Flyers' final grades
The season has come to an unfulfilling end with no postseason berth.
AFTER A disjointed, 82-game slog, the Flyers' season has mercifully come to an end. Here's a player-by-player report card with a peek toward next year:
Jakub Voracek
Position: right wing
Age: 25 (Aug. 15, 1989)
Grade: A
Contract: 1 year remaining
2015-16 salary: $4.5 million
Key stat: Tied for 4th in NHL with 81 points
Scoop: Finished 2nd in the NHL in assists (59). Anchored in dead heat to become Flyers' first-ever league-leading scorer since November. Blossomed into leadership role as alternate captain, unafraid to speak his mind. Could sign long-term extension after July 1.
Claude Giroux
Position: center
Age: 27 (Jan. 12, 1988)
Grade: A
Contract: 7 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $9 million
Key stat: Led NHL with 37 power-play points
Scoop: Finished 3rd in league in face-off percentage (56.6 percent) with a minimum of 1,000 taken. Tied for 9th in the NHL in assists (48). Tied for 10th in points, despite having the 17th most defensive-zone starts (632) in the league. Played incredibly demanding defensive minutes. Always answered tough questions.
Wayne Simmonds
Position: right wing
Age: 26 (Aug. 26, 1988)
Grade: B+
Contract: 4 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $3.8 million
Key stat: Career-high 0.37 goals per game
Scoop: Left foot fracture on March 25 kept him from the 30-goal mark. Also fell 10 points short of last year's career-high 60 points. Appeared in 500th NHL game. One of the Flyers' most consistent performers; effort or desire is never in question.
Brayden Schenn
Position: C / LW / RW
Age: 23 (Aug. 22, 1991)
Grade: C
Contract: 1 year remaining
2015-16 salary: $2.75 million
Key stat: Career-high 47 points
Scoop: Brilliant flashes inconsistently. Closed on a strong note with 8 points in final 6 games; 94 players scored 47 or more points this year - only 22 of them were aged 23 or younger, like Schenn. Plenty of opportunity with strong offensive deployment, plus top power-play unit time all season. Should be given credit for constant line jockeying and playing all three forward positions at times.
Sean Couturier
Position: center
Age: 22 (Dec. 7, 1992)
Grade: B
Contract: 1 year remaining
2015-16 salary: $2 million
Key stat: 687 defensive-zone starts.
Scoop: Fell two points short of matching career-high of 39 points, set last year. Played the statistically toughest minutes in NHL - against top lines, heavily skewed toward defensive zone. Only 6 players finished with more defensive-zone starts than Couturier and their average age is 31. Can contribute scoring with more balanced usage, just 25.5 percent of 1,001 even-strength zone starts were in offensive end.
Matt Read
Position: LW / RW
Age: 28 (June 14, 1986)
Grade: F
Contract: 3 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $4 million
Key stat: 8 goals in 80 games
Scoop: Deserves a lot of credit for playing more than 2 months with two separate tears in an ankle ligament. Should have sat out if it hampered him that much. Averaged 23 goals in first 2 full NHL seasons. Stiff linemate R.J. Umberger and strict defensive assignment didn't help production. Turns 29 in 2 months with a $3.625M salary-cap hit that will be tough to move.
Michael Raffl
Position: left wing
Age: 26 (Dec. 1, 1988)
Grade: B+
Contract: 1 year remaining
2015-16 salary: $1.2 million
Key stat: 23rd in NHL with 1.33 goals per 60 minutes
Scoop: Impressive 21 goals in 67 games. First-line scoring production at a fantastic contract value. Extremely versatile, also effective on other lines. Missed 8 games (Nov. 6-24) with right leg fracture and 7 games (Jan. 27-Feb. 13) with lung infection. With scoring down, only 82 players league-wide hit 21-goal mark like Raffl.
Vincent Lecavalier
Position: center/right wing
Age: 34 (April 21, 1980)
Grade: D
Contract: 3 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $4.5 million
Key stat: 17 games as healthy scratch
Scoop: Buyout candidate. Missed 8 games with injury (Oct. 14-30, April 11). Played fewer games (57) than Zac Rinaldo (58). Most common linemates weren't full-time NHLers last season (Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Chris VandeVelde). Played nearly 7 minutes per game fewer than career average, rarely at natural center position. Needs a coach determined to make him a fit in lineup.
