Has Emil Andrae Fallen Out of the Flyers Defensive Rotation?

It’s been four games since Emil Andrae last suited up for the Philadelphia Flyers. With the Swedish defenseman expected to be a healthy scratch on Thursday, it will be five straight games without playing.

Following the Flyers’ game on January 26th against the New York Islanders, Andrae was taken out of the lineup, with the expectation that he would just get a reset – a game or two and back in the lineup.

Well, that was not the case. It’s now been 10 days since the 23-year-old played in a game.

The initial scratch certainly had cause. Overall, the Flyers were struggling, but Andrae’s struggles were especially noticeable. There have been times this season when Andrae looked like a legitimate top-four defender. At the same time, there have also been moments where you could see Andrae struggling.

Talking about Andrae on Monday, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said, “We’ve got to get him in somehow.” The bench boss did mention that the lefty-righty pair, especially against the Washington Capitals, was a little more important.

So, you take that, and assume that if he wants to get Andrae in a game before the break, Thursday’s game is the last chance.

At Wednesday’s practice, Andrae was still rotating in with Nick Seeler, indicating he is once again out of the Flyers’ lineup. When asked if he would come back in on Thursday, Tocchet said, “We’re discussing it. We’ve cleaned up the penalty kill since the Vegas game. I want to put him in [on Thursday], but that’s where we would lose a PK guy.”

On Thursday, Rick Tocchet confirmed that Andrae will once again be out of the lineup, missing his fifth-straight game.

That said, has Emil Andrae fallen out of the Flyers’ defensive rotation?

Has Emil Andrae fallen out of the Flyers’ defensive rotation?

It’s worth noting that Emil Andrae is no longer waiver-exempt. That said, if they wanted to get him down to the AHL to play some games, he would have to clear waivers or be sent on a conditioning loan.

Now, to the question at hand: has Andrae really fallen out of the Flyers’ defensive rotation? It’s become evidently clear that the team’s top 5 defensemen won’t come out of the lineup. That’s Sanheim, Ristolainen, York, Drysdale, and Seeler.

So, the choice comes down to Noah Juulsen or Emil Andrae.

This season, Andrae has a goal and 11 points with a +11 in 40 games. Juulsen has a goal and 9 points with a +3 in 41 games. Andrae is more of a puck-moving defenseman, while Juulsen is more of the stay-at-home physical type.

Juulsen has more takeaways (7) and hits (78) this season than Andrae (4, 45), while Andrae has more blocked shots (33) when compared to Juulsen (30). Per NaturalStatTrick, when Juulsen is on the ice, the Flyers have an expected goals against (xGA) of 20.99, while the xGA while Andrae is on the ice is 27.07.

It’s hard to compare the two since they play different styles of games. However, I don’t think either has been much more than a third-pair guy.

Who to play?

In this matter, I would put Andrae above Juulsen this season. If Tocchet is worried about the lefty-righty pair, then why not go back to York-Sanheim as the top pair? Yes, Sanheim is a left-shot, but he plays well with York. That would free up the 3LHD spot for Andre alongside Ristolainen or Drysdale.

If the penalty kill argument is the kicker, then let Drysdale, who has greatly improved defensivley, be the 5th penalty killer. At the moment, Juulsen is the 5th penalty killer.

Either way, I would try to find a way to get Andrae back into a game. At this point in the season, playing the young players is important. I don’t think a third-pair lefty-righty matchup, nor a 5th penalty killer, is reason to keep Andrae out for a fifth-straight game.

While Emil Andrae has been anything but impressive lately, he cannot get better from the pressbox. The Flyers have to find ways to get him back into the lineup, and if the trend continues after the break, it will be especially concerning.

Has Emil Andrae Fallen Out of the Flyers Defensive Rotation?

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