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Little can be said about the Philadelphia Flyers this season that hasn’t been said already. As one of the most visible teams in the NHL thanks to their market, their drastic offseason changes, and their prominence in HBO’s 24/7 and the NHL Winter Classic, the Flyers have been one of the most talked-about teams in the league. Due their upheaval over the summer in which they traded for and re-signed “franchise” goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, then traded both their captain (Mike Richards) and their leading scorer from last year (Jeff Carter) not many people expected the Flyers to contend for the Atlantic Division crown until their many young players got a few years under their belts. But that’s exactly what they’ve done through the first half of the season, as their 63 points through 48 games has them only three points behind the division rival New York Rangers and one behind the defending champion Boston Bruins.

Like all young teams, the Flyers have been subject to occasional bouts of inconsistency, but not so many that it has greatly affected their play on the ice. And as they prepare to start up again after the All-Star break, Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News offers “five bold predictions” for the team in the coming months. Let’s take them one at a time:

1. Sean Couturier will win the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year

Credit: Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

Let’s stop right there. No, he most certainly will not. Couturier, 18, is a very good young player, and one who has made his mark on both ends of the ice in his first NHL season. But he is just 9th in points among NHL rookies, and even his own teammate Matt Read is outscoring him 31 to 19. The award will go Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or one of New Jersey’s Adam Henrique or Adam Larsson, and let us speak no more about it.

2. Matt Carle will not sign an extension.
This one is probably true. The 27-year-old puck moving defenseman has become a mainstay on the Philadelphia power play and is enjoying the finest production of his career with 25 points in 48 games. He is one of only four players on the roster who is due to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, but the Flyers also have a bit of uncertainty with the health status of Chris Pronger. If Pronger remains on long-term injured reserve through next season, then they’ll have quite a bit of cap space to work with. If not, then it might be difficult to fit Carle in.

Either way, as Seravalli points out, due to the huge contract that power play quarterback James Wisniewski got from Columbus last year (6 years, $33 million), Carle will likely want to test the open market.

3. The Flyers will trade for a defenseman.
This prediction is about as bold as saying that Peter Laviolette will drop an f-bomb at some point during the next game. With Pronger out for the year, the Flyers desperately need a crease-clearing blueliner to bolster their back end. The only question is if they’ll go for a huge splash like Shea Weber or a less expensive guy like Carolina’s Tim Gleason.

4. Jaromir Jagr will be quiet.
Again, not exactly a bold statement. The big concern with bringing in the 39-year-old Jagr was whether or not his body would be able to hold up through the rigors of another NHL season. He was enjoying a fine comeback campaign until he injured his groin in the Winter Classic, and then re-aggravated it last week. Groin injuries are extremely difficult to come back from without a prolonged period of rest, and it seems unlikely that Jagr will be back to his old self at any point this season.

5. Ilya Bryzgalov will find his groove.
This, more than anything else, will determine the Flyers’ fate this season. They gave Bryz a 9-year, $51 million contract this offseason on the hope that he would not wilt under the pressure of playing in a tough market like Philadelphia, where the fans are notorious for being hard on their own players — especially goalies — but so far that has not been the case. Bryzgalov certainly has the talent to carry a team for extended periods of time, but he has only had two elite seasons in his career and they both came in front of a half-empty arena in Phoenix. He’ll be given every chance to succeed, but whether or not he does seems to be a 50-50 venture right now.

— Craig Lowell