Quick Hits: August 30, 2019
1) With the forward portion of the Line Play series now complete on the Flyers official website, we turn our attention for the next three days to the defense pairs. Both Alain Vigneault and Mike Yeo, unsurprisingly, have said that they hope pair left-shot and right-shot defensemen across as many pairings as feasible.
Like many others have speculated, I think that Ivan Provorov (once the RFA gets signed) will start out with Matt Niskanen as his partner, and Travis Sanheim will be with Justin Braun. The third pair may be Shayne Gostisbehere with Philippe Myers although Myers will compete in camp with Robert Hà¤gg and Samuel Morin to round out the top six.
It is possible that the Flyers will carry all eight of these defensemen on the opening night roster. However, once Provorov is signed, it is also possible that someone such as Hà¤gg gets traded for a bottom-six forward or an asset.
As I noted the other day, I found it interesting that former Anaheim Ducks defenseman Andy Welinski -- along with former LA Kings forward Andy Andreoff -- was signed to a one-way contract on July 1, whereas the rest of the depth signings the Flyers made in early July (including former Minnesota Wild defenseman Nate Prosser and former Devils winger Kurtis Foster) were signed to two-way deals.
In Andreoff's case, general manager Chuck Fletcher explicitly said on July 1 and subsequently reiterated, that the player is in the mix for an NHL roster spot out of training camp. As expected, the GM didn't put a depth chart "number" or line spot for which he sees the player competing, but it'd most likely be for the 12th or 13th notch on the depth chart. If Andreoff loses out on a roster spot to someone such as Nicolas Aube-Kubel, he'd have to clears waivers in order to be loaned to the Phantoms.
Due to the one-way nature of the contract, Andreoff will get paid $750,000 this season whether he spends it in the NHL, the AHL or portions in both leagues. That's a rather hefty sum to pay someone whom some believe was "automatically" ticketed for the AHL. Additionally, the fact that Andreoff got a two-year contract rather than a one-year deal also hinted at Fletcher having some thought that Andreoff could be part of the NHL roster as a depth player.
In Welinski's case, it's a one-year, $750,000 deal. By virtue of the defensemen getting a one-way deal, he, too, has to be considered at least a fringe candidate to make the NHL roster. With eight players ahead of him -- Provorov, Niskanen, Sanheim, Braun, Gostisbehere, Myers, Hà¤gg and Morin -- there's no shot of avoiding waivers and an AHL assignment if all eight get through camp healthy.
However, if someone gets traded or injured and the roster enters the season with 13 forwards and 8 defensemen, suddenly it would not be such a remote possibility to carry Welinski as the number 8. He's also a righthanded shooter, meaning the coaches could roll four separate left-right shot pairs (the three starting pairs and the pair of healthy scratch D) at practice each day.
Welinski dressed in 26 NHL games last season for Anaheim and seven the previous year, so it's not too outlandish to see him as a possible NHL roster player if the Flyers carry eight defensemen into the season. However, for purposes of my "default roster" line play series, I am not currently projecting Welinski into the top eight.
2) Replacing the Flyers Charity Classic this year will be the new Gritty-centric "Gritty 5K" on Oct. 13, moving through the same course that was previously featured in the Flyers Charities 5K and the running/walking portion of the Charity Classic. Via the team's press release:
"Fans are encouraged to don their best orange and furry regalia as they run from the Wells Fargo Center, travel through the Navy Yard, and finish outside of Xfinity Live! The race, taking place just days after the Flyers home opener at the Wells Fargo Center (October 9), will feature a course with the full mascot treatment, including Gritty-styled “rest… and “water… stops, as well as on-route décor reflective of the mascot-of-honor’s favorite tricks, gags, and gadgets. At the finish line, the best-dressed runners will be awarded special prizes in one-of-a-kind categories such as “best in fur….... In his namesake, Gritty himself will be leading the charge at the starting line."
3) Flyers Alumni Association president Brad Marsh posted a video on Facebook discussing the Alumni's participation in the WCRE Celebrity Hockey Game on Sept. 14 at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. Proceeds benefit seven different charities and community organizations. Participating Flyers Alumni include Brian Propp, Marsh and John LeClair among other notables. New this year is the opportunity for three people to participate in a center-ice shot on goal for a $10,000 cash prize.
4) Today in Flyers History Part 1: On August 30, 1995, the Flyers traded defenseman Dmitri Yushkevich and a 1996 second-round pick (Francis Larivee) to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 1996 first-round pick (Dainius Zubrus), a 1997 second-round pick (Jean-Marc Pelletier) and a 1996 fourth-round pick (subsequently flipped by the Flyers). Yushkevich, after seven mostly solid years in Toronto and stints with Florida and LA, returned to the Flyers as a rental near the 2003 trade deadline.
5) Today in Flyers History Part 2: On August 30, 1998, one of the more interesting if ill-fated experiments in recent franchise history began. Flyers general manager Bob Clarke extended a training camp tryout offer to 24-year-old right winger Gary Coupal with the thought of potentially signing him to an American Hockey League contract to play for the Philadelphia Phantoms.
Although an utter unknown to fans who only follow the NHL, Coupal was one of the game's most notorious names in hockey circles at the time; something akin to a 1990s version of Bill "Goldie" Goldethorpe, except more civilized-acting off-the-ice.
While for the OHL's Sudbury Wolves, the enforcer got into hot water for using his stick rather than his fists. For what was deemed a deliberate high stick with intent to injure, Coupal was essentially banned for life from the OHL, being suspended for the rest of the regular season and playoffs and prohibited from subsequently attempting to returning as an overager.
Shortly after the OHL handed down its verdict, Coupal signed with Muskegon of the United Hockey League. It took him only 18 games to hit the 100 penalty minute mark but he did not do anything that merited supplementary discipline. In 1995-96, Coupal played in the fight-filled ECHL, racking up 45 fighting majors and 408 penalty minutes; a team record for the Columbus Chill.
It was not until early the 1996-97 season that Coupal got into big trouble again. The Columbus winger, while on the bench, snapped on Aaron Downey with his stick. The player was rendered unconscious and hospitalized but the outcome could have been even worse. Coupal was suspended for the rest of that season and barred from applying for reinstatement. He had now been given lifetime bans in two leagues.
Coupal returned to Muskegon, pledging to tone down some of the craziness. He settled into a third-line role, posting a dozen points in 25 games. Unfortunately, in game 26, Coupal just couldn't keep his explosive temper in check. Angry at a call at the ice, he snapped his stick over his knee and javelin-tossed the pieces into the stands. Fortunately, the broken stick narrowly missed a spectator and his young daughter. The UHL suspended Coupal for life; making it the third league from which he'd been banned.
The Central Texas Stampede of the WPHL contacted Coupal with a tryout offer. He made the team, stayed reasonably well behaved (11 fights and 79 PIM in 20 games but nothing suspension-inducing), and again worked his way up to a third-line role.
Coupal could scarcely believe his ears when Clarke extended an NHL training camp invite and the opportunity to compete for an AHL job with the Phantoms. However, that dream quickly came to an end when the American Hockey League informed the Flyers that Coupal was not welcome to play in the league; they would honor the ECHL and UHL bans if Coupal were signed to a Phantoms contract. Having already seen that Coupal was not of AHL-caliber talent, anyway, the Flyers released him from his tryout on Sept. 18, 1998.
Coupal returned to the WPHL, rejoining the Stampede. He finished his playing days in 1999-2000 with the Odessa Jackalopes (WPHL) and the Central League's Topeka Scarecrows.
6) August 30 Flyers Alumni birthdays: Jean-Guy Gendron (1934), Vladimir Malakhov (1968).