Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
NHL Power Rankings #22: Philadelphia Flyers
I hate the Flyers, so this is hard to say: Ron Hextall has really impressed me this off-season. He’s been brilliant for the Flyers. Not only has he ridded them of several of their albatross contracts, he’s managed to upgrade the team a bit as well. Ivan Provorov could play in the NHL right away and dominate.
Locking up Michael Del Zotto was a necessary evil. They managed to extend Jakub Voracek. This might have been by accident, but the Flyers finally have two competent goaltenders in Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth. I honestly can’t remember the last time I could say that about them.
The Flyers still have their issues. Namely, their blue line isn’t going to cut it. I like Del Zotto, but when he’s likely going to be a top pairing defenseman for you, that should be a huge red flag. Mark Streit is still pretty awesome at hockey. The Flyers also still have to find a way to get rid of the contracts of Andrew MacDonald and Vincent LeCavalier (amongst others).
Mason is good enough to steal games for Philly. Neuvirth is a solid enough Plan B. The Flyers have enough forward talent (is there a more underrated forward in the league than Wayne Simmonds?) and enough talent in net where an NHL playoff run wouldn’t surprise me too much. They do need a lot of things to go right, however.
Next: #21