Quick Hits: May 31, 2022
1) The "Mondays with Meltzer" weekly installment on Flyers Daily was pushed back one day due to the Memorial Day holiday yesterday. In this episode, Jason Myretetus and I discuss the under-the-radar candidacy of Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach, who recently interviewed with the Flyers, for Philadelphia's vacant head coaching position.
We also discussed the topic of whether the "game has passed by" some of the more old-school style coaches, especially John Tortorella (I personally do not believe this to be the case, as I believe a good coach knows how work within the skill on the roster he has, albeit with certain non-negotiable expectations). On a related note, we discussed Tortorella's stated disdain for "The Michigan" lacrosse-style goal and other showy "trick plays" that Trevor Zegras and other try with increasing regularity.
One section of the podcast talked about why it is crucial that the Flyers make large-scale special teams improvements under the next coaching regime, or the team isn't going to go anywhere. Last night's Rangers vs. Carolina game was largely shaped by New York's two first-period power play goals and the Hurricanes being unable to capitalize on two first period power plays of their own. If the Flyers had been even a middle-of-the-pack team on the power play and the penalty kill the last two seasons, their record would not have been nearly as dismal.
In the final segment this week, we discuss Mark Howe, who recently celebrated his 67th birthday. As many of you know, the Hockey Hall of Famer is my all-time favorite hockey player. Howie -- who was a star left winger and the WHA's all-time No. 1 playoff scorer before the merger with the NHL, then switched to defense at age 25 -- made a very challenging transition seem easy. As a defenseman, Mark Howe was Nick Lidström before Lidström came around: Off-the-charts hockey IQ, silky smooth on his skates, a very savvy defender and yet able to post impressive point totals.
To listen to the podcast, click here.
2) Back in 2019, before the Flyers hired Alain Vigneault, veteran coach Terry Murray (who had filled in as the Phantoms assistant coach under Kerry Huffman after Scott Gordon moved up to the NHL as the Flyers interim head coach) said that he felt Davis Payne deserved consideration from Philadelphia as a head coaching candidate. According to Murray, Payne had all the qualifications to make for an excellent NHL head coach if given the opportunity and decent roster.
Payne spent two partial and one full season as the head coach of the St. Louis Blues in the early 2010s when the team was in a down cycle in which it missed the playoffs five times in six seasons.
Since that time, Payne has spent the last 10 years as an assistant or associate coach with the LA Kings, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators. The 51-year-old has been with Ottawa since 2019-20. His name doesn't currently seem to be one of the "trendy" ones in terms of NHL head coaching candidates, but these things are cyclical.
For several years, former Flyers defenseman Luke Richardson's name came up frequently as someone who seemed likely to get an NHL head coaching opportunity in the near future. He's been an NHL assistant and an AHL head coach. In the last year or so, there hasn't been as much buzz about Richardson being on NHL teams' head coach candidate list but that doesn't mean he could not end up doing so. Frankly, the Montreal Canadiens decision to hire Martin St. Louis (a Hall of Famer as a player but a virtual novice head coach) rather than have Richardson finish the 2021-22 season as interim head coach was on-brand for the Habs but surprising in the sense that Richardson's name had come up so many times the previous few years.
Right now, Swedish head coack Rikard Grönborg is a trendy name for an "under-the-radar" NHL head coaching candidate (although it's an oxymoron to be both trendy and under-the-radar). He's had a lot of success in Europe and internationally plus he has prior North American head coaching experience (albeit mostly at lower levels).
Actually, I first became acquainted with Rikard in 2001 when he was the head coach of the Great Falls Americans. The Flyers had just drafted one of his players, defenseman David Printz, in the seventh round (225th overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. At the time, I was writing for Hockey's Future and Pro Hockey Euro Report.
Grönborg proactively sent me an email giving his assessment of Printz. He predicted that the young player was going to be a pro, albeit as a role player (big-framed, physical, shot-blocking defenseman), and might even see some NHL time down the line. Rikard hit the nail right on head; quite impressive given that there was quite a gap from the America West Hockey League to the pros. Printz had a 19-year pro career, mostly in Europe but which also included three AHL seasons with the Phantoms and 13 NHL games with the Flyers.
