CSNPhilly.com's Tim Panaccio now turns his attention to reviewing the Flyers' offense. He took a look at the team's defense in two parts, here and here.
For the third, consecutive summer, the Flyers are faced with needing more scoring help on left wing.
Outside of Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds, can you find another Flyers forward you can really get excited about?
General manager Ron Hextall has already acknowledged he needs a scoring winger.
Given the overall problems related to the Flyers’ salary cap, Hextall will have to move bodies to acquire a piece or even sign someone in free agency.
While some assume that Vinny Lecavalier will return now that his nemesis Craig Berube is gone, the opposite appears true. Hextall has already said this marriage is over.
The Flyers will again seek to trade the veteran center turned wing, but getting anyone to take Lecavalier’s $4.5 million salary for the next three years is like asking John Boehner to back a piece of Democratic legislation.
NHL
(Petr Straka and Blair Jones did not play enough games to warrant review).
Jason Akeson RW
Age: Turns 25 in June
Stats: 13 GP; 0 G; 0 A; 0 Pts.; minus-1
UFA (Last cap hit: $575,000)
Played his most games here in the first half. However, unlike last spring in the playoffs against the Rangers, he simply had nothing to offer the club from either an energy or offensive standpoint, even allowing for him playing on a fourth line. Should be re-signed with the Phantoms.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare C
Age: Turns 31 next March
Stats: 81 GP; 6 G; 6 A; 12 Pts.; minus-3
Cap hit: $712,500
Because of their success last season in discovering Michael Raffl in Austria, the Flyers took a chance on an unknown swing forward born in the city of Paris. Bellemare brought an entirely different feel to what coaches call a fourth line. In many respects, it was like a third line. Had there been greater production from Lecavalier, who knows where Bellemare and his line’s stats would have gone.
As bad as the Flyers' penalty kill was, no one worked harder than Bellemare, who averaged 2:03 ice time -- only Sean Couturier averaged more as a forward. Hextall re-signed Bellemare in-season for a bargain.
Nick Cousins C
Age: Turns 22 in July
Stats: 11 GP; 0 G; 0 A; 0 Pts.; plus-1
Cap hit: $843,000
Cousins had been waiting for two seasons to get a crack at the Flyers and when promoted in March to replace the injured R.J. Umberger, he played with versatile Ryan White and Zac Rinaldo. Cousins was a huge disappointment and it hit home in his second game against Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau (goal, three points), who the Flyers bypassed because of his size in the 2011 NHL draft. Cousins may be your prototypical Flyer, but Gaudreau, who may win the Calder Trophy, is among what this team sorely lacks.
Sean Couturier C
Age: Turns 23 in December
Stats: 82 GP; 15 G; 22 A; 37 Pts.; plus-4
Cap hit: $1.75 million
So much has been said about where this shutdown centerman is going with his career and what should be reasonably expected of him. The bottom line is this: Mike Richards handled the same role as Couturier, was a Selke candidate, became an excellent two-way center and still produced big offensive numbers for the Flyers. Hextall has already challenged Couturier in that department, regardless of the overblown hype about his “defensive zone” starts. Couturier was a scorer in junior and needs to raise his game. Hextall preaches patience given Coots’ age, but he needs to see him take that next step. Twenty goals and 50 points is well within Couturier’s range. His 15 goals this season were a career high.
Claude Giroux C
Age: Turns 28 next January
Stats: 81 GP; 25 G; 48 A; 73 Pts.; minus-3
Cap hit: $8.275 million
Pretty good season on a club lacking in key areas. Finished 12th in the league in scoring, second to Voracek on the team, and led the NHL with 37 power-play points. Got off to a very poor start because of a preseason injury. The Flyers need Giroux totally healthy and ready to go next fall. That hasn’t been the case the last couple years. Showed a lot character to play through a painful left ankle injury in November. He’d like to be certain his line is set and not having his left wing moving throughout the lineup to compensate for injuries elsewhere. A quiet captain, Giroux always seems to paint the postgame picture in bright colors, even when unwarranted. Curiously, during the final week of the season, Giroux offered biting criticism that others -- Voracek, Simmonds, Steve Mason -- had been dishing out for weeks. Needs to be harder on teammates to push this group toward new heights. Given how the Flyers have operated in the past with Richards and Jeff Carter, it’s not unthinkable Giroux would be traded if a blockbuster deal presented itself.
Scott Laughton C
Age: Turns 21 in May
Stats: 31 GP; 2 G; 4 A; 6 Pts.; minus-1
Cap hit: $839,000
Waited a long time to get his shot and made his first NHL appearance in two years in late November when Giroux’s status (ankle) was questionable. Remained here and struggled to find his game, despite Berube moving him around to five different lines. Took Laughton 13 games to score his first NHL goal. A feisty centerman, he is not afraid to get his nose dirty anywhere on the ice. Hextall said he felt he hit a plateau, but that was likely exacerbated by the fact he suffered a concussion and missed seven games. Future here as a top pivot is uncertain given the number of centers and the fact he’s not versatile enough to play wing.
Stay tuned for part two of the offense -- the forwards -- coming Friday.