The Fates were with Trevor Zegras, for now

From NHL.com

By Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

Lost in the narrow 2-1 defeat the Philadelphia Flyers suffered at the hands of the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in Canada’s capital was a play that took mere seconds to unfold but could have had drastic consequences for both the player and the franchise.

In the third period, with the Orange and Black trailing, winger/center Trevor Zegras was attempting to gather a loose puck in the area between the goal line and the top of the faceoff circle on the left-wing side. Defending Zegras was Sens forward (and Alex Trebek fave) Tim Stutzle. 

As Zegras attempted to follow the path of the puck, he turned awkwardly – as an outfielder might when misjudging the path of a fly ball – and fell to the ice. Stutzle, unable to react accordingly and adjust his own path as Zegras fell, brushed the toe of his skate over Zegras’ left wrist.

The angle of the blade was not perfectly flat and flush. Thank the hockey gods.

A close call as a skate blade comes near Trevor Zegras' wrist, but no damage was caused. pic.twitter.com/rU6FDkGWtu

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 24, 2025

Zegras was acquired in the offseason from the resurgent Anaheim Ducks, a young talent in need of taking flight to new horizons. Before the weekend, he had yet to score this season, compiling five assists in seven games thus far, but still showing flashes of the brilliance – practice rapport with Matvei Michkov notwithstanding – which led him to compile career bests of 23 goals and 42 assists in a healthy 2022-23 campaign. 

Limited to just 88 games the previous two seasons for the rebuilding SoCal franchise, the change of scenery to the East Coast offered a chance to put these troubled years behind him. Last year, it was a torn meniscus in his right knee and recovery from subsequent surgery. Two years back, a lower-body injury and a broken right ankle cost him almost two-thirds of the season. 

Despite a 3,000-mile relocation, it only took seven games for the Devil’s magnifying glass to find him again, ready to fry him in the blistering sun like an ant. Zegras’ contract runs out next year, with an AAV and cap hit of $5.75 million. 

We’d like to have him back in one piece, please.

For his part, after a tentative first half of the game on Saturday afternoon against the New York Islanders, Zegras shook off the cobwebs and registered two regulation goals -- his first with the club -- and contributed a shootout marker in the Flyers' eventual 4-3 shootout decision. He made the most of his chances, clocking in with a 66.6% shooting percentage (2G on 3 SOG).

I’ll say it once, then never again: can’t we have anything nice? Light a candle, put the lock upon the door. Break out the bubble wrap. It’s one thing to be stuck in a perpetual cycle of rebuilding, but who did we collectively anger that the spirits want to call down the thunder so often? Atkinson and Couturier. Ryan Ellis. Ristolainen.

Stranger still, despite twittering of the most mundane of circumstances night to night, the incident eluded every press box denizen of every major outlet which covered the game. You'd think a close call like this *might* pick up some additional coverage in Flyerdom alongside the "What's Wrong With Matvei?" chorus.

I know it's been happening more than usual. Jordan Eberle two years ago. Evander Kane and Jakob Chychrun this calendar year. Brock Nelson of the Colorado Avalanche just sustained a cut wrist in practice about 10 days ago.

I still can't shake the image of the first time a wrist cut sustained during NHL action received prolonged coverage: Canadiens forward Donald Audette dazed and shakily attempting to leave the rink while holding his limp and bloody left wrist in his right hand after Rangers forward Radek Dvorak's skate slashed it during a 2001 contest in Montreal.

The monster lurched around the continent for a while, but it managed to emerge from hiding and find the Flyers organization again.

On Apr. 7, 2013, prospect Eric Wellwood, then playing for the Adirondack Phantoms in the American Hockey League, did the job on himself during a game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. 

Those of us around the franchise at this time thought it could have been more likely to happen to his brother, Kyle, who could skate like the wind but had immense trouble stopping and altering his course. Somehow, while skating his shift, Eric fell. Somehow, while falling feet first into the boards, his left skate crossed with his lower right leg, slicing through the protective sock and resulting in a nasty, deep cut which bled all over his skate. 

Courtesy of Yahoo! Sports

The damage was as significant as it was horrific: a partially-severed Achilles tendon and a severed artery, plus two less significant severed tendons in his right leg. Following two surgeries and time spent in a cast, Wellwood pondered his fate.

“I had six minutes before I bled out,” Wellwood said to the Windsor, Ontario Star. “My trainer (Greg Lowden) later told me you usually have four to six minutes before you have lost too much blood.

“Once I learned how close (it was) a couple of days later, how severe it was, it sent a chill down my spine. (I’m just) happy to still be breathing,” he added.

Wellwood, then 23, never played again.

In Los Angeles, and of all days on Apr. 1, 1978, the late, great Rick MacLeish almost made “the ultimate sacrifice” in playing Fred Shero’s brand of Flyers hockey.

Diving to knock down a pass from the King, MacLeish fell face first towards the Forum ice, where his neck was cut by the skate of future Hall-of-Famer Marcel Dionne. Escorted from the rink with virtually every available towel on the bench pressed to his neck, doctors acted swiftly to get the bleeding under control. The final tally: two gashes requiring 80 stitches to close. 

Typical of the era, the seemingly-unperturbed MacLeish quipped, as reported in Full Spectrum, “I didn’t realize I was in trouble until I took a drag of a cigarette and the smoke came out my neck.”

MacLeish, the first of two certified snipers of that era, recovered and went on to play another six years, compiling another 103 regular-season and 21 playoff goals for the club. 

And lest we forget, another soon-to-be Flyer is the reason the NHL in the mid-1980s switched from the World War II-model heavier iron nets fitted with a bar in the middle and flush against the ice to keep the puck from rebounding outward.

