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Meltzer's Musings: The Waiting Game, Propp, Prospects and More

October 4, 2015, 11:21 AM ET [141 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
AMID ROSTER WAITING GAME, HINTS OF OPENING NIGHT LINEUP

The Philadelphia Flyers have an off-day on Sunday before getting down to the business of preparing for their regular season opener in Tampa Bay. On Saturday, the team worked on five-on-five play for much of the practice session. All 24 players remaining on the roster -- the team needs to get down to 23 by Tuesday -- participated in the session.

With a full complement of players on the ice, Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol made a couple of adjustments to the lineup the team iced for the preseason finale on Friday. The lines:

12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
10 Brayden Schenn - 14 Sean Couturier - 17 Wayne Simmonds
24 Matt Read - 49 Scott Laughton - 20 R.J. Umberger
76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Ryan White

Extra forwards: 89 Sam Gagner, 40 Vincent Lecavalier.

55 Nick Schultz - 32 Mark Streit
82 Evgeny Medvedev - 3 Radko Gudas
15 Michael Del Zotto - 23 Brandon Manning
47 Andrew MacDonald - 22 Luke Schenn

35 Steve Mason
30 Michal Neuvirth

After practice, Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said that while the line combination for opening night are not set in stone, the lines on the ice during the session were "pretty close to how things have shifted out in camp."

While Hakstol wants to see ongoing competition for spots in the lineup even after the opening night roster is set, he also does not want to create a situation where players constantly fear they are one gaffe or one bad game away from a seat in the pressbox. He wants to see players show controlled aggression, rather than playing not to mess up.

“We want all our guys playing with confidence,” Hakstol said. “We all know there’s competition to be in the lineup. We don’t want guys in our lineup that are afraid to play. I don’t want guys in our lineup that are afraid to make a mistake. I want guys concentrating on doing the right thing and doing it confidently.”

Pending the upcoming roster move(s) to get the roster to 23 players or injuries in the lineup, the veteran forwards who were mix-ins during practice (Gagner and Lecavalier) and defensemen on the "fourth pairing" (MacDonald and Schenn) are currently in jeopardy of being healthy scratches for the opening game on Tampa Bay.

Gagner, who was mixed in at center in Saturday's practice and took no reps on the wing, had four points in six preseason games. However, there were hints all along that the team wants to see a little more from his overall game -- play without the puck, being hard to check off the puck, keeping his feet moving and avoiding "glide mode", etc. Gagner played all three forward positions at different junctures of camp and played with arguably the widest array of different linemates.

Hakstol said that just because Gagner did not a top 12 forward spot at Sunday's practice did not necessarily mean he was out of lineup to stay.

"If he is out, that doesn't mean that he's not going to be an important part of the team," Hakstol said of Gagner.

General manager Hextall said that he is not disappointed in Gagner's camp. However, he admitted that the offseason acquisition -- like most of the players on the team -- has room for improvement on what he's shown over the first few weeks.

"I think Sam's been OK. He's had some good moments and some decent moments and not-so-great moments, probably like most of our guys. It's preseason and you're playing some of the kinks out. I think his skill level is high, and where he ends up, that's Hak's decision," said Hextall.

Lecavalier was periodically mixed-and-matched in reps as a fourth line right winger in Saturday's practice and also occupied that spot in Friday's game in Newark. With permission, he was the first player off the ice before the session concluded. Lecavalier's son was playing on the Phantoms' rink at the other end of the Skate Zone complex.

For much of camp, Lecavalier was restored to his preferred center position and moved up in the lineup rotation. This seemed to be for a dual purpose: 1) with a new coach at the help, giving Lecavalier a chance to show he still has something left to offer, and 2) If he had a strong camp, perhaps finding an interested NHL team to take a chance on trading for him. Neither happened, and now Lecavalier finds himself right back in the same spot he was in under former head coach Craig Berube.

Although Lecavalier reported to camp in excellent condition, is healthy and has clearly given an all-out effort, he has continued to struggle to keep up with the play. Hakstol has been very diplomatic whenever asked to assess Lecavalier's camp, repeatedly praising his work ethic and professionalism while leaving the former superstar's apparent ongoing ineffectivess unspoken.

Actions speak louder than words, anyway. From all outward signs, including the increased use of Scott Laughton, Lecavalier's ice time dwindling and being moved back to wing, it seems that the attempted reclamation project is over (at least for now). Lecavalier has a no-movement clause in his contract, so waiving him for $950,000 of salary cap relief is a non-option.

In terms of the defense corps, Hakstol said "there are still decisions to be made." However, if the current pairings hold -- assuming the Flyers go into opening night with eight rather seven defensemen -- both MacDonald and Schenn would be scratches.The coach did not say say directly, but the implications are clear.

Here's why: Schultz and Streit are a lock to be the team's top pairing on opening night. Medvedev (paired with Gudas the last two days) and Del Zotto (now with Manning, who has shifted to right defense) are also givens to start on opening night. By process of elimination, that leaves MacDonald (who had been with Gudas most of camp) and Schenn as the extras.

MacDonald is one of the players on whom the Flyers are counting for a significantly better 2015-16 season than the one he produced last year under Berube in the first year of a $5 million annual cap hit contract that runs through 2019-20. He has had a bumpy ride in the preseason, while Manning has been reasonably solid if unspectacular. MacDonald slotting down in the rotation in favor of Manning at the end of the preseason is one of the surprises -- and not necessarily a good one, even if it is on merit -- less than a week before the season.

In Schenn's case, even from the outset of camp, all signs pointed toward Hakstol viewing him as falling outside the projected starting six. With the team needing to make one more move, his place on the team's roster come Tuesday is uncertain. It is possible that Schenn could be waived -- if he can't be traded -- but it is also possible that he stays put for now.

