Every time you think the Philadelphia Flyers defense can’t get any worse, the organization finds a way to top themselves. They’ve entered the 2023-24 season with an overabundance of bodies and a lack of solidified talent, and it’s leaving the door open for some very strange lineups to occur. The battle of young versus old, future versus past and speed versus amble will be in John Tortorella’s hands and will play out every night in front of our faces.
Because there’s at least 10 different defenseman fighting for spots they could reasonably earn, chances are, there is a ton of movement from a night-to-night basis. Meaning any six man unit may not be together for long. But there are still some good and bad lineups to be assembled from the grab bag that is the random list of names
The game changer here is 21-year-old Emil Andrae, who has been turning heads since his arrival in North America late last season. If he makes the NHL roster out of the gate, it gives the team a plethora of options they otherwise wouldn’t have, and that is displayed below in scenarios both with and without Andrae involved.
The Good
York – Attard
Andrae – Ristolainen
Sanheim – Walker
If 21-year-old Emil Andrae makes the team out of camp, this could very well be what the opening night lineup could look like. While throwing Attard straight into the deep end seems counterproductive, it may be the best stylistic fit for him alongside York, and it gives both Andrae and Sanheim better suited partners as well. This is also one of the only cases that features three lefties and three righties, with Ristolainen, Attard and Walker the only three right-shots who are expected to be in the running to make the team.
York -Ristolainen
Sanheim – Zamula
Seeler – Attard
In the case of Andrae not making the roster, this may be the best “plan B” they can muster. York and Ristolainen together is what it is. It’s not necessarily ideal, but it’s the only thing even close to resembling a top pair. As for the bottom four, it still gives Zamula and Attard ice time, but puts them with partners which provide the best stylistic fit. Zamula on his off-side to play stay-at-home with the puck-moving Sanheim and Seeler playing defense for the offensive defenseman Attard. It may not be the prettiest group ever assembled, but it gives everyone in the best chance to succeed, which should be priority number one in a rebuild.
The Bad
York – Ristolainen
Sanheim – Walker
Zamula – Attard
The biggest problem here is this could very well be the opening night lineup if Andrae, for one reason or another, doesn’t make the opening night lineup. It’s about as pathetic as a top four unit can get, but at least the two young guys in Zamula and Attard get playing time.
York – Ristolainen
Sanheim – Walker
Staal – Andrae
One of the more frustrating trends over the last few seasons has been when natural left-handed rookies get put on the right side in favor of a washed up veteran on the left. It happened with Cam York moving over for Keith Yandle, and it happened with Zamula and Seeler last season. So, it’s reasonable to think Andrae could, in fact, make the roster, but be put in a lesser role on his off-side with 36-year-old Marc Staal playing his natural left. At least their top prospect made the roster, but it’s the worst way to utilize what could ultimately be their best defenseman.
The Ugly
York – Ristolainen
Sanheim – Walker
Staal – Seeler
None of the kids (Andrae, Zamula, Attard) make the lineup and Staal and Seeler are playing together, not to mention Ristolainen is playing top minutes. The problem? This is a very believable group that John Tortorella will ice at some point during the season. He loved Nick Seeler last season and he was the one who wanted Staal here, so it may actually be a good thing if they’re somehow limited to third pair minutes and not deployed for 30 minutes a night.
Sanheim – York
Seeler – Ristolainen
Staal – Walker
I hate that this was even a though that occurred whilst brainstorming potential pairs. If Tortorella is going to favor both Staal and Seeler, then it’s possible they both play on the left side, and to accommodate that, Sanheim gets bumped up to the first pair and York goes back to the right side with Ristolainen and Walker filling the rest of the right. Sanheim is given way too much ice time, they continue to screw up York, Torts gets to overplay his favorite depth guys and Ristolainen as the “responsible” one alongside one of them is the stuff of nightmares.
The Intriguing
Andrae – York
Sanheim – Ristolainen
Zamula – Attard
In terms of icing a lineup that could work now and set the foundation for the future, this is the best one so far. Cam York has spent a bulk of his NHL career playing on the right side despite being a left-shot, meaning if Andrae is undenied at camp and makes the roster, the two could partner up rather than patrol separate lines. It may not be the ideal use of York, but pairing him with Provorov worked decent enough last season, so it’s a risk worth taking if the partner is worth it. It also reunites Sanheim and Ristolainen who have worked well together in the past, as well as give both the young players in Zamula and Attard ice time.
Conclusion
Which one is most likely? Well, as noted above, there’s a good chance the pairs are swapped every game, or at least every few games in search of the group that sucks the least. There’s a possibility that every unit listed gets deployed at some point during an 82-game season.
The name of the game should be development, and that means featuring the kids even if they’re not perfect. With so many prospects highlighting the options, there is no reason why guys like Seeler and Staal should be getting preferential treatment, especially when the organization is supposedly rebuilding. Yet with John Tortorella as head coach, there’s going to be that veteran versus prospect battle even if it shouldn’t be happening.
Hopefully development wins the day and the Flyers have a better idea as to who has a future on the team by season’s end. If the year concludes and they still don’t know whether or not guys like Ronnie Attard or Egor Zamula have futures at the NHL level because they only played a dozen games a piece, it’d be a failure by Tortorella and the front office, but at this point, isn’t it easier to ask which prospect didn’t get screwed up over the last decade?
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com / Getty Images / phantomshockey.com / nbcphilly.com
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