Photo Credit: Delcotimes
To put it nicely, this was a terrible season by the Flyers. So who will they draft next week with the 5th overall pick of the draft? This year Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher said the season took years off his life, so let the offseason begin. Here are the notes from Chuck Fletcher’s and Brent Flahr’s pre-draft press conference with the media today:
- Brent Flahr said the Flyers have a list of players they are targeting, especially with the 5th pick. He will continue to evaluate the situation as the draft nears.
- Chuck Fletcher says that Ryan Ellis is continuing to make progress, “Yes this last last month has been encouraging, but there’s still more work to do.” Sounds like he’s further ahead than he was at exit interviews.
- Fletcher will not predict whether Ryan Ellis will be ready for camp.
- Fletcher on trading the 5th pick: “If we are going to trade it, it needs to be for a player in a certain age group.”
- Fletcher did say that Joel Farabee’s injury happened two weeks ago while lifting. He did say that they will be cautious with his return, implying he will not be rushed.
- Ryan Ellis is still not skating.
- Fletcher says trading a top 5 pick is hard, especially when this player could plug a hole in your roster almost immediately. However, he did say teams are always calling to see if you are willing to trade it.
- Fletcher did say they haven’t ruled out Felix Sandström or Ivan Fedotov battling being a backup to Carter Hart this season. He said they make look at a trade or Free Agency, as well for this.
- Fletcher did say they’re beginning conversations with Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett, whom are two RFA’s for the Flyers. He is hoping to have them signed in the next few weeks.
- Fletcher said, “If we want to be aggressive in free agency, then we have to get creative.” He did say the Flyers are cap compliant.
- Fletcher said that Darryl Williams and Kim Dillabaugh will return as Assistants.
What happens next week is anyone’s guess, but I do believe the Flyers will make the selection at #5. In my opinion they will select David Jiříček. In the event the Flyers make a bold move, I believe they could select Jonathan Lekkerimäki. Lekkerimäki is a Swedish star, and is comparable to Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings.
Points 3 and 6 essentially make point 2 null and void, or at least inconsequential. If Ellis isn’t ready for camp, he needs to be coerced to retire or to be moved for what little the Flyers could get for him. Further, it speaks to Fletcher’s incompetence that he won’t (=can’t) predict whether Ellis will or will not be ready for camp. Indeed, the entire Ellis situation demonstrates Fletcher’s incompetence, lack of judgment and lack of due diligence.
Even considering how little the Flyers gave up to get Ellis, Fletcher was sold a bill of goods. Nashville took him big time, and for that, he needs to pay by losing his job–now. He cannot be trusted to handle either the draft or free agency with anything approaching competence. It’s not a matter of whether he’ll make a mistake (and likely a big one) in the draft; it’s a matter of time.
And he’s already admitted implicitly that the Flyers aren’t going to do much in the free agent market, given his “cap-compliant” comment. Thus, expect nothing more along those lines than another vanilla role player or two.