PHILADELPHIA, PA – With the 2009-10 season only a week away, the Philadelphia Flyers are preparing to start what some believe will be a long run at Lord Stanley’s cup. Some publications have picked the Flyers to either get to the Stanley Cup finals or win the title that has long eluded the team since 1975. So, will the Flyers finally get the monkey off their collective backs or will the orange and black once again fall short of the top prize in all of professional hockey? Lets take a look at some of the keys to the Flyers success if they are to win their first cup in 35 years. 1) Will Daniel Briere returns to form – Despite the teams high powered offense, Briere was sorely missed. The trickle down effect of missing a top centerman prompted Head Coach John Stevens to move some pieces around the chess board that he would have preferred not to do. Still, after playing in only 29 regular season games, he did manage to score 29 goals and 11 assists. Not bad. Look for him to be on a line with Claude Giroux and be moved to wing on certain occasions. 2) Is Claude Giroux the real deal? – If first impressions mean anything than the answer is one big, hell yeah!! He started last season in the AHL but was quickly promoted once is appeared that he was beginning to master the AHL level of play. He only scored 9 goals in 42 games but he also added 18 assists. His passing ability is more than exceptional. Flyers CEO Ed Snider has already compared him to former Flyers Bob Clarke. That’s lofty praise but Clarke had three seasons of over 100 points and his high mark for goals was 37 and 89 assists. Can Giroux come close to those marks? Giroux might be able to reach 40 goals given the proper linemates, but 89 assists might be a tad high in this era of defensive systems. Evgeni Malkin led the league with 78 last season. Still, one has to wonder that if Giroux can be given the right set of circumstances that he just might become the first Flyers since Bobby Clarke to lead the league in scoring one day. 3) The Chris Pronger effect – It has been a long time since a defenseman had such an emotional impact on a team the way Pronger has since his trade on draft day from the Anaheim Ducks. The Flyers have had very few defensemen who can be called All-Star caliber on a yearly basis. Pronger also plays with the kind of edge that is tailor made for Philadelphia’s reputation. His leadership ability will no doubt have an effect in the locker room, especially with Mike Richards, the teams captain. Gone are the days of taking the ho-hum approach to losing and commenting publically about the moves GM Paul Holmgren make, but where Pronger will have the most effect will be in the eyes of Flyers opponents. Gone also are the days when players like Sydney Crosby can be near the Flyers crease and go unpunished for being there. Not since Derian Hatcher was healthy could teams fear going near a Flyers goaltender. 4) Which Ray Emery will show up? – He has been called a problem child and a loose cannon. What you will call him is out of work if he has a poor season or if he cannot contain his emotions, or both. Emery seems like a changed man and appears to look like a man ready to accept the challenge. He better be because he is in the land of boo-birds and people who think patience is the name of some girl they dated in high school. Emery’s emotional state will be tested early and often. He alone will he worth watching if for no other reason to see just how changed a man he really is. 5) James Van Riemsdyk – The 6′ 3″ man-child affectionately known as JVR (don’t let anyone fool you, I”m am the first to call him that long before he was drafted) appears to be on the fast track to make the big club. So far he has had a very good training camp and is tied for the team lead in goals with Briere with 3. He has used his size well but needs to add a physical game. That will come in good time. If he doesn’t make the team it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for him, but neither would be going through the NHL wars to make him a better player right away. On the Flyers, a 20 goal season is not out of the question. The Flyers had seven players with 11 or more goals last season. With Mike Knuble and Joffrey Lupol gone, Giroux and JVR could fill in nicely in terms of replacing their goals along with a healthy Briere. 6) Will the Flyers win more face-offs and cut down on penalties – The Flyers were the most penalized team last season and did not have a regular skater win more than 50 percent on face-offs. That is not a good combination and were two major reasons why they got bounced from the playoffs. With the Flyers adding Pronger and Ian Laperriere to the mix, and a full season of Dan Carcillo, don’t expect the their penalty totals to go down dramatically. Still, there is hope in the face-off department if Richards and Jeff Carter make it a priority to improve in that department. Overall outlook – As of today, the Pittsburgh Penguins are the champs, but have the Flyers closed the gap? Only if the Flyers do all of the above. The teams overall defense should be better thanks to the Pronger effect. The team is better but are they better than the elite teams in the league? So far we see the Red Wings, Penguins, and Sharks to be ahead of the Flyers. The Bruins, Capitals, Canucks, Flames, Devils and Blackhawks are on par with the orange and black. The Penguins should just barely win the division over Philly so look for a fourth seed come playoff time. Getting past the first round should be the worst they can do. Getting to the finals will be an option if the match-ups go well. If they get their anything can happen. The key is what Emery does as goaltending is always the most important aspect in hockey. We see the Flyers going to the conference finals at the worst, and winning the cup a possibility if Emery is what the Flyers get the Emery of 2007. Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
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