The Philadelphia Flyers have found their new backup goalie…. but it’s not the name anyone was expecting: Martin Jones. With an assortment of riches seemingly at their disposal, the Flyers came out with one of the worst goalies from this past season. Jonathan Bernier, Jaroslav Halak, and James Reimer were three goalies at the top of their list but they each chose different teams for different reasons. Did Chuck Fletcher swing and miss on his backup goalie? Or is there hope for a rebound season?
Bernier, Halak, Reimer, Braden Holtby, Linus Ullmark, Antti Raanta, Laurent Brossoit, Phillip Grubauber, and Darcy Kuemper were all available in some way, shape, or form. Grubauer and Ullmark were going to be counterproductive for the Flyers since they wanted long-term deals, a high AAV, and the starting job. Darcy Kuemper falls in that same category but he would’ve been acquired through a trade, and he only had one year left at 4.5 million.
When the announcements came out that all these goalies had signed their contracts, the Flyers were suspiciously quiet, which was a different tune to how Fletcher operated before the free agency window opened. The Jones signing caught everyone off guard and it wasn’t a popular signing either. He has struggled mightily for 3 years and considering the level of talent that was available and the comparable AAVs they were getting, the move became a real head-scratcher.
Halak chose a struggling Vancouver Canucks team at 1.5 million, Reimer took his chances with the struggling San Jose Sharks at 2 million, and Raanta took a multi-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes at 2 million as well. So why did Fletcher choose the inferior option in Martin Jones? Look no further than goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh and senior advisor Dean Lombardi.
Former general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, Dean Lombardi signed Martin Jones to a try-out deal in 2008 after he went undrafted. He impressed the brass so much during their rookie camp that they offered him a three-year contract. During that time Kim Dillabaugh was in charge of goalie development for the Kings and he essentially saw him through his early years before he departed for the San Jose Sharks.
Being the backup to Jonathan Quick essentially meant no playing time for Jones but in his limited run as backup, he went 16-11-2 with a .923 save percentage and 1.99 GAA. He was going to be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2015 and with the Kings unlikely to extend him, they traded him to the Boston Bruins alongside Colin Miller and a first-round pick in exchange for Milan Lucic. The Bruins then flipped Jones to the Sharks for a first-round pick and Sean Kuraly.
The Sharks signed him to a three-year deal worth $9M and thus began his adventures as a starting goalie in the NHL. In his first three seasons with the Sharks and away from the shadow of Jonathan Quick, Jones was impressive as he posted three consecutive 30 win seasons, played in at least 60 games each season, and his save percentage was never lower than .912%. In fact, the first season he played 65 games in, Jones went 37-23-4 with six shutouts and had a .918 save percentage along with a 2.27 GAA. He also led the Sharks to their first-ever Stanley Cup final berth before bowing out to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
The sky was the limit for Martin Jones and the San Jose Sharks would go as far as he took them. His final three years were disastrous and it followed the downward spiral of the once-contending San Jose Sharks. He posted an identical .896 save percentage in each year and his GAA had risen from 2.94 to 3.00 to 3.28. The 2018-19 season was especially weird because he went 36-19-5 and took the Sharks to the Western Conference Finals but posted terrible peripherals. One could look at his track record and point out that this might’ve been the outlier season of his career and he would surely bounce back. That never happened and the Sharks floundered to an 8th place finish in their division in 2019-20 and a 6th place finish in 2020-21.
The team in front of him could be to blame because the once-powerful Sharks were beginning to age rapidly. The 2018-19 Sharks had a stable defense in Justin Braun, Brent Burns, Brenden Dillion, Erik Karlsson, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Brent Burns had 83 points in 82 games, Karlsson had 45 points in 53 games, and Vlasic had the second-worst plus/minus on the team at only -6. Fast forward one year later and the wheels fell off in 2019-20, as nobody on their defense, outside of Brenden Dillion (even), had an even or plus rating. In fact, only two players had a plus rating and they were rarely in the lineup (Antti Suomela and Alexander True).