Just after Christmas in 1980, during a game between the Islanders and Hartford, New York’s John Tonelli drove then-Whalers defenseman Mark Howe, butt-first, into the protruding prong. The metal lifted off the ice, pierced Howe’s backside at such an angle that caused significant blood loss, but miraculously avoided penetrating anything more vital to daily function. It still took 3 1/2 years to officially remedy the situation.

Zegras was lucky, as a hundred other players in professional hockey over the decades have been on plays that end up being of little to no consequence. Until they happen and the ripples of the aftermath trigger deep consequence while affecting everything in its path.

Flyers fans, take a deep breath. And try not to think of what didn't happen.

Fixing Flyers power play requires organizational reset

 By Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

Sometime during the winter of 2015, between periods at the Wells Fargo Center, I hitched a ride on the press elevator from the press box down to the main concourse in search of sustenance more satisfying than popcorn, pretzels and candy. 

Standing at the back, ramrod straight, were Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen – then taking a season-long sabbatical because of a recurrence of blood clots – along with then-assistant coach Joe Mullen.

The subject, the stagnant power play which suffered from a lack of puck motion and shots on goal. The conversation, it went something like this:

Timonen (a defenseman who quarterbacked the power play during most of his seven-year Flyers tenure): “So what do you think the problem is?”

Mullen (a 500-goal scorer, multiple Stanley Cup winner and Hockey Hall of Fame member): “I really don’t (bleeping) know. All I tell them now is ‘You have to have the mindset of shooting the puck; there’s one less (bleeping guy) out there so you have the time and the room. Just shoot the (bleeping) puck.”

Keep in mind, this was during the long stretch of time when the first unit was led by captain and center Claude Giroux, an adequate shooter but pass first player. And the second unit was led by Jakub Voracek, the only other forward on the roster more “pass first” than the captain. 

The kicker is during that 2014-15 season, the first, only and last full season with Craig Berube as head coach, the Flyers posted an overall PP percentage of 23.4 (60 goals in 256 chances) according to Flyers History. That was the highest mark for any team since Paul Holmgren’s first as head coach clicked at 26.7% and the highest for any team in franchise history to date. 

Things steadily got worse with the gradual jettisoning of Wayne Simmonds, Giroux, Voracek and others culminating in the nightmare of the last three seasons. To recap: 15.56% (32nd), 12.2% (32nd) and 14.95% (30th). 

Is there hope on the horizon, as the meat grinder welcomes newly-minted assistant coach Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovsky as the head-victim-in-charge?

Finding and Keeping The Big Gun

To operate a successful power play, you’ve got to have a trigger man, one player on each rotation who can get open and fire away. Have the Flyers drafted and successfully developed a shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later-type-player who made an impact, well…ever? 

The short answer is: Nope.

Jeff Carter is the only one who comes to mind, but he was not strictly “developed” by the Flyers. Carter, an 11th overall pick in 2003, jumped straight from Sault Ste. Marie in juniors to the Phantoms in the spring of 2005, helping them win a Calder Cup. He won a spot on the big club the following September and after compiling 48 man-advantage goals in 468 regular-season games and 6 more in 47 playoff outings, you know how that story ended. 

As for the rest of the franchise snipers, those players who scored at least 37 in one season:

Rick MacLeish - acquired from Boston in 1971.

Reggie Leach - acquired from California in 1974.

Tim Kerr - undrafted free agent signed 1980.

Ilkka Sinisalo - undrafted free agent signed 1981.

John LeClair - acquired from Montreal in 1995.

For clarity’s sake: 

Rick Tocchet - drafted in 1983, was not originally envisioned as that type of player and didn’t score 40 until his 5th NHL season (45 in 1988-89).

Simon Gagne -  drafted in 1998, became that guy with Peter Forsberg and Briere acquisitions later in his career. Exactly half (37 of 74) of his franchise PPG total came from the 2005-07 and 2008-09 seasons.

James vanRiemsdyk - the infamous no. 2 overall in 2007. A victim of organizational ineptitude who was forcibly molded into a “power forward” type rather than a sniper despite playing for a UNH program which embraced skill, speed and scoring.

Scott Hartnell - acquired from Nashville in 2007. Aside from one glorious season in 2011-12 when 16 of his 37 tallies came with the man advantage, was not specifically brought here to be a gunner.

The whiffs:

James Neal - Perhaps the organizational change from Paul Holmgren to Ron Hextall as GM along with the club’s constant salary-cap conundra played a role. It is still hard to forgive the front office for missing this one. 

In the summer of 2014, Neal, who spent the prior 3-plus seasons with the Penguins, was on the market. He worked primarily with Evgeni Malkin on the second unit, totaling 38(!) of his 89 goals there on the advantage.

Cam Atkinson - Brought here with the potential to add some pop and motion to a stagnant power-play system after 21 PPG from 2016-19, Atkinson's tenure here was rudely interrupted by injury and three different head coaches. Only 4 of his 36 tallies over 143 games came while at least one man up.

The hopefuls:

Alex Bump - Fifth-rounder, Western Michigan, 2022. Here’s a kid who set the world on fire last year with 23 goals on 248 shots (four times notching double-digit SOGs with a high of 14 vs. Arizona State) across 42 games for the Broncos, winners of the NCHC playoff title and national champions. 

Courtesy of Western Michigan University

The 21-year-old roster hopeful won conference tourney MVP, earned first-team All America honors, faded out during the Broncs’ national championship run, recovered with 3 points in 2 regular-season appearances for the Phantoms then added 2 goals in 7 games during the playoffs on 18 SOG.

