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It’s been a long season for the Flyers and their fans. As the middle of January rolls around the Flyers sit in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division with a record a 13-16-7. A team that two years ago was one game away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals now finds themselves near the bottom of the division 36 games into the 2021-22 season.
It’s undoubtedly a tough pill to swallow. Just when you thought they were becoming a threat in the Eastern Conference back in 2019-20, they’ve somehow managed to erase that not even two seasons later. That’s left many fans scratching their heads and wondering as to where the Flyers go from here.
So what exactly is the direction that Flyers are headed in and how do the fans feel about it?
Earlier this week I posted a tweet asking Flyers fans to give me their thoughts on the direction the team was headed in and to send any Flyers related questions my way. By the looks of the responses and the questions that were posed, fans are fed up.
While there’s more negatives than positives to talk about right now when it comes to the Flyers, I chose to try and be brutally honest with you guys while at the same time trying to put a positive spin on things. Let’s dive in, shall we?
I couldn’t agree with you more. After taking a giant leap forward a few seasons ago they’ve somehow managed to go backwards. It’s definitely one of those things that makes you scratch your head.
The Flyers fell one game short of the Eastern Conference Final two summers ago in the bubble in Toronto. The next season they finished 25-23-8 and missed the playoffs completely. Okay, so we move onto next season.
Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher was plenty busy over the course of the offseason. He acquired defenseman Ryan Ellis from the Nashville Predators, Rasmsus Ristolainen from the Buffalo Sabres, and forward Cam Atkinson from the Columbus Blue Jackets to name a few. Fletcher was looking to improve this team the best he could with the limited cap space he had available and I truly believe that he did his part in trying to make this team better.
Now you’d automatically think that the Flyers would be a better team. I know that I did. It turns out we were wrong.
Things just haven’t gone the Flyers way. They’ve really been fighting themselves all season long. Whether it be that they’re not able to stay healthy or that they just have players that have regressed after taking steps forward a season or two ago, it’s been a complete mess.
Having Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Spectator Dave Scott at the helm of things certainly won’t do the Flyers any good either. When former Flyers founder and owner Ed Snider died from bladder cancer back in 2016, a a part of the organization died with him. I truly believe that.
Hockey is a business but it wasn’t just about the money for him. He cared about the organization and every single player that ever played for him. The Flyers were a family back then.
With Dave Scott now at the helm, I get the complete opposite feeling. It no longer feels like this organization is a family. It feels like it’s all about the money.
It sure doesn’t look like Scott is going anywhere anytime soon either. I sure don’t like the idea of him at the forefront of this organization. As long as Scott and the Comcast Corporation own this team, we’ll always have something to worry about.
It hasn’t all been bad though. There’s a dim light at the end of the tunnel.
For the most part, Fletcher’s offseason acquisitions have played up to par. Cam Atkinson leads the Flyers in goals (15) while Rasmus Ristolainen has been able to play the physical game he’s accustomed to while also being responsible defensively. Backup goaltender Martin Jones has been good for the most part as well when called upon despite a few bad games here and there.
The newcomers have held their own. That’s the sliver of light at the end of the tunnel for the Flyers right now. That’s the best I can do for you.
It’s definitely tough to watch the Flyers toggle back and forth each year. One year they make the playoffs and the next they don’t. It’s like a never ending cycle.
By no means is this an excuse, but the Flyers haven’t been fully healthy almost all year. Ryan Ellis, the Flyers prized offseason acquisition, has played a total of four out of a possible 36 games so far this season. Just having someone like him to stabilize the defense might go a long way.
Their top two centers in Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes have been banged up all year. They’re relied on to produce offensively and because of those nagging injuries, they’ve either been playing at less than one-hundred percent or not playing at all.
This team has a lot of problems but they sure haven’t been handed any favors this season either.
As to my theory as to what happened to the Flyers of two summers ago, I believe that a lot of guys have taken steps back after taking steps forward during the 2019-20 season. Here’s a few examples.
During the 2019-20 season, Travis Konecny was producing offensively. Over the course off 66 regular season games, the pesky forward scored 24 goals and finished the season with 61 points. Through 34 games this season, Konecny has only five goals and hasn’t scored a goal in his last 19 games.
Sean Couturier won the Selke Trophy a few seasons ago. Back in 2019-20, Couturier potted 22 goals and finished with a total of 59 points over the course of 69 games. Through 29 games this season, the 29-year-old forward has registered only 17 points and is currently out with an upper-body injury.
