Solo act

Philadelphia clears the crease for a net cast of one

Amid the flurry of free-agent deals since July 1, the most significant move might be the Philadelphia Flyers' decision not to budge an inch.

The only thing manic about the mellowing Flyers has been goalie Roman Cechmanek, who has somehow remained in the good graces of Philadelphia management if not his teammates. No Curtis Joseph. No Mike Richter . No Byron Dafoe. General manager Bob Clarke looked at his team and determined da foe -- excuse us, the foe -- was the Flyers themselves. He decided to stand firm behind a goalie who has failed to carry the talent-rich roster even one playoff round in his two NHL seasons. The decision not to chase Joseph, whom Philadelphia flirted with four years ago before opting to sign John Vanbiesbrouck, ultimately could define Clarke's tumultuous reign as much as the psychodrama of Eric Lindros has.

"I don't believe there's a problem with our goaltending," Clarke said by telephone this week. "A lot of people got caught up in what went on with [Cechmanek] during the series, but we scored one goal [in regulation against Ottawa in losing in five games]. The reality is he was our best player."

Cechmanek, 31, still has some bread-and-butter notes to write this summer after showing up his teammates during Game 4 against the Senators. Following the third Ottawa goal, Cechmanek skated to center ice and screamed at the Flyers that they had to play better. Considering that a lineup featuring Jeremy Roenick, John LeClair, Adam Oates and Keith Primeau had been about as productive as watching a Sabrina, The Teenage Witch marathon on a cloudless 70-degree day, the reaction was understandable if not defensible in a win-as-a-team, lose-as-a-team world. The Philly players made their sentiments known the next day at practice when they fired shots at Cechmanek's head, another solecism. Goalie Brian Boucher played, and lost, Game 5 as the Flyers slunk into summer.

"What [Cechmanek] did was basically say that you're not playing and I'm the one getting embarrassed," Clarke said. "Of course you don't like to see that, but then goaltenders always have a little more free rein. And where he's from [the Czech Republic] the goalies have even more leeway. They're a world unto themselves. That's part of the culture over there. And it's not like he came over when he was a kid."

Philadelphia has taken some of the steps necessary to ensure that a rogue goalie won't spoil a team that, in terms of talent, should dominate the Eastern Conference. New Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock demonstrated in Dallas that he has the ability to handle a difficult goalie (Ed Belfour) and unite a team, even if said team often is united in its anger at his nagging. More important, Philadelphia traded Boucher, who was wildly popular in the dressing room, prior to the draft. When former coach Bill Barber failed to delineate a clear-cut No. 1, the rivalry between the goalies and the schism in the team grew. One of the Flyers' supposed strengths, two capable goalies, blew up in their collective face, a reminder that sometimes in the NHL when you have two goalies, you really don't have any. Robert Esche, obtained with impressive center Michal Handzus from Phoenix in the Boucher deal, clearly carries the backup tag.

There was another trade, one that largely slipped under the radar, that should clear the path for Cechmanek. Philadelphia sent Jiri Dopita to Edmonton for a draft choice, a great deal for the Oilers who were basically icing talented smurfs like Mike Comrie, Mike York and Todd Marchant up the middle. But for the Flyers, ditching the looming Dopita after one disappointing season could be addition by subtraction. Dopita, the mainstay of the Czech national team for almost a decade, had a terrible maiden NHL season, complaining about his ice time and the Flyers' coaching. In Cechmanek, a close friend, he had a ready ear. Apparently misery enjoyed company.

So the goaltending carousel will finally stop in Philadelphia. (Before Cechmanek started Game 1 this spring, the Flyers had opened the postseason for six straight years with a different goalie -- Ron Hextall, Garth Snow, Sean Burke, Vanbiesbrouck, Boucher and Cechmanek.) If the playoff damage can be undone and Cechmanek can win a few rounds, Clarke's conservatism will have paid off handsomely. If not, Philly better cue the calliope because the carnival will be back, bigger and louder than ever.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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