As long as Bump maintains a trajectory of consistence in his development with and without the puck in Allentown under the new Phantoms regime of head man John Snowden alongside assistants Terrance Wallin and Nick Schultz, I hate to say it, Bump “should be fine.”

But I’m still casting some serious side-eye until I see the plans come to fruition.

It was hardly surprising when I read Jackie Spiegel’s Inquirer column from May 1, which quoted Peter Principaled (and now “reassigned”) Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere saying Jett Luchanko (13th overall, 2024, Guelph Storm), also primarily a puck mover who notched 9 assists in 16 games with the Phantoms at the end of this season, should be more selfish with the puck.

That statement alone should make long-time fans and those attuned to the organization with a critical eye tear their hair out. Why would the club want someone with an obvious desired and crucial skill set, which optimizes driving play, maintaining possession and dishing to the open man, to consider moving away from that skill set? 

Here’s how it’s supposed to go, best of all possible worlds, with linear development: 

Team sees prospect, drafts prospect. Waits an uncertain amount of years before prospect wants to turn pro, signs prospect to a deal and is either shuttled to the AHL or the NHL. If prospect goes to minors, he’s subject to the parent club’s development plan overseen by the AHL staff and is played accordingly until either his play, injury concerns or both warrant a look; if prospect has to be on NHL roster, he’s subject to the parent club’s development plan which involves more intensive and direct supervision. 

Even considering non-linear development that factors in health, utilization, unexpected upticks or downturns in performance or changes in coaching personnel and systems, what is supposed to come out on the other side is supposed to benefit the parent club in the long term. There is a lot of trust placed with an organization that a high-end prospect will be dealt with on the level. 

Problem is, up until this year’s draft, there was exactly one player drafted by either the Fletcher or Briere braintrust, who fits the mold of a puck-hungry winger with a knack for finding the open space and a shoot-first attitude: Alex Bump.

In need of more centers, Briere instead jumped the line in June and brought in both Porter Martone (No. 6, committed to Michigan State) and Shane Vansaghi (No. 48, also sporting Sparty next season). 

Martone appears to be a rush job, a one-and-done who might bypass the Lehigh Valley altogether, so the responsibility is likely on both Martone himself and the big club not to bollocks it up. Vansaghi is an unknown, so is Jack Murtagh (No. 40, committed to Boston University), less so is the 20-year-old Denver Barkey who blitzed through his last 2 years of juniors with 184 points, a pair of OHL titles and last year’s Memorial Cup. 

Has anybody heard anything from Noah Powell?

Nothing is Permanent but Change Is

Historically, it appears the Flyers follow three basic player archetypes for their power plays: 

• Defensemen who collect and move the puck at the point

• Distributors who either remain static in the circles as a principal point of puck motion, or are given license to take play to the opposition

• Bulky wingers positioned along the goal line for muscle and touch. 

It doesn’t matter whether it’s Joe Mullen, Rocky Thompson or Svejkovsky, there’s only so much a particular coaching philosophy or player positioning in the offensive zone can accomplish with these skill sets cast in concrete. Can coaching make it worse? Is the Pope a White Sox fan? Coaching isn’t all of it. The right guys need to be given the right chances to utilize their skills and then given the chance, to execute.

With fewer individual penalties or clear manpower disadvantages called over the last 10 years league-wide and therefore fewer power-play chances available per season, the heat is definitely on a guy whose most famous move was scoring 4 goals on the Buffalo Sabres as a rookie 28 years ago. There’s also a ton of pressure on the presumptive Phantoms hires to properly shepherd the next generation. 

Who on the current roster comes close to being a pure finisher? Most likely the Golden Child Matvei Michkov. Bump and Barkey are on deck but that does nothing to help the big club come October.

Courtesy of the Inquirer

According to Hockey Reference, no Flyers forward has finished with more than 10 power-play goals in an uninterrupted regular season since Wayne Simmonds notched 11 in 2017-18.

JVR notched 10 in the COVID-shortened 2021 sprint. The high water-mark over the last decade for power-play prowess was Brayden Schenn (17) and Simmonds (16) in 2016-17, the last time two players finished with more than 10. 

Likewise, no defenseman has ever logged double-digit PP scores in franchise history and while Gostisbehere was the last d-man to have as many as 8 PPG, that was 10 seasons ago. Even team and Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Howe never had more than 8 in one season as a Flyer. 

Another good question is how will Cam York and, eventually, Oliver Bonk be deployed?

The main question is not whether these prospect’s skill sets suggest a Johnny Vermont or Ghost Bear; it’s whether the organization’s vision for these players suits their skill set, or will they try to wedge them into a role for which they are ill-suited because the new PP strategy demands it?

There needs to be consistent, clear-cut communication between Snowden and Wallin, Tocchet and Svejkovsky, on up to Briere regarding what is expected from player and coach alike. Anything less would be a disservice to both the Flyers’ current roster as well as those in the pipeline.

Right now there are too many questions to sort out, only so many games and so many years before the next Phantoms and Flyers coaches are ushered out the door. Tocchet’s talking a good game but he’s the one who sets the rules and watches the kids play it. Maybe we should all just touch grass and lay in the sand until October.

Murray departs Phantoms, touches down in Buffalo

News out of Buffalo this afternoon: Terry Murray has been tabbed as an assistant with Dan Byslma and the Sabres, which means an additional task ahead for Ron Hextall will be to find a suitable replacement as head coach for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Murray guided the club for two seasons in Glens Falls, NY and this past campaign in Allentown, PA, but despite the new surroundings -- a brand-new arena which housed state-of-the-art training equipment -- he wasn't able to both develop talent and reach the postseason.

