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Meltzer's Musings: Saturday Quick Hits |
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* For the first time in quite a few years, the Flyers' teamwide faceoff winning percentage in 2013-14 crept up to the 50 percent mark. On a leaguewide basis, the team ranked 16th. The previous year, Philly finished 23rd with a 48.5 percent winning percentage.
Overall faceoff percentage is a somewhat overrated statistic. Not all faceoffs are of equal important depending on zone and game situation, and even if a team is credited with the win on a draw, it may not result in solid puck possession. With that said, it is still preferable to have better than 50-50 odds of winning the crucial draws when they arise.
If one looks around the NHL this past season, there's a real mixed bag in trying to correlate faceoff percentage to puck possession stats and especially to subsequent playoff success. The Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings ranked third in faceoff percentage during the regular season in the playoffs. On the other hand, the NHL's top faceoff team in the regular season -- the Nashville Predators -- failed to qualify for the playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers were 12th of 16 teams in playoff faceoff percentage after ranking 22nd of 30 teams during the 2013-14 regular season.
Come next season, the Flyers might drop below the 50 percent mark again, given the likely departure of unsigned unrestricted free agent Adam Hall. Further development of Sean Couturier and Baryden Schenn as faceoff men would be beneficial, even if it is not critical to team success.
The best Flyers teams I ever saw in terms of its faceoff circle dominance were the mid-1990s teams that had Eric Lindros, Rod Brind'Amour and Joel Otto taking the draws. During the period of time when the club had Craig MacTavish as its fourth line center and Otto on the third line. During the 1995-96 regular season, the Flyers had the ability to roll out four separate high-end faceoff men, resulting in roughly a 55-plus percent chance of gaining possession off any draw, regardless of zone or side of the ice.
* Alumnus Birthday: Czech forward Tomas Divisek turns 35 today.
* Today in Flyers history: On July 19, 2010, the Flyers made a salary-cap relief trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Flyers sent left winger Simon Gagne to the Bolts and received spare part defenseman Matt Walker and a 2011 fourth-round pick (Marcel Noebels) in return. The Flyers ended up burying Walker's $1.7 million cap hit in the AHL for most of the next two seasons. He had several hip surgeries. In 2012-13, Walker ended up spending the entire year on long-term injured reserve. Gagne struggled with concussions and neck issues in Tampa Bay and Los Angeles but he managed to be part of LA's first run to the Stanley Cup in 2011-12. The following season, Gagne was traded back to Philadelphia. He went unsigned as an unrestricted free agent last season.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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