Quick Hits: March 15, 2020
1) Speaking to the NBC Sports website, Flyers senior Bob Clarke discussed his impressions of the job that Alain Vigneault and his assistant coaches have done, praised the managerial style of Chuck Fletcher and the buy-in that veterans such as Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek have given to the 200-foot game that the coach demands of everyone on the team. Clarke noted that, while their scoring numbers are down this season, the players are doing the sorts of things that set a winning tone for a team.
Clarke has long maintained a close friendship with Fletcher, who deeply respects his insights and experience. With Fletcher at the helm in Philadelphia, Clarke spends much more time around the Wells Fargo Center than he did during the Ron Hextall era. He takes his advisory role at face value. Clarke is not one to try to interfere or force his opinions on the GM but the level of mutual admiration between the Hockey Hall of Famer and Fletcher is such that he's back to being a sounding board on the hockey operations side, as he was for Paul Holmgren.
"Everybody tries to win but they use different methods. Chuck’s method is one that includes everybody. He talks with everybody and he listens to everybody. He has to make his own decisions, he’s held responsible for the decisions he’s made, but he should also be given credit for the decisions, the coaching staff, the additions he’s made to our club on defense and then up front, at the trade deadline," Clarke said to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jordan Hall.
Jordan's article on Clarke is a nice respite from a coronavirus-related "pause" of the NHL season, and well worth the read: Click here.
2) Last night, the ECHL announced that it was canceling the remainder of the 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Flyers' ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals, who recently clinched a Kelly Cup Playoffs spot for a postseason that will not be played, finished in second place in the North Division with a 37-17-6 record.
In 25 games for Reading, rookie forward Matthew Strome had 20 points (9g, 11a). Second-year pro Pascal Laberge posted 12 points (6g, 6a) in 24 games with the Royals. Subsequently recalled to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms, rookie goalie Kirill Ustimenko appeared in 31 games for the Royals, posting a 19-4-5 record, 2.40 GAA, .919 SV% and two shutouts. In 25 games for Reading, fellow first-year goalie Felix Sandström had a 13-11-1 record, 3.27 GAA, .885 SV% and two shutouts.
3) The Swedish Hockey League has also canceled the rest of their season, and there will be no playoff champion crowned or relegation round. This decision ends the season for Flyers prospects Linus Högberg, Olle Lycksell, Samuel Ersson and Adam Ginning. An uncoming blog will discuss these and other prospects in Europe.
4) Today in Flyers History: On March 15, 1996, the Flyers acquired future Hockey Hall of Fame center Dale Hawerchuk from the St. Louis Blues in a straight-up trade for fellow veteran center Craig MacTavish. Hawerchuk, who had not clicked with the Blues after signing a three-year contract as an unrestricted free agent, stepped right into the Flyers' lineup, playing either center or right wing as needed.
Despite being less than 100 percent healthy, Hawerchuk contributed 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) in 20 games down the stretch drive of the 1995-96 season. In the playoffs, he was an important contributor in the Flyers' first-round playoff victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning (three goals, seven points) in six games. He was quiet in the Flyers' second-round upset loss to the Florida Panthers.
In 1996-97, worsening hip and groin problems limited Hawerchuk to 51 games and also hampered his effectiveness. He reached the Stanley Cup Final with the team and then retired after the season.
Recently, the Winnipeg Free Press' Mike McIntyre spoke with Hawerchuk, who provided an update on his ongoing battle with stomach cancer: Click here.
March 15 1996
— STL Blues History (@STLBlueshistory) March 15, 2020
Dale Hawerchuk Traded to Philadelphia Flyers by St Louis Blues for Craig MacTavish.
Video from @KPLR11#stlblues pic.twitter.com/zao2foyPap