He finished with a record of 94-111-23, concluding his third separate stint with the Philadelphia organization.

“We’d like to thank Terry for his years of loyal service to the Philadelphia Flyers organization and wish him nothing but the best in Buffalo. Moving forward, we will take our time in deciding what’s best for the Phantoms and will address this further tomorrow," Hextall noted in a brief statement issued later in the day.

Simply put, the  64-year-old  native of Quebec was itching to get back to the NHL. Towards the end of the season, he strongly hinted at that fact, and then, following a 4-1 season-concluding loss to the Baby Penguins on April 19, indicated that he'd be open to a job at the top level of North American hockey.

Though it was assumed that Murray would be a natural fit to help new Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol acclimate himself to a new league and the mechanisms of the organization, an elevation to Philly was not in the cards.

When pressed on his future plans, Murray did not strongly hint Philadelphia would be a prime choice. In addition, Murray's older brother, Bryan, now the Senators' GM, has been battling cancer, and the Sabres' GM is Terry's nephew, so a move to Western New York presents both a new challenge and some comfort that he's closer to a sibling in a time of need. 

Murray also  served as head coach for the Capitals (1990-94),   Flyers  (1994-97),  Panthers  (1998-2001)  and  Kings  (2008-12), compiling  a 499-383-89-41 record along with an appearance in the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals and a huge assist for guiding the Los Angeles club which eventually won the Cup in 2012 after his dismissal. He began his NHL coaching career in 1983 as an assistant alongside brother Bryan when the latter was head coach in Washington.

Behind the scenes, indications throughout the season were that Murray was not enamored with the way certain facets of roster decisions were made or presented. The prime example of a potential rift was the miscommunication over defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere's recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in early November, and subsequent surgery.

Hextall had publicly stated he expected the Union College product to be ready in 3-to-4 months despite a longer timetable for similar injuries across the spectrum of professional sports. Things came to a brief head in early March, with Hextall refuting Murray's insistence that Gostisbehere would be shut down for the remainder of the season.The young, cornerstone blueliner was eventually declared unfit to return several weeks later, after Hextall made one final consultation with doctors.

Plus, according to Phantoms broadcaster Bob Rotruck, several weeks ago, Flyers President Paul Holmgren said there was uncertainty in the position without elaborating further.

In any event, the next person chosen to corral the Phantoms will be the fifth man to do so since the franchise was uprooted from the Spectrum in 2009. The lone head coach without prior ties to the Flyers organization was former Islanders and Blackhakws forward Greg Gilbert, who was ousted early in the 2010-11 season after a year-plus in charge.

Given his sharp turn away from the old boys' network in choosing Hakstol, Hextall may be looking elsewhere to put his stamp on the next generation of potential Flyers.

Rumors were floated, though all off the record and unsubstantiated, that Murray might have seen the writing on the wall that biding his time in Allentown wouldn't automatically mean a promotion to the Orange and Black. Murray had been an assistant in Philadelphia under Ken Hitchcock and John Stevens from 2003-08 before taking the Kings' job. There were also unsubstantiated rumblings of displeasure with the way call-ups were handled.

To that end, check out a column from two weeks back, where I speculated on the pros and cons of some likely candidates to fill Murray's role.

Ultimately, it was likely a change had to occur and would be best in order to develop well and win more. In three seasons, with three completely different rosters, Murray's teams suffered similar fates: hot and cold streaks on offense, and scorching defensive streaks when offense was virtually ignored; early season bursts into the playoff picture followed by late-mid-season slumps which were never able to be overcome. The stars, for lack of a better term, were never aligned to keep offense and defense clicking at a rate where success was maintained.

While call-ups for top performers are part and parcel of the process, it didn't prevent negative runs of 4-9-0 from mid-January into February and 4-11-1 to end the year. Likewise, last season, a 9-3-0 run in November and December was obliterated by a 2-13-1- stretch from mid-January through the end of February.

NHL hockey comes to PPL Center for first time in September

The Philadelphia Flyers will make their second appearance at Allentown's new PPL Center in September, as they did last preseason.

Except this time, they will entertain a fellow NHL franchise in an exhibition contest.

The New York Islanders will come down to the home of the Phantoms for a preseason tilt on September 21, facing the parent Orange and Black, per an announcement this afternoon.

"The Philadelphia Flyers are very excited to bring the National Hockey League to PPL Center," said Flyers President Paul Holmgren. "Phantoms fans and hockey fans throughout the Lehigh Valley are passionate about their hockey and we are thrilled that they have the opportunity to come watch their favorite NHL players, up close and personal."

While it was part and parcel for the Phantoms to play games in the Wells Fargo Center in the regular season when the Flyers were away, the practice did not take hold last year, and Lehigh Valley played all of its 38 home games in its new building.

Instead, members of the Flyers and Phantoms played an intra-squad exhibition game which officially opened the PPL's hockey slate in late September.

"This is an incredible way to kick off the second season of hockey here at PPL Center," said Phantoms co-owners Rob and Jim Brooks.  "We're thrilled to be affiliated with the Flyers and it is through that special relationship that we're able to host this historic game in the Lehigh Valley."

The Phantoms have already disclosed that their home opener will take place on Saturday, October 10. The Flyers will reveal the remainder of their preseason schedule tomorrow, while the master NHL schedule will not be released until late July at the earliest.

If Terry Murray leaves, who can lead the Phantoms?

Terry Murray, if anything, was most adamant in his post-game comments following the Phantoms' April 19 season-concluding loss on the subject of returning to the National Hockey League.

