Philadelphia Flyers 2014-15 Season Preview

Apr 13, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center

Claude Giroux

(28) smiles from the ice against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

 2013-14 RECAP

 The Flyers got out of the gate slowly last season with star Claude Giroux on the shelf after an off-season finger injury and Peter Laviolette being a casualty behind the bench, replace by Craig Berube.  Giroux started off slow, but heated up as the season went on, as did his team and they clinched the third seed in the Metropolitan Division.

A win-one, lose-one series against the Rangers saw the Flyers force game 7, but they were on the wrong end of a 2-1 decision and were eliminated in the first round.

Jan 27, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets forward R. J. Umberger (18) celebrates his 1st period goal against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

CHANGES

IN – R.J. Umberger, Ryan White, Nick Schultz

OUT- Scott Hartnell, Adam Hall

The big deal for the Flyers this summer was dealing Hartnell to the Blue Jackets and bringing back former Flyers first rounder Umberger.

Apr 29, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers goalie

Steve Mason

(35) makes a save against the New York Rangers during the first period in game six of the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

3 BIG QUESTIONS

1. Is the Flyers’ goaltending good enough? – The duo of Steve Mason and Ray Emery returns intact for another year.  Mason’s injury late in the season forced him to miss the first part of the playoffs, and in a series that went 7 games it might have been the difference, even though Emery filled in adequately.

2.  Is there a better group of centers in the NHL? – Down the middle the Flyers have Claude Giroux (still just 26 yrs old), who could be one of the league’s top 5 pivots, a pair of highly touted prospects who are still reaching their prime in Brayden Schenn (23) and Sean Couturier (21) , as well as a veteran who has seen it all in Vincent Lecavalier.  I’m not sure that going forward there is a more complete group in the league.

3.  Will Giroux win the Hart this season? – Only 3 players have had a higher points per game ratio over the past 4 seasons – Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Steven Stamkos – than the Flyers captain.  A pre-season injury to Giroux shouldn’t be serious enough to delay the start to his season like it did last year, and he was probably the best player in the league over the second half of the season. He could join Bobby Clarke and Eric Lindros as the only Flyers to win the League MVP award.