The State of the Flyers at the holiday break

Date Published: 12-28-2022

Photo Credit: Rob Windfelder

Fans now have a much clearer picture of what the Flyers are, and Chuck Fletcher was RIGHT when he said they would be “harder to play against” this season. They are definitely a harder team to play against this season. They added a tough guy in Nicolas Deslauriers who is a solid skater, a hard-nosed offensive defensemen in Tony DeAngelo, and a coach who has instilled work ethic and passion back into the Flyers game. However, those were the only moves the Flyers made this past offseason. They did not bolster their offense, added no skill, and did not add a single player who can score goals. Instead, they are a top 20 team at best with multiple significant players out for the season (Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson, Ryan Ellis). Has there been more fight to their game? Absolutely. Has this team had a stronger work ethic than in years past? Absolutely, and John Tortorella has made sure of that. But where does that leave this team? Unfortunately, bottom feeders once again in the Eastern Conference.

Now that’s about all the credit Fletcher will get in this piece, as it has been another dreadful season in terms of injuries. First Sean Couturier, then Cam Atkinson was hopeful for the home opener to out for the season. In addition, Ryan Ellis is out the year again, to Bobby Brink being hurt. The bleeding didn’t stop there as Scott Laughton, Wade Allison, and James van Riemsdyk have all missed time due to injuries. For lord’s sake when will it stop? I do believe Danny Briere will take over the helm maybe after the first of the year as Flyers’ General Manager, and Fletcher will solely maintain the title of President of the Flyers. A position of course he already holds, so it would not be a promotion.

Fletcher’s first mistake this past offseason was not shoring up the Center position after the orange and black found out that Couturier suffered a setback in the Summer. At the very least Fletcher could have signed Dylan Strome as a 2C/3C and he only costs $3.5 million. Yes, contrary to some belief, the Flyers had the cap space to do such as they could have went over the salary cap by ten percent, and with Ryan Ellis being placed on LTIR (Long-Term-Injured-Reserve) the day the season began.

The current State of the Flyers is very underwhelming. There is very little going for them as an organization right now, and a rift happened with a player who was supposed to be a vocal leader on and off the ice in Kevin Hayes. However, despite what you might be reading or viewing, they are not a bottom three team in this league. They may have missed out on numerous opportunities, mainly finishing games, but that doesn’t take away from the type of players they still have on this roster. I think what many Flyers fans are really trying to say through their harsh criticism and irrational takes is that they are disappointed with Flyers management. There have been numerous signings and trades by other teams, to which the Flyers should have made, most notably a player that wanted to play in Philadelphia with Johnny Gaudreau. How many times has a person heard Tortorella say this season “We need more goal scoring”. There is plenty to be disappointed about, and it is hard to have any optimism as a Flyers fan right now.

The Flyers finished 29th in the league last season without most notably Ryan Ellis, Sean Couturier, and Kevin Hayes. They have a small veteran presence mixed in with up and coming young players this season. They added the exact coach this organization and players needed in John Tortorella. They have a lot of young players/prospects who have entered the lineup and made the most out of an opportunity that was given to them (Cam York). DeAngelo has been a solid addition, especially with the way he shoots and cycles the puck with the man advantage, but I do believe they will finish somewhere between 17th and 22nd in the league this year. Is that something to be proud of? Absolutely not!!! The mediocrity of this team has gone on long enough, and most fans are rightfully fed up.

The most frustrating part about the Flyers right now is that they are going to win just enough games to make fans want to watch, but not lose enough to be completely embarrassing like last season. Some nights they are going to look promising, but as soon as fans get sucked back in they will lose again. Hence, the ten game losing streak after starting the season out strong. Even if Ryan Ellis, Sean Couturier, and Cam Atkinson were all healthy and played this season they were a playoff bubble team to begin with. The good thing is that it appears the team has come together in the locker room and comes out every night competing. Most of the Flyers problems stem from them not being able to score goals. They don’t have the reliable goal scorers or the talent that playoff teams have, nor the skill. The Flyers are just not built like a successful team, and it’s ashame for a fanbase that was promised a “Blank Check” to ensure the Flyers were going to become relevant again.

So what do Flyers fans have to look forward to? There isn’t much truthfully, with the exception of seeing the younger players grow and develop. Younger players like York, Morgan Frost, Owen Tippett, Felix Sandström, and Carter Hart who has played well. Seeing how the team responds to John Tortorella is exciting, but it’s also neat to witness how the younger players mature under him. There are lots of opportunities for the younger players to prove themselves the rest of the way. Fortunately, there is no pressure to succeed and having the youth excel would be a success in most of the fans’ eyes. There isn’t much to bear with the rest of the season, but the future is still something to be optimistic about. Cutter Gauthier could be here next season, possibly even as early as March,. Maybe fans might also see Elliot Desnoyers and Tyson Foerster at some point. It’s time to move on from the majority of the Veterans and let the youth shine.

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To recap, are the Flyers harder to play against in the 2022-23? Yes. They may work harder, but they also may score the least amount of goals in the entire league and that is not going to win many games the rest of the way. This could actually be a good thing in hindsight, considering there are possibly three generational talents within the first three picks this coming draft.