The past couple of years have been rough for Philadelphia Flyers fans, and this year was the icing on the cake.
There were injuries running rampant through the team, they had no direction in the front office, and they over-performed to the point where it took them out of the running for the best hockey prospect we’ve seen since Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby.
Even though there was a lot of “bad” this past season, there was also some “good” and even some “weird.”
This is The Good, The Bad, and The Weird of the Flyers’ 2022-2023 season
Good: Chuck Fletcher’s tenure is over
Hallelujah!
Fletcher was fired after an abysmal tenure here. That’s all I need to say.
Bad: Everything revolving around Tony DeAngelo
Tony DeAngelo had himself quite a season here in Philadelphia. Bad on-ice play, spearing players and getting suspended for it, healthy scratched for an extended period of time at the end of the season, and fighting fans online. Many fans hated this trade when Fletcher made it at the draft, and Tony proved them right.
Weird: Rasmus Ristolainen scored a shorthanded goal
This was just funny because if you told any Flyers fan that Rasmus Ristolainen was going to have a shorthanded goal this season, they would’ve laughed in your face.
Good: Chuck Fletcher’s 1st round picks
If there was one thing that will save Chuck Fletcher from being the most hated general manager in Philadelphia sports history, it’s the development of his first round picks. He made three first round selections in the four drafts he was in charge of, and they all look to be at least reliable NHLers.
After a bad camp, Cam York worked hard and made his way up to the NHL, where he was a very good player. If he continues on this trajectory, he’ll be considered a top pair defenseman for this team for a long time.
In his quick tryout midseason with the team, Tyson Forester showed a spark and the skills he can bring to the Flyers in the future. I can definitely see him being a full-time NHLer next season.
Although Cutter Gauthier hasn’t signed his contract yet, he looks like he is going to be a future problem for the NHL. His freshman year at Boston College was great as he had 37 points in 32 games. He was absolutely lighting it up at Worlds for Team USA. He absolutely rifled the puck on net and is tied for third for the most goals by a U-20 player at this tournament in the past 30 years.
Here's the list of U20 players who have scored 7+ goals in the IIHF World Championships over the past 30 years
Cutter Gauthier (7, tourney still going) Patrik Laine (7) John Tavares (7) Steven Stamkos (7) Sidney Crosby (8) Eric Lindros (11)
Fletcher may have left the team in a bad spot, but he did draft a solid foundation for the new era.
Bad: Chuck Fletcher is retooling, Charlie
I’m counting this since it technically happened in the 2022-2023 league year.
In an offseason where the Flyers were at a crossroads with where they were, fans were split between going all in and trying to sign local superstar Johnny Gaudreau and see what could happen. Other fans wanted the Flyers to blow it all up and trade everyone.
Neither of those things happened.
Fletcher traded for Tony DeAngelo, signed Nic Deslauriers, and re-signed Justin Braun.
In the press conference following these moves, Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic asked Fletcher about his plan this offseason, brining up the “aggressive retool” asking if it was closer to a rebuilding year than a retooling year which Fletcher had mentioned previously. With the moves that were made it was a very valid question, but Fletcher brushed it off in an almost disrespectful tone saying, “We’re retooling, Charlie,” before giving his full answer.
Well, the retool failed Chuck.
Weird: Lukáš Sedlák chose HC Dynamo Pardubice over the Flyers
When this originally happened, I don’t think it fully processed within me how weird this was.
When asked what the reasoning was, Sedlák said, “I just felt overall that me playing in the NHL didn’t bring me what I expected it to bring me. I would rather be home with my family. Stuff like that, so it’s more than one reason. They kind of all combine together. That’s why I made the decision.”
Sedlák went back to Czechia and is currently playing for HC Dynamo Pardubice.
Good: Noah Cates is Sean Couturier-Lite
Wooooooooooo boy, Ron Hextall may have found a fifth round gem. Cates was fantastic this past season, gaining some Calder and Selke Trophy buzz in his first big league season.
If you’re an analytics believer, well Cates’ JFresh card is something to get excited about.
Yes, there is some red on his offensive stats, but being one of, if not the best, forward at 5v5 on defense this season on THIS team…well that’s really, really good. He could become a very reliable 2C/3C for the foreseeable future if he gets his scoring up. Learning from Sean Couturier next year will be incredibly valuable.
Bad: The Trade Deadline/Season Ticket Holders’ Town Hall
The trade deadline and the town hall after is absolutely what got Chuck Fletcher fired.
This team had a number of expiring contracts that absolutely could’ve been flipped for assets to help kickstart a rebuild. Goal scorer and power play helper James van Riemsdyk had one year left on his deal. Chuck didn’t trade him. Justin Braun, a steady, reliable, stay-at-home defenseman had one final shot to make a Cup run before retiring. Chuck didn’t trade him. Teams apparently were kicking around on Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim. Both are still Flyers.
It was abysmal and fans were angry (rightfully so).
After the deadline, a couple days later at the Flyer Season Ticket Holders’ town hall, Fletcher was booed as he entered the stage.
He then talked about how he was using an app to figure out fair deals in trades, and since none of the deals he was receiving were “fair” according to the app, he didn’t make any…
At a season ticket holder town hall, Flyers President Chuck Fletcher touted an app that helps the team decide if a trade proposal is “fair trade or not fair trade.” Remember all those people who told you to stop acting like you’re playing GM mode? The Flyers are! #FueledByPhillypic.twitter.com/PH5cVe8w6O
Weird: TNT blacks out The Greater Philadelphia Area
This is what I got on my TV when I just flipped over to @NHL_On_TNT to check out the Flyers game. Maybe they’re doing me a favor. pic.twitter.com/ZMNtdxvmZZ
This year was bad for the Flyers. At this point of the year, fans were almost completely checked out. A nationally broadcasted game on TNT against rival the New York Rangers was the last straw for this team, and many fans couldn’t even watch the game. NBC Sports Philadelphia didn’t carry the game either, so there was no way to watch the game on TV. In a season of bad and weird, this nears the top of the list.
Good: Nic Deslauriers fights 2 people in a row and wins both times
In a year with not a lot of excitement, one of the only things fans had to look forward to were fights. One night the Senators and the Flyers embraced their 2004 ways and had themselves a real rumble, with Nic Deslauriers taking on two Sens players back to back before making his way to the box.
One of the few fun moments from this long season.
Bad: Injury Luck
There’s really not much you can say, but here’s what the injuries were:
Sean Couturier was out all season with a back problem.
Ryan Ellis might not play hockey again with a multilayered injury in his pelvic region.
Cam Atkinson missed the entire season with a neck injury.
Joel Farabee had neck surgery and had a down year.
Travis Konecny almost missed the final 1/3 of the season with an injury, but did come back for a few games at the end.
Bobby Brink had a hip injury and had surgery on it in July.
Just so many unfortunate injuries to some of the most important players on the team this year.
Weird: The Flyers suck and don’t forecheck (oh yeah, and Torts got kicked in the face by a horse)
The perfect story to end this article is definitely the weirdest.
A horse kicked Torts in the face…like what? This is only something that happens to the Flyers.
He also had an all-time on-bench interview during this game.
John Tortorella is a national treasure!
Love him or hate him, Torts shoots you straight… and apparently the boys needed to get on their forecheck last night 😂
And that’s a wrap on the 2022-2023 Philadelphia Flyers.
Hopefully next season will have more good, less bad, and the same amount of weird.
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