Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Well Friends, we’re into the dog days of Summer and the puck is still months away from dropping. For hockey fans Summertime is a breeding ground for speculation, rumors, and anticipation. We’re all waiting to see which predictions may still hold weight when the rubber hits the ice once again. For the pragmatist all of this speculation and future planning is just talk and conjecture until it plays out in real time. Unfortunately experience has shown us that even the best laid plans can unexpectedly go off the rails. You need to look no further than Nolan Patrick or Ivan Fedotov to prove the point that absolutely anything is always possible. Or impossible. Trades, picks, and plans are awesome and necessary but in the end they come with all the certainty of spending your lunch money on a scratch-off ticket. So in the spirit of the season here are some “guaranteed” predictions for the Flyers near future.
The era of disconnect is over
As soon as John Tortorella accepted the head coaching job here in Philly he spoke of building a team with “an identity that reflects the City of Philadelphia”. “We need to play to the city and the personality of the city”. One year later we have an entire front office that better reflects the city it represents. Now here’s the funny part. How do you represent a city that has so many different opinions? You can take two Flyers Fans, lock them in a room together, and after a while it will be hard to figure out if they’re even talking about the same team. You know it’s true! Opinions are varied and strong in this town. So how do you build an organization that represents so many different viewpoints?
The Flyers have made bold moves at the top end of the organization and all of them appear to be what Flyers Fans have been hoping for. It started with the addition of Tortorella and continued in that direction with making Danny Briere GM, Keith Jones President, and Dan Hilferty Governor. They’ve also brought in hockey guys like John LeClair and Patrick Sharp to round out “the new era”. All of these moves are directed at the one thing that all Flyers Fans all have in common. A passionate love for the sport. This is the common denominator. Opinions and approaches may vary but that bold passion has got to be there. No one can argue that this current leadership group does not love the sport of ice hockey. They live it. There will be some bad calls, and missteps along the way for sure. Stuff happens. But that cold business-like disconnect that lost touch with the fans and found comfort in mediocrity is gone.
No one’s job is safe
Aside from management a lot of changes have already been made with the on ice personnel as well. A huge part of the veteran core is gone. JVR, Kevin Hayes, Ivan Provorov, Tony DeAngelo, and Justin Braun have already moved on. Even with those vacancies spots on the Flyers roster are going to be hard-fought. You would have to think if those players and possibly more are considered expendable then no one is guaranteed a slot. Why get sentimental now over players still looking to prove themselves when seasoned veterans are flying out the door? Every single player looking for a spot in the line-up on opening night is going to have to work their tail off to earn it.
The exception here is a consolation prize for Flyers Fans who would like to see something of a veteran presence on the team this season. Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson are most likely not going anywhere before they prove to be fully recovered from the major injuries that have kept them both out of the line-up for quite some time. Their current value is a question mark both for the Flyers and any other team who would be looking at them.
The team will be younger
During this stage of the rebuild the goal is a younger, faster, less expensive team. The focus is on drafting and developing young players. Acquiring more picks and keeping cap space in check for the future. The very nature of this process will make the Flyers a younger team overall. Veterans are not being asked to hang around for the rebuild. All of these things add up to veterans moving on and young guys moving in.
Some are questioning the wisdom of the Flyers recently signing free agents during this off season. Some fans are concerned that they will be taking up spots that could be filled by the younger players who are already part of the organization. Yes the league is getting younger and faster, but not every young fast hockey player is ready for the NHL. The Flyers are making sure that they have enough NHL quality players available to put a team on the ice this coming Fall. Signing free agents allows them to pick up some short term contracts at a more affordable price. These are not long term commitments.
Fun Fact: Even with the league getting younger experience should not be under valued. The starting line-ups of the two teams competing in the Stanley Cup Final this past season combined for a total of 113 NHL seasons between them. That’s an average of 9.41 seasons per player. Just throwing that out there.
Changes in presentation
Aside from all the personnel changes on and off the ice both the TV and radio broadcasts will also be very different this coming season. Two voices that have become a very big part of our shared experience as Flyers Fans will no longer be part of the broadcasts. Keith Jones has become the president of hockey operations and Steve Coates has moved on to his well earned retirement. On top of that the Flyers recently unveiled their new home and away uniforms. Every aspect of how the team presents itself will have changed in someway over the Summer break and may take a little getting used to when Fall finally arrives.
The future is unwritten
Professional ice hockey is a very unpredictable sport and for the Flyers more so now than ever. It’s easy to say this is going to be a challenging time for the organization and they will not be dangerously competitive for a while. But that is not how it works. That’s not how any of this works. There is no “pause” button and nothing about a rebuild can be considered a break or a waiting period. If you’re a fair weather fan who only follows your hometown teams when they are deep into the playoffs then you may have some time-off for a bit. But for the Flyers this is the time for them to work harder than ever.
I don’t believe anyone can tell you just how long this is going to take. There are so many moving parts and variables involved. Teams don’t rebuild by themselves just because a certain amount of time has passed. This is going to take a ton of hard work and dedication. Again, young players don’t just magically blossom into NHL caliber talent based on the calendar. It is going to be very interesting to see who can step up and take advantage of this golden opportunity. The future is wide open.
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