There have been too many things this season to get really excited about as it pertains to the Flyers.
And then something unusual happened. Mark Streit, who carries a whopping $5.25 million cap hit, goes down with a long-term injury, allowing the Flyers to use his cap money to bring up a couple youngsters from the Phantoms.
Shayne Gostisbehere is a player Flyer fans can get excited about. This is a kid people have been wanting to see on the club's blue line for over a year now.
And were it not for injury, he would not be here. He can move with the wind. He has great back speed to catch-up when beaten. He has a canon shot from the point. And he has the kind of silky-smooth skating movements to go around people, go through people and avoid checks.
Those are several qualities most of the FLyers current defense sorely lacks. This is a kid to get excited about for as long as he is here.
I like the fact that new coach Dave Hasktol is giving him generous minutes - 20 minutes vs. LA this week - and also entrusting him with responsibility. Streit captained the first unit power play and now so does Ghost.
You don't find many call-ups from the AHL getting that kind of responsibility handed to them in the first game without even having a practice.
I asked Ghost if the club gave him a crash course that first game at Carolina or even something more against LA?
“Not really,… Gostisbehere replied. “Surprisingly, it’s very simple. You just read off the players. I read off Jake and G on the breakouts. They just tell me to shoot the puck. That’s what I’m going to do.…
Jake being Voracek and G being Claude Giroux.
I'm sure the Flyers marketing department is happy to see Ghost come aboard. He represents s new face to sell to the fans during a tough season on the rebuild. He can put more bodies in the stands, too.
The next several weeks are going to be interesting to see how much progress Gostisbehere makes in his NHL development and how much of an impact he has on the roster.
GM Ron Hextall has stated that were it not for a desperate situation at hand, Ghost would still be learning at the AHL level.
Hextall is hoping that Ghost makes the decision to return him in six weeks difficult. Nothing would be better than to see this kid develop here and make the roster because he represents the first part of what is really needed on the blue line - a major overhaul.
Given his $925,000 salary, and Streit's eventual return, it won't be easy to make room. Some player with a heavy contract will have to be set free.
Yet that's exactly the kind of "problem" that makes a GM smile. It shows he has legit talent and needs to find space for that talent to blossom.
We'll know in less than two months the end result.
For now, enjoy the moment because this what Flyer fans have been dreaming about for a long time.
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