Ivan Provorov

The top priority for the Philadelphia Flyers this offseason should be to find a top defenseman to pair with Ivan Provorov. These three candidates who could. Following Matt Niskanen’s retirement, the Philadelphia Flyers plummeted. The Flyers were a top ten team in the NHL during 2019-2020 with Niskanen. Without him (and a few other changed pieces,) Philadelphia hardly holds within the top twenty.

The Philadelphia Flyers were optimistic about 24-year-old defenseman Ivan Provorov heading into the 2020-21 season. He led the team in average time on ice (TOI) in each of his first four NHL seasons and played in every regular season and playoff game. He was among a group of promising young Flyers poised to take the next step into the prime years of their respective careers. The team hoped that the continuation of his workhorse style supplemented with increased opportunity for point production on the power play would help him to leap into the top tier of NHL defensemen in his fifth season.

Provorov recorded an assist, six shots on goal and six blocked shots in Tuesday's 7-3 loss to the Penguins. Provorov was steady at both ends of the rink, but that couldn't be said for many of his Flyers teammates. The Russian blueliner has 26 points, 123 shots, 100 blocks and a plus-3 rating through 53 appearances this season. While it's been a difficult year on offense for the 24-year-old, he's remained one of the NHL's better shot-blockers -- he's reached triple-digits in that category in all five of his campaigns.

Provorov dished out two power-play assists to go with five shots in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Rangers. Provorov's playmaking from the point led to a pair of James van Riemsdyk deflections with the extra man. The Russian blueliner's pair of power-play points in this one matched his total from the previous 19 games, but he's been chipping in regularly at even strength and has 24 points in 46 games overall.

Provorov scored a goal on a team-leading five shots Wednesday in a 6-1 loss to Buffalo. Provorov, who led Philadelphia with 23:58 of ice time, blasted a point shot through traffic to get the Flyers on the board less than four minutes into the second period. It was the second straight game with a goal for Provorov, and his sixth tally on the year. Through 35 games this season, the 24-year-old has 18 points, halfway to the 36 he notched in 69 games last year.

Provorov scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in Monday's 4-3 overtime victory over the Sabres. Philly spotted Buffalo a 3-0 lead through two periods before flipping the switch, with Provorov eventually capping the comeback just 42 seconds into extra time. The blueliner had only one point, an assist, in his prior seven games, and on the season he has five goals and 17 points through 34 contests.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 18: Ivan Provorov #9 of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on during the first period against the New York Rangers at Wells Fargo Center on February 18, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) Perhaps more than any other Philadelphia Flyers player, the 2020-21 season...

Provorov scored a goal on two shots while adding three hits and two blocks in a 5-3 loss to Washington on Thursday. Provorov cut Washington's lead to 4-2 just under two minutes into the third period, joining the rush and roofing a shot from the left circle during a 4-on-4. It was the first goal since Jan. 26 for Provorov, snapping a 16-game drought. The 24-year-old has supplied three goals and nine assists in 24 games this season.

Provorov registered an assist, three hits and two blocked shots in Tuesday's 5-4 shootout win over the Sabres. Provorov helped out on a Claude Giroux goal in the second period. In his last six games, Provorov has three helpers, 15 blocked shots and a minus-4 rating. The Russian blueliner is up to 11 points, 34 shots on net, 46 blocked shots and 36 hits through 23 contests.

Provorov notched a power-play assist in Sunday's 7-3 loss to the Bruins. Provorov earned the secondary helper on James van Riemsdyk's third-period marker. The 24-year-old Provorov is up to eight points, a plus-5 rating, 21 shots on net, 25 hits and 29 blocked shots in 15 contests this year.

Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov has solidified himself as the team’s top all-around blueliner. He is ascending in the ranks toward the top-tier NHL defensemen this season, and his career trajectory figures to be leading him into conversations for the Norris Trophy in the coming seasons along with young stars like Cale Makar, Seth Jones, and Charlie McAvoy.

Provorov scored a goal and added two power-play assists in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Devils. Both of Provorov's assists came on goals scored by James van Riemsdyk, and the Russian blueliner added an empty-netter to make it 5-2. Philadelphia's top defenseman sees the ice in all situations, and while Provorov can't match the vision of the top point producers from the blue line, he's about as good as it gets when it comes to lighting the lamp from the back end. Provorov has two goals through seven games and should push for double digits in this shortened campaign after lighting the lamp 13 times in 69 games last year.

On Tuesday, the Flyers released their final roster for the 2021 season, naming Ivan Provorov as one of their four Alternate Captains. According to the press release, Provorov will serve as the permanent Alternate Captain for home games. The announcement comes a day before “Provy’ and the Flyers open their...

For the sake of his team, a remarkable streak, and his status among the NHL’s best defensemen, Ivan Provorov travels nearly 10,000 miles each offseason, from Philadelphia to his home city in Russia and back again, for a training regimen that would put Ivan Drago to shame. In Yaroslavl, 160 miles northeast of Moscow, Provorov reunites with a cadre of coaches and specialists who have been working with him since he was 8 years old. Six days a week, eight to 10 hours a day, for 10 to 12 weeks, Provorov skates, lifts weights, runs on a track, and boxes. There’s more. One of his coaches is devoted just to cycling. Saturdays are for swimming. Sundays are for rest.

The Flyers are going to be good this coming season, we think. But how good? A legit contender? The same team they were last year? A bubble team? Worse? Every team faces some questions that will determine just how good they’re going to be, and we’ll be looking at 10 key ones between now and puck drop on January 13.