Inside the Flyers: Flyers need an upgrade

The Flyers, relentless to the finish, had a scintillating postseason run that ended with a jaw-dropping Game 6 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.

But now that it's over and the franchise is still without a Cup since 1975, here's the sobering reality: The Flyers were fortunate to bypass Pittsburgh and Washington in this year's playoffs, and they need to upgrade their roster to get past those teams and return to the Finals.

They don't need a major overhaul. They need to improve the third defensive pairing - general manager Paul Holmgren thinks that will happen after Ryan Parent, a playoff disappointment, gets a few more months to recover from Jan. 25 back surgery - and add some speed in case they face the fleet Blackhawks again next year.

Most important, they need to land a Cup-worthy goalie.

Since expansion in 1967-68, just two of the 42 teams that lost in the Finals - Edmonton in 1983 and Pittsburgh in 2008 - won the Cup the next season.

That shows there are no guarantees for progression. The Flyers talked optimistically Friday about how this was a learning season, a building season, and how they're ready to take the next step.

History tells us otherwise.

And it almost assuredly won't happen if this team stands pat in the coming months.

This space has been a big Michael Leighton supporter all season. His regular-season numbers with the Flyers (2.48 goals-against average, .918 save percentage) were as good, if not better, than most of the goalies that are available in the off-season. If you add his Carolina numbers from this season, he finished with an overall 2.83 GAA and .905 save percentage.

Leighton, a waiver-wire wonder, was clutch in the last 2½ games of the miracle comeback against Boston, and was lights-out in the conference finals against Montreal, collecting three shutouts and a 1.41 goals-against average.

But . . . .

In the glare of hockey's biggest spotlight, the Finals, Leighton played like a journeyman. He became the first goalie pulled from two Finals games since 1991. He had a 3.96 goals-against average and .876 save percentage, and he surrendered bad game-winning goals to Ben Eager in Game 2 and Patrick Kane in Game 6.

Holmgren is in a quandary. Does he re-sign Leighton - who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 - or go after a more-proven goaltender?

My two cents: Do both.