1. Will the Philadelphia Flyers trade a defenseman prior to opening day on October 2nd?
The Flyers need to get under the salary cap on opening day. They have salary cap room once they utilize the LTIR for Chris Pronger but will need to time moves to use the LTIR. In short they will need to waive players and/or send 2012 first round draft pick center Scott Laughton back to his junior team Oshawa (OHL) or trade to get under the salary cap first I believe. Then they will be able to use the LTIR on Pronger which essentially gives them some cap room. As an example, if they were to waive Bruno Gervais to free up some of the cap space they need, another team could claim him in which case they would lose Gervais. If he was not claimed, the Flyers could bring Gervais back once they utilize the LTIR on Pronger.
Alternatively, the Flyers could trade Andrej Meszaros or Nicklas Grossman either of whom would free up enough cap space assuming the Flyers did not take back a salary or too much of a salary of a player traded to them in return. There has also been speculation Braydon Coburn could get traded by that would be a big surprise to me at this point. I anticipate Coburn will return to a pairing with Kimmo Timonen which should help Coburn return to pre 2012-2013 form or close to it. Coburn is not untouchable but his value to the Flyers will probably exceed anything they would get at this point. The likeliest time he would have been traded probably would have been prior to or during the NHL draft.
Meszaros has one year remaining on his contract and no NTC or NMC clause in his contract (although clauses don't necessarily prevent a trade anyway). Grossman has 3 years remaining on his deal.An injury to a defenseman on another team could possibly open up an opportunity to trade one of them but I'm skeptical a team will want to trade for either. Keep in mind several teams don't have a lot of cap room. Also, other teams don't necessarily have an LTIR the Flyers have.
The Flyers could of course trade during the season prior to the trading deadline.
2. Will the Flyers keep 14 forwards and 7 defensemen or 13 forwards and 8 defensemen?
Remember the Flyers may need to maneuver to get under the cap and then use the Pronger LTIR so their final roster may not be settled until after opening night. Conventional wisdom is they will often carry 14 forwards but that is not always the case.
There is likely four players battling for three spots in the closing days of preseason: Left Wing Michael Raffl, Center Scott Laughton and defensemen Eric Gustafsson and Bruno Gervais. The wrench in this is Laughton's entry level contract (known as a slide contract) begins if he is on the roster for a certain number of games (I have heard 5 and I have heard 10 games).
Although some have speculated Laughton could move to wing where the Flyers need is more than at center, he has not played wing in camp or preseason and the Flyers seem to wish to keep him at his natural position of center. I think it is much more likely Laughton is sent back to Oshawa for a few reasons and if it isn't on opening day, it is likely to be prior to his entry level contract would begin.
They could also potentially move Couturier to wing so Laughton could be the center on the third line but I think the Flyers need to leave Sean at center and the third year is often seen as a critical year for many NHL players. I do not see that happening.
The benefit of Laughton playing another year in juniors is not particularly great however many NHL teams have similar talents going back to juniors. It almost has to be more beneficial than Laughton sitting on the Flyers bench as the 13th/14th forward although he would be practicing against the Flyers who are NHL players and also learning at the NHL level in practices. Unfortunately due to rules, Laughton can not play in the AHL this season. He must either return to Oshawa his junior team or be on the Flyers roster.
The Flyers may end up with 8 defensemen on the roster for a while because of the personnel and particularly because of what may be most beneficial in regard to Laughton. Though it isn't inconceivable they keep a forward such as Kris Newbury as the 14th forward and keep 7 defensemen on the roster.
It may be left wing Michael Raffl is close to being a lock, the way the roster is structured right now with the remaining players in training camp and the Flyers need. The type of forward they need the most right now is a winger like Raffl and there is no other winger left on their training camp roster who has the skills Raffl seems to possess.
Of course the other possibility is the Flyers make another move at forward in conjunction with the LTIR although it may be better to wait to actually trade for a player or sign a player until closer to the trading deadline or when injuries during the season may create an immediate need.
