This is a very popular argument on social media. I’m sure I’ll get some grief for even bringing the topic up. There’s always a strong contingent out there pushing for the tank in an attempt to get the best possible draft positioning. They’re hearts are in the right place. They want the team to have their best shot at a future without further mediocrity. In the end every Flyers Fan wants the same thing, a winning team.
The Tank
The fact of the matter is tanking is an unrealistic armchair argument. Eventually it should become apparent that this organization has no intentions of following along with this never ending suggestion. Even after this latest shake-up tanking is obviously still not part of the plan of action.
The Flyers have won five of their last six games since parting ways with head coach John Tortorella. If there was ever a time to jump into the deep end it would have been on March 26th when they were already waist deep into the battle for the basement. If they didn’t take the tank-bait at that moment in time, they ain’t takin’ it.
What’s the point at this point?
Hockey is a team sport for sure but in a situation such as this there’s also a bit of “every man for himself” at play. The Flyers have been trimming this roster for three years now, paying off debts, creating cap space. Management is always “open to listening to offers”. There has not been a whole lot of job security around here lately. The guys on this team are playing for their futures. They’re playing for their next contract. They are playing for their chance to stick at the NHL level.
Coaching
The Flyers were never going to tank with John Tortorella behind the bench. It’s just not how he is wired. He headed this ship during what we hope were the darkest of days and he demanded full potential from every single player. He hated losing and pulled together what he had to work with night after night to remain competitive. This past March was enough to make you think twice about that but Torts was never going to intentionally lay down.
So assistant coach Brad Shaw takes over the helm and as it turns out he would love to keep this job. He’s putting his best foot forward and making a pretty strong argument for remaining in that position behind the bench. He’s 5-1-0 and the Flyers have scored 29 goals over the course of those six games. Why would he even consider taking his foot off the gas?
Living the dream
The life long dedication that goes into even having a shot at making it to the NHL is more that most people can even imagine. There are some incredibly skilled players who have put in all the time and effort that won’t even make it out of Development Camp.
Things have changed over the years, so much is expected from kids starting at such a young age now. Those of you with young people in your families playing ice hockey know how intense the schedule and demands can be. It’s not for everyone. At the local rinks sometimes you see little kids with private coaches pushing them so hard you can’t help but wonder if the kid is even having any fun playing the sport.
It’s easy to look at a twenty year old athlete and think, well they’re just getting started. No they’ve been getting up at five counting calories, working out and spending all their time at the rink or on the road since they were in grade school. And only a very small percentage of them are ever going to get a shot a playing professionally let alone in the NHL. You gotta do all the hard work, be something special to stay a cut above, and get all the right breaks.
So imagine you go through all of that to earn a spot on a team like the Flyers who are about to make even more changes during the off-season and draft even more hungry players who would love to take your job. Imagine how little it means for a player in that situation to see someone on social media saying they should possibly let the culmination of their life’s work go down the drain for a draft position. Especially when your team still stands a chance of getting screwed over by a ping-pong ball.
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If this is the best we can come up with for why not to tank then it’s time to embrace the PWHL method of assigning draft position. Otherwise you just ignore clear incentives and ultimately an employer/employee relationship everyone will acknowledge in almost all situations except this one.
No one expects players and coaches to tank. We expect management to bring up young players to lose but get experience. The argument that we can evaluate the talent is nuts. We have been doing that all season. If you haven’t been paying attention, Ill spell it out for you. You got three back up goaltenders, one defensman that could be part of the second pair or paired with a better player perhaps a first pair. Your forwards have one first line talent, one second line guy and many good third and fourth line guys. You have 25 million in cap space and 7 picks in the first 60 picks. The 76ers figured it out but unfortunately Briere and Jones have been a little dumb concerning tanking. One more year of this and we will be starting over with ALL management positions. Hoping they draft well after shooting themselves in the foot.