Friday on Breakfast on Broad, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Rob Rossi phoned in to discuss, among other topics, the Penguins' loss of forward Evgeni Malkin.
Malkin, as even casual hockey fans know, is a future Hall of Famer — a guy whose absence (he'll be out up to eight weeks with an upper-body injury) will be felt. It might not have mattered much to the Penguins Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center, but it will soon enough.
“They've got as much a chance of replacing [him] as the Flyers do of ending the Cup drought this year,” Rossi said.
Wait just a sec.
That was quite a zinger, wasn't it? The Penguins have as much a chance of replacing Malkin as the Flyers, who have beaten the odds just to be in the playoff hunt at all, have of hoisting the Stanley Cup this June? Ouch, Rossi.
The fact is, he's right. Of course he's right. The more important fact, though, is that it doesn't matter. Whatever happens going forward, this Flyers season was a success.
It's easy to get caught up in the intensity. We all remember 2010, when the Flyers crawled their way into the postseason and went on an improbable yet magical run all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. It's difficult to avoid making comparisons between the current team and what happened six years ago, even if the circumstances are different. This Flyers team has had a bit of the same feel of capturing lightning in a bottle that the 2010 squad did at times.
Still, any kind of legitimate playoff run is unlikely this time around. That 2010 team had more talent. This team is young and in the midst of a reshaping — it's got a rookie head coach, a GM in the midst of defining a direction, a stocked farm system. We all know that. It's why there were no expectations for the Flyers to accomplish anything this year.
And it's also why it doesn't matter if they lose all of their remaining games and miss the playoffs entirely, or they battle through a playoff round or two. This team is fun to watch now, at least a season or two before it was supposed to be.
Shayne Gostisbehere set franchise and league records while transforming the Flyers' blue line and bringing an excitement the game had been lacking for a couple seasons. His success has upped the anticipation for defensive prospect Ivan Provorov, who will likely join him next year. More young talent — Travis Konecny, Sam Morin — will be with the big club sooner rather than later, too.
Brayden Schenn turned a corner the second half of this season, becoming the player he was touted as when the Flyers acquired him in the deal that sent Mike Richards to L.A. He'll likely be re-signed this summer. Before his knee injury, Michal Neuvirth outplayed all expectations in net, helping the Flyers to a one-two punch in goal that should remain the same next season. Two solid goalies under contract is the best kind of problem to have.
There was the wizardry (what else can it be called, really?) that sent Vinny Lecavalier and his albatross of a contract to Los Angeles in January, while also unloading underperforming defenseman Luke Schenn. The salary cap situation improved immediately while also looking better for the long term, too.
The Flyers might have gotten in a groove at the right time during this 8-2-1 run. Or they might just be showing signs of what is to come, slipping back into reality in games like Saturday's. Either way, we've gotten to be excited about hockey in this town right now, and earlier than we expected.
The 2015-16 Flyers season, whether it ends in April or in June, is a bonus. Enjoy it while it lasts.