Friday, May 10, 2013

Orange and Black and Blue


Orange and Black and Blue 

December 5th 2005, a day that not many hockey fans are unaware of. Philadelphia Flyers fans remember though, as it can be seen as the beginning of many questionable trades by the franchise. On that day, the Philadelphia Flyers traded a young, 24 year old player by the name of Patrick Sharp. Yes, the Patrick Sharp who has turned into one of the Chicago Blackhawks top forwards and who helped them capture the 2010 Stanley Cup against, wait for it... the Philadelphia Flyers.

Funny how the team Sharp helped defeat was the Philadelphia Flyers, huh? Things in hockey, as well as life in general, seem to come back around.

Before I begin my discussion, I would just like to acknowledge the fact that I am on the outside looking in. I have no idea what goes on inside the Flyers organization and the many factors that go into trading players. It is just intriguing to why so many players get traded from the Flyers and then start produce a lot more while seeming to be happier in the process. In this post, I will be dissecting only the players that the Flyers TRADED away.

Patrick Sharp

December 28th, 2005 – Flyers trade 24 year old Patrick Sharp and Eric Meloche to the Chicago Blackhawks for Matt Ellison and a 2006 third round pick.

Patrick Sharp was drafted by Philly in the 2002 draft. Since his Flyers career was ephemeral, I've decided to skip the statistics portion of his analysis. Yet, he has turned out to be a solid forward. He won the 2010 Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks, against... the Philadelphia Flyers.

Kris Versteeg


June 1st 2011 – Flyers send 25 year old Kris Versteeg (after only 27 games with the Flyers. Traded at the deadline from. 5 years of NHL experience at this point in time.) to the Florida Panthers for two draft pick

Flyers career 2011
Regular Season (Versteeg was acquired at the trade-deadline)

2010-11 – Philadelphia Flyers – 27 games played – 7 goals – 4 assists – 11 points – Plus/Minus - 4

Post Season :

2010 – 11 – Philadelphia Flyers – 11 games played – 1 goal – 5 assists – 6 points – Plus/Minus - 1

First year after being traded by Philly -
Regular Season :
2011-12 – Florida Panthers – 71 games played – 23 goals – 31 assists – 54 points – Plus/Minus 4

Post Season :
2011-12 – Florida Panthers – 7 games played – 3 goals – 2 assists – 5 points – Plus/Minus – 2

Versteeg has been a nice addition to the Panthers and he helped lead them get back into the playoffs for the first time in twelve seasons. They got bounced by eventual Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Devils in seven games of the Quarterfinals. His Flyers career was short and he did not have the best offensive numbers. He has a quick release and provides speed on the wing and should continue to produce solid points in the coming years.

Evidence

Versteeg with a cannon of a shot against Marty Brodeur last year in the playoffs:



Video credit - Fred Murtz

James van Riemsdyk

June 23rd 2012 – Flyers trade 23 year old James van Riemsdyk (three seasons with the Flyers/NHL) to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Luke Schenn.

Flyers career 2009 - 2012
Regular Season
196 games played – 47 goals – 52 assists – 99 points – Plus/Minus of 13

Averaged per year – 65.3 games played – 15.7 goals – 17.3 assists – 33 points

Playoffs
39 games played – 11 goals – 4 assists – 15 points – Plus/Minus of -9

First year traded from Philly (With Toronto)
Regular Season
2012-13 – 48 games played - 18 goals – 14 assists – 32 points – Plus/Minus of -7


Post Season (As of today)
2012-13 – 4 games played – 2 goals – 1 assists – 3 points – Plus/Minus of - 3


JVR was drafted second overall by the Flyers in the 2007 entry draft. That draft is a whole story on its own (which I will cover in the coming future). Essentially, the Flyers got screwed by the lottery system and Chicago jumped from the 5th pick to the 1st and selected Patrick Kane. Another irony is that Kane goes on to score the game winner of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals and defeats the, wait for it... Philadelphia Flyers. And as fate would just so have it, JVR was on the ice as the puck slide past Michael Leighton. But, I digress...

JVR is developing into one of the leagues best power forwards. He dominates in front of the net and battles hard. Just check out his play against Boston's Zdeno Chara in these playoffs! The Flyers should have kept him a few more years to see how he evolved. Now, look at him. This season he was tied for 10th in the NHL in goals. Look out, JVR will become a beast for the Leafs.

Evidence

Not the best video. Watch JVR BATTLE in front of the net against Chara:



Video credit TorontoMapleLeafs951

JVR dazzles against Boston in game 2 of the 2013 NHL playoffs:



Video credit MisterSinghh·

Sergei Bobrovsky

June 22nd 2012 – Flyers trade 23 year old Sergei Bobrovsky (2 years with Flyers/NHL) to the Columbus Blue Jackets for drafts picks that turned out to be GOALIE Anthony Stolarz and Taylor Leier.

