Unfortunately for the Flyers, the high-flying Chicago Blackhawks do not believe in destiny, fate, or any of that crap, for that matter.

The clock struck midnight on the Cinderella story and the campaign ended just like it began; with goaltending questions, uncertainty and one of the longest Stanley Cup droughts in the game.

Entering the off-season, with the sour taste of another Cupless campaign in Philadelphia, Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren had some serious questions to answer.

Were they the team that came within two wins of Lord Stanley’s Cup, or were they the team that finished eighteenth overall in the NHL after 82 regular season games and needed a shootout victory to clinch a playoff spot?

Were they the team with a re-born starting goaltender who just needed a chance to prove himself, or were they a team lucky enough to benefit from a hot streak, stop-gap goalie, that won’t last?

Holmgren quickly tried to answer all those questions – but it seemed every time a question was answered in Philadelphia – another one popped up.

With the off-season underway, the Flyers plan was to shop for a goaltender, grab some defensive depth and get bigger and more physical throughout the roster.

Did it get done? It’s questionable to say the least.

Under the direction of Holmgren, the Flyers roster, once again, experienced some major turn-over.

F Arron Asham, D Danny Syvret, D Lukas Krajicek and G Ray Emery, were not re-signed by the club, and Riley Cote retired at just 28 years old to take an assistant coaching job with the Adirondack Phantoms.

Throughout the off-season, the Flyers added unrestricted free agents F Jody Shelley, F Nikolai Zherdev, D Sean O’Donnell and also re-upped the contracts of UFA G Michael Leighton, and RFA’s F Dan Carcillo, F Darroll Powe and D Braydon Coburn.

In addition to the signings noted above, the Flyers sent defenseman Ryan Parent to Nashville for the rights to impending UFA free-agent, Dan Hamhuis. As we know, Holmgren shipped the finicky defenseman to the Flyers’ cross-state rival – the Pittsburgh Penguins – for a third round pick. Ironically, Hamhuis chose not to sign with Pittsburgh and instead opted for a destination north of the border with the Vancouver Canucks.

The Flyers filled their defensive void when they acquired Andrej Meszaros from Tampa Bay in exchange for a second round pick. And of course, in what can best be described as an ill-advised salary cap dump, the Flyers sent the longest-tenured Philadelphia athlete and fan favorite Simon Gagne to Tampa Bay in exchange for defenseman Matt Walker and a fourth round pick.

It’s simple, no matter which way you try to justify the Gagne trade and the return Philadelphia received – if it’s even considered a return – it’s going to pain Flyers fans. It stinks, but it is part of business. Gagne was an oft-injured 30 year-old winger in the last year of his contract, earning $5.25-million, who had a no-trade clause.

But, I will say this: The Flyers lost one of the most professional players that has ever called Philadelphia home. If you think about his style of play, it’s wild how much the fans adored him. He played a finesse, fragile style of game and guys like that usually don't last in the blue-collared City of Brotherly Love. That says a lot about his attitude and what kind of person he was on and off the ice. He was one of the most loved players Philadelphia has had in a long time and will be missed.

In my eyes, the Flyers needed to acquire a winger who could play top-line minutes to give the Flyers another scoring threat.

Holmgren found that in Nikolai Zherdev.

I’m a huge fan of the Zherdev signing for one simple reason; the raw skill he will bring to Philadelphia.

The Russian-born winger possesses something the Flyers have lacked for a long time; a pure offensive talent that can bring game-breaking skill to the rink every night. Zherdev oozes offensive artistry, and although spending the last year in the KHL, is considered one of the best one-on-one players in the game. He fills a void that the Flyers have had for a very long time.

But for how talented Zherdev is in the offensive zone, he’s been equally poor in the defensive zone and off the ice.

Zherdev – portrayed as childish, immature and stubborn – needs to keep his head on straight in a Flyers uniform or it will be a long year in Philadelphia.

With that said, this Philadelphia Flyers team is not the New York Rangers squad he played on nor is it the Columbus Blue Jackets team that drafted him. I think Zherdev has the leadership core around him in the Flyers locker room that he was without in Columbus or New York, and he will be surrounded by enough defensive oriented players on the ice that could potentially create a career-year for him.

Holmgren didn’t stop the team tweaking there. Considered by many as a typical Flyers move, the signing of free-agent tough guy Jody Shelley surprised many – including myself. I dogged Holmgren, figured it was just another typical goon player and it made no sense to me.

And I know what people were thinking: Dude has one double-digit point season since the 1999 campaign (that came with the Johnstown Chiefs in the ECHL) and he’s never played a full NHL season.

The timing of the deal was very surprising. Shelley signed a three year deal for $1.1-million per, on July 1 when the Flyers had just over $2.6-million in cap space – obviously Shelley wasn’t the Flyers biggest need at the time.

I’m sure everyone started thinking: Don’t the Flyers have enough of these players? The answer may surprise you.

