Ahead of the draft, the Philadelphia Flyers were looking to make a massive splash by getting rid of two veterans who no longer filled a purpose under John Tortorella’s coaching; Kevin Hayes and Tony DeAngelo.
The trade that never was with the St. Louis Blues reportedly involved more than just Hayes as Travis Sanheim was essentially on his way out and the reported piece coming to Philadelphia was going to be defenseman Torey Krug.
Krug eventually vetoed the deal, destroying what was the most entertaining and anxious couple days for Flyers Twitter since maybe the Mike Richards and Jeff Carter splashes.
Hindsight being 20/20, it worked out in Philadelphia’s favour with the disgruntled Hayes off the team – even at 50% retention – keeping Sanheim on the club who has turned into a formidable top pair defenseman, and not taking on Krug and his contract.
Hayes has 8 goals and 14 points in 28 games and is averaging only 14:55 TOI after claiming he was getting 8-9 minutes a game last year – when even at his worst, Tortorella put him on the ice for 15-16 minutes a night. Krug has 1 goal and 12 points in 28 games while averaging 21:37 TOI for the 13-14-1 Blues.
Meanwhile, Sanheim has almost as many point as the both of them combined with 20 through 27 games, leads the league in ATOI with a whopping 25:39, and has been a stabilizing force on a backend that looked shoddy at best entering the new season.
On the other side of the spectrum, there’s DeAngelo who was originally traded to the Carolina Hurricanes but the league had vetoed the deal because of alleged cap circumvention. The Flyers bought out the defenseman and he signed with the Hurricanes anyways, but the rumoured prospect who was initially supposed to be involved in the trade eventually found his way into Daniel Brière’s clutches in a side-deal that involved David Kaše and Massimo Rizzo.
What the Flyers did there was they found a solution to a possible locker room issue as player and coach didn’t see eye-to-eye, they freed up the backend for new players to step up, and Rizzo has been phenomenal this season with 24 assists and 31 points in 18 games for the University of Denver. DeAngelo has been a frequent press box visitor this season as he has been scratched every game since the 18th of November, and he has been reportedly placed on the trade block as well.
To many, these moves weren’t met with the gusto that the Flyers brass might have hoped for. Many believed that Tortorella’s supposed ego got in the way of two very talented players and while they were at or near the top of their respective positions, they did not play the brand of hockey that this club was ushering into.
As we entered the draft, free agency, and training camp, many believed – or at least hoped – that the Flyers would tank once again for a high drat pick. Some pundits had the Flyers finishing in the bottom-5, some had them in the bottom-3, but no one had them pegged for where they currently sit through the first two weeks of December.
On paper, they were never as bad as Chicago or San Jose, as they had Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson returning with core players in Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee, and Owen Tippett, among others, looking to improve further. Carter Hart was poised for another heavy workload in goal and the promising Samuel Ersson was going to be his backup. The hope at the very least was for the Flyers to be more exciting than their 2022-23 version.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek took to 32 Thoughts: The Podcast to discuss all things hockey as they normally do, but Friedman wanted to acknowledge the Flyers’ strong start and how Marek was correct in his early-season assumptions about the club.
“Let me just say, you were right, and I was wrong on Philadelphia. This has been my worst year for predictions ever, although Edmonton might make us all look good here because they’re surging now but I was way off on Philly, way off on Philly. I thought they looked real good on Saturday night against Colorado even though MacKinnon is scoring one ridiculous goal a night now.
“I just think Philly, they play hard almost every game, we’ve talked about Walker, he’s had a great year, we’ve talked about Seeler, you know Couturier being back, I think Sanheim for the most part has been excellent this year… I guess the quotes are coming out that “nobody wants us to win”, okay I think that’s a little bit much… I freely admit that I didn’t think they were capable of this, it’s not like nobody wants them to win, that’s a little much but every game now, what you control is your effort and their effort is great almost every night. That team competes hard and when you compete hard you win a lot more games in this league.”
