2017-18 record: 42-26-14 (98 points)
Lost to Pittsburgh in Conference quarterfinals
Captain: Claude Giroux
The Philadelphia Flyers were good enough to make the playoffs last season despite uncertain goaltending and coaching that had little to no clue how to put it all together. Naturally, the goaltending failed them in the playoffs and their defense was nowhere to be seen in all of their losses. For the Flyers to do anything besides make the playoffs, consistency will have to be found.
For a team that features a Claude Giroux coming off a career year, Jakub Voracek, and Sean Couturier, the Flyers should be doing better than a 13th rank on offense. Their answer, besides hope for a healthy Wayne Simmonds, was bring back James van Riemsdyk to a five year deal. Whether it solves their consistency issues is another matter, as in the playoffs, Couturier was the one player up front that did things, and that was even taking into account that he got injured by a teammate in practice prior to the start of the playoffs. Defensively, this should be a team featuring Ivan Provorov, Sam Morin, Robert Hagg, and Shayne Gostisbehere on a youthful team that will grow together. Instead, coach Dave Hakstol stubbornly kept pylon Andrew MacDonald, invisible Brandon Manning, and known bone hacker Radko Gudas in the lineup for most of the season. The good news is that Manning was allowed to walk. The bad news could be anything, including the stubborn decision to keep MacDonald in the lineup. In goal, the duo of Michal Neuvirth and Brian Elliott will once again be relied upon to keep the team afloat. Neither is really the answer, and depth behind them is thin, with Alex Lyon being nothing more than a backup at the moment and Carter Hart still a year or two away as he transitions to the pro game.
Prediction: 3rd in the Metropolitan Division
The Flyers may be the most interesting team in the Eastern Conference, if only for the fact that they could be Stanley Cup contenders if things go right. However, these are the Flyers, and things rarely ever go right, and odds are it will be the usual suspects, as in goaltending.
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