A look at Flyers’ back end once Robert Hägg signs a new deal

Dave Isaac | The Courier-Post

VOORHEES — Next week, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall will go to Kamloops, British Columbia for Canada’s Summer Showcase where prospects Morgan Frost and Isaac Ratcliffe are hopefuls to make the World Junior Championship roster.

After that, Hextall will take a brief vacation. There’s one order of business to take care of before he leaves.

Robert Hägg is the last remaining restricted free agent the team needs to sign. The Swedish defenseman is expected to ink a two-year contract soon and when he does he’ll likely be the last player signed before training camp begins in September.

Hägg, 23, played rather well in 70 games last season as a rookie. He was a steady, stay-at-home force that played responsibly in his own end, was consistent in his play for long stretches of the season and added in three goals and nine points. He lost his job late in the season due to an injury. By the time he returned, coach Dave Hakstol didn’t have a spot available for him.

September will be a fresh slate and Hägg should be a regular among the top six defensemen. Here’s a projection at how the defense and goaltending will end up when the Flyers open their season in Las Vegas on Oct. 4.

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FIRST PAIR: Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere

This one should be a no-brainer.

Provorov is the team’s best all-around defenseman and when he was paired with Gostisbehere, the team’s best offensive defenseman, it was a terrific fit. Gostisbehere greatly improved his defensive game last season and the team found a unit that could be a staple for years.

For now, it’s a very economical pairing also. Gostisbehere is now in the second year of a six-year contract that carries a $4.5 million salary cap hit. Provorov, 21, is entering the last year of his entry-level deal and he’s the kind of player that can bypass a “bridge deal.” Whether the Flyers deal with that now or later remains to be seen.

“Certainly we’ve talked about it internally,” Hextall said of taking care of Provorov and Travis Konecny, who is also in the last year of his entry-level deal. “We’ll continue to talk about it and evaluate it and see where it goes. When a guy’s a year out there’s no rush. If we can start talking and get something done…if you can’t it’s not a huge deal. You still control the player.”

SECOND PAIR: Travis Sanheim and Radko Gudas

Sanheim would have preferred a less rocky rookie season. At times he played well at the NHL level, making the team out of training camp. When he didn’t he saw his ice time cut and, at times, was out of the lineup. When Hakstol left him to be a healthy scratch on a continual basis the player’s confidence was understandably shot and he hadn’t seen enough game action to be effective, so he went down to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and was almost instantly a dominant player.

His best hockey last season came on a pair with Gudas, who had a rocky season himself. Gudas was suspended 10 games in November and when he returned he was far less effective, fearing that physical play would make his rap sheet even longer. Later in the season he was paired with Brandon Manning and, despite both players’ effectiveness declining, Hakstol kept the pair together and insisted they were playing well despite nearly every metric saying otherwise.

THIRD PAIR: Robert Hägg and Andrew MacDonald

Typically the Flyers like pairing a puck mover with a stay-at-home type. The first pair is a deviation from that method and so is this one since neither Hägg nor MacDonald play an aggressively offensive style. That doesn’t mean it can’t work, especially in limited minutes.

MacDonald actually had a career high in goals last season with six, but that isn’t typically his game. He’s also one of the team’s alternate captains and players and management alike laud his leadership so don’t expect him to be out of the lineup on an everyday basis.

IN THE MIX: Christian Folin, Phil Myers, Samuel Morin

Folin was signed to be the team’s seventh defenseman and brought a couple other elements the Flyers liked. Barring injury, he’ll probably play 30-something games this season.

“Christian is a good penalty killer. He’s a right-shot, which is important,” Hextall said. “Whether he’s in the lineup or not, who knows? That’s an upgrade (to the penalty kill) there, we feel.”

Myers, another right-handed shot, progressed nicely last season in his first pro campaign with the Phantoms. There’s a chance he plays so well in training camp that he earns a spot and forces the Flyers to do something. If that’s the case, Gudas might be the one to go because there are other players who can be physical, there would still be multiple right-handed shots and Myers and Sanheim were a terrific pair together when both were in Lehigh Valley.

Morin would have been in line to earn a promotion had he not torn the ACL in his right knee during the playoffs. He’s expected to be out until February. He’d have to pass through waivers to go down to the minors, so it’s sink or swim time in the NHL once he’s healthy.

GOALIES: Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth

Don’t expect any change in goal from last season.

Elliott played well enough to keep the Flyers in games and took on a vocal role in the team’s leadership group, but his numbers were actually his worst in four years. The Flyers will rely on him as their starter again and are banking on him bouncing back from abdominal surgery.

Neuvirth continues to be maddening because he has the skill to be a top-15 goalie in the league but is incredibly injury prone. He too is coming off surgery, to both hips.

“He’s doing extremely well,” Hextall said. “He’s actually here. He’s been here. He was here for a while after the surgery, went home for a week or 10 days and he’s here for the rest of the summer. Whether he’s gonna be here — he talked about going to Kelowna to train — that’s still up in the air. He’s doing well here so I think he’s kind of re-thinking it.”

Behind this duo — both missed time due to injury last season — is some combination of Alex Lyon, Anthony Stolarz and potential franchise goalie Carter Hart, who will have his first professional season likely start with the Phantoms.

Dave Isaac; @davegisaac; 856-486-2479; disaac@gannett.com

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