Welcome to MOP Squad Sports' 2005-06
NHL Season Preview! MOP's overworked hockey editor is dying for the new
season to start after a year's absense for the NHL due to the lockout
nastiness, and as usual is not shy about giving his predictions on the new season!
He's also not above referring to himself in the third person and using a lot of
exclamation points!
Anyway, these previews will appear, two a day, until the season starts on
October 5th. They will be put on-site by division, roughly in order of predicted
finish. So today we start with the Atlantic division, and predicted
division winner Philadelphia. Note that the rookies listed are only those
most likely to make the team, not necessarily ones who have already sewn up a
spot, and surprises always occur in training camp. The In/Out portion
represents significant players added and lost since the end of the 2003-04
season. And now, on with the show...
In: Peter Forsberg, Derian Hatcher,
Mike Rathje, Chris Therien, Brian Savage, Mike Knuble, Turner Stevenson, Eric
Chouinard, Jon Sim
Out: Jeremy Roenick, Mark Recchi, John
Leclair, Tony Amonte, Todd Fedoruk, Alexei Zhamnov, Sean Burke, Vladimir
Malakhov, Danny Markov, Marcus Ragnarsson, Radovan Somik, Mattias Timander.
Rookies: Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Antero
Niittymaki, R.J. Umberger
Since the 2004 playoffs, where the
Flyers were narrowly eliminated by the eventual Cup-winning Tampa Bay
Lightning, the turnover in Philadelphia's roster has been extreme. Not
necessarily in terms of the number of players, but more in terms of the core
players who have left, and the big names who have replaced them. They'll
all have to learn to live together under coach Ken Hitchcock's strict defensive
strategies, because anything less than a Cup in Philly will be looked at as a
disappointment this season.
Strengths: 1. The Flyers had a ridiculously
easy time luring some of the league's best free agents last summer. The
sheer talent infusion on both offense and defense in Forsberg, Hatcher, Rathje,
and off-season 2004 additions Knuble and Stevenson is ridiculous. Sure,
the Flyers lost some talented players too, but Forsberg alone makes up for a
lot.
2. The Flyers farm team who play
just across the street, the Philadelphia Phantoms, actually won the AHL's
Calder Cup last season, and no fewer than eight players from that playoff team
have a very good shot at playing regularly for the Flyers. Adding that
much good young talent to a team loaded with solid veterans usually makes for a
winning formula.
Weaknesses: 1. At a time when the league is
trying to reward speed, quickness and offense, one has to wonder how well the
Flyers defense will make out. While power play specialist Johnsson and
youngster Pitkanen and Seidenberg aren't slow by any means, free agent signings
Hatcher, Rathje, and Therien certainly are, and Eric Desjardins isn't getting
any younger. Hatcher in particular looked like he was skating in sand the
last time he played an NHL game, the 2004 playoffs in Detroit.
2. The Flyers are already running
into injury problems, with Forsberg and Hatcher likely to miss camp and winger
Sami Kapanen spending the first few months of the season on the disabled
list. Injuries on defense sunk the Flyers in the 2004 playoffs, and while
the team is deep, they're not so deep that they'll make it too far if they're
missing a couple of key guys. Hatcher and Forsberg alone missed a
combined 110 games in 2003-04.
Don't Be Surprised If: The Flyers don't dominate the
regular season, but still win it all. The team Philadelphia has put
together is particularly conducive to playoff success: big, nasty, and riddled
with clutch performers like Forsberg, Keith Primeau, Kapanen, and Gagne.
Hitchcock is an experienced enough coach to know that his team will need some
adjusting to him and to one another in the regular season, but he's also a good
enough coach to have them firing on all cylinders come April.
Outlook: Even if they do have some regular
season struggles, the Flyers have enough to win their division, maybe even the
conference. Likely the team to beat in the East when the playoffs roll
around.
Roster
Centres: 1. Peter
Forsberg 2. Keith Primeau 3. Michal Handzus 4. Jeff
Carter 5. Mike Richards 6. Eric Chouinard 7. R.J. Umberger
Wingers: 1. Simon
Gagne 2. Mike Knuble 3. Sami Kapanen 4. Turner
Stevenson 5. Brian Savage 6. Donald Brashear 7. Branko
Radivojevic 8. Patrick Sharp 9. Jon Sim
Defensemen: 1. Kim
Johnsson 2. Eric Desjardins 3. Joni Pitkanen 4. Derian
Hatcher 5. Mike Rathje 6. Dennis Seidenberg 7. Chris Therien
Goalies: 1. Robert
Esche 2. Antero Niittymaki 3. Jamie Storr
Restricted
Free Agents: none