He'll be 65 years old in July, and while, in this business, it's not exactly retirement age, you can see why he'd want to get one last shot and one last job before thinking about stepping away from the bench for good.

With the Flyers organization, there is a spot which most likely suits his needs: assistant to new head coach Dave Hakstol. Murray, who has spent the last three seasons shepherding the Phantoms through Glens Falls and Allentown in his third separate coaching stint with the franchise, would be the most obvious candidate for Ron Hextall.

He'd already served as a mentor for John Stevens when he was elevated to the post in October of 2006 through the end of the 2007-08 season and another relocation -- though this one just one hour and 60 miles as opposed to four hours and 200 miles -- would be welcome for the hockey lifer.

If Murray leaves for another organization, he'll do so as the longest-tenured Phantoms head coach since the franchise was uprooted from Philadelphia in 2009; since then, there have been four men to lead the prospects. The AHL club saw five ex-Flyers behind their bench in their first 13 years of existence.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of those who could conceivably find themselves as Murray's replacement.

Ian Laperriere: If Hextall believes Gord Murphy has a grip on his assistantship with the Flyers covering the defense and Murray is tabbed to be elevated, that means Lappy stands a prime chance for reassignment. Having worked for and with the organization over the last six years, including two as an NHL assistant, it would be a great way to give him a concrete position and a great way to introduce him to greater responsibility. Plus, at age 41-42, his temperament might be at the right point to guide and develop talent in the minors: just far enough removed from his playing days and not quite the ancient disciplinarian.

Riley Cote: The immediate, if not logical, successor to Murray. He's been an assistant with the Phantoms for the last five seasons and has had to deal with the turmoil of head coaching and roster turnover along with half a decade of weekend 3-in-3s. Nonetheless, you'd have to have some reservations with the choice, since, like, Craig Berube, the 33-year-old has played the "loyal soldier" role. If Hextall had to can Chief in favor of someone with more intelligence along with the work ethic, then Cote might have to perform a philosophical overhaul to gain confidence he could take the step forward.

Benoit Groulx: Named a sleeper pick by the czar of Flyers bloggers not too long ago to be considered for the position Dave Hakstol was granted, the 47-year-old Quebec native is best known for his tenure in Gatineau in the QMJHL -- where he coached Claude Giroux -- as well as the Under-20 Canadian national squad. His lone professional experience was limited to two seasons (2008-10) as bench boss for the AHL's Rochester Americans before returning to juniors. Still, with three league championships in 12 years presiding over youth, the itch to break free again might still exist. A popular choice to be elevated because of "deserved" success.

Mike Stothers: The AHL's Coach of the Year selection as leader of the Manchester Monarchs is awaiting a Calder Cup Finals matchup with the Utica Comets. The 53-year-old former journeyman blueliner literally earned his stripes as a player, by being hit in the forehead with a shot in his NHL debut for Mike Keenan back in December of '84. Since that inauspicious beginning, he spent several seasons as an assistant (during the first four years of Bill Barber's tenure with the Phantoms from 1996-2000 and then 2000-02 with the Flyers). Stothers has been away since that point, stopping in the OHL (Owen Sound) and WHL (Moose Jaw) and back to the AHL (Grand Rapids) alongside one season with the Atlanta Thrashers.

Mark Morris: Why would a guy who paid his dues in both Division I and the AHL, only to find an assistant spot in the NHL (Florida), want to head back down the ladder? Hextall knows him from his eight years leading Manchester and he can be very persuasive, as he was to net Hakstol. Morris, 57, was a defenseman at Colgate and an assistant at St. Lawrence before a successful tenure at Clarkson from 1988-2002 was cut short by a grievous error in judgment. His career was revived in 2006, and he was responsible for shepherding key players of the Kings' two Stanley Cup winners from there. The Phantoms will need a sure and experienced hand over the next several seasons with the glut of picks accumulated in this year's draft alongside the club's current projects.

Sam Carchidi's Dream Information

Last Wednesday, the Philadelphia Flyers marked 40 years since their second and final Stanley Cup title, a six-game triumph over the Buffalo Sabres which ended their back-to-back dominance of the NHL.


In the interim, dynasties have risen and fallen and expansion has increased the number of clubs from 18 to 30, giving those players jettisoned by Philadelphia's front office ample chance to catch on and win a title elsewhere.

Since May 27, 1975, the following players who once donned the Orange and Black for at least a few games saw their name etched on the Stanley Cup under the banner of their future teams:

Ken Linseman  (1984, Edmonton Oilers)
Brad McCrimmon (1989, Calgary Flames)
Gordie Roberts (1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins)
Rick Tocchet (1992 Pittsburgh Penguins)
Kjell Samuelsson (1992 Pittsburgh Penguins)
Ken Wregget (1992 Pittsburgh Penguins)
J.J. Daigneault (1993 Montreal Canadiens)
Mike Ricci (1996 Colorado Avalanche)
Shjon Podein (2001 Colorado Avalanche)
Steve Duchesne (2002 Detroit Red Wings)
Ruslan Fedotenko (2004 Tampa Bay Lightning, 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins)
Darren Rumble (2004 Tampa Bay Lightning)
Mark Recchi (2006 Carolina Hurricanes; 2011 Boston Bruins)
Rod Brind'Amour (2006 Carolina Hurricanes)
Justin Williams (2006 Carolina Hurricanes, 2012, 2014 Los Angeles Kings)
Mark Eaton (2009 Pittsburgh Penguins)
Ben Eager (2010 Chicago Blackhawks)

