There is no doubt that the most glaring need the Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher should look to acquire this off-season is an elite-level goal-scorer that is not afraid to shoot the puck, especially while on the power play. For way too long the Flyers have been a team made up of pass-first players and defensive centers. Being able to cycle the puck around in the offensive zone during a power play is great, but when the team goes the full two minutes of the power play time without generating a single shot on net (like the Flyers did this post season more times than this writer would like to mention) THAT’S A PROBLEM! The Flyers played in 16 games this post-season and they were only able to convert four times out of 52 chances while on the power play! That means the Flyers scored a grand total of 7.6% of the time when they were given a one-man advantage. That’s unacceptable and it’s a wonder how the team made it as far as they did with those numbers on the PP. Now, this is not the first time over the years that Philadelphia’s Power Play has been a point of discussion: Their inability to score while the other team is a man (or two) down has been the talk of the off-season many times before; There have been coaches in years past that have been replaced and or fired as a result of the teams’ lack of lamp lighting. At some point you have to stop blaming the coaches and start to look to solve the problem another way. The Flyers have been without a pure goal scorer for some decades now. Sure they have a bunch of guys on the roster that can put in 20 goals every season, but they lack a guy that is a threat to score a goal every time he steps foot the ice- a player that the opposition holds team meetings about before their game, and make plans specifically to try and stop him from scoring. Unfortunately, these types of players aren’t found that often; When they are, they surely never come cheap. With the salary cap set to remain where it was last season and not to increase any time soon, Fletcher will need to be resourceful. Chuck does not have the cap space to go out during free-agency this off-season and sign that sniper that the team so desperately needs.
With that being said, how can Fletcher bring in a player that will ignite the Flyers’ power play unit and take the team to new heights next season? The answer is the draft! This year’s draft is loaded with offensive talent that can make the jump to the NHL next season. But with the Flyers not selecting until the 23rd pick they will need to do some wheeling and dealing. One player that is worthy of this effort is the Ottawa 67’s Jack Quinn. Quinn, who is 5’11 and 176 pounds, led the entire Canadian Hockey League (CHL) in goal scoring with an impressive 52 goals amassed during this shorted season. Within those 52, Jack was able to net 15 Power Play goals on the season. Quinn possesses the elite goal-scoring ability the Flyers need. He can and does shoot from just about anywhere on the ice. Quinn was able to score so many goals this season because of his precision accuracy and rapid quick release. Jack is not just a goal scorer though; he is defensively responsible as well: posting an unheard of plus 48 on the season; a stat that is sure to impress Flyers’ head coach Alain Vigneault (AV).
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Jack is projected to be selected anywhere from 9th to the 15th in this year’s draft. So, to acquire this talented marksman, the Flyers will have to make a trade proposal the other team can’t refuse! Some clubs they might be contacting are (Fletcher’s old team) the Minnesota Wild who possess the 9th pick, the Winnipeg Jets who hold the 10th pick, or the Florida Panthers who have the 12th selection in this year’s draft; all of which appear to need the defense that the Flyers have depth in. A trade package that the Flyers might be willing to offer for the opportunity to select Quinn is this year’s draft is their 1st round pick this year, and their 1st round pick in next year’s draft (which should be a later one as well). To go along with those picks, the Flyers could look to throw in defenseman Wyatte Wylie- who had a 1.03 point per game average for the Everett Silvertips this season in the WHL, and/ or the Flyers’ 2018 1st round pick center Jay O’Brien- who had a 1.43 point per game average in the BCHL this season. Wylie is signed and set to be a top-AHL pairing defenseman for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms next season due to the depth on the Flyers’ roster currently. O’Brien is already behind the eight ball thanks to centers Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost, Connor Bunnaman, and Tanner Laczynski being ahead of him on the depth chart and currently battling for the team’s only center vacancy for the foreseeable future. The Flyers system has talent stacked up in just about every position but lack any “sure things” that are developed enough to help Philadelphia with their power play struggles any time soon. Most fans may be against moving high-level picks; but then again, most players that are drafted tend to take three or four seasons to reach the NHL (if they ever do)! So, this writer thinks it’s about time the Flyers step up big and takes a chance at a sure thing (Jack Quinn).
Sure the team could try and trade for a top-tier guy that can come in and score 30 to 40 goals a year next season, but what team that has one of those players is going to be willing to part with them? Even if Chuck were lucky enough to find one, which would you rather him sell the farm for: a guy that is 30-years-old and could help for a season or two (been there done that) or a guy who is 18 and could produce at a high level for the Flyers for the next ten years. The Flyers’ players that the team is willing to part with (James van Riemsdyk, Shayne Gostisbehere) are less appealing to other teams than you may think. Both players spent most of the year in Vigneault’s dog house and took in games from the far side of the bench or in the press box as a healthy scratch. Therefore, if Chuck Fletcher really wants to improve his roster for the foreseeable future, and revitalize his power play unit at the same time, the clear choice would be to pay up to ensure themselves a sure thing in the draft. A player that could come in on Day One and be the missing piece to the Flyers’ power plays struggles (for years to come) and by doing so would help the Flyers potentially raise Lord Stanley’s Cup as early as next season.
You are really high on Jack Quinn and consider him as a sure thing. If you are right, we should not hesitate to trade up for him!
Let’s do it!