Dobber’s offseason fantasy hockey grades – Philadelphia Flyers

For the last 17 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 18th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the ~~summer~~…er, winter. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

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Gone – Kurtis Gabriel, Nate Thompson, Derek Grant, Tyler Pitlick, Matt Niskanen, Chris Stewart

Incoming – Erik Gustafsson, Linus Sandin, Derrick Pouliot

Impact of changes – The addition of Sandin is an interesting one, in that he finished tied for third in SHL scoring last season and is 24 years old just entering his prime. But in all likelihood, his impact on the fantasy world will be similar to Michael Raffl's. If you recall, Raffl was an undrafted prospect also from Sweden, and in his first two or three NHL seasons he had brief flashes of fantasy interest that never blossomed into anything decent.

The real changes have come from defense, where Niskanen surprisingly retired and Gustafsson was a surprise signing. The latter was an interesting one, because the Flyers already have a left-shooting one-dimensional offensive defenseman with a last name that starts with G. Gustafsson's signing likely means Shayne Gostisbehere can work on his popcorn-serving skills in the press box. But it also means that Ivan Provorov just lost himself a ton of power-play time. Yes, yes, I don't want to hear about how Provorov is a better, more talented quarterback blah blah blah. That's not always how things work when factoring in hockey politics. Provorov can play a defensive role, whereas Gustafsson can't. In fact, Gustafsson can't do much more than run a power player, so if he's not running the power play he may as well help Gostisbehere serve popcorn. Maybe he would be in charge of butter, I don't know. We'll never find out because he'll be too busy running Philly's power play at Provorov's (and Gostisbehere's) expense.

Ready for full-time – Nicolas Aube-Kubel cleared waivers in training camp last year and was sent to the Phantoms. When he was called back up in December to replace Oskar Lindblom, he had proven himself to be an NHLer. While Aube-Kubel is a likely 30- or 35-point player, he will have value in fantasy leagues because of his potential to rack up 70 PIM and and 200+ Hits. With the right ice time he could even do that this season (or the 50-game equivalent, that is).

Linus Sandin is likely going to make this team as the 13^th forward and work his way up from there based on his play. The team is high on his two-way play and goal-scoring potential from a checking line. But if Nolan Patrick is healthy and Morgan Frost pushing for a roster spot, Sandin will be in tough.

Speaking of Frost, he is probably ready for the NHL and on many teams he would be on the roster. The Flyers may not have room at first, so his chance will come during injury fill-ins. He is a two-time 100-point player in the OHL and a former first-round draft pick, so you can probably guess at his upside. If he ends up remaining in the AHL for the full season due to a healthy Flyers' lineup, you may see him tear that league apart with his gaudy point totals.

Philadelphia Flyers prospect depth chart and fantasy upsides can be found here

Fantasy Outlook – The Flyers were the fifth-highest scoring NHL team in 2019-20 on the strength of a big breakout from their fourth-year player Travis Konecny. They have one of the top young goaltenders in the league in Carter Hart, and centerman Sean Couturier has grown into one of the best two-way centers in the game today and he's only just turned 28. Ivan Provorov has blossomed into a top two-way defender and Scott Laughton has become a very good checking-line forward who can produce points despite just 14:36 of average ice time.

However, Claude Giroux, who turns 33 next month, and Jakub Voracek (31) have seen declining point totals for three straight seasons and James van Riemsdyk seems to be on the downswing as well. Shayne Gostisbehere has lost all of his quarterbacking magic. And how well can Hart do with Matt Niskanen retiring and both Gostisbehere and Gustafsson in charge of defending him? Those two aren't exactly known for their defensive acumen. Their depth scoring will depend on the health of Lindblom and Patrick, as well as Joel Farabee taking the next step. The prospects in the pipeline beyond Frost and Farabee aren't the greatest at forward, though they do have a couple of good prospects coming on defense (Yegor Zamula and Cameron York).

Fantasy Grade: B (last year was B)

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2020 Offseason Fantasy Hockey Grades