The alluded “nobody wants us to win” quote comes after Carter Hart’s postgame comments on Saturday when he said that nobody wants them to win and that the “us against the world” rhetoric is fuelling their hot start.
“Just playing hard, we’re playing hard, we believe in each other, we trust each other, having fun and just taking things one game at a time and one day at a time.
“I don’t think anybody wants us to win and I think that definitely fires us up and fuels the fire for us to prove everyone wrong and strengthens our belief in each other in here and we all love each other, we all get along so well, we have such a tight group here, and everyone is willing to fight for the next guy sitting beside them. I think that’s crucial right now and how we’re playing, everybody has each other’s backs.”
He’s not wrong though because a large faction of the fanbase itself was negative heading into the regular season. You can’t blame some of the negativity just based on the trajectory they traversed through 2019-2023 but it wasn’t as bleak as they made it seem. The Flyers saw it all, the Flyers heard everything, and took to ice to prove their doubters wrong.
Before heading into their commercial break, Marek wanted to make one point clear that he’s been very impressed with the Flyers but also Travis Konecny. Chuck Fletcher had the youngster on the trade block for 3-4 years but fortunately never pulled the trigger on the deal.
“Couple of things as far as players standing out, the one guy that I keep coming back to on this team and it’s been a fascinating watch seeing him with the Philadelphia Flyers year in and year out and hearing his name out there, how many different times has Travis Konecny been traded and here he is… looks great with Couturier, the Tyson Foerster kid looks fantastic, it’s again, you’re right, even if they don’t win every game, they compete, it’s impressive. This is a rebuild, Freidge? This is what Philly calls a rebuild? Wow, okay.”
Something that Hart mentioned in his post-game interview goes back to the moves that the Flyers made this off-season. It’s no secret that the NHL is a team sport, you need everyone chipping in, and if there are a few missing links on the team, it’s going to affect everybody as a whole. Hayes, DeAngelo, and even Ivan Provorov were seen as outcasts because of their attitude, on-ice play, and lack of understanding when it came to the new system on hand.
“We all love each other, we all get along so well, we have such a tight group here, and everyone is willing to fight for the next guy sitting beside them. I think that’s crucial right now and how we’re playing, everybody has each other’s backs.” – Carter Hart
You see it on a nightly basis, they don’t let anyone bully them around anymore, they stick up for one another, they are visibly excited and emotional when they need to be, and they are playing like a team – something that has not been obvious since 2019-20.
Tortorella made it clear from day 1 that your standing with the club has nothing to do with contract, salary, AAV, what you did last season, or what you have done throughout your career. Everyone had a clean slate, everyone was on the same page, and if you faltered from the group, you’d be left behind. Either those warnings were not heeded or they didn’t take them seriously. The Flyers walked the walk and talked the talk in the summer and moved in a “New Era of Orange” and we’re witnessing it first hand.
Marek’s final remarks should give this fan base and the city itself a huge boost because the Flyers rebuild has started off with a bang on the ice. For some, the Flyers have a top-5 pipeline but the consensus at the very least is top-10, they have fantastic talent brewing in Matvei Michkov and Cutter Gauthier, and their current on-ice team features a lot of promising young players under the age of 24-25 that are playing pivotal roles in 2023-24.
What is there not to like? Enjoy the ride because this team is exciting, they’re fun, and as Friedman mentioned several times – they compete and they work hard, which is all you can ask for right now.
2024 Stadium Series Trip
Flyers Nation and Philly Sports Trips have teamed up to bring you on an amazing bus trip to the 2024 NHL Stadium Series between the Flyers and Devils. Place an early deposit to reserve your spot at the ultimate tailgate experience at MetLife Stadium before the game. The package includes a game ticket, round-trip charter bus, an all-inclusive tailgate party with unlimited cold beverages, “Philly Style” catered food, live entertainment, and more.
