Daniel Carcillo has loosened up Flyers locker room

Before the season started, a couple hockey guru’s picked the Philadelphia Flyers to win the Stanley Cup, including Sam McCaig, a writer for The Hockey News.  The Flyers got off to a fast start winning 12 of their first 18 games and everything was looking fine and dandy.

Then they lost eight-of-nine.  Ray Emery, their number one goaltender who they signed in the off season, went down with an abdominal injury.  They continued to lose with back-up goaltender Brian Boucher in net, only winning two out of their next eight games.  Then Boucher went down with a right finger injury.  At the end of this stretch the Flyers were at the bottom of the Atlantic Division and out of playoff contention.

There was dissention in the locker room.  Were the young players more focused on the Philadelphia night life than hockey?  Were they separating themselves from the veteran players?  Was Mike Richards the right man for the captain’s job?  Can Chris Pronger bring this team together?  Who is going to mind the net?  Who can coach this team and bring them back to playoff form?  Questions about leadership, focus, trades, and personnel were firing away from right and left.

The Flyers have since turned things around.  On December 5th, the Flyers fired head coach John Stevens and hired Peter Laviolette, who coached the Carolina Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup in 2006.  Laviolette instituted a style of play that took a couple weeks to get going, but once it was motoring all four lines were running on all cyclinders.  Third-string goaltender Michael Leighton filled in for his fallen colleagues and went 8-1-1, helping the Flyers get right back in the playoff picture.

Was it the hiring of Laviolette that turned things around?  Could have been.  Was it Leighton?  Maybe.  Did the young guns stop partying?  Only the ladies of Philadelphia know that.

I spoke with someone connected to the team this week who is in the locker room every day.  He told me that Daniel Carcillo has completely loosened up the locker room this past month.  He didn’t go into detail, but added that he is completely insane.  Insane in a good way.  He has everyone laughing, having fun, and has become the spark plug the Flyers so desparately needed.

His play on the ice is motivating his team as well.  He’s not just dropping the gloves, he’s contributing to the scoreboard as well.  In the month of January, Carcillo has scored three goals (including one today against the Hurricanes), assisted on another, and has his linemates scoring as well.  When teams have their 3rd and 4th lines generating scoring chances and putting points up, it’s contagious.  It gets the 2nd line moving faster and it gets the 1st line line moving faster.

The Flyers are still at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, but a win today can catapult them to 6th place in the Eastern Conference.  Fans may see Jeff Carter scoring more goals, Mike Richards stepping up his play, and Chris Pronger taking control of the power play.  However, Daniel Carcillo, the one player who you would never expect, has this team playing better.  And this news is coming straight from the locker room.