"I'm in a very good place mentally because I am healthy," Gostisbehere said. "And I think that goes a long way with my play. I don't have to worry about certain movements on the ice where maybe it'll hurt or not. I don't have to do that, I can just worry about the game itself. And when you're healthy, it's a lot easier on the mind when you're out there."
Part of Gostisbehere's offseason was spent trying to block out his name popping up in trade rumors.
"It's definitely tough," he said. "I've dealt with injuries for a pretty good part of my career, and when you sprinkle some trade rumors on top of that, and obviously not playing and you can't get in the lineup, it's definitely tough mentally. This break, I worked on basically just doing what's in my control. I can't control what's going to happen, I can't control where I'm going to go. The only thing I can control is getting healthy and becoming the best player I can be."
Gostisbehere is facing tough competition for playing time this season. The Flyers signed Erik Gustafsson, who played 66 games for the Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks last season, to a one-year, $3 million contract Oct. 12, giving them seven defensemen who played at least 40 NHL games last season (Ivan Provorov, 69; Travis Sanheim, 69; Justin Braun, 62; Philippe Myers, 50; Robert Hagg, 49). Rookies Mark Friedman and Egor Zamula also are expected to push for roster spots.
"He's a very smart young man, wants to play, wants to help this team win," Vigneault said of Gostisbehere. "He's going to get an opportunity. He's got to prove himself obviously, but I think for the first time since I've been here, he's 100 percent healthy, which is a real positive for him. He's come in here with a real good attitude. No exhibition games, but we're paying a lot of attention to the scrimmages and we've got that intrasquad game [Jan. 10]. We'll see what happens, how well he plays and how well he can help contribute to us winning some games."