Gudas did not have a particularly good preseason, although he did close it out with a generally strong game in Newark on Friday. However, the defensemen gets a bit of a temporary pass from the organization because he is coming off knee surgery that cost him the entire second half of last season.

"He started out a little rusty, and every day he's kind of knocked some of that rust off," Hakstol said.

Hextall had a similar take, saying almost the exact same thing about Gudas' preseason and adding that he felt the Czech defenseman at least closed it out on an encouraging note.

If roster and lineup decisions this week work out that three or even all four among MacDonald, Luke Schenn ($3.6 million cap hit, unrestricted free agent after this season), Gagner ($3.2 million cap hit, unrestricted free agent after the season) and Lecavalier ($4.5 million cap hit, contract runs through) are all healthy scratches on opening night, that would a very expensive group of players out of the lineup. However, it would also fit with Hakstol's summertime pledge not to make lineup decisions based on someone's salary or contract term.

More and more, it seems that both Hakstol and Hextall would prefer for both Manning and Laughton to be part of the team's opening night roster. Laughton, however, is waiver exempt so he would be the "easiest" roster cut to make in terms of buying time to move out a veteran. Manning is subject to waivers.

Hextall does not seem to make any trades that involve the Flyers offering "sweeteners" (draft picks, prospects, absorbing significant salary) in order to trade a veteran for cap space and get down to 23 players on the roster. However, unless he would take the step of seeking waivers on a veteran player -- MacDonald would almost certainly clear due to his salary and term, Schenn is about a 50-50 proposition to be claimed, Gagner does not currently seem to be under consideration for waivers even if he does not open the year in the starting lineup and Lecavalier is ineligible for waivers unless he forgoes his no-movement clause -- that could be the only way to get a trade done by Tuesday.

One trade option that is not getting much mention. Although Matt Read had a so-so training camp and is coming off a down year affected by injury, there may be teams out there who feel he could rebound to his previous 20-goal, solid two-way form with the versatility to play any forward position. At a $3.625 million cap hit that runs through 2017-18, the 29-year-old Read could probably be dealt somewhere without adding sweeteners as an incentive. The Flyers themselves are hoping for a bounceback year from Read but in terms of tradeable commodities who are not considered long-term "nucleus" players for the team, Read is a possibility.

Umberger's opening night roster spot seems safe for now. He is fully recovered from his offseason hip and abdominal surgeries and had a reasonably solid camp all things considered. As such, the option of using long-term injured reserve and simultaneously getting the roster down to 23 players while providing an allowance to exceed the cap ceiling to replace nearly $4 million of Umberger's $4.6 million cap hit is not available to Hextall. Likewise, it would be tough for Hextall to trade the 33-year-old veteran at least until the player shows he can hold up physically accompanied by a significant productivity uptick.

MELTZER'S MUSINGS: OCTOBER 4, 2015

* Flyers Hall of Fame left winger Brian Propp has been released from Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia. The 56-year old, who has kept himself in tremendous physical condition that could put many people half his age to shame, suffered a stroke last month but is now doing much better and was able to return home. "Propper" posted on Facebook yesterday to thank people for their kindness and support. Brian is a genuinely good person and I am proud that someone who was one of my childhood sports heroes is now someone I count among my friends.

*AHL: The Lehigh Valley Phantoms dropped to 0-2-0 in the preseason as they lost, 3-1, in regulation to the Hartford Wolf Pack at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA on Saturday. The Phantoms led 1-0 after the second period on a goal by Taylor Leier (his second in as many games) but got badly outplayed in the third period. Unlike Wednesday's preseason opener, which featured mostly ECHL-bound and tryout players in the Phantoms' lineup, new head coach Scott Gordon used many more of his regulars in Saturday's game. Shayne Gostisbehere (who assisted on Leier's power play goal) was paired on defense with Robert Hägg. In the meantime, hulking Samuel Morin (who has a bit of a rough preseason) skated on a pairing with diminutive Jesper Pettersson. Anthony Stolarz stopped 26 of 29 shots in a losing cause. The Phantoms wrap up the preseason on Sunday, hosting the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins.

* QMJHL: Flyers 2014 second-round draft pick Nicolas Aube-Kubel has rejoined the lineup of the Val-d'Or Foreurs after missing several games due to a heavy blindside hit in open ice by the Rimouski Oceanic's Michael Joly. In his return to the lineup, Aube-Kubel notched a goal and two assists against the Chicoutimi Sageuneens. The two teams rematch on Sunday afternoon. For the regular season to date, Aube-Kubel has eight points (four goals, four assists) in eight games.

* WHL: Friday night's showdown between the Brandon Wheat Kings and Calgary Hitmen was won by the visiting Hitmen, 3-2 in regulation. Flyers prospects Travis Sanheim (shorthanded and power play assists, plus-one) and Radel Fazleev (shorthanded goal, one assist) figured prominently in the win for Calgary. Flyers 2015 first-round pick Ivan Provorov did not get on the scoresheet for Brandon but was not out for any of the Calgary goals. On Saturday, the Wheaties bounced back with a 6-0 rout of the host Regina Pats. Provorov notched two assists and was plus-two. Meanwhile, Calgary absorbed a 6-3 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors. Sanheim had an assist and was plus-one at even strength. Fazleev scored his third goal in four games.

* OHL: After a two-goal outburst and a dominating performance on opening night of the regular season, Flyers 2015 first-round pick Travis Konecny has gone pointless in three straight games and is minus-six in the four games played to date. Ottawa had been shut out in back-to-back games (by a combined 11-0 count) before earning a 5-1 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs on Friday. Konecny, who did not register a shot on goal in the Hamilton game, was minus-one at even strength.
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