MELTZER'S MUSINGS: JUNE 3, 2015
1) One of the big question marks the Flyers have this offseason is finding a way to pare down salary on defense while still maintaining depth. On a leaguewide basis, teams horde veteran defenseman and the market prices for unrestricted free agents have become greatly inflated.
While Flyers new head coach
Dave Hakstol is likely to emphasize mobility and puck movement, there is still a need for some muscle and physicality on defense. Apart from the hitting game, there needs to be a defenseman or two in the lineup who are strong on walls and good at boxing out in front. No team is going to have puck possession all the time, and there are situations where old-fashioned physical force is needed.
As such,
Radko Gudas is an interesting X-factor for the Flyers as they prepare for next season. He brings a modest salary (approximately $992,000) by today's standards, plays an aggressive physical style and is built like a tank. Gudas also brings a righthanded shot to the mix. What remains to be seen is if he's able to be a regular part of the Flyers' starting lineup.
To do that, Gudas stay healthy, avoid excessive penalties, and keep his game simple enough to avoid getting himself out of position and making too many questionable plays with the puck. The jury is still out on whether the player, who turns 25 on Friday, can do all of these things with consistency.
When the Flyers acquired Gudas as part of the trade that sent
Braydon Coburn to the Tampa Bay Lightning, they knew he was going to be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. He is expected to be healthy for training camp.
In the relatively near future, the Flyers hope 2013 first-round draft pick
Sam Morin blossoms into an NHL shutdown defenseman who can bring surprising straight-line mobility and a good first pass in addition to a hulking frame and a considerable mean streak. It's unlikely, though, that Morin will be ready to make a major NHL impact right off the bat. He is not a slam dunk to play in the NHL next season, but will have opportunity to win an NHL job in camp. Otherwise, he'll start in the American Hockey League with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and be work to show that he's ready to be called up to the big team.
Both
Nicklas Grossmann and
Luke Schenn are unrestricted free agents next summer. While one or both may be traded this summer to free up cap space, it seems equally likely that one or both will at least still be with the team in training camp. A trade is also possible shortly before the 2015-16 season starts -- especially if Gudas, Morin or both step up to win jobs -- but it also could go down in-season at some point before the trade deadline.
2) I had an enjoyable half-hour conversation yesterday with
Rob Zepp for an upcoming article I am doing for the International Ice Hockey Federation's official website (IIHF.com). Look for it in upcoming weeks.
Zepp is one of the brainiest and most articulate players you'll find in the game. We discussed everything from the maturation process for goaltenders, the adjustment from the small rink to the big rink and back again, conditioning during the longer North American seasons, learning and adapting things from an array of goalie coaches over the years, the dynamics of goaltenders being locker room leaders, Zepp's experiences with the Phantoms and Flyers and why he reluctantly turned down an invitation to play for Team Germany at the 2015 IIHF World Championships.
Rob's wife, Melissa, is due to deliver the family's third child at the end of June. Zepp said he and his wife want the baby's gender to be a surprise at the time of birth, and they also waited to find out with son Gavin and daughter Madelyn.
In terms of Zepp's contract situation, things are currently quiet. The player said that he enjoyed his season with the Phantoms and Flyers and appreciated the opportunity to play in the NHL for the first time, as well as the faith and large-scale playing time he got from
Terry Murray with the Phantoms. Zepp said he'd like to stay with the Flyers next season "if it's in the cards." He will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 if the Flyers do not sign him before then, but is mainly focusing right now on his family and following his usual conditioning program.
Zepp stays in tremendous physical condition both in-season and off-season. He held up very well during this past season, and was still fresh even at the end of the season despite dealing with some injuries during the campaign. Although he is 33 years old (turning 34 on Sept. 7), he is still in his prime physically.
3) Longtime Flyers defenseman
Kimmo Timonen, who will retire at the end of the Stanley Cup Final, told the
Philadelphia Inquirer that he
plans to contact Flyers general manager
Ron Hextall this summer about potentially landing a job in the Flyers organization.
Timonen said he does not have interest in coaching at the present time. Another possibility could be scouting, either of the pro or amateur variety. Timonen has said before that he still wants to live locally, at least while his kids are in school, following his retirement. As such, scouting in Europe next season might not be the right fit, because it would keep him away from his family for most of the year.
On a somewhat related note:
Antero Niittymäki is now the general manager of Liiga club TPS Turku and unable to be on full-time scouting duty on behalf of the Flyers in scouting Finland and European goalies. He took over the GM post from
Ari Vuori (former LA Kings and Detroit Red Wings European scout) midway through the 2014-15 season.
4) The
Philadelphia Inquirer also
published a story the other day about the work Flyers Broad Street Bullies era alum
Don Saleski does for Business Leaders Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS) in order to raise money for impoverished inner city children in Philadelphia to attend Catholic schools at no cost to their families.
Last year, the organization raised $10 million and put 5,500 kids through parochial grade schools and high schools. Additionally, the program is open to non-Catholic children whose families feel their children would be better served outside the public school system but do not have the economic resources to send them to private schools.
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