The Philadelphia Flyers' press box is where NHL defensemen go to die.
For the past few years, the upper levels of the Wells Fargo Center have seen their fair share of aging vets: Pavel Kubina, Kurt Foster, Andreas Lilja, and the much maligned (and maimed by twitter users across the Delaware Valley) Hal Gill, to name a few. Erik Gustafsson, at the ripe age of 25, has spent FIFTY SIX games shooting the shit with Sam Carchidi and Frank Seravalli this season alone.
Gustafsson, now in his fourth season with the Flyers, had split time between Adirondack and Philadelphia in his previous three. 2013-2014 was supposed to be the year the young Swede would finally see enough ice time to iron out the bumps in his pro game. After a stellar run as a top pairing defenseman for Sweden in their gold medal run at the 2013 World Championships, armchair GMs and local media alike had "Gus" penciled in as the Flyers' sixth defensemen going forward. On paper, his game looked like a perfect fit for the big club: a young, mobile puck mover with second power play unit potential and the ability to soften the quickly aging (and similarly undersized) Kimmo Timonen's minutes.
It didn't work out that way.
Gustafsson didn't suit up for any of Peter Laviolette's final games behind the Flyer bench. He managed to hit the ice in 31 of Craig Berube's 79 games, but beyond a 5 and 8 game stretch in October and November, respectively, never managed to crack the lineup for an extended period. In those 13 games, Gus had 5 points and was a +3 while averaging around 17 minutes of ice time. Not particularly notable, but more than serviceable for a 25 year old third pairing player.
Certainly more than serviceable for a player that held the distinction of being the Flyers best (only?) defensive prospect before the recent signings of Robert Haag, Sam Morin, and Frozen Four MVP Shayne Gostisbehere.
Still, Gustafsson has only seen 11 games in 2014, and no more than 3 consecutively. He's a +5 with 5 points this calendar year.
With the addition of Andrew MacDonald and the relative health of the Flyers' blueline this season, it's not all that surprising that Gustafsson couldn't secure a regular spot in the lineup. What is surprising is the nonchalant attitude the Flyer organization has shown in terms of developing their own defensive talent.
Gus has spent most of his time at the rink getting his ear chewed off by beat writers and veterans in the twilight of their career while a floundering cast of glorified dinosaurs (Kubina, Lilja, Gill) and defensive miscreants (Andrej Meszaros, Bruno Gervais) ate big minutes for the Orange and Black.
What exactly, then, are the Flyers looking for out of Gustafsson?
"I don't think I'm looking for anything more than what he's capable of," said Berube earlier this month. "Confidence comes from playing. I think a lot of times, confidence comes from knowing that you're in every night."
By that logic, it should be to the surprise of no one that Gustafsson has struggled to piece together a real semblance of consistency in his game. Defensemen are notorious for taking much longer to develop than forwards. In Philadelphia, they don't develop at all.
Despite his strong showing at the World's last year, Gus wasn't expected to get top pairing minutes. He was, however, expected to be able to crack the line up for an extended period of time and be given the opportunity to iron out the kinks in his pro game and ideally flesh out some of his offensive potential.
Instead, he was shuffled back to the press box at the first hint of a gaffe to be taught lessons in being a consummate professional from consummate professional Hal Gill. When an injury to Nick Grossmann opened up a spot in the line up, that spot went to the only man who has spent more time with Carchidi and Co. than the young defenseman: Hal Gill.
Gustafsson may not have been a difference maker in Game 5, but recent history suggests he wouldn't have been a minus player. Gill, for his part, was a -2 and directly responsible for at least one Ranger goal.
Realistically, the trials and tribulations of Erik Gustafsson will be nothing but a footnote in Flyers history. He'll probably continue to be a fringe player under this management and coaching group if resigned as a restricted free agent, and it more than likely won't affect their long term success. However, with guys like Morin and Gostisbehere waiting in the wings, the Flyers are going to need to seriously reevaluate how they develop homegrown defensive talent. Handing out huge contracts to stopgap guys like MacDonald equates to lodging a piece of chewing gum in a leaky hose. Sure, he'll patch the hole for a short period of time, but it's not a long term fix. Eventually, you're going to end up soaked.
The Flyers are going to have to give regular ice time for extended periods of time to these guys if they hope for them to become star caliber players (or even serious minute eaters) at the pro level. They're going to take time to develop in the NHL, and they're going to quickly outgrow the AHL just like Gus did. Hopefully, the coaching staff won't take the same shortsighted approach in delegating ice time.
Erik Gustafsson needs to be a cautionary tale towards changing the organizational standard.
