While the Flyers’ quest to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season has been garnering most of the local hockey headlines, there’s still the little matter of how they got here.
In other words, who was the most instrumental in turning around a club which finished dead last in the Metropolitan Division a season ago?
Well, in the Flyers’ case, you probably have to mention not only a player but a coach (Rick Tocchet), too.
One could make a case for a number of Flyers to win the Bobby Clarke Trophy for team MVP.
With only a handful of games remaining on the team’s schedule, goaltender Dan Vladar has to be considered the frontrunner.
Vladar wasn’t even the No. 1 netminder when the players arrived for training camp back in September. But he played so well in the preseason that the ex-Calgary Flame won the starting job without much controversy.
In many ways he’s been a godsend. Not only has he performed well on the ice but off it as well. Players rave about the way he serves as an unofficial cheerleader on the bench and in the locker room.
Goaltender is considered the most important position in hockey, right up there with quarterback in football and pitcher in baseball.
So with Vladar setting personal records for wins, games played and possibly goals-against average, he has to be considered the favorite for Clarke Trophy honors.
Of course, there are more than a few other worthy candidates, including Trevor Zegras, Noah Cates, Owen Tippett, Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim.
Zegras, like Vladar, has been more than a pleasant surprise. He’s been valuable as both a goalscorer and a playmaker. And what about his shootout ability? Only the best percentage in the history of the NHL.
Cates has led the team in plus-minus for much of the season. He can play in all situations, comes up with a clutch play when it’s needed and, perhaps most important of all, makes the players around him better.
Since the Olympic break, Tippett has really caught fire. He scored in Friday night’s 4-1 win at Long Island and that was his 28th goal, tying his career high. He’s one of the few Flyers who can generate scoring chances simply on his own.
You have to like what Konecny has accomplished this year. He’s played on a number of different lines but still has found chemistry with anyone he’s skated with. Plus he’s one of the league’s most celebrated “pests” and every team needs a couple of those to get under an opponent’s skin.
Sanheim, who looks like the favorite to win the Barry Ashbee Trophy for best defenseman, has really come on strong since he was paired with Rasmus Ristolainen. Plus he’s a double-digit goalscorer and is used in all critical defensive situations.
Of course, the gentleman who might deserve the most credit for this unexpected rebound season is Tocchet.
He inherited a team which hasn’t been to the playoffs in five years and immediately set about making the players more accountable, not only to their teammates but themselves.
Tocchet won the Jack Adams Award (“adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success”) two years ago with Vancouver and now, in similar fashion, he’s made all the right moves in his brief time in Philadelphia.
The Flyers players are well aware of Tocchet’s glittering resume, from winning the Stanley Cup as a player to duplicating the feat as an assistant coach. When they talk about him, they do so with a respectful tone in their voices.
The likely winner of this year’s Adams is none other than Lindy Ruff, who has done a remarkable job with the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres had missed the playoffs an eye-opening 14 straight years. Then Ruff came back to Buffalo and has the Sabres contending for the Atlantic Division crown.
But Tocchet deserves top-three consideration. He’s done a lot in a short period of time. If the Flyers do make the playoffs, it would be a crowning achievement.
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