Philadelphia Flyers: James van Riemsdyk is silencing his critics

We have all heard the rumblings throughout the Delaware Valley when it comes to much-maligned Philadelphia Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk. The five-year, $35 million extension he signed with the Orange and Black during the Summer of 2018 is something that has continuously been held over his head by the Philly faithful.

His first two seasons back in Philly were filled with numerous highs and lows. 27 goals in 66 games in his first year was certainly encouraging. Even with the Flyers once again stuck spinning their tires in the world of mediocrity, it was an encouraging start for our buddy JvR in his second stint rocking the Orange sweater. However, any sort of positive vibes created from his strong first season came crashing back down to earth in what was more or less a nightmarish season for number 25 in 2019-2020.

The first eight games of the regular season last year saw van Riemsdyk completely held off the score sheet. Yeah, that’s right, a doughnut through the first handful of games, and it did not get much better for JvR from there.

When all was said and done, he had found himself essentially demoted to the bottom six forward group in the lineup and had even found himself as a healthy scratch in a few playoff games. Altogether, he finished with 19 goals and 21 assists (40 points) in 66 regular-season games for the Flyers while chipping in two goals in eight playoff games. Sure, not bad numbers by any stretch. However, this was certainly a far cry from the production expected from the Flyers front office when they handed him his big contract; the 36 goals he scored in his final year in Toronto is more of what the Flyers were looking for.

Philadelphia Flyers winger James van Riemsdyk is silencing the critics.

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All throughout the offseason, it seemed anyone and everyone was scheming up different trades and various ways they could ship JvR out of town. There are still many fans holding out hope that the Seattle Kraken will take Reemer and his large contract off the Philadelphia Flyers hands in the upcoming expansion draft this summer. That is certainly still a possibility, as it is unlikely that the Orange and Black will protect him in the draft.

However, there are some fans (myself included), who still believe in the big forward, and believe there is another level to his game. Well, those who have hung onto hope are certainly being rewarded here in the early going of the 2021 season. Through the first seven games, van Riemsdyk has found the back of the net five times (four on the power play) and has consistently been one of the better forwards on the ice for the Flyers. This was incredibly clear on Tuesday night when he found the back of the net twice on the power play, spearheading a much needed 5-3 win for the Orange and Black.

To put this into perspective, JvR had four power-play goals ALL of last season. Yeah, he has matched his total in seven games, and it is not as if this is unsustainable. Sure, he is probably not going to score the 32 power-play goals he is currently on pace for, but it is not as if success on the man advantage is foreign to the big forward. He currently has 70 career goals while on the man advantage, and had a career-high of 11 during his final year in Toronto, and reached nine on two separate occasions for the Maple Leafs.

Sure, it is incredibly early in the 2021 season, but you would be a fool to say you are unimpressed with van Riemsdyk’s hot start to the season. This is the player the Philadelphia Flyers believed they were getting when they handed him the contract that they did, and his success is crucial to the Flyers’ chances of reaching the heights that they look to achieve.

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The haters will say it is a mirage, but James van Riemsdyk is on a mission here in the early going, and I am going to sit back and enjoy the ride.

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