Flyers

More Flyers Roster News Following the 5-4 Overtime Loss in Pittsburgh

By Anthony SanFilippo

Published: Feb 16th, 2022 · 11:51 AM EST

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In case you missed it last night – and at this point, you probably did find something better to do than watch a hockey game between a first place team and a last place team separated by 30 points – the Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins renewed their long-standing rivalry, and the game was actually a good one.

The Flyers played well, likely because it was the last time captain Claude Giroux would face the Penguins as a member of the Flyers, and actually built a 4-2 lead. But, they coughed it up in the span of 18 seconds in the third period and eventually lost their third straight game when Kris Letang intercepted a Giroux pass in overtime and beat Carter Hart to the five-hole on a 2-on-1 breakaway to give the Penguins the win.

Also in the game, Sidney Crosby scored his 500th career goal, an impressive milestone, and it was only right that it happened against the Flyers – the team he has scored more goals against than anyone. For Crosby, it was his 50th career goal against the Flyers. Such symmetry.

Here it is:

Goal No. 500 for Sidney Crosby 👏 pic.twitter.com/dswdOBAlR5

— Athlete Swag (@AthleteSwag) February 16, 2022

It was probably also appropriate that it was on the power play, as the Flyers’ penalty kill continues to be horrid.

On the Flyers side, Giroux scored a goal, too, and now has 64 points in 61 career games against the Penguins, which is pretty darn good as well.

He actually gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead:

Claude Giroux with some nifty footwork and snipes it.

The Flyers captain has 16 goals and 37 points in 45 games.

Profile🔗:https://t.co/kLLS6XUitHpic.twitter.com/HfD63HYzX5

— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) February 16, 2022

Actually, if you read the Flyers betting preview yesterday, it was almost a clean sweep of all five bets offered. I was one Carter Hart save away from giving you five prop winners. I’m not always this good, but I do have a pretty good feel in Flyers games. Just so you know to look for those previews moving forward.

It’s really the only way for many of us to get through 34 more games and 73 more days of this Flyers season.

There are a few items I wanted to talk about in this post though that are sort of tied into the Pittsburgh game.

No Risto

Rasmus Ristolainen was placed on injured reserve prior to the game with an upper body injury. It was the second straight game Ristolainen missed with the injury, originally suffered last Wednesday against Detroit. Being put on IR is not necessarily a big deal. It just means he’ll miss a week minimum. But, if he doesn’t come back by the end of the month, then it’s something to worry about as the March 21 trade deadline approaches.

Speaking of that deadline, I’ve been saying that Ristolainen is 50/50 to be traded. That’s because I’ve been told the Flyers really want to keep him. In fact, the Flyers were willing to meet Ristolainen’s financial requests.

I’m not sure what the actual request was, but I have to believe it was something around a 5-year, $30 million deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Flyers would even be willing to go a little higher, and possibly even a year longer to try and convince Ristolainen to stay.

But word around the campfire is Ristolainen is tired of playing for bad teams (eight years in Buffalo will do that to you) and that he and his agent Andrew Scott believe that his real value would come out in a playoff series, which is why they will push Fletcher to trade him at the deadline rather than try to re-sign him.

They are betting that if he gets to a playoff team this season, that his new contract can be even bigger when teams see his value when the chips are down.

With that said, 50/50 is no longer good odds, and now I have to think it’s more like 75/25 that Ristolainen is traded.

Ristolainen probably will bring the second-largest return to the Flyers after Giroux on the trade market. And after some conversations both with Flyers sources as well as league sources, I’m now starting to think that’s more likely to happen than not.

An unexpected captain?

Everyone assumes that once Giroux is traded, the Flyers will name Sean Couturier the next captain.

I still think he’s the favorite, but I don’t know if it’s a slam dunk any longer.

With Couturier missing most of this season, having just undergone back surgery, and although the Flyers are expressing positivity about Couturier’s return to full strength in time for training cap next fall, back injuries are tricky. And, considering he’s already got 11 seasons under his belt, which is rare for a 29-year-old, he might have a bit of an older body than his age would indicate.

All of these concerns are reasons a team may wait and not want to make him a captain just in case he would continue to deal with injuries down the road.

As such, who would be next in line?

There’s Ivan Provorov, but he’s not a guarantee to be on the roster next season, let alone be the captain. There’s Kevin Hayes, but he’s had his own physical and emotional issues this season, that asking him to take on such a leadership role next season might be a bit unfair to both Hayes and the team.

How about Scott Laughton?

I know, you were about to say no, but then stopped yourself to think about it for a second and now say, hmmm, right?

I get it. It’s more of a non-traditional choice, but Laughton is still a little younger at 27, has four years remaining on his contract, and plays the game the right way night in and night out.

And right now, he’s the Flyers ‘best forward.

Laughton has four goals and four assists in his last six games, his longest scoring streak of the season. He scored again against the Penguins:

https://twitter.com/Daniel_Mumbower/status/1493957892663394306

He also picked up an assist on this goal by Justin Braun:

https://twitter.com/Daniel_Mumbower/status/1493958518382252032

He now has 10 goals and 23 assists and is on pace to set career highs in goals, assists, and points.

Just because he’s been more productive, and just because he’s looked good for six games doesn’t mean he should be captain, but with all the injuries the Flyers have had this season, Laughton has picked up an “A” as an alternate captain and has been a leader by example.

Interim coach Mike Yeo has heaped praise on Laughton as a leadership-type player and it’s a role Laughton embraces.

The Flyers may wait until next season to replace Giroux as captain after he is traded, letting the new group dictate who earns the “C” and going through the final month with three “A’s.”

But Laughton has all the makings of the type of player that teammates will respond to. It doesn’t always have to be a star player that makes a successful captain.

Dustin Brown is the player that most compares to Laughton, and he was captain of the Los Angeles Kings for their two cups.

Dave Andreychuk was more of a veteran when Tampa Bay won their first Cup in 2004, but played a similar role.

Even Lanny MacDonald and Jim Peplinski were depth players who were co-captains of the 1989 Cup champion Calgary Flames.

I’ve said repeatedly that fans make a bigger deal out of the captaincy than the teams and players do. It’s important to them, but not in the same sense it’s important to fans. Teams look at captains as teammates they are willing to follow into battle for a variety of reasons.

And Laughton is well-liked in the locker room, and as such, could be that guy for these Flyers going forward.

What’s up with Brassard?

The narrative that’s out there is “here the Flyers go again, trying to force an injured player to come back too soon.”

I hate that narrative.

That’s because hockey players play through injuries all the time. It’s just how they are. If they can go and can deal with the pain and they aren’t at risk of doing more serious damage, they’ll give it a go.

Brassard is certainly one of those players, and is trying to figure out a way to play through a nagging hip injury.

But he’s been in and out of practice and the lineup for a couple months now, which has media and fans asking, “What gives?”

Look, it’s easy to shut him down at this point, like the Flyers did with Couturier, and chalk it up to bad luck, but try and get the guy healthy.

But, the difference here is Brassard is a pending unrestricted free agent. So, there’s impetus for him to play – not just by the Flyers, who would like to get an asset for him before the deadline, if he can prove healthy, but also for Brassard, who was a late signing by the Flyers on an NHL veteran minimum contract.

If Brassard wants to play again next year, he likely has to prove he’s not hurt, and potentially end up on a roster where he’s given a playoff opportunity to show he still has value.

That’s why he hasn’t been shut down for an extended period, yet.

This latest setback could be the final straw for Brassard, but I’m betting he tries to come back at least one more time in the next month to show he can still have on-ice value for a contender and even for a team to sign for next season as well.

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