The case for Dan Carcillo: Carcillo is a fiery player who was made to wear a Flyers jersey. Do his antics get out of hand? Sometimes. But one thing Carcillo is not; is an enforcer. The Flyers don’t want him taking on the roll of a goon and getting into heavyweight brawls. For now – that’s Shelley’s job. Carcillo is best fitted as an agitator; his role on the squad is not to be the fighter, not to be the enforcer. It’s to get under the other teams skin, and more importantly play a solid defensive role anywhere he is inserted into the line-up. The addition of Shelley ensures that Carcillo can solidly perform his role, improving the team.

Then you have the case for Ian Laperriere: Laperriere is one of the toughest players in the NHL and will do anything to help his team win. He is a warrior and one of the most respected players around the NHL. But following his brain injuries this season and his commitment to wear a half-shield, I don’t think you will see Laperriere in as many bouts as you’re used to. Sure, Laperriere will throw fists, but it won’t be against any of the heavy weights in the game. And that’s where Shelley can step in.

Yes, the Flyers have some other players on the roster that will get into the occasional scrum, but last season, the Flyers didn’t have an answer for a lot of the heavy weights around the league; see Colton Orr vs. Philadelphia, last season.

Not only does Shelley fit a role on the team as an enforcer, but he fits in better on the roster than Asham. Yes, Asham had some chemistry with James van Riemsdyk and Claude Giroux, but that’s not the role for Asham – his inability to finish many scoring chances is something the Flyers can do without.

Shelley is considered better defensively and can play time on the penalty-kill. He will also be a key guy in the locker room for the Orange-and-Black.

Do you need enforcers on your roster to compete for a Stanley Cup? I don’t think so. But I don’t think this signing was unnecessary by Holmgren.

Shelley will turn into a fan favorite in Philadelphia. And let’s be honest, what Flyers fans don’t like seeing a good old fashion hockey brawl?

One thing that I thought the Flyers needed the most entering the off-season was defensive depth. After the Flyers dealt Parent back to Nashville and Hamhuis told the Flyers: thanks, but no thanks; they needed it even more.

Needless to say, the re-signing of Coburn and the acquisition of Walker, O’Donnell and Meszaros brings depth.

You know how I said that every question answered by Holmgren brought another question? Here’s why: The Flyers have eight defensemen on their NHL roster that make a combined $25.45-million, and that’s a heck of a lot of cash for a core that will only dress six per game.

Coburn proved his worth in the playoffs and played an instrumental part in the Flyers Cup run, but they needed something else. The Flyers top-four defensemen logged way too many minutes in the Playoffs. Pronger, Carle, Coburn and Timonen were caught on the ice for too long and the Blackhawks exploited the Flyers lack of defensive depth, picking apart the young third D pairing.

O’Donnell brings a great amount of leadership from the blueline and will play an aggressive, stay-at-home style that bodes well for the Flyers. Walker has a lot of O’Donnell in his game; he plays a physical style and can drop the gloves when necessary. Both defensemen will be fighting for the sixth and seventh spot along with Oskars Bartulis.

Although the $4 million cap-hit is tough to swallow, the Flyers best defensive move was trading for the 2004 first-round pick, Meszaros, and it’s arguable that Holmgren could have stopped there on the re-vamped defense.

I don’t buy the “build a defensive wall” theory. It simply doesn’t work – maybe in video games, but not in the real NHL. So I think a bottom pairing of Meszaros and Bartulis would have been more than suffice – but it seems like Flyers love getting into these salary cap shenanigans.

Just two years ago, Meszaros was a highly sought after RFA, traded to Tampa Bay from Ottawa in exchange for Filip Kuba, Alex Picard and a 2009 first round pick and signed a monster six-year, $24 million deal.

Needless to say, Meszaros had a ton of pressure on his shoulders in Tampa and perhaps tabbed with expectations that he could never fill – eerily similar to the expectations put on former Tampa defenseman Matt Carle.

I think Meszaros will be a key part to the Flyers success this season. He will not experience the pressure that was put on him in Tampa and he won’t be responsible for logging big-time minutes. His game fits well with almost all of the current Flyers defensemen and it shouldn’t be a problem to find him a partner who he clicks with.

Finally, the man between the pipes.

All signs point to the Flyers being set, personnel wise, to start the season and that means the starting goaltender is none other than Michael Leighton. And that, my friends, is something I for one am not very comfortable with. The Flyers needed to get better between the pipes and they simply did not.

Sure, Leighton showed you last season that he could be capable of being a No. 1 goaltender, but he also showed you that still, no matter how well he is playing; his flaws are still right around the corner.

The Flyers had tons of options in net as the off-season began and it didn’t get done. There were a handful of net minders who the Flyers could have courted during free agency and another handful of goaltenders that were available via trade.

Following all the roster moves that were made by Holmgren, the Flyers are a more improved team than the one that lost to the Blackhawks in six games. But in my opinion, the most important move needed, was not made.

Exiting the off-season, Holmgren still has some serious questions to answer.