As many hockey fans know, it’s been a rough few years for the Philadelphia Flyers. After finishing second place in the Metropolitan Division during the 2019-20 season, its been a steady decline in success. Philadelphia finished sixth in the COVID-modified East Division in the 2021 season and is currently sitting seventh with 51 games played in the 2021-22 season. After multiple 10+ game losing streaks and firing a head coach, the Flyers are quite the laughing stock of the NHL these days. The solution that I believe is best is a rebuild. Our team is already young, why not embrace it and build off of it? Although it will take a few seasons, it seems to be necessary after the last few years.
Before I start with the rebuild, it won’t hurt to mention a few issues from the last 2 years. First, our defensive lines have done anything but defending the blue line. Losing Matt Niskanen meant all of our defenseman had to play up a spot, leaving the 2021 season without a real 1A defenseman at all. Ivan Provorov clearly proved that he doesn’t have that spot, and that he’s best off as a 1B next to a strong defenseman. Although Ryan Ellis was supposed to be that 1A, injuries have prevented that from happening. This brings me to my second problems, injuries. As of 2/22/22, the Flyers have 7 players on injured reserve; Joel Farabee, Sean Couturier and Ryan Ellis are just a few of these names. Joel Farabee is our main young talent, with 18 points in 33 games. Sean Couturier is an incredibly strong 2-way player, and a reliable goal scorer and Ryan Ellis was our main off-season move who was supposed to be the head of the Flyers’ defense. Along with Kevin Hayes, Wade Allison and a few other off-season moves, the long injured reserve certainly hasn’t helped the team. The final issue is the coaching and management staff. Clearly Alain Vigneault wasn’t working in Philadelphia, but Mike Yeo isn’t the solution; not much more to say there. As far as management goes, were still recovering from the Hextall days. He ignored scouts and mishandled our young team, causing long-term damage to the future of the team; and even though I’m not a fan of Chuck Fletcher, he’s in an incredibly difficult spot as far as the team he has to put together. All of this brings us to the current state of the 2021-22 season.
As we stand now with multiple 10+ game losing streaks, the most beneficial thing the Philadelphia Flyers can do with this season is tank for Shane Wright, the projected 1st overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year-old Canadian native Center shows extreme potential if the Flyers would be lucky enough to land a first overall pick spot. Not only should Philadelphia aim for Wright, there are many players on the roster that could be traded for other high draft picks or prospects. The only players I would keep are Joel Farabee, Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson, Wade Allison, Ivan Provorov and Carter Hart. Farabee and Allison are the type of young, talented players Philadelphia needs more of, while Couturier and Atkinson are the type of veterans we need to teach these young players. Provorov can be a strong defenseman as a part of the right pair, and Hart is the strongest goaltender the Flyers have seen in a long time. Besides this, everyone else can pack up.
This offseason will surely be a busy one for the Philadelphia Flyers. Ive already mentioned who I want to keep, now it’s time for who gets to go. Oskar Lindblom, Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton are all players that could at least get us draft picks or prospects in return. Nick Seeler, Sam Morin and Travis Sanheim might not get us strong prospects, but we could receive some draft picks at the very least. Yet the main trade bait for this offseason will inevitably be Claude Giroux. Although he’s a Philadelphia guy in and out and lots of Flyers fans would like to see him retire in Philly, trading him could get us some strong, young talent that we might not get otherwise. Even though Giroux is certainly past his prime, he’s clearly a great locker room guy who continues to put up points. After his All-Star performance, I’m sure many teams have seen the talent he has when paired with other talented players. We might not want to see him leave, but in the long run its probably in the teams best interest.
If the rebuild is going to happen at all, the team needs to be patient with its young foundation. It will be a few years of development, but in the end its worth it and clearly needed after the last 2 years. After all, the main goal of any NHL team is to win the Stanley Cup, not just a few games; and this won’t happen with our current setup. So here’s to embracing our young future.
Philly's Next Shift 