Claude Giroux's former coach with the QMJHL's Gatineau Olympiques, Benoit Groulx, was a red hot name for a few years as an NHL head coaching candidate. For the last six seasons, he's worked in the Tampa Lightning system as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. The 54-year-old Groulx's name still comes up in some media speculation about NHL head coach candidates but not as often as it did a few years ago.
Former Flyers captain Kevin Dineen is a good example of the cyclical nature of head coach candidate rumors. He had some success (a first-place finish, in fact) as head coach of the Florida Panthers in the early 2010s. For awhile, it seemed like only a matter of time until his next opportunity when he was an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks under Joel Quenneville in the mid 2010s. Then the talk about "Dino" quieted down. He coached the Canadian women's national team. Subsequently, he was hired as head coach by the AHL's San Diego Gulls before moving on the Utica Comets this season.
Utica had strong overall success under Dineen this season: 43-20-9 record during the regular season before losing three games to two in the best-of-five second round of the playoffs to the Rochester Americans. Utica actually led going into the third period of the final game. As NHL offseason head coaching vacancies have arisen, Dineen's name is one that sometimes gets mentioned again.
I'll put one more name out there, although I doubt he'll end up in Philly as the next head coach: 43-year-old former Flyers assistant coach Kris Knoblauch has a shot at becoming an NHL head at some point. His name still comes up in league circles.
Knoblauch was considered something of a coaching wunderkind at the junior level with Kootenay and Erie, and Ron Hextall hired him (replacing the legendary Joey Mullen) to run the Flyers' power play under Dave Hakstol and Scott Gordon. Knoblauch had -- and has -- a lot of creative ideas but the Flyers power play started to trend the wrong way.
Honestly, Knoblauch was not at fault. He tried out an array of ideas including different alignments and tweaking the entry strategy, and nothing clicked for very long. Actually, it was Knoblauch who irst experimented with Giroux on the right and Jakub Voracek on the left (which neither player liked or felt particularly comfortable doing, and which did not succeed). Knoblauch took some criticism while he was here. Subsequently, his more experienced successors, Michel Therrien and then Darryl Williams/John Torchetti were also unable to coax better performance.
Ultimately, the goal of a coaching search is not only to hire the biggest "name" you can get: it's to hire the RIGHT coach for your team. If the Flyers cannot land Barry Trotz -- an undeniably elite head coach in the NHL -- and they opt to seriously consider short-listing candidates apart from the obvious names such as Tortorella and Jim Montgomery, they can't worry about name recognition as a deciding factor. The fact that Vellucci got an interview, to me, is a positive.
3) Joe Mullen, who is now 65 years old, is not seeking a return to coaching in the NHL from what I have heard. I know that his name came up in a recent column about potential power play coaches for the next coaching staff because Mullen has done some coaching in a 3-on-3 league. However, that not the same thing as a return to the grind that comes all the video work, meetings, practices and travel associated with NHL coaching. Mullen's son, Patrick, plays for his seven-player (six skaters, one goalie) team in the 3 Ice League.
4) A restricted free agent this summer, Maksim Sushko has elected to sign with the KHL's HC Dynamo Moscow rather than returning to the Flyers organization. The 23-year-old Flyers could still tender Sushko a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights if and when he wants to return to North America.
Sushko dressed in 63 games for the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2021-22, chipping in 10 goals and 17 points. He has not progressed much since a promising AHL rookie season in 2019-20, when he was considered a potential bottom six NHL forward if he stayed on track.
During the pandemic-affected 2020-21 season, Sushko spent the early portion of the season (before the NHL convened in January) with the KHL's Dinamo Minsk. He had a suspected bout with COVID-19 while the team as a whole was riddled with cases, and he was pretty much confined to fourth line duty. Upon returning to North America, Sushko appeared in nine AHL games with the Phantoms. He also dressed in two NHL games for the Flyers in Feb. 2021 while the Flyers were greatly depleted due to COVID cases. Sushko played in the team's Lake Tahoe game against the Bruins. Ultimately, Susko had an injury setback and the 2020-21 season ended up being largely a missed development opportunity for him.
