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Any time a team loses a future Hall of Famer, a certain downgrade is expected. Such is the case for the Philadelphia Flyers, whose young team was relying a great deal on the presence of captain Chris Pronger as the anchor of their blueline. But with Pronger out for the season with a severe concussion, the defense has taken a serious hit, and it’s extended to the play of goaltenders Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky. Bryzgalov in particular, after coming to Philly on a massive 9-year, $51 million contract, has been a huge disappointment so far and is currently trying to win earn back the trust of head coach Peter Laviolette as he tries to regain his hold on the number one job.

But with the defense struggling even more than was expected when Pronger originally went down, Bryzgalov is hardly alone in this blame game. You would expect the defensive unit to get better as time goes on and they continue to get used to playing without Pronger, and maybe this is just a temporary lull, but the collective team defense has been atrocious in the Flyers’ last four games. The Flyers have won two of those games, including a thrilling 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, but in the process they have given up the most shots out of any four-game stretch of the season with opposing totals of 33, 34, 37, and 38.

As Sam Chirardi of Philly.com writes, “Maybe Bryzgalov has had some tough breaks, but he has come up small numerous times, and his teammates have allowed too many shots and too much traffic around the net in recent games.” More to the point, the amount of second-chance shots have particularly been a problem, and that is where a crease-clearing defenseman like Pronger is missed the most.

Given the holes in the blueline this season, along with the potential for a long-term absence from Pronger, the Flyers could end up making a trade later this year for another #1 defenseman like Shea Weber of Nashville. Doing so would likely cost Philadelphia some of their top young players like Sean Coutourier or Eric Wellwood (Brayden Schenn is likely off-limits), but it might be necessary due to a lack of depth among their defensive prospect pool. According to Hockey’s Future, only two of the Flyers’ top 10 prospects are defensemen, and neither of them project as true #1. So while someone like Weber might be pricey in terms of contract salary and personnel, he might be their best hope for a leader on the blueline going forward.