Bryz a Free Bird

So two days ago, catching many off-guard, the Flyers announced that they would buy-out Bryzgalov.  Much speculated but never certain, the Flyers decided to plow ahead.

My read was that the Flyers wanted to buy out Bryz, but would not do so this offseason until they had an alternative locked up.  Even if they want to give Mason significant playing time, they still need another goalie, and Bryz is still a decent quality goalie.

No need to beat dead horses, but Bryzgalov is coming off a decent season from a purely performance standpoint.  The problem is his contract and his attitude.  He has not been a difference maker, and no one wants to tolerate that circus for 7 more years of decent-but-not-great goaltending.

Then when you see quotes as in this piece, Bryzgalov seemed to be accelerating his own departure.  He obviously hates the media here (with some justification), and he just doesn't want to fight the fight anymore to succeed here in a system of play that does not complement his skills well.  All in all, even though I have been somewhat of a Bryz apologist, and recently wrote about the benefits of buying him out next summer, this is not a bad solution.

I also might feel slightly bad for Bryz, getting run out of town and the Flyers making the biggest buyout in NHL history to rid themselves of him, but consider he will effectively be paid $40m for 2 seasons by the Flyers.  Even if he never plays in the NHL again, worse things could happen to someone.

Another factor I did not consider previously was the effect of carrying Bryz this season on the Flyers "tagging space".  The issue there is that a team cannot exceed the present season's salary cap with contracts committed to the following year.  If Bryz was still on the team, his cap hit would be "tagged" to next season's payroll, taking up space the Flyers might otherwise wish to allocate to new deals for Giroux, Couturier and Schenn.  As it stands now, with Mesz and Timonen likely leaving, Bryz and Briere bought out, the Flyers only have $39m committed to the 2014-15 season, and thus have plenty of space to get those guys resigned during this coming season and protect themselves from RFA offer complications.

Goalie Alternatives

Now that the Flyers have a spot to fill, the fun part is evaluating replacement candidates.  The presumption I will make for this analysis is the Flyers want to bring him above simple backup quality, and who will be capable of carrying the load if Mason sputters.

Luongo - The biggest name, first it needs to be said that trading for Luongo is a terrible idea.  He has 9 seasons left at a cap hit of $5.33m.  Giving up assets for the privilege of that contract is insane.  If however the Canucks buy him out (which they clearly don't want to do, but may have no other choice), the Flyers may look into an opportunistic signing.  If you could sign him for a relatively cheap and short contract (say $8m over 2 years), that could really pay off.

Nabokov - This name always seems to come up on my blog.  It appears he will not resign with the Islanders.  Now 37, he had a pretty good season for the Isles but a disappointing playoffs.  A good option, if available for cheap.

Miller - Soon to be 33, a few seasons ago he seemed like a golden boy.  I think his play slipped last season, and he appears to have worn out his welcome speaking his mind in Buffalo.  He's got a big cap hit next season, and then will be a free agent.  If I were the Flyers, I would not trade anything of value for another outspoken goalie who will be a free agent soon.

Emery - Another name that has been on this blog several times before.  A free agent who did not play in the playoffs for the champion Hawks, a regular season line of 17-1, .922% and 3 SOs seems to confirm he is back from his injury concerns.  Again, if cheap and brief, he might be a good signing and a good partner with Mason to compete for job.

Thomas - I'm not 100% sure what his contract status his after sitting out last season, but presuming he is a free agent, and one year deal for him would certainly be interesting.  Now 39, he is only 2 years removed from a historic season, winning the Vezina, Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup.  With he and Mason, the Flyers would certainly have a lot of athleticism in the crease.

Smith - He had a phenomenal season 2 years ago, but that appears to be an anomaly.  Also, we've seen that a goalie succeeding on Phoenix may not mesh well under Laviolette's system.  Pass.

Clearly the common theme among the candidates is that Flyers should be opportunistic, and not commit too many resources to the goaltending situation this offseason.  Let Mason or someone else win the job, rather than chasing a white whale.

Buffalo Series Game 7 Review

Last night showed, that when you strip away all the nonsense about Pronger injuries and shocking goaltending, the Flyers are a much better team than the Sabres.  The Flyers jumped all over the Sabres, who almost survived until Miller let in an awful goal.  I guess that would make terrible goals allowed ~9-1 this series?

Outside of Game 1, in which I thought the Sabres did very well to keep the Flyers out of dangerous scoring areas, the Sabres haven't been able to slow down the Flyers attack.  This series went seven games based another shutout win on the back of Miller, and the worst goaltending you will see this time of year.

The one other big difference last night was blocked shots.  I don't have the statistics, but through the first 25 minutes of the game the Flyers blocked a ton of shots, protecting Boucher.  That is the kind of effort they will have to replicate against stronger competition.

Observations and other deep thoughts:

-I've ragged on Coburn a bit, but when push comes to shove he's a trusted defensemen.  He covered a lot of ground in game 6, and has one of the best all-around games among the flyers defensemen.

-Good first period from Richards, driving the net.  Skated less as the game went on.  I still say something is up with him physically, but he will battle and hopefully get healthier.

