VOORHEES, N.J. >> Andrew MacDonald, a poster child of fan criticism in recent years — probably more to due with his $5 million salary than performance — is about to show how important he is to the Flyers.
MacDonald, a veteran NHL defenseman who not only recovered from a mid-career demotion to the Phantoms but this season was rapidly turning into an on-ice leader of a too-youthful defense, will miss at least a month and likely much more after a shot drilled him in the knee Saturday during a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
He was placed on injured reserve Monday, though curiously general manager Ron Hextall did not call anybody up to take his place on the roster, with the Anaheim Ducks scheduled to pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center Tuesday night.
“We’re going to go with six (defensemen) right now,” Hextall said Monday. “We’re at home and there’s no reason to call somebody up just yet.”
But a road trip to Ottawa (Thursday) and Toronto (Saturday) looms, and when asked about making a decision about making up for the loss of MacDonald for the longer term, Hextall issued a verbal shrug.
“I don’t know that yet,” he said. “I’m going to kind of approach it on a day to day basis. There’s only six spots, so I don’t really want to call anybody up just yet. But we’ll see how tomorrow goes. If we get banged up and whatnot, we’ll make decisions as we go along.”
Perhaps confounding the situation right now is the status of young forwards Taylor Leier and Jordan Weal, both of whom were absent with injuries Saturday. Both practiced in full Monday and are essentially deemed ready to play. But veteran forward Matt Read, cut after training camp in a MacDonald-like move (high salary player being outplayed by younger player), played sort of OK Saturday with the other two guys out and was still taking a roster spot Monday.
It’s likely Hextall wants to see where this club is at with his young forwards and Read, and the six defensemen who will line up against the Ducks.
It’s there that this game of roster-wait-and-see gets interesting, since head coach Dave Hakstol Monday determined the best way to make up for the loss of MacDonald would be to shake his entire defensive corps.
Hakstol has taken rookie Robert Hagg, whose presence has allowed Shayne Gostisbehere to return to his rightful place as one of the most offensively productive defenders in the league, and paired with him best defenseman Ivan Provorov as a Flyers top pair.
Veteran Brandon Manning, who was the extra defender until MacDonald’s injury, will line up next to rookie Travis Sanheim. And that leaves Gostisbehere, who has compiled 11 points in the first eight games, to be paired with Radek Gudas.
Kind of the oil and water of the Flyers’ defense.
“Obviously things are a little different now,” Gostisbehere said.
Ghost’s game, of course, is to always be ready to streak up ice and weigh risk against reward when it comes to jumping into the attack zone or not.
Gudas, best known as the Flyer most likely to incite a riot, is also a defenseman with a growing sense of responsible play who possesses a gun of a shot that he doesn’t use often enough.
But he’s never had to play lifeguard next to an offensive defenseman as capable of scoring as he is handing the opposition a 2-on-1 break the other way.
“I’ve actually never played with Gudie before, but we’ve just got to feel each other out right now,” Gostisbehere said. “I’m sure there will be some growing pains, but hopefully the mistakes aren’t magnified too much.
“Gudie is more defensive and obviously can kill people, and I’m the guy who’s a puck-mover. I think it’s a good combo and hopefully it works out.”
Killing people (that means getting in a good hit ... we hope) isn’t the same as being fleet enough on his skates to cover-up whenever the flying Ghost gets in trouble in the transition. That’s something Hagg was skilled at, which is a big reason why Gostisbehere’s numbers are what they are.
“I’m more of a stay at home guy, so for me it’s not going to be that much more of a difference,” said Gudas, who over the first eight games has attempted only 17 shots, about half the per-game pace he’d tried over the previous two seasons (4.46 per game last year, 4.47 in 2015-16).
So he seems more comfortable with staying back and playing free safety this season, one reason why this move might work.
“(Gostisbehere) is offensively minded,” Gudas said, “which is good for me because I’ll have a guy I can pass the puck to all the time.”
No matter how well this risky pairing works out, the Flyers will definitely miss MacDonald, a force in blocking shots and, as Manning pointed out, more of a help to partner Provorov than anyone might have guessed.
“Some of that goes unnoticed, the way he’s helped Provy,” Manning said. “And the way he gets hurt is by blocking a shot, and that’s what he does for us, and he moves the puck well. It’s really tough to see a guy like that go down.”
MacDonald, 31, was a full-time player for the Islanders for five seasons and then a Flyer for only six weeks when he was rewarded with a big contract by then-GM Paul Holgmren in April 2014. At least partly due to salary cap constraints he was waived and sent to the Phantoms out of training camp in 2015, and wound up playing 43 AHL games before returning.
“When we sent him down he didn’t lose a thing. He didn’t lose his love of the game, he didn’t lose how hard he played,” Hextall said. “He kept a great attitude and worked hard. ... Mac is a pro. I hear there’s (fan) criticism, and it’s unfair. I think everybody knows what his teammates think of him and what he think of him, and the coaches. Mac is a good player. He’s been through a lot.”
