Another Chuck Fletcher press conference has come and gone and just like the ones in yesteryears past, it leaves us with a questionable taste in our mouth. A lot of open-ended responses, some key pieces of information, and some contrarian facts. Unlike his last press conference, where Dave Scott stole the show with his “blank cheque” statement, the press conference from Sunday gave us a little insight into what Fletcher’s planning on doing moving forward.
Obviously the biggest news and the reason behind the press conference was that the Philadelphia Flyers had traded longtime captain Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers. There were so many different reports that were coming out before, during, and after the trade about the specifics, what went down, and what to expect in the future. The largest talking point was that Giroux reportedly asked Fletcher for a reassurance that he would be coming back to Philadelphia in the summer. It was reported that because Fletcher couldn’t agree to those terms, that Giroux refused to be open to the idea of being traded anywhere else other than Florida.
So because Florida was the only team in on his sweepstakes, the deal was always going to be underwhelming because the Panthers had all the leverage. We had heard earlier that the Colorado Avalanche were going head to head for Giroux, we had even heard before that Giroux wanted to go to Colorado, and we heard about offers coming from Boston and New York that were nixed by the captain. It’s very confusing because of the amount of differing reports, however Fletcher said that assurance talks never took place and that it wasn’t just a solo negotiation with the Panthers.
Giroux is now in Florida, the Flyers have Owen Tippett and a 2024 first round pick, and for now we let the dust settle a little from the blockbuster move. In terms of what they got back, Chuck made it clear that he wanted an NHL-ready prospect who could play right away and that he wasn’t necessarily interested in projects or waiting for the future. Owen Tippett was drafted in 2017, he is 23 years old, and has some prior NHL experience, so that fit Chuck’s bill more so than the more talented Grigori Denisenko or Mackie Samoskevich.
If that is true, it’s a little troubling that the Flyers are more worried about the present than they are about the future. Denisenko and Samoskevich in terms of skill and potential, outrank Tippett. Tippett was essentially Florida’s Morgan Frost, and maybe a change of scenery turns things around for him, especially now that he is going to be given nearly every opportunity to shine.
Outside of the Giroux trade chatter, a few more things that stood out from his press conference was that he wants to build a core of players 25 years old or younger and that he has had trade talks about players currently on the roster that would more or less take place in the summer. Both those ideas go hand in hand and coupled together fit the “aggressive re-tool” mantra that the Flyers love to follow.
Rumours have been incessant about what the Flyers are going to do in the summer in lieu of their blank cheque and aggressive retool. It’s a foregone conclusion that they are not going through a rebuild again and have been linked to names like Johnny Gaudreau and Nazem Kadri if and when they hit the open market. In terms of trades, players like Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov have been talked about to no end and the former was almost dealt last summer. Fletcher was very close but didn’t want to cut the cord on the young forward after one down season. Going into this off-season, no one other than Carter Hart is safe and if Konecny was that close to being dealt last year, has he done enough this year to warrant another chance?
Fletcher mentioned yesterday that groundwork and framework for trades in the summer take place at or before the trade deadline. He has done that before with the Washington Capitals when he traded Radko Gudas for Matt Niskanen and with the Nashville Predators when he acquired Ryan Ellis. Lets also not forget that to have an aggressive re-tool and to re-model the defense (like Elliotte Friedman alluded to last week), and to make big moves, good players with big contracts have to be moved.
Three names that have been white hot in regards to moves like that are Provorov, Konecny, and Travis Sanheim. NHL teams have been knocking down the Flyers doors lately about Sanheim’s availability, teams like St. Louis are sniffing around Provorov, and the Los Angeles Kings seem very interested in Konecny. Is that something that could interest Fletcher? Provorov’s name is out there and everyone knows it. Teams that have been calling know that the Flyers are willing to move the defenseman, more so than ever have before, but that they still need to meet value in any deal involving the minute munching rearguard.
The same can be said about Konecny because the Flyers are trying to assemble a core of players under the age of 25. Who are 2 players that are currently 25 and will be pushing for 26 next year? Konecny and Provorov. Who was almost traded last year? Konecny, and who has been reported to have issues in the locker room and accountability problems? Provorov. The Flyers still need to be wowed by a trade to cut loose on their current cornerstones but they’re more inclined to deal them this year than they ever have been.
Sanheim is the most interesting of the three because he has truly shone under Mike Yeo’s tutelage. He’s a totally different player than what we saw earlier in the year with Alain Vigneault and the Flyers need to use Sanheim to the best of his abilities. He is a great skating, offensively minded, aggressive defenseman who can make a difference on the offensive side of the puck. They love the pairing of Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen and signing the latter was almost an assurance that the former will at least play out his contract with the Flyers.
It’s tough to wrap our heads around the idea that players like Provorov, Konecny, and maybe even Sanheim can be moved in the summer. They’ve been a part of the future and present for so long and can be tabbed as key players and cornerstones of the current team. However, nothing about Chuck Fletcher’s past would dictate otherwise. He believes that the Flyers can be a playoff team next year, they believe in his foundation and base, and they believe that they have the right man for the job. “The right man for the job” is a general manager who makes big moves with very high-risk-high-reward motives and if the franchise is truly trying to aggressively re-tool, how do you do that when you’re strapped financially and only have around $7 million-$8 million to work with?
These rumours are as real as they have ever been and it’s something to keep an eye out for at the trade deadline and going into the summer. 1) He mentioned that he has had discussions about roster players that could take place in the summer, 2) He mentioned that he wants a core of players under the age of 25, both of which will no longer apply to Provorov and Konecny next year, coincidence?, 3) Their names aren’t out there for no reason, they have been involved in trade talks for some time now and based on the abysmal season that is currently taking place and the very impatient front office that the Flyers have, everything can be tied together. They still won’t make change for the sake of making a move but these players aren’t scrubs either, so they will get a good return, or at least a return that fits his bill.
Hockey trades are going to happen and they are already building the frameworks for these deals as is the MO for Fletcher. Every GM wants a core of players under the age of 25, that part isn’t new information, but this wasn’t just your normal, average press conference. There were important passages in there that have implications for the future. It’s still a little hard to believe because these are key cogs to the Flyers lineup but until it happens, we just have to sit back and wait for June and the NHL draft to rear it’s ugly head. This summer could be even bigger than the last, and who knows if that’s going to be a good thing anymore.
