In Defence of our Defense.

I would imagine you all know by now, the Predators have matched our offer sheet, leaving us with thoughts of what could have been with Shea Weber. I've heard over the past week or so, many fans asking, well what do we do now? We have to trade and get another defender because right now our defense is no good. I, however, don't agree with those fans, as I think the Flyers defense is perfectly fine how it is, and here's why. 

The fact is, Chris Pronger is probably never playing again (unless you believe in my crazy theory of his return, but that's for another post) and that really sucks. I was so excited when we got him, and he was the anchor to our defense. This post-Pronger era of our defense is a trying time. It's difficult to watch out defense play at some points, with the breakdowns in coverage in our own zone, to the growing pains of the young guys. 

However, I think our defense is going to be pretty good this year. We still have Poppa Kimmo, who will certainly be playing better this year after playing with 13789057489 (approximately) injuries throughout the season last year. He's going to be playing like the Kimmo we've grown to love ever since acquiring him. Also, Braydon Coburn is an vastly underrated defenseman. He doesn't have the scoring flash of some defenseman, but he plays a solid shut-down game that goes unnoticed. People hopefully will start to notice that this year and appreciate the things he does that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. So first pairing? Excellent.

Second pairing? Nicklas Grossmann is a big tough defender that can take the defensive responsibilities off of Andrej Meszaros. Grossmann will be able to use his shut down skills more effectively after healing some knee related injuries, and an offseason of learning Lavy's system can only help him progress more. Meszaros, being paired with a shutdown defender, will be able to use his offensive skills more this year, knowing that he has someone back. Meszaros won the award for Best Defenseman on the Flyers just a year ago, and I think we see him revert back to that form this year. If he plays with that offensive skill, we could see a 30-40 point season from him, which would be a great addition to our already dangerous offense. 

Third pairing? Luke Schenn, a new comer to the Flyers in a trade that sent JVR to the Maple Leafs, should start progressing towards the defenseman everyone thought he would be in Toronto. Schenn is a tough player, and never shies away from a big hit. I think Flyers fans are going to love Schenn and his toughness, just like his younger brother Brayden. The last partner could be Bruno Gervais, a signing the Flyers made. He was a third line pairing on the Lightning last year, and has potential to be a second pairing guy with some offensive upside, but hasn't shown it yet. The last partner could also be Bourdon, who showed some great upside last year when we got to see him play, before he wasw sidelined with a concussion. Holmgren say's he is feeling fine and is close to signing the now RFA. Personally, I would like to see Bourdon start in the last spot to give the kid a chance to continue the promising start he had last year. 

So a starting defense of:

Kimmo-Coburn

Meszaros-Grossmann

Schenn-Bourdon/Gervais

I will gladly take that into the season. Obviously I would have taken Shea Weber, but I don't think we have a terrible defense without him. I think our defense, if they can stay healthy, will be perfectly fine. That along with Bryzgalov's play increasing as he settles in as a Philadelphia Flyer, will make the back-end of this team not as bad as people may think it is. 




What do you think of our defense? Do you think we'll be okay? Leave your thoughts in the comments section or talk to me on Twitter, I'd love to hear your opinion!