Despite some strong recent performances from their youngsters, the Philadelphia Flyers continue to resist building an active roster based on merit.
On Wednesday, reports surfaced that the Flyers had sent Emil Andrae down to the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms after the defenseman appeared in just one NHL game for the team.
In his most recent call-up, Andrae, 23, played only 10:22, but he and the Flyers were pretty dominant in those minutes.
Making your season debut against the Florida Panthers is no easy task, but Andrae made it look so as the Flyers out-shot their opposition 7-1 with the Swede on the ice at 5-on-5.
So, while it would appear Cam York is destined to return from injury ahead of Thursday night’s home matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, the Flyers still just aren’t icing their best possible team.
On Monday night, Noah Juulsen skated away from a Matvei Michkov pass at the offensive zone blueline despite having ample time and space to make a play and continue possession.
Adam Ginning has been alright – and certainly better than Egor Zamula, whose struggles are being compounded by agent issues – but the bar isn’t all that high.
At least with Andrae in the lineup, the Flyers are able to move (and carry) the puck up the ice with consistency.
NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Badly Need Defensive Upgrades
The Philadelphia Flyers are reportedly scouring the NHL trade market for much-needed defensive reinforcements, but which players are actually going to be worth their while?
We know the Flyers are hell-bent on building a Stanley Cup-contending defense that’s stocked to the brim with size and range, but they aren’t there yet. How can that be enforced reasonably against Andrae despite being a handful of years down the road?
And, further to that point, why not draft any big left-shot defensemen?
On the right side, the Flyers already have Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, Jamie Drysdale, Oliver Bonk, Spencer Gill, Carter Amico, Helge Grans, and Luke Vlooswyk, and on the left, the Flyers have almost no projectable defensemen.
There’s Andrae, and then there’s Hunter McDonald and Ty Murchison. Nick Seeler turned 32 in June, and Cam York is presumably in Philadelphia for the long haul.
If Zamula, Andrae, and Ginning are on the outs after this year, that’s the list.
This is all to say that, if the Flyers want to win and play their best 19 players every night, Andrae is one of them.
Rick Tocchet Issues Blunt Warning to Struggling Flyers Defenseman
The Philadelphia Flyers may have lost to the New York Islanders in Thursday night’s preseason game, but their continued struggles on defense are of much greater concern.
And if the 23-year-old isn’t a future asset, he can become one. But the Flyers won’t have much success trading a defenseman who can’t get in the lineup ahead of Juulsen, Ginning, and Zamula on a regular basis.
That’s why, for better or for worse, the Flyers are still stuck in those old school ways of needing to be big, strong, and punishing. Time will tell if they have the required finesse in their locker to take the team to the next level.
