Date Published: 12-1-2022
Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Free Agency came and went for the Flyers. They added Nic Deslauriers and Justin Braun, while Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher added Tony DeAngelo at the draft.
Unfortunately, that’s not what was promised to Flyers fans, they were promised an “Aggressive Retool”. Fans felt let down, and are still livid with the front office of the Flyers. They have a right to be, I mean the Flyers haven’t chosen a clear direction the team is headed. For instance, Fletcher re-signed Rasmus Ristolainen, traded Claude Giroux, bought out Oskar Lindblom, and added Owen Tippett, Tony DeAngelo, Nic Deslauriers, and Justin Braun, while striking out on Johnny Gaudreau and Alex Debrincat. The Flyers top brass just didn’t strike out on Gaudreau, they were never in on him to begin with, “We weren’t in,” according to Fletcher on Gaudreau. “We were in on the players that we signed.”
There was a player that could have been had, one whom practically was trying to choose Philadelphia. Unfortunately, Fletcher didn’t even talk to his agent. Moreover, Debrincat could have been had for draft picks, and Fletcher didn’t want to move the fifth overall pick to do such. However, in a few press conferences prior to the start of the draft he stated that the Flyers would like to add high-end talent, and they would be part of an “Aggressive Retool”. So much for that now, Flyers fans deserve to be livid. Losing out on Gaudreau marks the second time this offseason the Flyers struck out on high-end talent. On the surface it appears the Flyers front office does not want to improve this team, what was the point of buying out a fan favorite in Oskar Lindblom for a fourth liner in Deslauriers? Deslauriers’s hockey style might resonate with some Flyers fans, but the thoughts of landing a hometown hero from Salem County, NJ might supercede Deslauriers’s playing style.
The disconnect between the Flyers front office and Flyers fans was the verbiage that was promised before the offseason began, words by Dave Scott and Fletcher “Aggressive Retool”. Scott even threw the words “Blank check” out there during a presser earlier in the year. If the front office told Flyers fans they were enduring a rebuild and it would take two-three years to get back on course, then this lack of success in an offseason would be an easier pill to swallow. Instead the front office shipped two very popular players in Giroux and Lindblom away for peanuts practically. This is not a shot at Tippett or other players, but there was supposed to be a bigger picture. It was even promised upon by the front office. Unfortunately, it fell flat this offseason with striking out on two star players in Debrincat and Gaudreau.
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All of this came to a head today as John Tortorella preached patience, “This team needs to be built from the footers, foundation. I love the opportunity we have here to build something from the ground up. If someone disagrees here I will argue. This is the best way,” said John Tortorella
“This is not a one year rebuild, takes time. I know it’s not what some want to hear.” – John Tortorella
There appears to be a disconnect between the Flyers front office and Tortorella. The Flyers front office said the Flyers were undergoing an “Aggressive Retool”, evidently they are undergoing a rebuild per Torts.
There is no easy way to cure this. Fletcher insists this team will be tougher to play against, unfortunately fans have a hard time seeing this through his goggles. Flyers fans are smart, they don’t forget the words “Blank check” and “Aggressive Retool”. In closing, Fletcher and the front office have a lot of work to do to repair the relationship they have between the fans and them. They have to restore trust, and I’m not so sure this is possible at this point it looks bleak.
These verbiages from the Flyers front office are one main reason Flyers fans feel alienated from the team. Tortorella shouldn’t have to explain this, he’s got a team to coach, in the end this should have come from Chuck Fletcher the Flyers General Manager/President.