Sushko was not entirely healthy in 2021-22, either, but was healthy enough to get into 63 of the Phantoms' 75 games. Even going back to his junior days with the OHL's Owen Sound Attack, Sushko had bouts of inconsistency but also some stretches where he played quite effectively. Most notably in 2021-22, Sushko put together a three-game goal streak in April (among the 10 goals he scored overall) and he previously strung together two consecutive strong weeks in mid-to-late December.
Overall, though, it would be hard to argue that Sushko was a markedly better player by the spring of 2022 than he'd been by the time the pandemic hit in March 2020 and the rest of the AHL season was canceled. How much of it was due to interruptions in his seasons? Probably some of it. However, the same hot-and-cold pattern in his overall game (not just offense) predated the pandemic.
Nevertheless, the Flyers organization -- going back to the Hextall regime -- always liked the player's collection of natural assets: a sturdy frame, two-way upside, mobility and a nascent scoring touch even if used in a bottom six role. There are current NHL role players to whom Sushko was developmentally comparable -- or even ahead -- in his draft-plus two year in the Ontario League and his rookie AHL season. That he's now going to Europe at age 23 and would have been an NHL longshot heading into training camp had he stayed is a disappointment.
5) If it was only Sushko who stagnated or went backward, it would be a non-issue. But the Flyers have been plagued by player development problems in recent years. Remember, the Flyers organization's farm system was considered to be among the best crops in the NHL not all that long ago. Below is the team's leaguewide prospect quality/depth ranking trend in The Hockey News' annual Future Watch issue: ranked 2nd in 2018, 1st in 2019, 8th in 2020, 17th in 2021, 27th in 2022.
Flyers leaguewide farm system ranking in THN Future Watch issue, 2018-22. Again, it hasn't been a drafting issue contrary to what some say. It's been a development issue for a variety of reasons. pic.twitter.com/33iIlZM5Eq
— Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) May 14, 2022
During his midseason press conference, Chuck Fletcher acknowledged that the organization's player development track record -- which is a separate consideration from amateur scouting and drafting -- needed improvement. Fletcher said it had nothing to do with the caliber of coaches that were already on hand but rather a need to allow for more one-on-one time. Fletcher said the organization was addressing the issue through investing more resources and adding additional coaches to the developmental staff. One such hire was Sami Kapanen, who will work with prospects in European leagues, including 2021 second-round pick Samu Tuomaala.
Shortly after his official hiring as a special assistant to Fletcher, Danny Briere cited improved player development as one of the big objectives moving forward. He said there were a variety of different factors involved in why the Flyers farm system that had seemed so promising just a few years ago has fallen short of producing abundant NHL-level contributors. Exceptionally bad organizational luck with serious injuries that cost young players much/all of an entire season (or more) off their development windows has been one inescapable factor. He acknowledged that it is not the ONLY factor, however. In other cases, player usage may not have been ideal.
6) May 31 in memoriam: Rick MacLeish (1950-2016)
A three-time NHL All-Star game participant (1975-76, 1976-77, 1979-80), MacLeish holds the distinction of being the charter member of the Flyers’ 50-Goal club, achieving that mark in a 100-point season in 1972-73. MacLeish also holds the distinction, along with Bob “the Hound… Kelly, of scoring a Stanley Cup winning goal for the Flyers.
For his distinguished Flyers career, MacLeish racked up 328 goals and 697 points in 741 regular season games. He elevated his game even higher in the playoffs, notching 53 goals and 105 points in 108 postseason games.
To teammates and friends, MacLeish will always be remembered as an endearingly flighty and laconic man who sometimes preferred the company of his beloved horses to that of other people.
