During the first period of his return to the Wells Fargo Center, Ivan Provorov received a video tribute from the Philadelphia Flyers.
His reception, however, was bittersweet.
When announced as a starter for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Provorov was booed by the Flyers faithful. However, when his video tribute was played on the jumbotron, it was all love for the longtime Flyers defenseman.
Provorov, 26, was traded by the Philadelphia Flyers on June 6 as part of a three-team trade. The deal saw goaltender Cal Petersen, defensemen Sean Walker and Helge Grans, two second-round picks, and a first-round pick arrive in Philadelphia.
During his seven seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Provorov played 82 games on four different occasions, and 532 in total. His play had declined in the last few seasons, and this went hand-in-hand with rumors of trade requests during that period of time.
So far this season, the Blue Jackets rearguard has compiled a goal, 10 assists, and 11 points. Columbus, however, has struggled mightily this season despite Provorov’s arrival. The Blue Jackets are just 4-10-4 and off to one of their worst starts in franchise history.
With 12 points this season, the Blue Jackets are comfortably in the basement of the Metropolitan Division, whereas the Philadelphia Flyers are just one point out of second. With another six points, they will be rivaling the first place New York Rangers for the title of top dog.
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