Patrick Sharp (2010, 2013, 2015 Chicago Blackhawks)
Dennis Seidenberg (2011 Boston Bruins)
Simon Gagne (2012 Los Angeles Kings)
Jeff Carter (2012, 2014 Los Angeles Kings)
Mike Richards (2012, 2014 Los Angeles Kings)
Daniel Carcillo (2013 Chicago Blackhawks)
Michal Handzus (2013 Chicago Blackhawks)
Kimmo Timonen (2015 Chicago Blackhawks)

And continuing with the list, the following ex-players have their names inscribed as either coaches or front office personnel. NB Terry Murray, fired by the Kings in-season but who remained with the team as a scout, was left off the Cup in 2012 due to the 52-name limit:

Terry Crisp (1989 Calgary Flames)
Mark Howe (1997-98, 2002, 2008 Detroit Red Wings)
Rick St. Croix (1999 Dallas Stars)
Bob Hoffmeyer (2000, 2003 New Jersey Devils)
Bill Barber (2004 Tampa Bay Lightning)
Kevin McCarthy (2006 Carolina Hurricanes)
Ron Hextall (2012 Los Angeles Kings)
Kevin Dineen (2015 Chicago Blackhawks)

More Ex-Flyer Stanley Cup connections

This year's Cup Finals feature a trio of former Flyers, each looking for their first title victory: Kimmo Timonen (Chicago), Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn  (Tampa Bay). All three skated the blueline for Peter Laviolette five years back against Chicago in a six-game loss we may have to store in our memory banks for quite a while.

While battle lines are being drawn amongst Flyer fandom over which of the three deserves it most, or who should be supported most -- Timonen probably gets the nod under both criteria -- this is not close to critical ex-Flyer mass in a given Cup Finals.

That distinction goes to the 1996 series between the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers, won by the Avs in a four-game sweep. On Marc Crawford's ex-Nordiques were: Ricci, Peter Forsberg and Chris Simon. Doug MacLean's Sun Belt warriors featured Scott Mellanby, Gord Murphy and Terry Carkner.

Forsberg (#6, 1991) and Simon (#25, 1990) were both draft picks by Russ Farwell but never played a game for the club the first time around, part of the package which snared Eric Lindros. Ricci scored 97 points in 146 games but the Flyers never reached the postseason in either of his first two NHL seasons. 

Mellanby was dealt to the Oilers in May of 1991 and then claimed in the expansion draft by Florida in 1993. Murphy was passed to Boston in January of 1992 then shifted to Dallas briefly before the Panthers claimed him in the same expansion draft, while Carkner landed in Detroit for Yves Racine in '93 and then signed as a free agent in '95 by the Cats.

Son of Primeau Commits to Division I program

The connections between the Philadelphia Flyers and American college hockey strengthened on Wednesday morning, with reports out of Buffalo that Chayse Primeau -- son of former Flyers captain Keith -- has committed to Canisius College. It doesn't end there ... Primeau the younger's uncle is Derrick Smith, a gritty winger who played here from 1984-91.

The younger Primeau skated for Bishop Eustace Prep under the guidance of his father. A 17-year-old winger, he totaled 24 goals and 10 assists in 16 games last season for the Camden County-based program.

He'll join the progeny of another long-time NHL star, Daniel LaFontaine, next season as verbal commits to the Atlantic Hockey Association program.

The Griffins finished last season with an 18-12-7 overall record and 15-7-6 in-conference mark, second only to Robert Morris. They lost to eventual playoff champion and NCAA entrant RIT in the AHA postseason.

Phantoms shift divisions as AHL realigns for next season

The American Hockey League will return to a four-division alignment for the 2015-16 season, but the Lehigh Valley Phantoms aren't going to be disrupted in the change.

On Tuesday, the league announced the new geographic breakdown, and the second year of the third iteration of the Phantoms franchise will remain tight with some natural rivals.

Last year, upon a move from Glens Falls, NY to Allentown, PA, the franchise was placed in the East Division of the Eastern Conference along with Hershey, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Binghamton and Norfolk.

The first three clubs remain to comprise the new eight-team Atlantic Division along with the Phantoms. Added to the mix are Bridgeport, Hartford, Portland, Providence and Springfield. Providence and Portland arrive from the former Atlantic Division, while Hartford, Springfield and Bridgeport had participated in the now defunct Northeast Division.

Five franchises announced a move westward to facilitate the new breakdown: Manchester, NH to Ontario, CA (Los Angeles Kings); Glens Falls, NY to Stockton, CA (Calgary); Worcester, MA to San Jose, CA (San Jose); Norfolk, VA to San Diego, CA (Anaheim) and Oklahoma City, OK to Bakersfield, CA (Edmonton).

The AHL master schedule won't be released until later in the season.

Phantoms first season in Lehigh Valley a qualified failure

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor 

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms completed their first year in Allentown and the Flyers' primary affiliate notched its 19th overall campaign ranking fourth in the American Hockey League with an average attendance of 8,163 and saw more than 310,000 fans pass through the turnstiles of the PPL Center.

That's almost double what the hockey-bred citizens of Glens Falls could amass, though the Civic Center was nearly filled to capacity on most nights over five seasons in a smaller venue.

A reduction in distance from 280 miles down to 60 miles made for an easier evaluation and recall process between the parent club and their farm team. But so what? The organization failed to produce a collection of prospect who demonstrated the most obvious marker of success -- a postseason berth -- for the sixth consecutive season.

There's an inexact science present in the AHL of the 21st Century, a clear emphasis on development and curation rather than focusing on its reckless, entertaining product as a way-station for marginal talents to do anything it takes to make it up the chain. Nonetheless 30 NHL teams provide singular matches with their affiliates, and there is a degree of uncertainty on how each affiliate's performance is a reflection or rejection of how its parent conducts business.