Rick MacLeish was born on January 3, 1950 in Cannington Ontario. MacLeish was one of the smoothest skaters and purest offensive talents ever to wear the Orange and Black. Head tilted, hair flapping in the breeze, the guy called “Bedrock… (or “Cutie… or “Beauty… or “The Hawk…) injected a bit of flash and dash to the Broad Street Bullies. He had good ice vision, a deft passing touch, excellent puck handling skills and wrists like a longshoreman.
Centering a line with Dornhoefer and Lonsberry at 5-on-5, MacLeish]finished 4th in points in the NHL in 1972-73 , behind Phil Esposito, Bobby Clarke (who won the Hart Trophy), and Bobby Orr. MacLeish scored 50 goals and added 50 helpers for an even 100 points.
The Flyers, sparked by a young nucleus that included not only Clarke and MacLeish but also promising rookie Bill Barber (30 goals, 64 points in 69 games), had the first winning season in club history. They advanced to the Stanley Cup semi-finals before going out in 5 games to the more experienced Montreal Canadiens. MacLeish won game 2 at the Forum with a goal in overtime.
The fun had only just begun.
The Flyers were about to embark on the most glorious chapter of their team history. The re-acquisition of Parent and the rapid emergence of rookie defenseman Jimmy Watson helped make everything come together in 1973-74.
During the Flyers magic ride to their first Stanley Cup, the club did a lot of fighting on the ice and a lot of laughing off the ice. In a locker room full of extroverts and practical jokers, MacLeish remained one of the few players whose words did not speak just as loud as his deeds. Off the ice, he was much more comfortable around his teammates and his horses than he was among fans or reporters.
Although he did not quite approach his totals of 1972-73, MacLeish still enjoyed a fine regular season in 1973-74. He scored 32 goals and 77 points in 78 games, among which were numerous timely goals and assists.
In the playoffs, MacLeish stepped up his game even further. He was the leading scorer in the postseason, wristing home 13 goals (to go along with 9 helpers) in 17 games. He scored the game winners in game 2 of the opening round sweep of the Atlanta Flames and games 1 and 5 of the hard fought semi-final round against the Rangers.
Of course, no goal in Flyers history was more important than the one MacLeish nabbed on the afternoon of May 14, 1974. With nearly sixteen minutes elapsed in a scoreless first period, the Flyers were on the powerplay. MacLeish, moving in front of the net, re-directed “Moose… Dupont's shot from the point past goaltender Gilles Gilbert.
The goal would prove to be the only one the Flyers would get or need on the day. Bernie Parent made the 1-0 lead stand up and the Flyers downed the Boston Bruins in 6 games to win the Stanley Cup.
MacLeish and the Flyers repeated their 1973-74 success the following year. Rick bagged 38 goals and added 41 assists for 79 points in 80 games (the only season of his career in which MacLeish dressed for every game). In the playoffs he added 11 more goals and 9 more assists as the Flyers once again carried off the Stanley Cup, this time downing the Buffalo Sabres in a six-game final.
Although rarely called upon to show his pugilistic prowess, MacLeish was a tough customer when he did drop the gloves.
Two of his more notable fights were a pummeling he laid on Detroit's Henry Boucha during a bench-clearing brawl and a one sided thrashing of the Rangers Jerry Butler.
Flyers teammate Bob Kelly, one of the more active combatants on the Broad Street Bullies, was glad that MacLeish was on his side. He knew full well how tough MacLeish was, having unsuccessfully taken Rick on back in junior hockey.
Said Kelly, “Rick just stood there and slugged it out with me. I can honestly say I never lost a fight in junior, but that was one I did not win.…
Of course, goal scoring and play making would always be MacLeish's stock in trade. The team missed his presence in the lineup during the 1975-76 postseason, when the quest for their third consecutive Stanley Cup was ended in the Finals by a Montreal Canadiens sweep.
MacLeish celebrated his return to the ice with an outstanding 1976-77 season. He scored 49 goals and finished with 97 points. He also had 4 goals and 13 points in 10 playoff games. The Flyers, however, lost in the Stanley Cup Semifinals to the Bruins.
