Photo Credit: Matt Rourke/The Associated Press
Flyers Miss The Playoffs
As the regular season has come to an end for the Philadelphia Flyers the team unfortunately was unable to secure a playoff berth.
Despite that, it was a positive season for Philadelphia. To be specific, the biggest stride the Flyers took compared to last season was their increased competitiveness on a nightly basis. They became a more difficult team to play this season and their record taking on top ten teams in the NHL proves just that. Philadelphia managed to defeat 13 top ten teams in the league which cements their ability to play on the same level as the upper echelon clubs.
With the Flyers being a fairly young team (average age of 26.9 this season, 7th youngest team in the NHL) there were still missteps this season in relation to consistency of their play. For example, even though they won 13 games taking on top ten teams in the NHL this season the Flyers also lost 13 games to bottom ten teams.
When assessing Philadelphia’s inability to secure a playoff spot, their consistency taking on some of the bottom ten teams in the NHL seems to have played a major factor. This can be something the Flyers try to learn from in how they prepare for these types of games.
Essentially, it comes down to treating the games taking on bottom tier teams in the NHL the exact same way they appear to raise their game when taking on top teams in the league. This will be an important lesson for the team to learn from so they can find more successes taking on bottom tier teams in the NHL next season.
Young Players Improved
Several of the team’s younger players such as Cam York, Samuel Ersson, Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, Bobby Brink and Egor Zamula all took significant strides this season. Due to the Flyers being in the midst of a rebuilding phase seeing their young players listed above continue to develop and get better is encouraging.
When you’re an inexperienced team as the Flyers are, taking steps forward from season to season can be dependent on how young players improve and develop. Their young players continued to get better as the past season went along. That bodes well for the potential of further improvement from the aforementioned players with another full summer of training.
One thing to note that exhibits how impactful some of their young players were this season is the Flyers rookie goal scoring statistics. Philadelphia led the NHL in rookie goal scoring with a total of 32 goals (courtesy of Stat Muse).
For an organization that is currently in a rebuilding phase that is a huge positive to take away heading into the off-season.
Flyers Are Focused On The Future
After a successful season for the Flyers in regards to the team’s rebuilding philosophy and exceeding initial expectations set for the club, it’s evident that the organization is focused on the future.
General Manager, Daniel Briere and Head Coach, John Tortorella both made clear statements during their end of season media availabilities that confirmed Philadelphia is still rebuilding and that a patient approach will be the strategy heading into the off-season.
Primarily, Briere stated,
“I’m still not quite there as far as saying that we’re a contender. I don’t believe we’re at the point where it’s time to let some young assets go to try to get better quicker. We’re not there yet. But there are certainly a lot of players that have brought some optimism as far as believing that we’re going in the right direction. So we have to be careful.”
In addition, Briere also mentioned,
“I know the expectation next year will be that, ‘Oh, we’ve got to get into the playoffs.’ I don’t even know that we’re there yet. It was a great year, but there’s still a long ways to go.”
John Tortorella relayed very similar sentiments to Briere, he said,
“We’re staying with the process or it turns into a team just spinning its wheels in the mud again.”
Tortorella also said,
“What we did at the deadline was right. This is where you get stuck in the mud. We are a ways away. We have so much work to do with this team. There are holes on the team, it’s going to take more time and I’m telling you that right now.”
In light of the thoughts brought forth by Briere and Tortorella throughout their end of year press conferences it’s apparent the Flyers focus is on rebuilding, drafting and developing their young players and assets. Although, this does not mean the Flyers won’t attempt to explore all avenues to get better as long as it stays true to the rebuild and their current roster building strategy.
Briere pointed out that the organization will be open for business this off-season. However, any significant trades that are made will need to align with the franchise’s rebuilding strategy, timeline and future outlook.
Specifically Briere said,
“We’re open for business. If there are hockey trades that make sense, we will do that. But we aren’t looking to move people for the sake of moving them.”
One interesting thing of note is an excerpt from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman’s latest 32 Thoughts column. In regards to the Flyers off-season strategy, Friedman highlighted that Cam Atkinson may no longer be a Flyer next season, another surprising name that could also be on the move is Joel Farabee.
When taking into consideration Friedman’s thoughts above and Briere’s openness to making hockey trades (as long as they align with the Flyers current strategy, timelines and age range of their young players) Joel Farabee possibly being on the move could make sense. The Flyers were linked to players such as Trevor Zegras and Jakob Chychrun around the trade deadline. If Farabee were used as the main piece of a package for either of those players it could be a beneficial trade for Philadelphia in order to fill certain positional needs on their roster.
Currently, the Flyers have an abundance of wingers both on their roster and in their prospect pipeline. Moving on from a winger in Farabee to add a top six center like Zegras or a top pairing defenseman such as Chychrun would diversify their talent pool.
If the Flyers do decide to move on from Farabee they need to be careful and ensure they receive sufficient value back for the 24-year-old. He produced at a first line rate in regards to five on five point production this season and if he’s moved that will need to be replaced.
Final Thoughts
This upcoming off-season should be a fascinating one for Philadelphia as they look towards the future. What’s most important is the Flyers front office has defined a comprehendible plan they are sticking with in their attempt to rebuild the Flyers to a perennial playoff team and contender.
Ultimately, past Flyers regimes (such as the Chuck Fletcher regime) did not have any coherent plan to bring the organization back to relevancy. The idea that Briere’s staff has an understandable strategy in place is refreshing. Briere and the management team’s next steps will be executing that plan efficiently.
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