R.J. Umberger
Position: left wing
Age: 32 (May 3, 1982)
Grade: F
Contract: 3 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $4.5 million
Key stat: 15 points
Scoop: Another buyout candidate. Disaster acquisition from the start. Underwent surgery on March 19 to repair hip and abdominal problems after 67 games of meager production. Hard to tell how much it affected his game. Career average is 20 goals, scored 9 this year. His game was already on decline in Columbus; how much does he have left in the tank?
Chris VandeVelde
Position: left wing
Age: 28 (March 15, 1987)
Grade: C+
Status: Unrestricted free agent
2014-15 salary: $575,000
Key stat: 8 goals in last 45 games
Scoop: Scored 2 goals in his first 73 NHL games. Capable and responsible fourth-line production. Curious as to why he has not been signed to an extension yet. Possible he isn't back? Ron Hextall brought him to Flyers from North Dakota, where he played with Hextall's son, Brett.
Ryan White
Position: center/right wing
Age: 27 (March 17, 1988)
Grade: B+
Status: Unrestricted free agent
2014-15 salary: $575,000
Key stat: 12 points in 34 games
Scoop: Flyers earned a point in 25 of White's 34 games played (14-9-11). Over a full season, his production would be 29 points. Ideal third-line player. Provides contagious positive energy. More offensive upside than Montreal's Brandon Prust. Flyers likely to re-sign him.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Position: center
Age: 30 (March 6, 1985)
Grade: C
Contract: 2 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $700,000
Key stat: 12 points in 81 games
Scoop: Pencil him in as next year's fourth-line center. Became a solid penalty-killing contributor. Averaged 12:50 minutes per game, not your average fourth-line minutes. Still finished with 8 fewer points than Lecavalier with 24 more games played.
Zac Rinaldo
Position: left wing
Age: 24 (June 15, 1990)
Grade: F
Contract: 2 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $850,000
Key stat: 8 game suspension
Scoop: Would not be an NHL player on 29 other rosters. Forfeited $102,213.87 in salary to NHL in career for fines/suspensions. Inexplicably signed to 2-year extension by Hextall before start of last season. Provides little other tangible benefit in lineup besides energy. Unnecessary if White re-signs.
Scott Laughton
Position: center
Age: 20 (May 30, 1994)
Grade: Incomplete
Contract: 2 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $925,000
Key stat: 31 games played
Scoop: Impressive all-around prospect who struggled to produce offensively on a consistent basis. Sent back to AHL on Feb. 14 after 4-month run on roster. Missed 7 games after suffering concussion on Jan. 14. Will need a strong summer to crack lineup at logjammed center position.
Nick Cousins
Position: center
Age: 21 (June 20, 1993)
Grade: Incomplete
Contract: 1 year remaining
2015-16 salary: $811,667
Key stat: 11 games played
Scoop: Finished the season on Saturday centering 4th line. Comfortable on the wing. Did not register first NHL point in 11 games played. Needs confidence of more ice time. Rocketed to the top of AHL scoring list with 3-month tear (38 points in 29 games).
No grade
Petr Straka, Blair Jones.
DEFENSE
Mark Streit
Age: 37 (Dec. 11, 1977)
Grade: B
Contract: 2 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $5.75 million
Key stat: 9th in defense scoring with 52 points
Scoop: Awarded Barry Ashbee Trophy as Flyers' best defenseman. Only 84 players broke 52 points this year. Nearly 60 percent of his points came on Flyers' 3rd-ranked power play. Otherwise, very inconsistent year overall. Struggled mightily with turnovers in his own zone.
Michael Del Zotto
Age: 24 (June 24, 1990)
Grade: B+
Status: Restricted free agent
2014-15 salary: $1.3 million
Key stat: 22 points in final 30 games
Scoop: Inexplicably scratched for 11 out of 14 games in December. His production over final 30 games equates to nearly 60 points in full season. Due a raise of nearly three or four times his current salary, based on market. Exactly what Flyers need as valuable puck-mover, though still makes costly mistakes in his own end.
