Heading into free agency, one of the aims of the Flyers organization was to improve the fifth and sixth defenseman positions in light of the inexperience shown in the Stanley Cup Finals with rookie Oskars Bartulis and paperweight Ryan Parent. The Flyers did just that on July 1, trading a second-round pick in the 2012 NHL draft for Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Andrej Meszaros and signing veteran defenseman Sean O’Donnell, a former teammate of Chris Pronger with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2007.  The Flyers also re-signed defenseman Braydon Coburn to a two-year contract worth $3.2 mil per year.
On paper, this gives the Flyers one of the best defensive lineups in the league. Chris Pronger and Matt Carle were solid throughout the bulk of the year, with Carle seeing a significant improvement in his game thanks to his partner.  Kimmo Timmonen will likely continue to play with Coburn, his defensive partner for the last few years.  Timmo and Coburn started the past season at –9 and –10, as Coburn took a giant step backwards in the first half of the season (my least favorite moment being when Coburn scored against Flyers goaltender Ray Emery, leading the Anaheim Ducks to a late third period comeback).  Coburn picked up the slack in the playoffs, however, blocking shots even when the Flyers were up two goals with ten seconds remaining.
Meszaros brings size, youth, and potential to the club.  He started his career with the Ottawa Senators and had two 35-point seasons before signing with Tampa, where his game declined to two 16-point seasons.  As a fifth defenseman, Meszaros can eat up ice time against the third and fourth liners and re-establish himself. O’Donnell, meanwhile, is a 39-year old veteran who may not contribute offensively but will certainly provide stability to the back end and leadership in the locker room.
“You’re not going to see a lot of flashy stuff, and I think it’s going to be one of those games where you don’t notice me, but that’s a good thing – after 10 or 15 games, you’re like ‘you know, we’ve never really talked about this guy, but he’s been there every game. He kind of flies under the radar, but he’s just a solid stay at home guy who hopefully doesn’t make too many mistakes, and is a good addition” O’Donnell said about his game, per Chuck Gormley of The Courier Post.
The issue at hand is that no NHL team can carry these players with their current salaries and be successful.  If you ignore Oskars Bartulis’ whopping $600K, the Flyers defense currently takes up $22.9 million, or 38% of the total cap hit available.  The Flyers have noticeable deficiencies at right wing and saw a steep decline in scoring this past year, with Simon Gagne and Scott Hartnell having off years after the team also lost Joffrey Lupul and Mike Knuble.  The best defense on paper means squat if the offense isn’t there.  I would expect that one of the current defensemen is on his way out.
