Meltzer's Musings: January 12, 2016
1) Tuesday's practice will be telling as to the status of rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere for Wednesday's game against the Boston Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center.
Gostibehere skated before practice on Tuesday and helped warm up the goaltenders but left the ice before full practice started. This was planned. After practice, Gostisbehere spoke with the media. His absence is not expected to be long-term, even if he is not ready to play on Wednesday.
2) When Flyers defenseman Nick Schultz skates his first shift of Wednesday's game, he will become the 301st player in NHL history to reach the 1,000 regular season games played milestone. That is out of over 6,000 players to suit up in the league over the course of its history.
The 1,000-game mark historically was a coveted pension milestone for the relatively few veterans who lasted in the league long enough to reach the mark. Even today, when players earn much more money than their predecesors, it's still a badge of distinction because it reflects durability, professionalism and perserverence.
"It’s pretty special," Schultz said after Saturday's 4-0 win against the Islanders. "To get the chance to play that long it’s a great honor and something you don’t think about when you start your career. You just kind of want to play for as long as you can. I’ve been fortunate to stick around this long and feel just very fortunate. To be around and to play that long it’s been a lot of fun.…
Originally a second-round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild (33rd overall) in the 2000 NHL Draft, Schultz was like many future NHL defensive defensemen in that he adapted to that role at the professional after playing a more offensive-minded game in the junior ranks. The season after the Wild drafted Schultz, he posted 17 goals and 47 points in just 59 games with the Western Hockey League's Prince Albert Raiders. The year after that, a 19-year-old Schultz made his NHL debut for the Wild and dressed in his first 52 NHL games.
Schultz spent the first 10 years and nine seasons (he played in Germany's DEL during the lockout-canceled 2004-05 NHL season) of his career with Minnesota. To this day, he remains the Wild's franchise leader in games played and blocked shots. Since that time, Schultz has been with three teams -- including a brief stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Last summer, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall brought Schultz in on a discounted one-year contract. A healthy scratch on opening night after a so-so training camp, Schultz went on to dress in 80 of the next 81 games, missing one February game due to a minor injury. Forgoing the unrestricted free agent open market in the interest of keeping his family from having to move yet again and because he is happy playing for the Flyers, Schultz signed a two-year contract extension. The news that he was staying put was welcomed by his teammates.
Schultz has never been a darling of the advanced stats crowd, but has been a go-to player among most of his NHL coaches, including Craig Berube and Dave Hakstol in Philadelphia. He is also among the most respected players in the dressing room; one who leads by example in his exemplary work habits and even-keeled disposition.
A player does not reach 1,000 NHL games by accident. Schultz has reached the mark because of his combination of size and mobility, defensive stick, positional smarts and self-sacrifice. He carved out a niche for himself in a particular role, which is play without the puck.
Last season, a large contingent the Flyers players -- when asked off-the-record as to whom they'd select for the Barry Ashbee Trophy as the team's best defenseman if it were their choice -- selected Schultz. Goaltender Steve Mason in particular often pointed to Schultz (as well another oft-maligned defenseman, Nicklas Grossmann) as a strong communicator and a player whom he trusts in between himself and the shooter.
"A lot of it comes down to reads. If I guy is setting up for a one-timer, a lot of times it's better to get out of the way and let your goalie see it. There are certain reads a defenseman has where you know you can get in the way and stop it. If you are going to try and stop it, you have to make sure you can get it. If it goes by you, you're just creating another screen for your goalie," Schultz said on Oct. 6.
According to Mason, the recent third period puck mix-up between Schultz and the goalie behind the net in the Minnesota game -- after the goalie stopped the puck for the defenseman to pick up, Schultz accidentally put the puck off Mason's leg as the goalie started to skate back to the net and it went directly out in front to a pouncing Zach Parise -- that cost the Flyers a game-tying goal was a freak accident on a routine play more than it was a communication breakdown.
Overall, Schultz has not has as effective of a season in his role in 2015-16 as he did last year. Internally, however, he has built the cache to work through it because he thoroughly understands his defensive zone role and was among the first players to grasp and articulate Hakstol's system as compared to Berube's.
