Defensemen Jamie Drysdale and Nick Seeler‘s return to practice on Tuesday was great news for the Philadelphia Flyers‘ defense. Being without Drysdale for about a month and Seeler for three weeks has been difficult during the team’s playoff push, given their importance to the lineup. Nonetheless, the Flyers survived a 10-game schedule, against nine playoff teams without them, posting a 4-4-2 record.
To get that record, though, they needed solid play from their replacements, especially since they lost Sean Walker at the trade deadline and Rasmus Ristolainen due to injury. A mix of five defenders have been filling in: Ronnie Attard, Adam Ginning, Erik Johnson, Marc Staal, and Egor Zamula.
Related: Flyers’ Depth Defensemen Will Be Crucial for Playoff Push
Unexpectedly, the Flyers have seen sensational play from the two American Hockey League (AHL) call-ups, Attard and Ginning, while things haven’t been particularly great for the other three. The Flyers should let the two who have played finish out the season, even if Drysdale and Seeler return shortly.
Ginning and Attard’s Play Inspiring
Since being called up in early March, the 25-year-old Attard and 24-year-old Ginning have passed the eye test and have put up respectable numbers.
In 10 games for Attard, he has been on the ice for five goals for and four goals against at even strength for a plus-1 rating. His expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) was 58.5 during that stretch, his Corsi-for percentage (CF%) was 59.4, he had a scoring chance percentage (SCF%) of 58.3, and a high-danger chances percentage (HDCF%) of 52.9 – only his HDCF% isn’t the best on the team over the last 10 games.
Though Attard has seen depth minutes, and it’s easier to put up those numbers against worse competition, he has made his case to earn second-pairing minutes from now on. While he has recorded scored one point, his results have been fantastic. Attard has averaged less than 16 minutes of ice time with just more than 14 minutes at even strength, so if anything he is due for more minutes and perhaps some time on special teams, certainly not a demotion to the AHL.
Ginning’s stats tell a similar story. He has played six games, but he has been on the ice for three goals for and two against at even strength, has a 57.1 xGF%, a 57.9 CF%, a 54.3 SCF%, and a team-best 59.5 HDCF%. Many of those stats align with Attard’s because they have played together often. When the two have been paired up, all of Ginning’s stats have gone up.
Again, it should be noted these stats were compiled against some of the best teams in the NHL. Looking at MoneyPuck’s playoff model, only the lowly San Jose Sharks have less than a 99 percent chance of making the playoffs, even with three weeks left to go in the regular season. AHL call-ups don’t generally put up those kinds of numbers against those kinds of teams — that’s probably because they no longer belong in that league.
Both defenders have looked confident and have made some solid plays when necessary. They might not elevate the offense and aren’t the best shutdown defensemen in the league, but they are getting the job done, which is all the team can ask for.
Flyers’ Struggling Defenders
To start, the freshly-acquired veteran Johnson has had his issues this season. He has made some good individual plays since his arrival in Philadelphia, but he has also cost the Flyers at times. The trade-off isn’t a great one.
Flyers general manager Daniel Briere gave up a fourth-round pick for Johnson to get playoff experience in the hopes he would bounce back. He was arguably the worst defenseman on his former club, the Buffalo Sabres, and at 36 years old, is past his prime. He won a Stanley Cup in 2022 with the Colorado Avalanche, so having him around isn’t bad, but his on-ice play has not been great.
In his nine contests with the Flyers, Johnson has a dreadful minus-7 rating, a 49.7 xGF%, a 48.8 CF%, a 47.8 SCF%, and a 52.4 HDCF%. He is usually outplayed by his opponent when he’s on the ice. It hasn’t been by that much, which is a good thing, but his plus-minus isn’t great, either.
Johnson is averaging more than 16 minutes of ice time per game, and that’s probably not a good thing. He is one of the better hitters on the roster, and he can block shots, but he probably shouldn’t be an NHL regular. It might be worthwhile for him to play every other game or so because his good contests have outnumbered his poor ones. Either that, or he should see his ice time significantly decrease.
When it comes to Staal, apparently even head coach John Tortorella has seen enough. He has only played five of the team’s last 10 games, and the results are similar to Johnson’s, with a minus-1 rating, a 49 xGF%, a 49.6 CF%, a 56.9 SCF%, and a 33.3 HDCF%.
Like Johnson, Staal hasn’t been significantly outplayed, but it’s enough to warrant not playing him. The Flyers need to out-chance their opponents on a nightly basis, as they lack the shooting talent to win an even game. Even against contenders, the Flyers hold their own in the chances department. When they don’t, they are almost always going to lose, and a 37-year-old Staal hasn’t helped in that regard.
Finally, Zamula has seen by far the most playing time this season of the players mentioned. He has played 60 games in his age-23 campaign, and Tortorella has grown a liking to him, but he hasn’t truly had any sustained success. He has had some good stretches, but not recently.
Playing nine games over the Flyers’ last 10, he has a minus-3 rating, a 42.9 xGF%, a 48.2 CF%, a 46.8 SCF%, and a 51.7 HDCF%. Of course, on-ice stats can be a bit misleading since it could be argued that one player is skewing the results to make another player, like Zamula, look worse than he is. However, whether he has played with or without a player like Johnson, his stats have not been great.
If anything, Zamula has weighed Johnson down, as the latter has much better on-ice results away from the youngster, albeit in limited minutes. The chemistry hasn’t quite clicked for these three, and that’s something the team should consider when they have to assign players to the AHL. Zamula has been used on the Flyers’ second power-play unit often, but beyond that, seems expendable. The veterans do, too.
Going into the Flyers’ “gauntlet” of games, Attard and Ginning had a lot on their plate. They had to defend against some of the most talented teams in the NHL despite their lack of experience and spending their entire season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Their ability to adapt has been swift and noticeable, though. At the very least, they have earned an extended look with the Orange and Black. The team has been better off with them than without.