MELTZER'S MUSINGS: THE READ ON READ
Realizing that he is not a lock for a Flyers roster spot for the first time since his rookie year, veteran Flyers forward Matt Read is working out daily at the Skate Zone in Voorhees three weeks ahead of training camp. There is a numbers crunch at forward and Read has seen his ice time reduced considerably over the past two seasons.
Over the course of his six-season career with the Flyers, public perceptions of Read have changed, too. He has gone from being viewed as one of the team's most underrated contributors (the first three years) to one of the most maligned players among segments of the fan base and media.
Some of the criticism has been merited, while some has been unfair.
Ice time over a full seasons usually the telltale sign of which players a coach has faith in to which ones he trusts less. While ice time fluctuations are normal within the context of a single game or a small subset of games, larger samples show whom the coach truly wants out on the when the chips are down. Below is the year-to-year progression of Read's average ice time per game under the last three Flyers coaches:
2011-12: 17:03 (Peter Laviolette) 2012-13: 18:01 (Peter Laviolette) 2013-14: 18:47 (Laviolette for 3 games, Craig Berube) 2014-15: 17:33 (Craig Berube) 2015-16: 15:15 (Dave Hakstol) 2016-17: 13:47 (Dave Hakstol)
Read's lineup usage has also changed. Over the last two years, he went from moving around the top-nine rotation (and a frequent linemate of Sean Couturier's) to being almost exclusively a bottom-six forward. Part of it is situational duties but part of it is that he too infrequently showed his speed, separation ability and offensive creativity. In other words, he rarely gave Hakstol reason to still consider Read to be among the team's top six or seven offensive threats.
Bottom line: It is probably unrealistic to expect the 31-year-old Read to score 20-plus goals and 40-plus points at this stage of his career. However, Read actually did not do a bad job in 2016-17 relative to the main duties of a bottom-six role. A local newspaper assertion that he had a "dismal" year was based too heavily on point totals and not the other facets of the game.
Keep in mind that the Flyers, as a team, were atrocious in five-on-five play last year. Read actually landed on the positive side of both the puck possession and traditional plus-minus registers. He also had more takeaways than giveaways with his five-on-five ice time roughly split evenly between defensive zone and offensive zone starts. For the most part, that is want you want from a player in the lower part of the line rotation: don't get scored on, help us get the puck into the offensive zone for the scoring-line players.
Read did that decently last season: not spectacularly but far from dismally. Add 10 goals into the mix (even if five of them came in the first five games of the season) and it makes for a useful NHL fourth-line player.
The real issue here that puts Read in jeopardy is his cap hit. There are younger and cheaper players in camp who might be able to take over his tasks -- and possibly produce more offense to boot when they go over the attacking blueline.
At a $3.625 million cap hit, Read is still being paid along the lines of a 20-goal, 40-point player who can also be deployed on both ends of special teams and trusted to provide speed as well as defensively-aware play at five-on-five. Unfortunately, he hasn't showed himself to be that level of performer on a regular basis since the 2013-14 season.
Increasingly over the last three seasons, Read has not seemed as quick -- and certainly not as confident -- with the puck. The decline started in an injury-plagued 2014-15 season, which many chalked up to him trying to play through a high ankle sprain that affected his skating for much of the season. Ever after he healed, however, the offensive side of his game has only resurfaced sporadically. He's still gotten some secondary power play time, for example, but hasn't done much with it.
As training camp and the final season of his contract approach, the question now is whether there is still a spot for him in the Flyers' lineup. There is a lot of competition for spots.
Read is competing with the likes of Scott Laughton, Mike Vecchione and Taylor Leier as well as holdover players such as Michael Raffl. Again, there are no guarantees that Read will be part of the opening night roster. Even if he does make the team, he could start out in a 13th forward (i.e. healthy scratch) role.
What happens if the preseason numbers game plays out in such a way that there is no longer a roster space for Read in the final year of his current contract? Assuming the Flyers are unable to trade him, the organization could waive Read and assign him to Lehigh Valley after he clears.
That would give the Flyers $1.025 million of cap relief while leaving a $2.625 cap hit for the 2017-18 season. Read would still be available for callups in the event of injuries on the Flyers' roster.
Early in the offseason, there was some media speculation of a potential buyout, but that was never a likely scenario and it was no surprise that it did not happen. If the Flyers had bought out Read, they'd have carried a $1.29 cap hit in 2017-18 (on top of the final year of the R.J. Umberger buyout cap hit) and a $1.167 cap hit in 2018-19.
During the preseason, as clubs assess their rosters and there is some inevitable injury attrition, the Flyers could also try to find a trade partner. While he won't be penciled in any team's top nine, there are still teams he could help as a role player.