All this information leads into the fact that the San Jose Sharks went from a perennial cup contender to a bottom dweller within one season. They haven’t recovered and everyone on their roster has struggled mightily. The team is strapped for cash because of some heavy contracts and their depth is putrid. Last season the Sharks put out a not-so-great defensive corps that included Brent Burns, Mario Ferraro, Erik Karlsson, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Nikolai Knyzhov, and Radek Simek for at least 40 games. Martin Jones was the pick of their goalies going 15-13-4, while the rest combined for 6-15-3. Once again, none of their defensemen had an even or plus rating, and Ferraro was the best of their defenseman at -6.
The question then becomes whether or not it was the team that let down Martin Jones or if it was Martin Jones who let the team down. The Flyers were in a similar spot last year, where their goalies were awful but the defense was even worse. Carter Hart is still the number one goalie but the Flyers knew it was time to move on from Brian Elliott. He was a great teammate and at times, a very capable backup goalie; however, his body let him down a few times whenever he was given the chance to play upwards of 30 games. On top of that, his poor rebound control and overall positioning were the first signs of his upcoming downfall. The Flyers needed an upgrade.
It was obvious from what Chuck Fletcher said during his media availability that Kim Dillabaugh had a major role in the Martin Jones signing. He essentially believes he can turn around his career and give the Flyers the 1B backup they so desperately need. He worked with him in Los Angeles to the point that he became a hot commodity in the summer of 2015. He took whatever he learned from Dillabaugh to San Jose and shined for three years, staking his claim as a top netminder in the NHL. For whatever reason, he has declined, but Dillabaugh and the Flyers believe they can fine-tune his game.
Let’s not forget how fickle the goaltending position can be. Petr Mrazek comes to mind as he struggled near the end of his tenure with an inferior Detroit Red Wings team, did no better with the Flyers after they acquired him at the trade deadline, and then bounced back and found his groove with the far superior Carolina Hurricanes. He had a phenomenal 2020-21 season and found himself a new job as a tandem netminder for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In a way, there’s little risk in the signing because Jones is coming in as a backup goalie. The idea/hope is that Carter Hart bounces back and regains his 2019-20 form. He is the future of the Flyers and he should command upwards of 50 games, barring injury. This all comes down to their goalie coach and if he can actually fine-tune his game. As a backup, there will be a lot less pressure. Jones is joining a Flyers team that revamped and addressed their putrid defense. He is also in a new division and conference that plays a very different style of hockey. A new start and a change of scenery are what Jones needs, but it’s still a puzzling choice until we see otherwise.
It became obvious after Fletcher’s comments that Jones was their man. Bernier would’ve been the best choice in terms of skill and tandem partner but he got a two-year contract worth $4.12M per season from the New Jersey Devils that the Flyers had no chance in matching. Holtby, who has ties with Carter Hart and was heavily linked to the Flyers, had no desire in leaving the Western Conference and opted to sign with the Dallas Stars on an identical contract to Martin Jones. It seems that if he wanted Halak or Reimer, he could’ve had them since they had no specific desires or requirements to play in a certain market, unlike Holtby.
Fletcher inherited a team that was built by Ron Hextall. With their varying visions, Fletcher finally put his personal stamp on this team. He went out and acquired players that best fit his vision but because of how many moves he’s made, we don’t exactly know how the Flyers are going to perform in 2021-22. On paper they look great, they have four lines that can do some damage, three new pairings on defense, and a new backup goalie. He gutted out some core players but brought in new vocal leaders to bring a different brand of leadership to this hockey team.
At this point, regardless of his history, we can’t necessarily say if Jones was a good or bad signing. He is coming into a team with a new system, he’ll have a new role, he will most likely be playing inferior teams as a backup, and he’ll have much better defensemen in front of him. Add in the fact that Kim Dillabaugh stuck his foot out to sign him, Martin Jones is definitely primed for a bounce-back season. Before criticizing this signing as we have with the Rasmus Ristolainen trade, let’s wait and see how these new acquisitions perform in October. Who knows? A change of scenery and adapting to new roles and a new brand of hockey might be the formula to success for the “new era” Philadelphia Flyers.