On the defensive side of things, Ivan Provorov was at his best when he was paired with former defenseman Matt Niskanen. Unfortunately Niskanen decided to hang up his skates following the 2019-20 season. Since then, Provorov has been turning the puck over much more than usual, getting caught flat footed and being out of position defensively more than were used to seeing.
I believe that the regression of these players, along with the likes of players such as Kevin Hayes and Oskar Lindblom, is the biggest thing that’s went wrong for this Flyers team this year.
What’s there to be positive about? The Flyers are getting solid performances out of their young players such as goaltender Carter Hart, forward Joel Farabee, and defenseman Cam York. All three of these guys are expected to be with the Flyers organization for a long time so to them continuing to develop and have success is very important.
I talked about the ownership of the Flyers earlier. I strongly believe that when Ed Snider died, a part of the the Flyers died with him. You should most definitely be concerned with the direction of this team so long as Dave Scott and the Comcast Corperation is behind this operation.
You’re spot on in regards to the Flyers identity. They simply don’t have one.
If I were to say that the the Flyers are a big-bodied team that relies on structure and speed, I’d be lying to your face. They lack all three of those things. The Flyers identity has been in question for years and it doesn’t look like that question is going to disappear anytime soon.
If the Flyers were to tear it all down, I would hope that they would start by trying to build a team that had some sort of identity. I’d like them to go in the direction of building an identity that relies heavily on speed and physicality. With the NHL getting faster and faster every year, it’s important that the Flyers pursue the need for speed whether that be through retooling or rebuilding.
The Flyers may very well look like a very different team come next season. Below is a list of the players that are set to be unrestricted free agents following the 2021-22 season.
Forwards:
- Claude Giroux
- Derick Brassard
- Nate Thompson
- Gerry Mayhew
Defensemen:
- Rasmus Ristolainen
- Justin Braun
- Keith Yandle
- Kevin Connauton
- Nick Seeler
Goaltenders:
- Martin Jones
There’s no telling what the Flyers will do at the trade deadline either. With the position that they’re in right now, there’s a good chance that they choose to sell at the deadline and shift their focus towards the 2022-23 season.
When the Flyers figure out whether they’re going to rebuild or retool, we’ll hopefully get a better idea of the kind of identity that they’re trying to build.
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You can’t say Fletcher did a good job over the summer when he obviously overspent for a defenseman (Ellis) who was damaged goods when he got here not too mention on the plus side of 30 with long term left on his contract. After 30 injuries take much longer to heal, or never heal. Ristolainen came at the expense of a #1 pick and if he walks at the end of the year what did that accomplish. On the other side if Fletcher signs him to a ridiculous long term contract it keeps the Flyers in the quicksand trap Fletcher has put us in by signing someone like a 4th line center on a good team (Laughton) to a 5 year 3 million a year contract, when they could have traded him at the deadline last year for a decent pick. Players like Laughton are a dime a dozen. And if I hear one more time how Provorov misses Niskanen I’m going to puke. Has Provy ever been an All star? Has he even been mentioned in those terms? The Flyers need a GM that is going to blow it up and rebuild with the cap in mind. The Flyers fall in love with players and then sign them to long term contracts , overpaying in the process. Coots and Hayes are another example of 2nd or 3rd line center who have to play more minutes because we have no one better. The question is how do you get a superstar forward for this team? Do you overpay in free agency or luck out with a high draft pick. It will take a while but I have been waiting 45 years to see if they can win another cup and without blowing it up I will be waiting the rest of my life with no cup.
On a side note, why did the NHL go with ESPN for hockey coverage? I pay $300.00 a month for cable from Comcast and I refuse to pay another $6.95 a month for 4 games to be on ESPN+.
This is not a way to build a fan base. It is just 4 games a year fans like myself will not watch the Flyers.
As far as Ellis he’s a huge disappointment but he wasn’t overpaid for. Fletcher gave up 2 nothing’s for him in Patrick and Myers.
But he has a long contract taking up a lot of cap space and he’s broken down.
Give him away for future considerations if you can even do that at this point.
This team needs to have a bigger furesale and rebuild than either the Coyotes or Canadiens will.
These great draft class we heard about since 2013 produced very little.Theyoung blew a #2 pick twice and even worse have been the personal decisions from 2011 onwards.