Once again, however, Read's cap hit is the complicating factor. If he made $1.8 million against the cap on an expiring contract rather than $3.65 million, he'd be a more viable trade candidate. The Flyers might be willing to absorb a small portion of Read's cap hit but not a big chunk of it. As such, trade possibilities appear rather limited right now.
If Read has a good camp, the Flyers may simply ride out the final year of his contract with Read serving as a utility forward. He always keeps himself in good shape and he has proven his versatility over the years. This summer has been no exception. He has reportedly dropped five pounds and focused on speed training to try to get his skating back to its former level.
In addition to the push for an NHL roster spot this year, there is also motivation to play for a contract as an unrestricted free agent next summer. Read turned 31 in June. He's still young enough to play a role in an NHL lineup, even if 2017-18 appears likely to be his final season as a Philadelphia Flyer.
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FLYERS TOP 25 IN THE LAST 25 YEARS: KIMMO TIMONEN
A five-time winner of the Barry Ashbee Trophy, a two-time NHL All-Star as a Flyer and a participant in two Olympic tournaments during his years as a Flyer, Kimmo Timonen was everything the Flyers hoped he'd be. He was a leader, a warrior and a producer.
Overall, Timonen had much the same effect in late 2000s to mid-2010s -- and enjoyed comparable respect among teammates and coaches alike -- as Eric Desjardins did in the mid-1990s to mid-2000s. Desjardins was bigger, righthanded, faster (in his younger years), and a little more of a goal-scoring threat but their overall impacts were similar.
Timonen was undersized at 5-foot-10 but packed 195 solid pounds on that low center of gravity. He was also highly skilled and had off-the-charts hockey sense. For many of his seasons in Philadelphia, Timonen was not just a catalyst on breakouts and at the point on power plays, he was also a stellar penalty killer and one of the savviest defenders in the NHL.
Although he lacking blazing speed as well as size, Timonen's combination of skill, brains and heart more than compensated for it.
Within the locker room, Timonen had a galvanizing presence. He was not a man of many words but he spoke his mind and spoke from the heart. He was inevitably calm under pressure, and it had a soothing effect when one was needed. Timonen also had an underlying dry sense of humor, although it was more typically on display among teammates and friends than in front of microphones and recorders.
With the media, Timonen was never a believer in soft-pedaling things. If he spoke, he gave his unvarnished assessment of a game, the state of the team or his own performance. His assessment were almost always spot on. However, if the team found itself in a situation where telling the blunt truth as he saw it might exacerbate a situation, Timonen preferred to do his talking behind closed doors.
Acquired on June 18, 2007 from Nashville and immediately signed to a six-year contract along with close friend Scott Hartnell in exchange for returning the Predators' 2007 first-round pick acquired in the Peter Forsberg trade a few months earlier, Timonen immediately stepped in and became one of the best all-around defensemen in franchise history.
Over the course of the next seven season, Timonen posted 232 points in 519 regular season games, a cumulative plus-44 rating at even strength and dressed in 76 to 82 games annually while logging a lot of tough ice time and playing through an array of accumulated injuries.
In 71 games of playoff action, Timonen chipped in 29 points and was plus-eight. Timonen won the Barry Ashbee Trophy as the Flyers top defenseman of 2007-08, 2008-09, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14. He also participated in the 2007-08 and 2011-12 NHL All-Star Game as well as the 2010 and 2014 Olympics while a member of the Flyers.
From an offensive statistic standpoint, Timonen's best seasons with the Flyers came in 2007-08 (44 points), 2008-09 (43 points, plus-19), 2010-11 (37 points, plus-11) and 2011-12 (43 points, plus-8). However, offensive stats only reveal a small portion the longtime alternate captain's value to the Flyers.
When injuries and an eventual career-ending bout with post-concussion syndrome abruptly ended Pronger's on-ice time with the Flyers in the first half of the 2011-12 season, Timonen resumed his role atop the blueline. Unfortunately, wear-and-tear started to take a toll on the aging Timonen in the latter half of seasons.
Contemplating retirement after the 2013-14 season, Timonen elected instead to return for one final season and took a paycut from the Flyers in order to make things work out on the salary cap. Unfortunately, in August 2014, Timonen was diagnosed with blood clots in his lung and right calf. He missed all of training camp and the first five months of the 2014-15 season.
Timonen battled the odds and, after meeting with a battery of doctors, announced his intention to play again and "retire with skates on." In order to alleviate roster overcrowding and give Timonen a chance to chase the Stanley Cup one final time with a top contender, the Flyers traded their longtime blueline leader to the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 27, 2015. He fulfilled his goal and lifted the Cup at the end of his final game before retirement.