Nick Schultz
Age: 32 (Aug. 15, 1982)
Grade: B+
Contract: 2 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $2.25 million
Key stat: 19:03 average ice time
Scoop: Flyers' most consistent defenseman. Made each partner better on the ice. Calming, steady influence. Excellent team player. Isn't speedy, but rarely rattled or makes mistakes. Neared career-high offensive output with 15 points. Will hit 1,000 games next year.
Andrew MacDonald
Age: 28 (Sept. 7, 1986)
Grade: C
Status: 5 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $4.5 million
Key stat: Missed 24 games
Scoop: Another wildly inconsistent season. Asked to play a vastly different role than he experienced with the Islanders. He sat 8 games as a healthy scratch, including one 6 weeks into his 6-year, $30 million deal. Also missed 16 games due to injury. He lacked the confidence under Craig Berube to be a steady contributor.
Nick Grossmann
Age: 30 (Jan. 22, 1985)
Grade: D
Contract: 1 year remaining
2015-16 salary: $3.5 million
Key stat: Team-leading plus-8
Scoop: Prime example of player who would be really effective in older, slower NHL. Does not move the puck well enough to compete now. Managed career-high 5 goals after scoring just 5 in previous 463 games. Team-worst possession stats on defense. Salary-cap burden. Flyers should strongly consider moving him this summer, even for little return.
Luke Schenn
Age: 25 (Nov. 2, 1989)
Grade: B
Contract: 1 year remaining
2015-16 salary: $3.35 million
Key stat: 50.57 Corsi-for percentage at even-strength
Scoop: Underrated season. Only Flyers defenseman to finish with a positive Corsi-for percentage (50.57) this season, minimum 700 minutes played. His salary-cap hit is manageable relative to market. Still young with nearly 500 games NHL experience, should be part of longer-term solution with Del Zotto and young prospects.
Carlo Colaiacovo
Age: 32 (Jan. 27, 1983)
Grade: C+
Status: Unrestricted free agent
2014-15 salary: $625,000
Key stat: 33 games played
Scoop: Joined Flyers as emergency replacement on Nov. 1. Capable defenseman who managed to stay healthy. Performed task at hand admirably, despite long stretches out of lineup. Consummate professional. Just not a flashy player.
Brandon Manning
Age: 24 (June 4, 1990)
Grade: Incomplete
Contract: 1 year remaining
2015-16 salary: $625,000
Key stat: 11 games played
Scoop: Thrown a bone at the end of the season with a 1-year, one-way extension for next year. Far from guaranteed a spot. Decent puck-mover. Pretty calm on the ice considering lack of experience. Will be in a dogfight to break camp with team in September.
No grade
Mark Alt, Oliver Lauridsen, Shayne Gostisbehere.
GOALTENDERS
Steve Mason
Age: 26 (May 29, 1988)
Grade: A
Contract: 2 years remaining
2015-16 salary: $4.1 million
Key stat: 3rd in NHL with .928 save percentage
Scoop: New franchise record in save percentage since NHL started keeping stat 1981-82. Boston's Tuukka Rask won Vezina Trophy last year with .930 save percentage. Strong case to be made he was Flyers' MVP. Somehow finished with as many road wins (2-12-6) as he did road shutouts (2) - and neither of those shutouts were wins (shootout losses). Played role of good solider despite being jerked around by Flyers with injuries on multiple occasions. Franchise building block moving forward and should be treated as such.
Ray Emery
Age: 32 (Sept. 28, 1982)
Grade: C
Status: Unrestricted free agent
2014-15 salary: $1 million
Key stat: .894 save percentage
Scoop: League average save percentage was .914. Well-liked by teammates, but unlikely to be back next year for 4th season with Flyers. His numbers have dipped toward career-lows and he isn't getting any younger.
Rob Zepp
Age: 33 (Sept. 7, 1981)
Grade: C
Status: Unrestricted free agent
2014-15 salary: $550,000
Key stat: 5-2-0 record
Scoop: Feel-good story of the year. Became oldest goaltender in 88 years to win his NHL debut on Dec. 22 in Winnipeg at the age of 33. Dressed for 18 games overall. His save percentage (.888) in 10 appearances was not stellar. Coupled with his lukewarm words about returning and the fact contract talks have not yet taken place, it's unlikely at this point Zepp will be the Flyers' full-time backup next season.
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