Flyers Hope Shake-Up Proves Prelude to Cup Run

They were atop the Eastern Conference, featured a deep, talented group of forwards that filled the nets and had a six-man defense corps that was the envy of most teams in the NHL League. If you looking Free NHL Picks here…

After a 4-2 win at the New York Rangers on Feb. 20, the Flyers had 83 points and a six-point lead in the East. However, they went 8-8-7 the rest of the way, and while they still finished second in the conference, something had changed, and it manifested during the Flyers’ second-round playoff loss to the Boston Bruins.

Rather than chalk up the problem to bad luck, a late-season injury to star defenseman Chris Pronger and below-average goaltending, and make small fixes to a core group that was one season removed from going to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren opted for an extreme roster makeover. Gone are eight of the 20 players who dressed in the last game of the series loss to the Bruins, including All-Star centers Jeff Carter and Mike Richards.

Among the new faces are goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who signed a nine-year contract to stabilize a position that always seems to be in a state of flux in Philadelphia.

Bryzgalov is one of at least seven new faces that will be part of next season’s roster, which appears to be more defense-oriented with Bryzgalov and last year’s defense group returning almost completely intact.

With the departure of Richards and Carter, more will be expected from emerging talents Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk. Giroux led the team in scoring last season and made his first All-Star team, while van Riemsdyk, the second pick of the 2007 Entry Draft, had a breakout season with 21 goals, plus a team-high 7 goals in 11 playoff games.

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