2006 Philadelphia Flyers Preview

2006 Philadelphia Flyers Preview from Maddux Sports. With the NHL Hockey Season now is the time to get aquatinted with the 2006 teams and players. Remember if you are NHL hockey betting look no further, as we offer hockey picks and can help you turn a profit betting on the NHL this season.

2006 Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Season Preview

The Flyers looked great on paper, but paper can’t predict injuries and Philadelphia had plenty of them. More than a dozen Flyers were injured during last season, including franchise player Peter Forsberg (60 G, 19 G, 56 A, 75 Pts). It looks like Forsberg is back, healthy and ready to in 2006-07. But can he stay healthy?

In an 11-year NHL career, Forsberg has been injured 6 of those seasons, missing a substantial number of games each time. With Forsberg this season expect to see Simon Gagne (47 G, 32A, 79 Pts) on left wing and Mike Knuble (34 G, 31A, 65 Pts) on right wing. Winger Gagne led the team in points in 2005-06 and should continue to be an important force.

On defense, Denis Gauthier (98 PIM), 6-foot, 3-inches and 224 pounds, is back after playing one-third of the season with the Flyers last year. He’s a big enforcer. Michal Handzus (11 G, 33 A, 44 Pts) is a key versatile D-man at forward who shuts down top opponents every night. But last year’s signing of defensemen Darian Hatcher and Mike Rathje, two immobile guys with long term contracts, proved to be a bad move. Ironically, the Flyers defense often cannot fly, making it too slow in the new NHL and leading to one of the worst penalty kill units in the league.

With two young, talented goalies on hand—Robert Esche (40 GP, 22 W, 11 L, 5 OT, 2.97 GAA, .897 SP) and Antero Niittymaki (46 GP, 23 W, 15 L, 6 OT, 2.97 GAA, .895 SP)—the club will probably need to make a decision soon as to which to keep and which to trade.

With a strong offense and solid goaltending, the Flyers will give the other top Atlantic Division teams a run for their money. But a slow defense and health issues could hamper this team’s quest for the Cup.

For more information on the 2006 Philadelphia Hockey Club check out the Flyers team website.