Flyers shore up in time for do-or-die playoff season

Sporting News, The, March 20, 2000 by Larry Wigge

Examining the Flyers is a lot like working on a jigsaw puzzle. You stare across the table at all the pieces, scratch your head and wonder where all the parts fit. Or if they fit.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," says right winger Mark Recchi, who is in his second tour of duty with the Flyers, with seasons in Pittsburgh and Montreal sandwiched in between. "There have been times when none of us was sure who we would be seeing alongside us on the ice."

Though Recchi stopped there, I could feel there was something more he wanted to say.

"But things are different now," he says. "I don't think the Flyers have ever had the depth they have up front, at least. This team reminds me of the Penguins team I played on in 1991 that won the Stanley Cup."

My mouth must have opened as wide as those holes on the short side of goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck the past two seasons because Recchi quickly added, "Oh, I know that Pittsburgh team had Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Kevin Stevens, Ron Francis, Joey Mullen and Bryan Trottier up front," he says, "but this Flyers' team is deeper."

I must be missing something here. Defense wins Stanley Cups, and the Flyers have no one close to Larry Murphy, Ulf Samuelsson or Paul Coffey on defense or anything close to Tom Barrasso in goal.

My conversation with Recchi actually began with us comparing Eric Lindros of the early 1990s to now.

"Eric was just a kid when I was here last time," Recchi says. "Now, he's got the same leadership qualities that Mario had when he matured.

Most of that comes from lifting people out of their seats when he gets the puck.

"I think Eric has taken a bad rap here because he hasn't led the Flyers to a Stanley Cup. Last year, he was hurt when we got into the playoffs. And this year, I think you'll see a person out to prove something to himself and to all of his critics."

This is, of course, a make-it-or-break-it season for the Flyers--with Lindros, John LeClair and several others in the last year of contracts.

G.M. Bobby Clarke's job also could be on the line. Maybe that's why he has been out trying to beef up his offense--first obtaining center Keith Primeau from Carolina for Rod Brind'Amour a month ago and now reacquiring right winger Rick Tocchet from Phoenix for right winger Mikael Renberg.

Both moves are designed to give the Flyers solid leaders in the locker room as they head for the playoffs--not to mention players with grit who should come to compete in the NHL's second season.

"I think I have some gas left in the tank," Tocchet says. "To play effectively, I have to be aggressive."

But Tocchet is not the 40-goal, 100-point scorer he became after he left the Flyers eight years ago. This season, he had just 12 goals and 17 assists in 64 games with the Coyotes.

"The difference," Blues defenseman Chris Pronger says, "is that he's hard to play against. He's fearless and nasty."

Tocchet, like Recchi, always seems to know the right thing to say in the locker room.

"I think I know better what it takes to win the Stanley Cup than the last time I was in Philadelphia," Tocchet says. "I'll use an example of what I told Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick in Phoenix. I told them it took Stevie Yzerman 10 years to realize that he was a great player. But to be a leader is something totally different. He and Mike Modano and Mario Lemieux, those guys learned they had to sacrifice their individual goals for the good of the team.

"The most important thing to win a Cup, everyone has to contribute. It can't be just one guy. Whether you're a fourth-line guy, whatever role you play, that's what is important. We couldn't have won championships in Pittsburgh without Mario Lemieux and all the stars. But we also couldn't have won without the Troy Loneys and Bob Erreys, either."

With lieutenants such as Recchi and Tocchet around him, look for Lindros to bring his best performance to the postseason.

But whether that is enough for the Flyers finally to find all of the pieces to the eternal jigsaw puzzle remains in question.

Associate editor Larry Wigge covers hockey for THE SPORTING NEWS. E-mail him at wigge@sportingnews.com.

TSN's Power Poll

Bk.   Team            W-L-T-RT            Comment

1.    St. Louis       43-16-9-0      Reirden's return comes as
                                       defense looks shaky.
2.    Detroit         41-20-8-1      Maltby keys performance of
                                       role players of late.
3.    New Jersey      39-22-8-5      Still needs some production
                                       at center.
4.    Dallas          36-25-7-4      Belfour can't hide behind his
                                       mask on this charge.
5.    Philadelphia    36-20-11-2     Third line? Or first line
                                       for Tocchet?
6.    Colorado        32-27-10-1     Getting Bourque was a real
                                       power play by the Avs.
7.    Toronto         39-23-7-3      Sundin's powerful stride is
                                       producing big points.
8.    Washington      36-22-11-1     Oates isn't worried about the
                                       trade deadline anymore.
9     Florida         36-28-5-5      Wanted: Steady
                                       defenseman--fast.
10.   Phoenix         35-26-7-1      Trading Tocchet was like
                                       raising a white flag.
11.   Ottawa          34-23-11-2     Hoping Arvedson returns to
                                       the lineup soon.
12.   Los Angeles     33-27-8-3      What's in store? Better
                                       goaltending from Storn
13.   Carolina        29-30-9-0      Hill's return has made
                                       defense really strong.
14.   Edmonton        25-28-15-8     No answer on this roster to
                                       Avs getting Bourque.
15.   Montreal        30-32-7-3      6-1 in one-goal games in
                                       the past month.
16.   Buffalo         27-32-10-2     Gilmour, Gratton make
                                       Sabres stronger up the
                                       middle.
17.   N.Y. Rangers    28-32-10-3     Finding a partner for
                                       Leetch? It's not Quintal.
18.   San Jose        28-32-9-7      Real problem: Rookie
                                       Stuart's been best
                                       defenseman.
19.   Pittsburgh      28-32-8-6      Where are Kovalev, Straka
                                       in Jagr's absence?
20.   Calgary         28-33-8-5      Porous defense has let
                                       down this hard-working
                                       group.
21.   Anaheim         28-30-11-2     Tight games and soft goals
                                       by Hebert don't spell wins.
22.   Vancouver       23-32-14-7     A Mogilny awakening? Or
                                       maybe just a mood swing?
23.   Boston          21-31-17-5     Dafoe is now the team's
                                       best trading chip.
24.   Chicago         25-36-7-2      Grosek isn't going to
                                       turn around this team.
25.   Nashville       23-39-6-6      Biggest need: A real
                                       top-level defenseman.
26.   N.Y. Islanders  20-40-8-1      Biggest need: A reputable
                                       owner.
27.   Tampa Bay       15-44-7-7      Ludzik wonders about Cloutier
                                       as his No. 1 goalie.
28    Atlanta         12-48-6-4      What if ... Rhodes could
                                       have stayed healthy in goal?