MacLeish loved having Shero for his coach. The coach's offbeat sensibilities and willingness to let his players be themselves resonated with almost everyone in the lockerroom.
McCammon, though, was another story.
Unprepared for being an NHL coach, McCammon was in over his head during his first stint as Flyers coach. Among the most notable of players who chafed under McCammon's stewardship was MacLeish. The two almost came to blows after McCammon publicly ripped MacLeish's effort after a loss to the Islanders. As it turned out, MacLeish had been playing with a broken wrist. He missed 9 games with the injury.
After 49 games, McCammon was out and Pat Quinn was promoted from the Maine Mariners to take over the head coaching duties. Quinn's more upbeat approach worked well for MacLeish, who rebounded to finish well. His 29 goals and 58 points in 71 games were a cut below MacLeish's usual standard, but the bad wrist and the problems with McCammon certainly contributed to his decreased production.
In April 1978, MacLeish suffered a frightening injury in a road game in Los Angeles. During the first period, MacLeish was down on the ice as the Kings Marcel Dionne tripped over him. Dionne's skate blade slashed MacLeish across the throat.
Fortunately, the blade missed MacLeish's jugular vein by a fraction of an inch. It was also a stroke of good luck that the Flyers oral surgeon, Dr. Everett Borghesani, happened to be traveling with the team at the time.
Rushing down with his first aid kit, Dr. Borghesani saved MacLeish from bleeding to death. The doctor finally got the wound sealed with 88 stitches before he was taken to the hospital for observation.
Greatly relieved that their teammate was going to survive, the Flyers welcomed him back to Philadelphia in true hockey style: they poked fun at MacLeish's massive neck wound. Walking into the dressing room, MacLeish was greeted by a message on the blackboard which read, "What's the difference between Rick MacLeish and Frankenstein's monster? Two stitches!"
MacLeish took it all in the spirit in which it was intended and came back with a little gallows humor of his own. He said, "My neck's fine, boys, but when I puff on a cigarette, smoke comes out my throat!"
The 1979-80 season was a big bounceback campaign for the Flyers. It was the year of the Flyers record 35 game unbeaten streak. MacLeish, now 30 years old and centering the third line, scored 31 goals and 66 points in 78 games.
The stats themselves were only up slightly from the previous year but it was the timing of the offense, in a somewhat reduced 5-on-5 role, that was impressive. MacLeish's big game performances were especially good that year, especially during the streak and the playoffs.
In the postseason, MacLeish scored nine goals. In the Stanley Cup finals, the Flyers old guard of Clarke and MacLeish played key roles in helping the team to win Game Two and to avoid elimination in Game Five. Finally, Quinn's Flyers fell to the Islanders in a heart-breaking and highly controversial sixth game of the Finals.
MacLeish had another solid season for Quinn in 1980-81, scoring 38 goals and 74 points in 78 games. However, the Flyers decided that the time had come to move the aging player while his trade value was still high.
MacLeish was sent to the Hartford Whalers in a trade that brought the Flyers Ray Allison and the fourth overall pick in the 1982 draft (used to select Ron Sutter). MacLeish split the 1981-82 season with the Whalers and the Penguins, scoring a combined 19 goals and 47 points in 74 games. The follow season, injuries limited Rick to a mere six games, in which he failed to light the lamp. After the season, the Penguins let the 33-year old MacLeish go.
MacLeish contacted the Flyers to see if they were still interested. Ironically, the team's coach (and new de facto GM) was Bob McCammon, who had returned to replace Quinn during the 1981-82 season. McCammon offered MacLeish a tryout contract. He accepted.
Putting on the orange and black again seemed to rejuvenate MacLeish, who had a torrid preseason and rushed out of the gates in the regular season. He soon came back down to earth but still had a respectable 8 goals and 22 points in 29 games.
The Flyers informed MacLeish that he did not fit in the team's plans. MacLeish was sold to the Detroit Red Wings, for whom he finished his career. MacLeish retired at the end of the 1983-84 season. After his playing career, he made his permanent home along the Jersey shore.