Photo Credit: James Guillory-USA Today
One of the most important things Chuck Fletcher has to do this offseason is hire the right coach. Not just any coach, but the right coach. With that being said, former New York Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz has an interview today with the Flyers, and some people wonder how the Flyers can lure him to Philadelphia, as opposed to the Winnipeg Jets, which happens to be where Trotz is from. Like the Jets, money is not an issue for the Flyers.
Some people believe that the Flyers could give any amount of money to Trotz to lure him to Philly, which is true, however the Jets could “Blank check” Trotz too. The Jets were worth $575 million and they profited $68 million in 2020-21, while the Flyers profited $161 million according to Forbes .
So how could the Flyers lure him to Philly? Let’s dive in to see how the Flyers could come away with Trotz.
Familiarity
Trotz is a former coach within the Metropolitan Division with both the Washington Capitals (Whom he guided to a Stanley Cup victory), and the New York Islanders. The Islanders were a project team when he took over at the helm there, but he did well with what he had. The team made the playoffs three out of four seasons with them, so it comes as a shock he was terminated by the Islanders. He took the Islanders to the Eastern Conference Finals twice, and once to the Semi-Finals.
The Islanders dug themselves into an early hole, while their season opened to a record setting 13-game road trip in 2021-22. Unfortunately, their new arena was being completed, so they did not win their first home game until December 11. Trotz and the Islanders just couldn’t recover, but this team has always been a pest to the Flyers.
As stated above, Trotz is a winner as he guided the Washington Capitals to the Stanley Cup in 2018. The guy commands effort and dedication each and every time his players hit the ice for a shift. The Flyers could use a coach that knows what it takes to the win the Stanley Cup, and how to build a successful locker room for such. One thing that he has over other coaches is he knows the foes in the Metropolitan Division well. That’s the first leg of trying to win the Cup, so that’s a good first step.
Make Personnel Decisions
One thing the Flyers could offer Trotz is making personnel decisions. Yes, the Flyers are against the cap so Trotz wouldn’t be able to hand select his players, but he could oversee additions and make subtractions, while giving input on what players to obtain. Moreover, he could also be given the availability to make his own lineup decisions without any flack from the Flyers top brass. Ownership and other Flyers top brass should step back and allow Trotz no feelings of pressure when it comes time to make a tough decision.
One thing I’ve always wondered is how much control Chuck Fletcher actually has over his team personnel decisions. Does he actually make the decisions he wants, or does he go with what ownership and others want? Just let Trotz do his thing, he does it well. There is absolutely no need to breathe down his neck.
This could be one key to luring Trotz to Philly. Kevin Cheveldayoff is the Winnipeg Jets General Manager, and he makes all the decisions in regards to the team. Philadelphia is a challenge, a massive challenge, but calling his own shots might be attractive to lure him to Philly.
Project
The Flyers are a project, and Trotz likes a challenge. When you look at both rosters between the Jets and Flyers, one will see the Jets are more talented, and have more elite players than the Flyers. It’s sad to admit, but it’s the truth. Unfortunately, there is little direction to obtain top tier talent, asides from drafting top tier talent. The only thing that is attractive from the Flyers standpoint is they have fifth pick at the Draft in 2022.
Joel Farabee, Carter Hart, Ivan Provorov, and Sean Couturier are nice, but it’s not Mark Scheifle, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, and Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Jets also have a future up and coming star in Cole Perfetti.
What the Flyers have are question marks in Ryan Ellis (Health) and Couturier (Health). Trotz is coming into a situation in Philadelphia where there is a star between the pipes in Hart, and a successful backup in the KHL in Ivan Fedotov. Trotz could view Fedotov on the same lines of Ilya Sorokin, so goaltending should be shored up in Philadelphia for years to come (Hopefully), but that is attractive when trying to jump start a team.
It will be tough trying to lure Trotz to Philly, especially when Trotz is from Manitoba, as well. However, the Flyers still stand a good shot, as they are only the second team to receive an interview for his services. Obviously, there is some interest on his behalf or he would have turned it down.
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