Hockey is right around the corner. We can sniff it out. The stale beer and terrible collection of something that wants to be presented as nachos — all while sitting in the cold but we’re having the time of our lives. And with that comes thoughts about the Philadelphia Flyers and their upcoming season. And with that comes thoughts about what this season could look like if everything breaks right; and if everything goes terribly wrong.
Outside of goaltending, who the Flyers have playing down the middle has to be the position most in-question this season, too. They made some additions, have re-signed some young players to be longer-term solutions, and generally are hoping for prospects to turn into solid NHL hockey players as soon as possible. But, that only gives them a large spectrum of potential outcomes — maybe the largest out of any position, if we were to take everything into equation.
So, let’s look at what the best outcome could be, and also the worst. And of course, we care about the Flyers so we go over everything that could go wrong, first.
Worst-case scenario
Trevor Zegras is who he is
For the last two seasons, all we know Trevor Zegras as is a winger that roughly scores half a point per game and has been in and out of the lineup due to injuries. All the former glamor and hype is gone and faded and the boylike wonder he approached the NHL with during his first seasons has been zapped out of him — succumbing to the dredges of “winning hockey” and trying to work in a system that does not take advantage of what he can do.
Like a streetballer trying to play in the NBA, Zegras has had all the fun worked out of him by the Ducks and Greg Cronin recently. So, now it is up to the Flyers to try to give him some of that back. But, maybe, in this worst-case scenario that we are conjuring up, the young forward is just who he is. Which is not a bad player and could feasibly be a third-line left-winger on a good team who scores around 40-50 points if he can stay healthy — but he’s nowhere near an answer as a top-six center.
Jett Luchanko back to OHL and shows nothing
In addition to Zegras failing to be that solution at center and being just A Guy, Jett Luchanko not only doesn’t make the Flyers after a poor showing at training camp but he’s sent back to the OHL’s Guelph Storm and during his last junior season, we see no improvement.
The 19-year-old center is on a better team in Guelph — players like Quinn Beauchesne take a step forward and the high-end rookies coming to the OHL club boost them up — but it all results in him scoring another 20 or so goals and 60 or so points; maybe breaking over a point per game just ever so slightly. His position on Team Canada’s World Juniors team is in question and all season long we’re stuck watching Zeev Buium play with Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy on the Minnesota Wild’s top power-play unit.
Sean Couturier’s injury troubles come back
We’ve been enjoying having the captain back for too long. After not playing a hockey game for almost two entire years, Sean Couturier has come back and had moments of looking like his former Selke-winning self. That’s enough of that. His injury troubles unfortunately prevent him from truly getting into any sort of groove this season and as he misses over half of the season, there’s almost nothing to garner and learn from when it comes to this Flyers season.
Flyers left desolate down the middle
So, how does this leave the Flyers if this worst-case scenario? Well, suddenly we’re looking at some semblance of Noah Cates, Christian Dvorak, Rodrigo Abols, and a half-healthy Sean Couturier making up the center depth for the Flyers this upcoming season. It is about as uninspiring a group you could think of. It would leave the Flyers with a terrible present-day outlook for the position and with Luchanko struggling to improve in any way and Zegras not able to even play down the middle, even worse thoughts about the future.
Well, that was depressing. Moving on.
Best-case scenario
Trevor Zegras is at least top-six quality center
Let’s get positive. It’s the beginning of September so if you aren’t at least the least bit positive about your favorite hockey team, why do you even watch the sport? Let’s dream up of the best-case scenario while still staying grounded. We’re not going to claim that Trevor Zegras suddenly wins the Hart Trophy or is the best player the Flyers have ever had on their roster; but let’s think of things that are actually possible.
In this fantasy world, Zegras is, at the very least, someone who sticks down the middle and gets back to what he was while improving on the areas of his game that he needed to. Yes, he’s still doing the dirty dangles and making the social media manager at the NHL’s job incredibly easy every night, while also being responsible in all three zones and being smart in possession of the puck.
We can see that in this scenario that Zegras scores roughly a point per game while cementing himself as a top-six center for the present and the future. Suddenly, the Flyers don’t have to stress too much about the position at all.
Jett Luchanko is immediately solid checker
On the opposite end of getting thrown back north of the border and not even having a good time dominating over future electricians and landscapers, Luchanko makes the Flyers and looks the part of someone who can solidify the middle-six center spot for the next decade. Doing everything we know he can do — disrupting offenses, making incredibly future-looking passes for scoring chances, etc. — but also he suddenly has put his offensive game together and in his first full NHL season he has scored over 15 goals and is nearing 50 or so points.
The analysts who value Luchanko’s defensive game might even put in some high-end Calder Trophy votes for him by the end of the season and he ends up being a finalist. With Luchanko and Zegras working out, general manager Danny Briere is taking the biggest sigh of relief known to man.
Health is wealth
Couturier is healthy. Zegras is healthy. Everyone is healthy. Suddenly, the Flyers are impervious to injuries — they’re calling it a miracle. No bad backs bugging anyone, no sprained knees, no broken collarbones — everyone is doing just fine. We don’t have to worry about anything. And that’s just great.
What potential bevy of centers means
These outcomes would send ripples through the entire Flyers organization. An area of focus that has haunted this front office for years and has caused them to spend countless first-round picks and solid prospects trying to find someone who is capable of playing a high-end center role, is suddenly fixed.
Zegras is locked in as a top-six option and Luchanko is, at-worst, the third-line center for this team until roughly 2056. That fills half of the available slots for at least a few more years. And then, with the countless centers that the Flyers have drafted in recent years — Jack Berglund, Jack Nesbitt, Heikki Ruohonen, Cole Knuble — the hope is that just one of them can join Luchanko in the middle six. And suddenly, all you need to do is sign the Fourth-Line Center Flavor of the Month each July 1 and that’s a decent spine to then have some of the best young wingers on the planet flanking them.
It makes everything just so much easier. So, so simple. But that’s also why it’s the best-case scenario and a bit of a fantasy — nothing will be that straightforward but that’s the beauty of riding the ups and downs of a rebuild in the NHL.
