The Flyers Need To Focus On The Future To Find Success

Photo Courtesy of Brad Rempel, USA Today Sports

With 7 games left in the regular season and the Flyers suffering even more injuries last week the time to focus on the future is now. Going into the final 8 games of the season the team will have a large amount of younger players and rookies in the lineup. Figuring out what these young players can contribute moving forward should be the main goal.

Even though it’s only a 7 game sample size it should be enough for management to decide on the likelihood of certain players being in the mix to make the Flyers next season. Or even act as an indicator into what parts of the roster need added depth (signed or traded for). An example in this case would be the center ice position. 

In recent weeks, the Flyers tried Joel Farabee at center and gave Morgan Frost an extended look at the position as well. These are all things that make sense for the Flyers to do, especially concerning their most crucial positional need at the moment. Understanding if they have any internal options that can fill the center position and do so adequately while being a positive on the ice is important. Without moving a large contract this off-season, the Flyers are only projecting to have a few million dollars in cap space. 

It’s likely Chuck Fletcher and his staff will be attempting to clear salary in order to possibly add a center through the free agent market this upcoming off-season. Though that is not a guarantee to happen.  Due to this, understanding what their current players on the roster can do at the center position and if they may possibly be able to fill a huge need for the Flyers going into next season is a smart move. Obviously, Morgan Frost or Joel Farabee proving they can handle such duties does not exactly cement the position going forward. As they likely need a 1st line center with high upside to be added to the organization at some point. However, knowing there are internal options helps and doesn’t necessarily back the team into the corner of having to sign a free agent center or trade for one during the off-season. 

Realistically, with a top 5 pick in this upcoming NHL Entry Draft likely cemented at the moment. The Flyers will have the opportunity to select a high end center with top line potential in either Shane Wright, Logan Cooley or Matthew Savoie. So that should certainly help the organizational center depth. In terms of the future and the plan this off-season the team should be looking to sign one high end player. Additionally, they should not lean into filling the roster out with veterans as they did during the prior free agency period.

There is an abundance of young talent within the Flyers prospect pool and they should be afforded the opportunity to play and develop their skills in an environment without a ton of pressure. When dissecting the team’s ability to compete next season the Flyers shouldn’t feel an immediate need to get back into the playoff mix right away. If it happens organically due to younger players improving and stepping up then so be it. However, the team should not be actively pursuing trades and signings that do not make sense for the future and in turn block their own prospects’ opportunity to develop. Instead they should be evaluating their young talent and fostering their development through next season, into one of the most highly touted drafts in comparison to the past decade. From that point after selecting another young high end prospect in the 2023 draft the team should then be more open to adding through free agency and trades. 

Bouncing back into playoff contention after two of the worst seasons in franchise history is typically not something that occurs very often. So the chances the Flyers would be able to dramatically retool their roster to the point of Stanley Cup contention in just one off-season is very slim. To that point this is why the team needs to take a more calculated and strategic approach to becoming a competitive team once again. 

Overall, it’s a smarter approach not to force huge trades and free agent signings for the sake of doing so. Usually, moves of such ilk put a team into a bad cap position in the future. In the Flyers situation this would only add to their cap woes and hamstring their flexibility down the line to sign players and make trades once they’re more competitive. Along with this, it could impact their ability to re-sign their own players and prospects. As a result, it’s clear the Flyers should take the direction of focusing on the future and the development of their younger players before immediately looking to add to the roster and retool through the signings of free agent veterans. Also, trading young players for veterans to compete now would not align with a viewpoint that would keep the team competitive for a longer period of time versus trying to win within the next one to two years. 

We’ll see what route the organization ultimately takes in terms of if they attempt to aggressively retool or decide to be more patient in their approach to reshape the roster. In my belief, being patient and further evaluating the talent they have within the organization is a good place to start. Accurately understanding where they need to add to the roster and what types of players they should bring in would be the better way to proceed. In regards to changing the Philadelphia Flyers roster for the better in the years to come.