Quick Hits: June 27, 2021
1) The Edmonton Journal's Kurt Leavins speculated in his Saturday column that the Flyers could be a good trading partner for the Oilers in a theoretical deal for Nolan Patrick in exchange for a "young NHL-ready defenseman". I'm not sure who that'd be, given how much Patrick struggled in 2020-21 after missing the previous season. If I were the Oilers, I wouldn't trade Evan Bouchard for Patrick right now. If I were Chuck Fletcher, I wouldn't be sure there's enough upside to someone such as Ethan Bear -- although he has good wheels and plays with heart -- to be enticed.
Here's the thing: I really torn as to what the Flyers should do with Patrick this offseason. There's still too much upside to sell too low. I'd protect the non-arbitration eligible RFA in the Expansion Draft, because I certainly wouldn't want to lose the second overall pick of the 2017 Draft for nothing to Seattle in the Expansion Draft (but I would be willing to talk trade with the Kraken). At the same time, Patrick has not earned the trust necessary to feel comfortable penciling him back into a top-nine spot with power play time again as part of the Flyers' roster plan for next season.
I could be totally off-base but I suspect that the rumors of Patrick wanting out of Philadelphia were selectively planted by his newest agent in order to create some leverage for his client. The reality is that Patrick, right now, has no leverage. No arbitration rights. No NHL track record of showing more than flashes within games or one to two 10-to-12-game hot streaks followed by very long droughts on a full-season basis. It's a positive that he mostly stayed healthy and got through this past season OK, but that's just about the lone improvement on his standing from before the season.
I don't think the way Patrick played this season was radically different from his pre-2019 patterns, either. His droughts coincided with stretches where he was too content to play an unassertive, perimeter-heavy game. When he pushes himself out of his comfort zone, he's considerably more effective. However, he has yet to do that on a sustained basis.
In the most recent edition of the Flyers Daily podcast, Jason Myrtetus and I discussed Patrick at some length. We both agreed that there has to more hunger for the puck and competitiveness in winning battles and getting to the scoring areas. Jason is a little more ready to cut bait this offseason on Patrick than I am, but he also agrees that taking pennies on the dollar in trade might not make as much sense as telling his agent that, if Patrick actually wants out, here's the way to go about it: Get in top shape for camp, come in and produce for the Flyers and then, if he genuinely still wants to go elsewhere, we'll find a trade after next season.
2) Speaking of Oilers' defensemen, if the Flyers were to sign UFA defenseman Adam Larsson, there's a high probability of him being a divisive player among the fan base. It's not hard to foresee season-long debates on social media among the analytics-as-gospel devotees, the middle-of-the-roaders and those who dismiss analytics and care mainly about hits/blocks/TOI and those who'd call him a "turnover machine" and hate him for that reason.
This past season, the right-handed Larsson pulled down a whopping 70.2 percent defensive zone starts (it was 60.7 percent in 2019-20 and 61.5 percent for his career) and averaged 19:39 TOI. Truth be told, if we're talking about a potential defense partner for Ivan Provorov, I'd personally like to see a little more puck-handling acumen and ability to contribute up-ice as well as competing physically in his own end of the ice. On the other end, the Flyers do need more size, physicality and shot-blocking acumen on the back end. Larsson would not be first choice for the team's two-way needs on the back end -- lowering team GAA is also about creating quality puck possession through exits and entries as well the off-puck aspects in your own zone -- but he does check some of the boxes on the defensive side of the puck.
3) In honor Joe Watson and today's Flyers Alumni vs. Flyers Warriors Showcase game in Aston, here's a recent interview that Zak Kindrachuk (son of Broad Street Bullies era Flyers center Orest Kindrachuk) did with Joe and his fellow Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman younger brother, Jimmy.