If you ask some sectors of the Flyers’ fan base, many will claim none of the players on the current roster are worthy of an award after one of the most disastrous seasons in franchise history. And they have a point. The Flyers are one of the worst teams in the NHL with a 29-36-13 record while ranking 29th in goals per game. In this nightmare season, awards should be the last thing handed to anyone wearing orange and black.
But, alas, end-of-season awards will be handed out next week. Several players will be taking home some hardware, and despite the dismal 2022-23 campaign, a few of those players are legitimately deserving of some recognition. After all, it wasn’t all bad for the Flyers this season, even if the doomsdayers refuse to acknowledge it.
Without further ado, here are my predictions for each of the Flyers’ end-of-season awards. Feel free to assault me verbally in the comments.
Bobby Clarke Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Travis Konecny
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Travis Konecny was far and away the Flyers’ most productive player this season. And against all odds, he ended up becoming a real favorite for head coach John Tortorella, who trusted Konecny with heavy minutes in just about every situation imaginable – 5-on-5, empty-net scenarios, the power play, and, most notably, the penalty kill.
“I trust him. I’m always looking for him,” Tortorella said of Konecny after his three-point performance against the Arizona Coyotes in January.
“He’s a bundle of energy, and I love that about him. With a bundle of energy, there’s going to be some crazy stuff that happens. I don’t want to overcoach him, but when we get to being a team that is competing in big games, playoffs and all that, when we get there as a team, hopefully at that time he’ll lead the way as far as situational play. He’s still a pretty young man in this game. I’m hoping he leads the way as far as understanding some of those things when you’re in those key type of situations.”
Konecny was sparingly used on the penalty kill prior to this season. As he should have been. Until very recently, Konecny had always been know as an offense-first winger. Last season, Konecny saw a grand total of just 13:12 of shorthanded ice time. This year? He’s logged well over 108 minutes. He ranks sixth on the Flyers in shorthanded ice time, and that’s accounting for the 22 games he’s missed this season.
After setting a new career high in goals (29) and logging the highest points-per-game average in his career, there’s no doubting who should be named Flyers MVP this season. Even if he did miss a quarter of the season due to injuries.
Barry Ashbee Trophy (Outstanding Defenseman): Ivan Provorov
There’s simply no way to sugarcoat it. Ivan Provorov has been bad this season. In fact, he hasn’t looked like a true top-pair defenseman since he was coupled with Matt Niskanen during the 2019-20 season.
But as underwhelming as Provorov’s campaign has been, he’s still arguably the best defenseman on the Flyers. Which is simply astonishing.
Provorov is in the midst of his least productive season since his rookie campaign. He is on pace to set career lows in goals and points while remaining a complete liability on the power play. He leads the Flyers in giveaways by a country mile, and out of 217 defensemen who have logged at least 400 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, Provorov ranks 153rd in Corsi For percentage, 169th in Goals For percentage and 158th in Expected Goals For per 60.
If there’s one thing Provorov is great at, though, it’s taking on a massive amount of ice time. He averages nearly 23 minutes of time on ice per game, and there’s certainly no denying his toughness – he ranks 14th out of all NHL defensemen with 154 blocked shots.
Provorov’s future with the Flyers is very much in question. Frankly, it would not be even remotely shocking if he ends up playing for a different team come October. But given the lack of depth on the Flyers’ back end, it sure feels like Provorov is destined to win his fourth Barry Ashbee Trophy.
Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy (Most Improved Player): Owen Tippett
After being the centerpiece in the package the Flyers acquired from the Florida Panthers for Claude Giroux, Owen Tippett faced a whole lot of pressure going into this season.
Incredibly, he’s somehow surpassed all of the lofty expectations bestowed upon him at the beginning of the season.
Tippett, 24, is playing the best hockey of his life. After logging just seven points in 21 games with the Flyers to close out the 2021-22 season, he’s managed to set career highs in just about every major statistical category this campaign with 23 goals, 20 assists and 43 points in 73 games.
Those aren’t exactly Connor McDavid-like numbers, but for Tippett, they represent a colossal leap forward.
After a slow start to the season, Tippett has developed into a legitimately dynamic power forward for the Flyers. And while he’s still far from a complete player, it’s hard not to be thrilled with the ground he’s covered in such a short span.