Schultz missed a couple games in late November due to a suspected concussion suffered in a game at Madison Square Garden. He has not been a healthy scratch at all, even when the Flyers had eight healthy defensemen.
Schultz's frequent defense partner Mark Streit -- himself a veteran of 675 NHL games despite not arriving in the NHL until he was almost 28 years old -- said that Schultz has value to the team that can never be measured in statistics; whether points or analytics.
"Nick is a very smart player, always in good position," Streit said on Oct. 26. "He makes good reads on the play. The communication is always important out there and he communicates well. Just overall, he's easy to play with."
Earlier this season, I asked Schultz about his feelings on the ever-growing influence that shot-attempt based stats has had on the way that players' value gets perceived.
"Playing in Canada, in Edmonton, it was crazy. Every day, it was all anyone talked about. People weren't even watching the game, they'd just look at a guy and what his Corsi number was. They would rate a guy the next day based only on what his Corsi number was. It got crazy. People got a little out of control with it," said Schultz.
"I think there is some correlation, but a lot of it is common sense, though. Obviously, if you have the puck more, you're going to attempt more shots. That's just common sense. But in hockey, there's not a lot of analytics like in baseball. I don't personally look at it, but in some places around the league, it's talked about more than others."
There has been a 49-season fan tradition in Philadelphia to pick out a scapegoat defenseman and gripe about him endlessly, even when the team wins. Schultz seems to be the current "honoree" of choice. While all players should be held accountable for their performance, a segment of the fan base has a tendency to take the criticism overboard and convince themselves that if only the team would get rid of Player A (or at least scratch him in favor of Player B), the team's ills would be cured.
Criticism goes with the territory sometimes. Schultz realizes and doesn't let it phase him, nor should he. Within the Flyers' dressing room and coach's office, he is held in the highest of esteem and respect.
Given the right mix on the blueline -- the Flyers aren't there yet -- a contending team can do just fine with a player like Schultz in a supporting cast role on defense. In the big picture, the badge of being a 1,000-game veteran in the NHL is a mighty compelling case about Schultz's competency to be part of the process during the current transitional phase for the Flyers' organization.
Let's put it this way: Either Nick Schultz knows what he's doing out there or he's done one hell of a con job for 15 years to fool an array of NHL coaches, including two-time Jack Adams Award and one-time Stanley Cup winning coach Jacques Lemaire in Minnesota and his current coach in Philly, that he's been worthy of a holding a spot in the starting lineup.
3) Flyers captain Claude Giroux celebrates his 28th birthday today. Speaking of Giroux, public tickets are on sale now for his annual bowling event to support his Claude Giroux Foundation charity. The event has grown in popularity each year, and all proceeds go to worthy causes. The participants have fun with it and it gives fans a chance to rub shoulders with their favorite players. Note: the $200 admission ticket includes access to mingle with Flyers players, hors d'oeuvres and two drink tickets. It does NOT include access to participate in bowling.
This year's event, held at Lucky Strike in Center City Philadelphia (1336 Chestnut St.) on Feb. 17, runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET. Last year's event raised funds for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, The Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, and Hospital Notre Dame in Giroux's hometown of Hearst, Ont.
Bringing the Decades Together: Flyers Alumni to Play in Reading
In celebration of nearly a half-century of Flyers hockey, the Flyers Alumni Association is bringing together players representing every decade of franchise history for a special Orange vs. Black intrasquad Alumni game on Feb. 5, 2016 at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be held at the Santander Arena in Reading, PA, home of the Philadelphia Flyers' ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals.
Confirmed participants to date include the legendary Bob Clarke, Danny Briere, Kimmo Timonen, Flyers Hall of Fame inductees Brian Propp and Joe Watson, Bill Clement, Bob "the Hound" Kelly, Paul Holmgren, Dave Poulin and Brad Marsh. Full rosters of the Alumni will be announced soon.
Tickets for the Alumni game start at $12 and are on sale now. For more information on the game, click here.