Expectations were relatively low despite all the trade chatter heading into the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Newly-minted Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Brière had a lot on his plate but was receiving phone calls left, right, and centre on cornerstone pieces as well as the soon-to-be departed “undesirables”.
The Flyers were busy, and for good reason.
It started with the Flyers trading Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of a three-team trade that also involved the Los Angeles Kings. Then they traded Kevin Hayes to the St. Louis Blues with half of his salary being retained one day before they drafted Matvei Michkov with the 7th overall pick. Tony DeAngelo was going to follow suit but his trade to Carolina was being held up by the NHL before he was bought out.
As they entered the free agent frenzy, the Flyers ended up signing Ryan Poehling, Marc Staal, and Garnet Hathaway by the end of the night. The consensus surrounding these moves leaned more so towards questionable than labeling them as solid or good moves. Acquiring Staal when you had a logjam on defense had many worried that the prospects wouldn’t get an opportunity, and the Hathaway signing left many puzzled with Nicolas Deslauriers already in their employ.
Fast forward to mid-February and it looks like the Flyers hit the jackpot with their depth additions. The Poehling signing had low-risk-high-reward written all over it as the former first rounder had struggled to find his footing in Montréal before solidifying himself as a complimentary bottom-6 forward. Hathaway on the other hand has endeared himself by playing the “Flyers Way” and works perfectly in the John Tortorella system.
Poehling had a dream NHL debut by scoring a hat-trick in the final game of the 2018-19 season against bitter rivals in the Toronto Maple Leafs – on 3 shots – before scoring the game-winning shootout tally. He then struggled to remain in the lineup as he played 84 games sporadically over the next 3 years – 2 seasons – with just 10 goals and 9 assists to his name. He signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the 2022-23 season and scored 7 goals and 14 points in 53 games but had sculpted a new role as a bottom-6 forward with penalty killing prowess.
Brière was very quick in bringing Poehling into the fold and through 54 games, the 25-year-old from Lakeville, Minnesota has not only tallied a career-high in points, but he also earned himself a 2-year contract extension. He has scored 7 goals to go along with 11 assists, has 3 shorthanded goals, averaging a career-high 13:59 TOI, has won 48.4% of his draws, has blocked 58 shots, and has a great 16:6 takeaway to giveaway ratio. Poehling is also tied for third amongst forwards in shorthanded TOI at 1:44 per game and behind just Noah Cates and Scott Laughton.
It took a little bit of time for him to acclimatize to the John Tortorella way, but we’ve seen a different version of Ryan Poehling in the second half of the season. In just his last 11 games, not only has he added 4 points and 2 shorthanded tallies, but he has also averaged 17:18 TOI while blocking 20 shots and finishing 12 checks. A stark contrast to his first 11 games of the season where he averaged just 11:15 TOI and had 1 assist to his name.
Poehling’s play earned him a 2-year pact worth $3.8 million late last month at the same time that trade rumours were circulating around Laughton. In essence, Poehling brings the same on-ice intangibles that Laughton brings to the table but costs about half as much and is five years younger. Contending teams continue to circle around Laughton, but the Flyers remain firm on their asking price of a first round pick – and even then have been hesitant on pulling the trigger. Nevertheless, Poehling has made it a little easier for the club to move on from the 11-year veteran should the right move fall into their lap.
Hathaway entered the fray as an eight-year veteran who was best known for his pest-like behaviour and just getting under the skin of his opponents. The Flyers knew all too well of Hathaway’s shenanigans as a member of the Washington Capitals between 2019-20 and 2022-23. Throughout his career, he has only scored more goals against two other teams outside of Philadelphia and always brought his A-game. That hasn’t changed one bit since he’s donned the Orange and Black and his game has risen over the last few weeks – just at the right time.
His offensive numbers have taken a dive after he scored 14 goals and 26 points in 2021-22 and 13 goals and 22 points in 2022-23. He has just 6 goals and 9 points but has averaged 11:33 TOI, while finishing off 213 body checks and playing 1:25 in shorthanded minutes per game. Hathaway joins a number of players who have greatly improved the penalty kill with the Flyers just 0.41% away from claiming the number one spot from the Los Angeles Kings.
Hathaway’s claim to fame is his bodychecking and aggressiveness and his 213 hits are just second to Nashville Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon’s 279. His analytical numbers have also greatly improved from previous seasons with a 46.4 CF%, 49.9 FF%, 94.4 PDO – all of which are respectable numbers for a bottom-6 forward.
His ice-time has been erratic this season but in the last few weeks he’s been averaging close to 13 minutes a game and over his last 4 contests he has seen 14:37 TOI. A big part of that is the revamped third line of Poehling, Cates, and Hathaway which has turned out solid performances, including Hathaway netting 2 goals – one against Toronto late in the game and the insurance marker against Chicago. Hathaway has also finished 34 checks in that stretch as well.
The Flyers have tried endlessly over the years in cultivating or acquiring the right complimentary bottom-6 pieces but have failed time and time again. In Poehling and Hathaway, Brière hit two home runs as they possess the perfect blend of grit, grind, and tertiary offense that every team needs.
In Poehling, the Flyers have a great skater, a fantastic penalty killer, and a first round talent that can score at a secondary-pace. In Hathaway, the Flyers have a constant threat to bombard the opposition, a pest who can draw the ire of his counterparts and draw penalties, can kill penalties as well, and has the track record of chipping in with double digit tallies.
As the Flyers enter the home-stretch and continue to look for ways to balance the top-6, they know they have the right combination on the third line with Cates, Poehling, and Hathaway to compliment the aforementioned skilled players and Tortorella’s system. They can play upwards of 15 minutes a game and it won’t be a hindrance as we have seen from previous bottom-6 players and lines in years past.
The best part might also be the fact that they come in at a combined cost of less than $6.5 million – something even a rebuilding club yearns for – and are signed beyond 2023-24.
