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 | For seemingly forever, the biggest question facing the Philadelphia Flyers heading into each season has been their goaltending. A few times recently the Flyers thought they had their answer, whether it was a burgeoning Sergei Bobrovsky, or Ilya Bryzgalov. For a number of reasons, neither of those options worked out for the Flyers. | | Philadelphia - August 27, 2013 - For seemingly forever, the biggest question facing the Philadelphia Flyers heading into each season has been their goaltending. A few times recently the Flyers thought they had their answer, whether it was a burgeoning Sergei Bobrovsky, or Ilya Bryzgalov. For a number of reasons, neither of those options worked out for the Flyers. The Flyers didn’t have the patience to let Bobrovsky grow into the #1 he has with Columbus because their window was starting to close with stud defensemen Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen entering their late 30s. Bryzgalov was the most sought-after free agent goaltender in the summer of 2011, and in retrospect, the Flyers appeared to have outbid themselves, paying him a hefty contract before free agency started. A few weeks later, veterans like Tomas Vokoun, and J.S. Giguere signed for pennies compared to Bryzgalov.
We all know how the Bryzgalov debacle turned out. He clashed with the media and fans because he did not meet the lofty expectations they had for him, and did not handle the pressure in Philadelphia after playing in a relatively pressure-free environment in Phoenix.
Entering the 2013-2014 season, the Flyers have two options that they believe in and are relatively familiar with, but do not come without their questions. First up is Ray Emery, a former Flyer in 2009-2010 who signed a one year contract in the offseason. Most praised the move as a low-risk, high reward move because they thought Emery played well in Philadelphia before a hip injury threatened his career. In reality, Emery’s numbers from his first stint in Philadelphia look rather pedestrian, posting a 16-11-1 record with a 2.64 GAA and .905 save percentage. When you consider that was behind a defense that included Kimmo Timonen, Chris Pronger, Braydon Coburn, and Matt Carle, it looks even less impressive. Last season, Emery posted stellar numbers in Chicago, playing behind the best defense in the league. While it is true that he benefitted from playing behind a great team, you cannot go 17-1 and post a goals against average of under two without playing well yourself.
Emery’s competitor for starts is Steve Mason, who was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets late last season. In his short stint in Philadelphia, he was a pleasant surprise, earning six starts and finishing with a 4-2 record, 1.90 GAA, and .944 save percentage. What makes those numbers even more impressive is that the Flyers defensive corps had been decimated by injury by the end of last season, at one point icing a starting six of Andreas Lilja, Luke Schenn, Brandon Manning, Matt Konan, Erik Gustafsson, and Oliver Lauridsen. In that game, Mason saved 43 of 44 Senators shots en route to a 2-1 win. Mason had a brilliant rookie season, but struggled in the rest of his time in Columbus. He lacked confidence in his game and if he would let in a bad goal, he struggled to put it behind him and would be easily rattled.
I recently had the chance to attend a Flyers Town Hall Meeting, where fans could ask Flyers front office and coaching personnel questions about the team. Naturally, goaltending came up as a topic early and often. New assistant general manager Ron Hextall, Paul Holmgren, and Peter Laviolette all had very positive things to say about the two goaltenders. All three mentioned how talented they believe Steve Mason is, and said if his mental approach to the game could be corrected by a change of scenery, his confidence could return to match his talent level. When pressed to name or predict who the starting goaltender would be, all three unsurprisingly skirted the question.
Once again, goaltending is a question that the Flyers will deal with headed into the season. The most likely scenario appears to be the two will alternate starts and receive an equal workload until one catches fire or emerges as the clearly superior goaltender. Both players are on one year contracts, so they will be plenty motivated to prove that they can be the Flyers starting goaltender in the future.
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