hobey Baker finalist came along nicely in his first full season as a professional. He progressed fairly steadily in reading and reacting to plays in conjunction with the greatly increased speed and defensive pressure of the game (by contrast, Ruzicka seemed to either take too much time or force low percentage plays). It's still not a slam dunk that Potulny will be a regular with the big club, but I think he could compete for a spot and surprise some folks next year.
Up next, the defensemen...
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