Former Flyers, Where Are They Now? The Northwest Division

As the Flyers head into an eight game layoff over the holidays, I thought it would be interesting to look at where many of the former Philadelphia Flyers have ended up this season and how they are faring after leaving the orange and black behind, whether by trade, free agency, or because they just couldn’t cut it. I’ve limited the players to those actively playing in the NHL this season, and I’ll be the first to admit there may be some players I’ve missed, as comprehensive as I’ve tried to be.

I figured I would start with the Northwest Division, as the Flyers travel to Vancouver on the 28^th to take on the Canucks in their only match-up of the regular season.

 

Vancouver Canucks (19-8-4, 3^rd in Western Conference, 6^th in NHL)
Projected by preseason predictions to be the favored team from the Western Conference to make it to the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, the 2010-2011 Canucks feature a number of defensive retreads of the Flyers, including Andrew Alberts (08-09) and Ryan Parent (07-10).  Alberts is performing about as well as he did with the Flyers, tallying 1 goal and 4 assists on the year, but has performed responsibly enough that he’s earned his position as a 6^th defenseman. He has been rotated in and out of the line-up as injuries and illnesses have hit the team, but will likely cement his position if the Canucks trade one of their defensemen (as has been rumored).

Oddly enough, Parent was traded this past offseason to the Nashville Predators for the rights to defenseman free agent Dan Hamhuis, but has since ended up with Hamhuis in Vancouver. Parent has only played four games this year in the NHL, spending the rest of his time in either conditioning stints with the Manitoba Moose or as a healthy scratch. Parent fell out of favor in Philly after being completely unreliable to compete at a Stanley Cup level this past Spring.

Defenseman Nolan Baumgartner, who played six games with the Flyers in 2006-2007, also plays with their AHL affiliate.

Edmonton Oilers (12-14-5, 27th in NHL) 

Speaking of defensive retreads, journeyman Jim Vandermeer (02-04, 07-08) has ended up with the Edmonton Oilers as a third pairing defenseman that has been rotated throughout the other pairings as the season progressed. He recently injured his ankle, but it would not have likely made a difference for the Oilers, whose talented but inexperienced roster haven’t been able to compete regularly at the NHL level (aside from one flashy shootout goal).

There are no former Flyers currently playing with the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, or Colorado Avalanche. Tomorrow, I will look into the much more versatile Pacific Division.