I want to be clear about this. I am by no means suggesting that Alex Lyon is the solution to the struggles the Philadelphia Flyers are currently undergoing, whose problems extend far beyond the inability of Carter Hart and Brian Elliott to make saves at this point. But things can’t get worse, and so a different look is deserved as the team looks for anything that can plug the holes in this rapidly sinking ship.

We’ve seen Lyon in action before, and while no one would claim he could become a top goalkeeper if he had the chance, it’s worth taking a look to see if he does. could play a regular role in the future. And while the Flyers may dismiss that idea, saying they have to ride the guys they have in an effort to get back into the playoff race (although several sites have their chances of making the playoffs within 12%), there are many good reasons to entrust the fold to Alex Lyon for part of the upcoming calendar.

Giving Alex Lyon a few starts is worth it for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Originally, I was in favor of letting Carter Hart play through his struggles, but it seems that is not an option at the moment. He can still become the goalkeeper we were hoping for, but he has things to sort out that cannot be settled in the rest of this lost season. As a result, the team have the opportunity to give Brian Elliott more time, who has been almost as bad lately.

Elliott will also be leaving the squad via a free agency after this year, which will give the club little impetus to play him until he can take a look at someone like Lyon. Granted, it’s not ideal to put anyone behind this team with the way they currently play, but these types of things have a weird way of galvanizing a club to focus, simplify their game and get best results for at least a short period of time. . All bets are off the table for this mind-boggling Flyers team, but I say this is one of the few valid types of reshuffles that might actually have a chance to work.

It’s really a lossless situation to put Lyon back there. While it might seem like a cruel and unusual punishment to give him a chance now, it would at least be the chance of a lifetime for a young man who worked hard for that chance. Maybe he looks as bad as Hart and Elliott. Maybe it is adequate. Or maybe he shocks us all and propels the Flyers into the field with at least a silver lining to make the playoffs.

In the most unlikely scenarios, perhaps Lyon play even so well that the Seattle Kraken chose to take them into the expansion draft, thus preventing the Flyers from losing any of their other “precious young talents” we were obsessed with and writing articles. for about two years. I’m not holding my breath on this one, but it seemed worth mentioning.

In a perfect world, Lyon are playing competently enough for the Flyers to be comfortable with him and Hart as a goaltending duo next year, rather than eating in space to bring in a veteran. replacement for Elliott. Of course, even that is questionable since Hart appears to be a lot less sure than he was just a few months ago. But if I squint my eyes hard enough, I can see a situation where Lyon and Hart pretty much went their separate ways for the rest of the year, playing well enough to move the needle in a positive direction for the team. The rest of the club need to join, of course, but I don’t think what I’m suggesting is impossible. If we go back to small steps, so be it.

As for Elliott, some might say to just throw him to Wolves in the net, leaving an outgoing player to take the moguls for the rest of the year. However, this is not the right way to approach it. Even in tough times, there is an opportunity to see what you have and look to improve your club for the future. Playing for Lyon instead of Elliott at least has a future perspective.

Again, this is not about replacing Carter Hart. He sucked, but the team is really connected with him right now. We all hope he can succeed and resume his career path with Orange and Black. Still, it’s obvious he can’t be counted on to carry the workload of a starter for the rest of this year, so why not look to Lyon for a workaround that could help the team? While it doesn’t do much to make things better, it certainly can’t hurt.