-Encouraging to see Pronger play meaningful minutes, though the fact the Flyers still dressed Syrvet (only to play 19 seconds) means they're keeping an eye on his still-mending health.  And did I see a note that Pronger went up the tunnel with <1 minute left in the game, and thus missed the handshake?  Not sure on that one, but would be kind of bush league if that's what happened.

-One more goal each for JVR and Briere.  

-Zherdev is trying, but you can tell the way he kind of haphazardly throws himself he has no idea how to throw a check.  Either way, earning his keep in the lineup and at this rate he'll bag a goal or two.

-No, I did not think the Flyers were going to get their first SO last night, even when it was 4-0 in the 3rd.

-I thought the Flyers power play hit a turning point in game 5, and last night took another step, as the Flyers power play looked like a real threat.  Pronger helps, but I also like moving Richards back and JVR to the front.

-Felt like "old' times with the Leino-Briere-Hartnell line, pinning the Sabres in their own end on many shifts.

-Leighton has fallen off the face of the earth apparently, and there was even a rumor (which Holmgren denied--big surprise) that Leighton had gone AWOL from the team after being pulled from game 6.  Not much makes sense to me.  Leighton has been a good a soldier, so I don't see why he would bolt after being rightfully pulled from game 6.  On the other hand, the Flyers handling on Leighton has been strange, sending to the minors for all those months, recalling him but not playing him in the regular season, then giving him a playoff start, then being the number 4 goalie the next day?  It's all hard to make sense of.  Either way, his chances of returning to the net these playoffs are basically zero, and we'll leave it at that.

Buffalo Series Game 4

Buffalo came out strong, but offered little in the 2nd half of the game.  The only reason the got a shutout was Ryan Miller's big performance (this was much more a Miller-earned shutout than game 1).  All tied up, series could go either way but Flyers have to happy overall with their performances these last 3 games.  If Boucher performs like last night and everything else holds steady, the Flyers will very likely win the series.

Notes:
-Buffalo is getting away with a ton of crap after the whistle.  Nearly every time Miller freezes the puck, if a Flyers is around he gets punched or dropped, and the refs haven't called them for any of it.  The Sabres are walking a fine line, but it certainly looks to me like that is part of their intentional plan.  Pronger probably can't wait to get back in the middle of such shenanigans, as he is the king of it all.

-Speaking of Pronger, the natural assumption is the Pronger will play game 5 with the series tied, whereas he probably would've sat again if it was 3-1 Flyers.  Might not play on the PP though with his bad hand rendering him unable to shoot.

-Didn't look like much, but the fact that Carter didn't return is very bad news.  He hasn't done all that much, but he was the teams leading goal scorer and his size, speed and shot always gives the other team something to think about.

-Does anything really need to be said about Richards' 5-minute elbowing penalty?  Simply ridiculous to give a 5 minute major for that.  Compare it to Kunitz's brutal elbow the other night which was only worth 2 minutes.

I'm glad the officials feel the need to protect poor Kaleta, who is a real saint out there and would never do anything to intentionally hurt another player;

Game 1 Review

I didn't have a good feeling about this series, and the Flyers did nothing for me tonight to change any of those worries.

Yes, the Flyers held a clear territorial edge in the play, had 35 shots, and probably outchanced Buffalo about 2-1. Much of the post-game talk was Miller, and Richards said if they continue to play like that, they'll have success.

I disagree. How many times did the Flyers get a great look where you get on the edge of your seat? Damn few. The only decent chances they had were jam plays where you hope somebody pokes the puck in the net when the goalie is down. Miller was solid but didn't do much of note.

This team is still afflicted with stop-and-pass syndrome. I lost count of all the times where the Flyers had odd-man numbers on a rush or around the goal and the puck carrier just stops skating, drifts and throws a hopeful pass into the slot which bounces away harmlessly. It's like the Flyers are afraid to carry the puck to the net or shoot from anywhere but the slot (a play which Buffalo took away). Briere and Meszaros are the only guys willing to shoot. This is the way they've been playing the last month, and it's doubtful it will change now. Carry the puck towards the net aggressively and force the issue!! Coasting and passing to the slot every time is predictable and easy to defend. I don't expect the Flyers to score many goals this series.

Other individual thoughts:

The good

-Real good game for JVR. Probably the Flyers best forward tonight.

-Good first period from Leino, and he created several chances overall.

-Can't fault Briere for anything tonight. He probably had the most hits of any Flyer.

-Bobrovsky gets a pass tonight. Was pretty good in the limited chances he faced, though he gave up a poor rebound that led to the only goal.

The not-so good

-Versteeg is really doing absolutely nothing for me (which has been the case since he arrived)

-Carter did nothing with the puck. He had a few scoring chances, but those came from hanging out away from the puck where Giroux and JVR set him up with their hard work.

-Good to see Richards come out with fire, but he did nothing this game and spent more time yelling at the refs than anything else. Same anonymous play as stretches of the regular season for him this year.

-The PP looked totally hopeless, not that there could've been any reasonable expectation of flipping the switch on that.

-Giroux is trying, but is out of sorts right now. Stickhandling 1-on-4 during the last PP?

My standing prediction was Buffalo in 7. 6 games is looking more likely.