What a year, and off-season Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers had this past season. Gone are the Scott Gordon’s (Interim Head Coach reassigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms) Jori Lehtera’s, Andrew MacDonald’s, Cam Talbot’s, Radko Gudas’s, Ryan Hartman’s, Christian Folin’s, and Michal Neuvirth’s.
Fletcher had a busy off-season to say the least. It appeared he never put down his phone, unless he was sleeping. Fletcher was tasked with making the locker room vibrant again, and make it less toxic, as well as, hiring the right Coach to right the ship. How did he do this? Well, he signed the most important person this past off-season in Head Coach Alain Vigneault. Fletcher and Vigneault also brought in two experienced Assistant Coaches in Michel Therrien, and Mike Yeo.
Vigneault said he was inspired by how young the Flyers were, and he was determined to win the Stanley Cup. This team is night and day from last season, and Vigneault has done a tremendous job with this group (The best part is his personality). Together they hired Mike Yeo to coach the Penalty Kill and Defense, and Michel Therrien to coach the Forwards and the Power Play. Yeo has done a phenomenal job with the once bottom feeder PK, as it sat in 11th in the NHL with a success rate of 81.8% before the pause, and teams are just 1-10 against the Flyers Penalty Killing Unit. The overall team Defense has also been good for the most part with the Ivan Provorov-Matt Niskanen pairing eating valuable minutes, and the Travis Sanheim-Myers pairing really growing and becoming a FORCE. Moreover, the Robert Hagg-Justin Braun has been rock solid, with Braun becoming a key part to the Penalty Kill.
Therrien also gets credit for allowing the lowest shots in the league, as the Forwards have bought in to a Defensive first system. Jakub Voracek is a solid Defensive Forward, and he looked very different than in years past. Therrien is struggling to find a groove with his personnel at the moment with the man advantage, as the Flyers have yet to cash in on a Power Play in the playoffs going 0-11 for the Round Robin Tournament. Overall, Therrien grew as the season wore on before the pause, and really had the PP Units clicking on all cylinders. They are just having a hard time finding that groove again, but hopefully it comes sooner rather than later.
The second most important signing was a heavily criticized one in Kevin Hayes (Hollywood). Hayes was criticized because of the term and money surrounding his contract (7yrs-$7.14 million per), and Hayes not being able to fulfill his contract in the end.
What has become known now is that without the addition of Hayes, this young Flyers team would be in some trouble minus Nolan Patrick all season. Hayes has had a calming effect on the youth off the ice, and is always a threat in scoring while being short-handed (Four short-handed goals on the year). He has earned his contract this season for sure.
Fletcher also made some trades. Justin Braun, and Matt Niskanen were both moved from their respective clubs for salary cap moves. Niskanen has been phenomenal while being paired with Ivan Provorov. Provorov stated to me in February, “Nisky has been great, we have a great relationship,” while Niskanen says, “Provorov is great, and good it makes me look good.” Braun has been fantastic since being paired with Robert Hagg, and Braun has done a phenomenal job on the PK (As mentioned above). He is always in the right position, as well as, displaying an active stick. Simply put, these two additions of Niskanen and Braun have paid off big time, especially during this playoff push.
Fletcher did not panic, or make a pressure move with how teams throughout the Metropolitan Division were plucking high end players from multiple teams at the trade deadline. For instance, the Pittsburgh Penguins added Conor Sheary, Jason Zucker, and Patrick Marleau, while the New York Islanders added Jean-Gabriel Pageau. What Fletcher did was add depth in two Centers, who play a two-way game in Nate Thompson and Derek Grant. Fletcher did not want to mess with the overall makeup of the team, and possibly mess the chemistry the team has.
These two depth additions play a strong defensive game, can score big goals, play the PK and PP, but provide Cup experience to a young Flyers team that can use that guidance. Grant and Thompson provide depth that is needed in case Nolan Patrick does not return this season. These two big bodied Centers can play the Wing, as well, so that makes them versatile players in the end.
Who would have thought that Fletcher would be able to transform a Flyers team that was near the basement last season, into the best team in hockey and the Eastern Conference!!! A lot of pundits didn’t think the Flyers would be a playoff team, let alone the best team in hockey. Fletcher deserves the General Manager of the Year Award, as he has plugged gaping holes throughout the lineup this past off-season, added a new coaching staff, has this team overcoming adversity with losing Lindblom and Patrick this season, and finally has made this locker room vibrant and full of believers again. This is just the beginning Flyers fans.