That's how head coach Terry Murray can, with a straight face and facts to back it up, call this season a success. Eleven different players who spent a majority of the season at the AHL level earned recalls to the Philadelphia Flyers at some point, and for various lengths of time. Though only one -- Scott Laughton -- managed to stick in the long term, there were enough transactions with the NHL to justify the development side of the equation.

 “Absolutely,” Murray said on Sunday. “The process is to play games at the pro level. You get 76 games under your belt for these young players coming out of junior, coming out of college. This is a very successful year. This is exactly what you have to do.”

“We’ve got young guys that are seeing more minutes, more critical situations. We have players that were called up this year and I thought handled themselves pretty well at the next level. It’s a process, and this is year one of it.”

Offense: In spite of additions like Andrew Gordon and Kevin Goumas, and seeing eight players finish in double digits, the Phantoms ended the year with 194 goals in 76 games (2.55 per contest). That's only good enough for 12th in the Eastern Conference and 25th overall in the league. Included in that total are six shutouts against, and back-to-back blankings against the Baby Pens on April 4-8.

Out of 76 games, even factoring in the two-month absence of Scott Laughton, the late-season call-up of Nick Cousins and the struggles of Goumas, Petr Straka and Taylor Leier to break through, scoring two or fewer goals on 41 occasions doesn't pass muster.  Cousins missed 16 games and still finished atop the goal list at 23, while Jason Akeson had 23 in 57 games. Gordon contributed 18 while Straka (14) finished with one more than Zack Stortini in eight fewer appearances.

Their season-best output was just six goals, done twice, and both on the road. It was a marginal step up from the previous season, when five was the limit, and matched the ceiling from two years back in Murray's first year as coach.  No Phantoms team in three years has broken the 200-goal mark overall.

Tertiary scoring was hampered by Chris VandeVelde's permanent spot in Philly, as well as Blair Jones' health issues and Ryan White's off-season training injuries which took months to heal. Those names absent from the lineup are also reasons why play in the defensive zone was lacking to some extent.

Defense: A fresh infusion of defensive talent, minus their biggest prospect in Shayne Gostisbehere for most of the season, couldn't prevent a bottom-third finish in preventing offense. LV surrendered 237 goals in 76 games (3.12 per contest), 13th in the East and 24th in the league, yielding three or more scores on 49 occasions.

Take it for what you will, but Oliver Lauridsen was the only steady defenseman on the club who finished with a positive plus-minus (+6) in significant minutes as second-pair anchor. Brandon Manning showed enough offensive upside and overall growth to gain praise from Murray, and ended up with the most points of any player on the blueline but also finished minus-13.  Adam Comrie, who split the year in Reading, compiled a team-worst minus-21 in 40 games despite 18 points.

There are a ton of mulligans, however, for a team stacked with defensemen solely for the purpose of separating the quick and the dead: Gostisbehere was out since early November; Mark Alt was constantly beset by injury and skated in only 44 contests; Manning, the club's lone all-star sat out 16 times for recalls and various maladies, with Steven Delisle, Robert Hagg, Jesper Pettersson all firmly in the "project" stage.

"If I'm a young defenseman like Robert Hagg and I know Kjell Samuelsson, our development guy is there, I'm picking his brain," Hextall said. "It's a big thing for a club to express interest, but also to invest resources like this shows how important it is to us."

After two years of not focusing on development and one year of a renewed focus on development, the Phantoms' goal differential moved from minus-36 to minus-43 and minus-43 again. 

Goaltending: Medals of Honor should be awarded to both starter Rob Zepp, backup Anthony Stolarz and special mention to ECHL call-up Martin Ouellette.

Zepp faced at least 30 shots on goal an astounding 34 times just in the minors and still wound up with respectable numbers (21-20-1, 2.68 GAA, .917 save percentage) given the workload. Flyers' 2012 draftee Anthony Stolarz is getting a snoot-full of the vagaries of the pros, having picked up the club's only two shutouts but going 9-13-2 with a 3.28 GAA and .905 save pct. after such success in London of the OHL.

Based on a limited sample size in thr NHL plus cost effectiveness, Zepp is a favorite to be elevated to the backup job in the Delaware Valley next season, but leaving Stolarz to be a starter or rolling the dice again and trying to find a Zepp-like free agent is too much of a gamble. 

Special Teams: A power play which featured Stortini and Brett Hextall causing trouble atop the opposing crease operated at a 15.6 percent efficiency (53-for-339, 20th overall) and allowed nine short-handed goals -- a sharp contrast with the Orange and Black.

Their penalty killers worked two slots lower, preventing goals just 81.6 percent of the time (65-of-364), perhaps an eerie foreshadowing of what awaits a Flyers' penalty kill that was scraping the bottom of the franchise worsts.

Intangibles: For an organization desperately trying to break with the past, the kind and number of penalties taken by the Phantoms is totally unacceptable. An AHL-high 1,834 PIMs was 108 more than their closest competitor (Bridgeport, NYI) and well more than double the least-penalized club (Worcester, SJS, 809) in each conference (Grand Rapids, DET, 869).

Cutting out Stortini and Jay Rosehill in favor of more serviceable talents excises almost 400 minutes from that total, but the rest is up to coaching and each player's internal sense of discipline. If Murray and Cote possess something else in the arsenal to impress that upon the team, they'd better use it. It's an intriguing fact the Phantoms were only shorthanded 25 more times than placed on the advantage, which might suggest at a small level the renegade spirit still buried within the AHL rather than any failure of Murray or Cote to rein in their charges.