After retirement, Timonen remained in the Delaware Valley so as not to uproot his family. He has said he eventually might like to work full-time for the Flyers in some hockey operations capacity but was not in a rush to do so. He has periodically been seen around the pressbox and elsewhere in the Wells Fargo Center and has taken part in a few Flyers Alumni Association activities.
Timonen has done some scouting for the Finnish national team, helping in the process of selecting last year's World Cup of Hockey roster. He's also traveled extensively, including an around-the-world sailing expedition he described as an interesting experience but not one he'd care to repeat.
Kimmo's 18-year-old son, Samuel, was raised in Haddonfield, NJ. For the last two years, he attended and played hockey at famed prep school Avon Old Farms in Connecticut. A forward, Samuel posted nine points in 17 games last season.
Through the years, Timonen has remained close friends with fellow Finn and ex-Flyers forward Sami Kapanen. When their old Finnish team, KalPa Kuopio, was in severe financial jeopardy, Kapanen purchased a majority share in the team. Timonen became a minority owner (eight percent) and even convinced his buddy, Scott Hartnell, to buy a five percent stake.
Captained by Jussi Timonen, KalPa made it to the Liiga finals in 2016-17 before losing in six games to Tappara Tampere. Jussi, now 34 years old, played for the team from 2008-09 until this past season. For the 2017-18 season, he is finally moving on and will play in Germany for DEL team Schwenninger Wild Wings.
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PROSPECT UPDATES: SEPTEMBER 2, 2017
1) OHL preseason (Friday results): Connor Bunnaman scored two goals in regulation but was unsuccessful in a shootout attempt as his Kitchener Rangers lost the skills competition in a 4-3 road final against the North Bay Battalion. In other action, Isaac Ratcliffe registered one assist and an even plus-minus in the Guelph Storm's 4-2 road loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs. Hamilton's Matthew Strome had one assist and three shots on goal. Anthony Salinitri had one assist but was minus-three and 1-for-6 in faceoffs as the visiting Sarnia Sting fell to the London Knights, 7-4.
2) OHL preseason (Weekend schedule): On Saturday, 2017 first-round pick Morgan Frost's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are on the road to take on the Saginaw Spirit. Bunnaman's Kitchener club is back in action, hosting the Peterborough Petes. Ratcliffe's Guelph team remains on the road to play the Mississauga Steeheads. Salinitri and Sarnia play London again on Saturday, this time at home. On Sunday and Monday, Maxim Sushko's Owen Sound Attack have their first two preseason tilts in a home-and-home set with the Barrie Colts. Sunday afternoon's game is in Owen Sound.
3) WHL preseason (Friday results): Goaltending prospect Carter Hart did not play on Friday as the host Everett Silvertips were on the wrong end of an ugly 9-4 score against the Tri-City Americans. Everett was playing the first of three consecutive game nights.
4) WHL preseason (Weekend games): Everett hosts the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday and the Portland Winterhawks on Sunday. Carsen Twarynski's Kelowna Rockets host the Victoria Royals on Sunday. Note: Highly touted Flyers prospect Nolan Patrick is fully participating in the Brandon Wheat Kings training camp but Brandon does not have its first preseason games until a home-and-home with Regina on Sept. 8 (Brandon) and 9 (Regina). Flyers rookie camp starts on Sept. 11.
5) QMJHL preseason: German Rubtsov's Chicoutimi Sagueens do not play again until Sept. 8 (@Shawinigan) and Sept. 9 (@ Quebec). The Victoriaville Tigers, featuring Pascal Laberge and Flyers training camp invitee Ivan Kosorenkov, start a home-and-home set with Sherbrooke on Sept. 8 with a return match on the road on Sept. 10.
6) Champions Hockey League: Brynà¤s IF Gà¤vle (SHL) defeated HIFK (Liiga), 5-2, as Flyers goaltending prospect Felix Sandström stopped 20 of 22 shots. Through two appearances in Champions League play, the Swedish netminder has stopped 33 of 35 shots. However, his first game -- a 13-save shutout -- came against a severely overmatched Krakow team from the Polish league. HIFK was a much more suitable test for Brynà¤s and for Sandström. On Saturday, Flyers defense prospect Linus Högberg and his Và¤xjö Lakers are back in Champions League action against Czech team Bili Tygri Liberec. The game, which starts at 9 AM EDT, will be streamed for free on the Champions Hockey League website. Högberg has played on the Lakers' third pairing in each of the team's first two CHL games.
7) SHL preseason: David Kase's Mora IK club hosts Modo on Saturday. David Bernhardt's Djurgà¥rdens IF Stockholm club returns to preseason action on Tuesday, hosting Luleà¥, and then hosts Olle Lycksell's Linköping team on Thursday.
MHL (Russian junior hockey): Kirill Ustimenko (MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg team has its first regular season game on Monday, hosting Nizny Novgorod.