The Flyers have by and large played very solid hockey in the past couple of weeks, and that’s been especially impressive when you consider the fact that winger Jakub Voracek has missed the past five games with a lower-body injury. Voracek had just about fully returned to the dominant player most of us expected him to be after an ice-cold start to the year, and having him in the lineup will undoubtedly make this Flyers team even deeper and more impressive than it’s looked lately.
One thing that has happened in Voracek’s absence (and has actually been the case ever since the All-Star Break) is that Sam Gagner has received more chances to play in the Flyers’ lineup, and has largely taken advantage of them. His stats may not necessarily jump off the page in that time (four goals, two assists in 16 games) but it’s a step up from where he was earlier in the season, and when you factor in the ice time he’s received, his points per 60 minutes (via war-on-ice.com) at even strength are around 1.9 — a mark that no-doubt fits that of a top-6 forward.
It’s a definite improvement from Gagner, who only played in one NHL game between Thanksgiving and the All-Star break and dealt with a series of injuries, healthy scratches, and even a demotion to Lehigh Valley during that time. He’s gone from not worthy of being claimed on waivers by any NHL team to a crucial part of the Flyers’ second line.
But there’s still the question of what his role is when Voracek returns and presumably takes his spot on that second line next to Sean Couturier.
Dave Hakstol called into Sportsnet’s Hockey Central @ Noon on Tuesday to chat about a number of things, from Shayne Gostisbehere to the Flyers’ defense as a whole to Brayden Schenn. The final topic that the hosts asked him about was about Gagner’s role. Here’s what was said:
HOST: Dave, another top-10 pick in the draft that has kind of had trouble, been traded, or had a tough time finding spots in your lineup is Sam Gagner. And I know recently it’s been good. How do you as a coach find ways to put this guy in play, because either he’s getting top-6 minutes or he completely gets lost in the shuffle. How do you balance that as a coach?
HAKSTOL: Well, he’s, y’know, he’s one of the guys that, since Jake has been out, there’s been a little different ice time available for, not just power play time, but different 5-on-5 minutes, and he’s done a good job of stepping into that role. So, it’s just it’s a matter of opportunity, and when that opportunity is there, y’know, him going out and doing the job. He’s done a good job. He worked very hard both directions at different times through the year. There’s only so many top-6 minutes available, y’know. That’s a simple fact.
[Ed. note: There were originally 10 instances of the phrase “y’know” in the above quote. It has been touched up to remove some of those. Don’t ever change, Hak.]
You see some words in there about “opportunity” and what’s been made available for Gagner, especially in light of Voracek’s injury. It’s true that Jake getting hurt (and, to an extent, Giroux and Couturier’s injuries earlier in February) gave Gagner a chance at more playing time, one which Hakstol acknowledges that he’s taken advantage of with his strong play in recent weeks.
But consider the last thing he says: “There’s only so many top-6 minutes available. That’s a simple fact.“
A couple of times already this season (see here, or here), we’ve discussed on the site the idea that Hakstol only sees Gagner as someone fit to play in a top-6 role, and if there are no spots in one of the top two lines available, then there are no spots for Gagner in the lineup. This is likely due to Gagner’s perceived (and not unfounded) weaknesses defensively, and the fact that he’s generally seen as a bit of a “one-way forward” who needs to be scoring to be effective — not really a type of role that fits with the team’s current bottom-6.
While the quote itself isn’t necessarily hard evidence here — Hakstol doesn’t specifically comment here on what will happen when Voracek comes back — it’s not a stretch to read “there’s only so many top-6 minutes available” as a way of saying that Gagner will only play in those kinds of minutes. Which would suggest that when Voracek comes back and takes his share of those minutes, Gagner may once again find himself out of the lineup.
It’s true that earlier on in the year, Gagner did get some bottom-six-type minutes with the likes of Scott Laughton and didn’t fare too well in them. But his play since coming back from his brief Lehigh Valley stint in January has been much-improved, and we’re probably at the point where it’s fair to ask whether he’s someone you can afford to take out of the lineup. Particularly when you consider how much the Flyers have relied on their depth forwards, Gagner included, in recent weeks.
Right now, the Flyers basically appear to have two legitimate top-6 lines that can both score and play solid defense (Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier’s lines, the latter of which being where Gagner is now), a third line that’s sort of an energy line but can hold its own in all three zones (the Laughton/Cousins/Read unit), and a grind line that’s held together for most of the season (the VandeVelde/Bellemare/White trio). Is it worth breaking up the identity of either of those bottom two lines to try and make room for Gagner? Whether or not it is, it looks like Hakstol likes the way things are currently assembled.
Voracek is scheduled to return some time next week, possibly on Tuesday the 15th against Detroit. Among the team’s current top-6 forwards, it seems like the only one that Dave Hakstol would potentially be willing to move down to the bottom-6 would be Michael Raffl, but we don’t have much reason to believe he will do that. So if Hakstol still believes that it’s top-6 or bust for Gagner, then we may see him back in the press box before too long. If you’re hoping to see him stay in the lineup, all you can really do is root for him to keep scoring in the Flyers’ next couple of games and make the potential decision to scratch him even more difficult.
h/t commenter catalinawinemixr for the link to the Sportsnet interview