The Phantoms went beyond regulation 22 times overall and finished 7-1 in shootouts. While it's a built-in part of professional hockey games, participating in the equivalent of an extra two-plus games is a double-edged sword which tests stamina but indicates a lack of finish.

An enthusiastic crowd in a new destination greeted the Phantoms 38 times, with 26 sell-outs and the home team responded with a 17-15-6 record and a ton of extra hockey for the dollar. The operation was miles ahead of the no-frills approach the Brookses embraced in Glens Falls, and there's no off-ice reason fans shouldn't show up in droves again next year.

Futures: Murray expressed that the Flyers/Phantoms would put each and every player on an

off-season workout plan, and will use every bit of new technology and the facilities available within the PPL Center to help whomever will be retained for next year get a good start once training camp begins.


He mentioned in Sunday's post-game that the Players' Association is the biggest hindrance to development overall, and for good reason. With the punishing six-month schedule, playoffs notwithstanding, and the multiple 3-in-3's at the AHL level, a player needs down time right at the start to rest and recover. To expect a prospect to continue his development through constant competition stands an excellent chance of wearing out that prospect by the time September rolls around.

However, Murray did lament the fact that, like baseball's Arizona instructional or Caribbean leagues, there's no "summer hockey" leagues for late-comers to hone their skills -- with the possible exception of the Worlds which take place in May and are generally only open to North American players whose clubs are not participating in any postseason.

That structure and rules in place with the current CBA means players like Danick Martel, Nick Luukko and Cole Bardreau are stuck with months of off-ice training after a too-brief taste of the professional ranks.

One promising sign lay in the off-ice rehabilitation of Gostisbehere, who was briefly the center of a communication controversy between Murray and Flyers GM Ron Hextall. Recovery from that knee injury has forced the 22-year-old Union College product to alter his fitness program, but for the better, since he was a noticeably slight presence in close quarters.

"In the big picture, when you look back 10 years from now, you might say Gostisbehere's injury was a real positive in the sense he became a player who really paid attention to the off-ice part of it and became a bigger, stronger player," Murray said Tuesday to the Inquirer. "I think he's put on almost 20 pounds of good, solid weight and that's going to help him be ready at training camp."

Both Cousins and Laughton drew praise for their time spent in the Flying P, so it's not unreasonable to expect they'd be the first to either snag a roster spot in camp or the first to head down the Northeast Extension when needed. If and when that day comes, Hextall will be hard pressed to find replacements, but that's an unsung part of his job as GM -- stocking the minors with durable, productive players who might need to play there for several seasons through the draft or free agency.

Drafting/signing in the short terms should look to bolster the forward ranks as it previously needed to fill up the backlines.

Outlook: Terry Murray has been the head coach of this affiliate for three seasons. In that time, he's had three separate and distinct rosters in New York and Pennsylvania, but each year the ebb and flow has been obvious: whenever the club fastens down defensively, they go on a run, usually in mid-season, which pushes them towards hope of a playoff berth.

It comes with a dearth of offense, however. Some time after that run, the luck turns sour and an extended winless streak/losing jag occurs which knocks the team out of contention. Offense ebbs and flows, but more pucks are present in their own net than the opposition.

Murray made no secret on Sunday of his desire to return to the NHL. He hasn't been there since 2011 with Los Angeles and has put on a brave face moving with the Phantoms. But he's going to be 65 in July, and while the passion to return is evident, he also made no mistake in relating that the head coaching job, at least, at both levels, is labor intensive and pressure packed, with an unbalanced schedule causing additional pressures in the AHL.

That Inquirer piece from yesterday revealed Murray wants a crack at an assistant position with the Flyers under the new regime. That might be more his speed, and he's done his part in interviews to tout the players the Flyers wanted to bring up, but it would create an opening Hextall would have to do some extra work in order to fill.

The Phantoms' single assistant coach, Riley Cote, might suffer from the same issues that Craig Berube did in Philadelphia. Although he's played the good soldier, Berube may not take kindly to another demotion, and since the improvement of so many potential future Flyers will be at stake, better choices beyond the organization must be considered.

"Obviously making the playoffs is something we set out to do and would have liked to do," Hextall mentioned over the weekend. "I'm happy with the way things have gone for the most part. At that [AHL] level, you get hit by two teams' injuries, which is tough. Overall, we've had some young players, some prospects, playing in some pretty critical roles. … A lot of the kids are on the power play, the penalty kill. You want the kids to evolve by playing in big roles."

Regardless of who's pulling the strings, health and discipline along with the skill and ability of those who spend an entire year in Allentown are the major factors to the Phantoms' on-ice success going forward. That's why its crucial for Michael Parks to be signed, and for Bardreau, Martel and Luukko to prove themselves worthy right up front. They will be counted on to fill the gaps the call-ups leave. Hextall also needs to fill the gaps of others like Darroll Powe and Ryan White, who may also be moving on, with steady AHLers not under the microscope.

In the back half of the season, even as the team's broadcaster crowed about the home attendance figures, once it became apparent the Phantoms were out of the playoff picture, there were incrementally more gray-backed seats visible around the arena.

On one hand, it's promising for the Flyers that so many Phantoms gained recognition and feedback and as a result, there are a handful of players who could join the NHL club over the next several seasons.

On the other, the Lehigh Valley is not as dedicated to or intertwined with hockey at any level compared to Philadelphia or upstate New York, and it's unlikely that unless there are playoff berths coming with prospect development, fans will continue to support the team in the same fervent manner.