Flyers Career 2009 - 2012
Regular Season

83 games played – 77 starts – 42 wins – 23 losses – 10 Overtime losses – 208 goals against - 2.80 GAA - .907 save percentage

Average per year – 41.5 games played – 38.5 starts – 21 wins – 11.5 losses – 5 Ovetime losses – 104 goals against – 2.80 GAA - .907 save percentage

Playoffs
7 games played – 3 starts – 0 wins – 2 losses – 0 Overtime losses – 4.04 GAA - .848 save percentage

First year traded from Philly (With Columbus)
2012-13 – 38 games played – 37 starts – 21 wins – 11 losses – 6 Overtime losses – 2.00 GAA - .932 save percentage

SERGEI BOBROVSKY! Bob was undrafted by signed by the Flyers in 2006. What a year this young man had! Without his stellar stats, the Columbus Blue Jackets would not have been a point out of the playoffs. Just look at his statistics for this season! Incredible. One year removed from being Ilya Bryzgalov's backup, Bob is now a finalist for the Vezina as the top goaltender of the year. I believe he will win it, and rightfully so with his unreal stats.

Side note – Bob was traded for a few drafts picks. With the draft picks the Flyers drafted a GOALIE.
Also, at the trade deadline the Flyers traded Michael Leighton to Columbus for their backup GOALIE, Steve Mason. Mason has looked well in orange and black, but only time will tell.

What?! They should have never traded Bob in the first place!

Evidence

Check out Bob's top ten saves this year. Incredible.



Video credit to Fred Murtz

Jeff Carter


June 23rd 2011 – Flyers send 26 year old Jeff Carter (6 years with Flyers/NHL) to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jakub Voracek, and two draft picks that turn out to be Sean Couturier, and Nick Cousins.

Flyers Career 2005 - 2011
Regular Season

461 games played – 181 goals – 162 assists – 343 points – Plus/Minus of 51

Averaged per year – 76.8 games played – 30.1 goals – 27 assists – 57.1 points

Playoffs
47 games played – 13 goals – 8 asssists – 21 points – Plus/Minus of -14

First year traded from Philly (With Columbus / Los Angeles)
Regular Season

2011-12 – Columbus - 39 games played - 15 goals – 10 assists – 25 points – Plus/Minus of -11
2011-12 – Los Angeles – 16 games played – 6 goals – 3 assists – 9 points – Plus/Minus of -1

Playoffs
2011-12 – Los Angeles – 20 games played – 8 goals – 5 assists – 13 points – Plus/Minus – EVEN

Stanley Cup Champion

Mike Richards


June 23rd 2011 – Flyers trade 26 year old captain Mike Richards (6 years with Flyers / NHL) and Rob Bordson to Los Angeles for Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn and a 2012 second round pick.

Flyers Career 2005 - 2011
Regular Season

453 games played – 133 goals – 216 assists – 349 points – Plus/Minus of 39

Averaged per year – 75.5 games played – 22.1 goals – 36 assists – 58.1 points

Playoffs
63 games played – 16 goals – 34 assists – 50 points – Plus/Minus of -11

First year traded from Philly (With Los Angeles)
Regular Season

2011-12 – Los Angeles – 74 games played – 18 goals – 26 assists – 44 points – Plus/Minus of 3

Playoffs
2011-12 – Los Angeles – 20 games played – 4 goals – 11 assists – 15 points – Plus/Minus – 1

Stanley Cup Champion


I decided to write about Carter and Richards together because well, that's how they spent the majority of their NHL careers. Both were drafted by Philadelphia in the 2005 draft. Both were traded on June 23rd 2011. Both hoisted the Stanley Cup last season, one year removed from the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter is one of the league's goal scorer and Richards is a top two way forward. They both got the last laugh of the whole Flyers debacle, as being crowned the “Kings” of the NHL last season.

Best buds, Carter and Richards reach the pinnacle together. They were the "Kings" of the 2012 NHL season. Photo - http://www.phantomshockey.com/pages/news/articles/20120612.asp

Sorry Flyers fans, I had to do it to you with that picture of Richie and Carts.

My Take

Is it me or is all this concerning for a Flyers fan?

Three of the six players (Sharp, Carter, Richards) have won Stanley Cups

All were 26 or younger when traded by the Flyers.

*The only player on this list not drafted and traded by the Flyers is Kris Versteeg.
*Bobrovsky was undrafted but Philly was the first team to sign him.

All have become better players since leaving the Flyers organization.

What does that all mean? Are the Flyers “bad” at growing their own players? Does the “win now” philosophy need to go?

I believe the Flyers need to hold on to their younger prospects. As of now, they have a solid young squad and if they do not trade them, they will be great in the few years. Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, and captain Claude Giroux are all 25 years old or younger. That is a very promising group of hockey players. Let's hope that they all remain in Orange and Black for the years to come.

But just imagine a team with Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, James van Reimsdyk, Sergei Bobrovsky Jeff Carter, Mike Richards. Now add in Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, and Matt Read.

That could have been your 2012-13 Philadelphia Flyers.


Trade information courtesy of http://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/trade.cgi
Typed in player name in search bar to find specific statistics.



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