“He steps on the ice, he’s dangerous,” said Tortorella after Tippett logged his first NHL hat trick last month.
“I think he thinks he’s a good player. I was just telling the coaches. We know he’s a good player. More importantly, I think he thinks he’s a good player. And he’s kind of letting it go.”
Tippett has always had the skill to succeed as a pro, but now he’s found the confidence needed to thrive as a top-six winger in the NHL, and that’s a far cry from where he was just one year ago.
Yanick Dupre Class Guy Memorial Award: Scott Laughton
There’s only one player on the Flyers’ roster wearing a letter on their chest this season, and it’s not a coincidence that Scott Laughton is the player taking on that honor.
With Sean Couturier out of action for the entire season, Laughton has cemented himself as the unquestioned leader in the Flyers’ locker room, and there are few players in hockey better suited to shoulder the load than the soon-to-be 29-year-old.
Serving as a respected voice in the locker room is only part of what makes Laughton so popular, though. It’s what he does off the ice that has really endeared him to the Flyers’ fan base.
Laughton has been at the forefront of making hockey an inclusive sport that anyone – particularly members of the LGBTQ+ community – can enjoy. Last year, Laughton spoke with our own Steph Driver about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the hockey sphere. And at this year’s Pride Night, he, along with James van Riemsdyk, met with dozens of members of the LGBTQ+ community to form bonds with a segment of the fan base that is often underrepresented.
“I think it’s been been big for me ever since I’ve been in the league, just making sure you feel comfortable in your own skin,” Laughton said of the importance of Pride Nights. “I think that’s the biggest thing is to feel welcome. And I think if you can make this game more inclusive, and doesn’t matter what skin color, or what, who you love, at the end of the day, if you want to play hockey, you should be able to and I think that’s the biggest part of it.”
Laughton is not only having a career year, logging career highs in goals, assists, and points, but he’s become a legitimate spokesperson for the sport of hockey, and that deserves recognition.
Gene Hart Memorial Award: Nic Deslauriers
It sure feels like the Gene Hart Memorial Award inevitably gets handed out to the Flyers’ tough guys every year. Zack MacEwen won the award last season, and other notable winners of the award include Wayne Simmonds, Zac Rinaldo, Ian Laperrière, and Scott Hartnell, to name a few.
In a season as cursed as this one, it’s only appropriate that Nic Deslauriers takes home the award this time around.
Deslauriers is a bit of divisive figure in Philadelphia. He was signed to an absolutely ludicrous four-year, $7 million contract this past summer that includes a modified no-trade clause, and as a result, many fans have resented him since his very first appearance in a Flyers sweater.
However, there’s no denying that Deslauriers, while being largely ineffective in mosy key areas of the game, does play with a lot of heart. And that’s pretty much the entire point of the Gene Hart Memorial Award.
Deslauriers ranks second in the NHL behind only Pat Maroon in penalty minutes, and no one has dropped the gloves more than the 32-year-old enforcer. He’s also one of the league leaders in hits, which is something.
The Deslauriers contract is among the worst, and certainly the strangest, in the NHL. But he’s here. And, for what it’s worth, he’s doing exactly what everyone expected him to do since arriving in Philly – inflicting pain people. There has to be some sort of consolation prize for that, right?
Toyota Cup: Carter Hart
This is something that could be figured out simply by looking back at the players given “Star of the Game” honors throughout the season, but that feels like too much work. And who wants to do all that work? Plus, it’s pretty obvious who will be taking home this award anyway.
Aside from maybe Konecny, Carter Hart was probably the Flyers’ best player this season. Without Hart, the Flyers likely finish far lower in the standings – incredible to think about considering they’re ranked 26th in the league.
The 24-year-old stole games for the Flyers in regularity, and despite playing behind an abysmal group of defensemen, Hart has still managed to post some respectable numbers on the season, logging a 2.92 goal against average and .908 save percentage in 53 games. His 21-22-10 record doesn’t look great, but he’s hardly to blame for the Flyers’ inability to win games. In fact, he stole a significant chunk of games for the Flyers this year.
It took the Flyers decades to find a goalie as good as Hart. And now that they have him, naturally, the rest of the team has fallen apart for a multitude of reasons. It’s pretty poetic, actually.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