3. What are the Philadelphia Flyers line combinations going to be opening night?
This is a question the remainder of the preseason will be used to sort out and of course head coach Peter Laviolette often switches his lines up during the season. Of course Vincent Lecavalier is a new Flyer and the second line center. Finding linemates to click with Lecavalier and best take advantage of Lecavalier's skills is the top priority most likely.
Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds are the Flyers top two power forwards who occupy the spaces down low and in front of the net mostly. Simmonds has been paired with Lecavalier for much of the time during camp and preseason and is almost definitely the second line right wing at least to start the season.
Previously, Left Wing Hartnell and Right Wing Jakub Voracek have been paired with first line center Claude Giroux most often. It seems likely they will make up the first line initially. So the question is who is the left wing on the second line with Lecavalier at center and Simmonds on the right wing?
Many have said Brayden Schenn is the most likely candidate although Michael Raffl played with Lecavalier and Simmonds against the Washington Capitals in Philadelphia while the Flyers had two squads playing in two different games that night. Schenn was in London, Ontario with the "B team" playing against Toronto. This does not imply Schenn was a B teamer because it is doubtful he really was. Most of that team was made up of players who will be on the AHL team or elsewhere however the Flyers had Hartnell and Read and Meszaros and Grossman with the "B team".
Sean Couturier is the 3rd line center without much doubt. The Flyers would like to see him improve offensively in this third season and Sean has played well in his preseason games so far. Last year he did not have good goal scorers playing alongside him either. Schenn also needs to become more consistent in his scoring and creating even if it is at the left wing.
While Matt Read could play left wing on the second line (or even first line), it may be better to put him at right wing on a line with Couturier. Giroux could use a protector like Hartnell on the first line most of the time so I think Read is most likely not playing on the first line most of the time.
That pretty much leaves Brayden Schenn and rookie Michael Raffl as the second and third line wingers most likely although Maxime Talbot has played with Couturier and could be on the third line as well with Couturier and Read.
Right now this is where I lean for the lines but this could be wrong, to be determined in last three preseason games. Schenn, Raffl, and Read seem particularly interchangeable potentially. :
Hartnell/Giroux/Voracek
B Schenn/LeCavalier/Simmonds
Raffl/Couturier/Read
Talbot/Hall/Rinaldo
13th: Rosehill
14th?
Expect Read, Hall, Couturier to log most minutes on PK.
4. What are the defensive pairings with new Flyer Mark Streit on board?
I believe Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn to be paired together. Streit will most likely be paired with Luke Schenn on the second pairing. Meszaros and Grossman probably on third pairing although Erik Gustaffson could figure in if Meszaros is traded or gets hurt again. Many think Bruno Gervais has played significantly better than Gustafsson in preseason. Gervais was paired with Streit on the New York Islanders at one time although I don't think that will happen with the Flyers unless injuries cause it.
Both Timonen and Streit should be used on 1st and 2nd power play units respectively.
Gustafsson and Gervais may ultimately be competing for the 7th defenseman position. Gervais may be waived to open up cap space and may be brought back if he is waived once LTIR on Pronger is used.
5. Who are some players the Flyers have on the Adirondack Phantoms for depth?
The most likely forwards to be promoted to the Flyers if there are injuries are Kris Newbury who is mostly a defensive power forward who will drop the gloves, Jason Akeson a playmaker who can play center or on the wing but is small and not a checking forward although he has improved that part of his game enough to be viable for the Flyers if needed, and Tye McGinn who has played some games on the Flyers.
Center Nick Cousins is a prolific scorer who is in his first season with the Phantoms. Marcel Noebels could fill in if needed but he probably will not be up on the Flyers this year. Ben Holmstrom could be a possibility if he clears waivers but Holmstrom is strictly a 4th line center at best.
Assuming all defensemen on the Flyers right now are still in the organization, Gervais and Gustafsson are 7th and 8th defensemen (8th may be on the Flyers or at Adirondack initially) with Oliver Lauridsen most likely the 9th defenseman on the depth chart and Matt Konan 10th with Mark Alt probably 11th although those two are very close. Brandon Manning might be the 12th defenseman. Marc-Andre Bourdon is likely to be LTIR'd to start the season. He has not been cleared from his concussion symptoms.
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