A rebuild does not mean a team should tank. I’ll say it louder for the people in the back.
A rebuild does not mean a team should tank.
It isn’t rocket science to understand that top-end talent is available to appear at the beginning of the NHL Entry Draft. However, lost in the endless thirst for top-end talent is the understanding that those skaters must be paid like top-end talent if they pan out. Additionally, and almost on the label alone, top-end talent doesn’t make an entire team. Solid depth is a requirement. After all, contending for the Stanley Cup is the ultimate team accomplishment.
The mentality behind tanking doesn’t help a flailing franchise. If tanking were so effective, the Buffalo Sabres would’ve been relevant in the last decade. They’re relevant because they’ve collected a ton of top-ten draft picks since the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, except for 2023 and 2024. The Sabres rank 29th in the NHL Standings, primed for another top-five pick at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
In the NHL, prospects must compete. There is no growth if the plan is to rebuild via tanking. Specifically, that is not and has not been the plan for the Philadelphia Flyers (17-18-5)
Yesterday, Daniel Brière joined TSN OverDrive to discuss a few topics, including the rebuild, John Tortorella, and Matvei Michkov.
The Rebuild
Starting with the topic that made the rounds on social media, Brière explained why tanking is not the plan. Escaping the basement into the kitchen is difficult in the NHL. He wants the young players to cook on a competitive team.
Many roll their eyes at the concept of culture, but a winning culture is paramount.
The Flyers have 13 25U players on the active roster. Six of those players (Michkov, Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, Morgan Frost, and Noah Cates) are among the top ten in team scoring. Two (Sam Ersson and Alexei Kolosov) of those 13 players are goaltenders. Of the defensemen, Cam York is on the top pair, and Jamie Drysdale is the quarterback of the top powerplay unit.
“There’s a chance that Michkov could turn into a star or superstar, but otherwise, you need depth throughout your lineup. You need your young players to become really good players. It feels like we’re trending in that direction, but there’s still a long way to go. Consistency is probably one of the toughest things, as a young player, to find.” – Daniel Brière; 1/6/2025
The reaction to ‘we’re trending in that direction,’ drew PTSD from the Chuck Fletcher era. Let’s talk about Fletcher and Philadelphia.
Fletcher prolonged the inevitable. The Flyers needed a rebuild, and he touted an ‘aggressive retool.’ Due to that, he dug the franchise into a hole. Fletcher drained Philadelphia of talent, cap space, and draft capital. Tasked with reversing that damage, Keith Jones and Brière carried on with a rebuild.
Brière, Jones, and Tortorella do not want the Flyers trapped in the cellar. Not tanking means competing and testing the roster’s fortitude. The moving parts reside in the central focus of the team needs for Philadelphia. High-end talent doesn’t exclusively mean a skater when goaltending is a serious issue.
“I think I was pretty honest at the beginning of the year, where we’re at. We did not expect this. Ers [Ersson], we’re force-feeding him. Now, we have two other guys [Fedotov and Kolosov] coming from Russia in the picture a lot quicker than we ever thought they would be. When Carter [Hart] left, that threw us into such turmoil. It is what it is. We’ve lived with it. We continue to live with it, and we do the best we can. No one foresaw this. A lot of people run it down a little bit, ‘What are they doing?’ No one foresaw this was going to happen as you develop your team, and you develop probably your most important position. We thought we would have more time with Ers, to develop him. He gets thrown into it. Now, with his injury problems of late, it’s turned into even a little bit more of a situation. So, we just keep banging away.” – John Tortorella; 1/7/2025
John Tortorella
Tortorella faced unwarranted criticism. Many debated whether Tortorella was the right coach for a rebuild and simultaneously criticized his development of prospects like Michkov. Data suggests and supports Tortorella as the right coach for a rebuild.
Who could forget the outrage from talking heads when Tortorella made Michkov a healthy scratch? Too many people who do not understand the intricacies of prospect development screamed about Tortorella hurting Michkov. Then, Michkov returned to account for five points (2G, 3A) on a three-game win streak. How about that other time when Tortorella benched Michkov in the third period against the Anaheim Ducks? The next night against the Los Angeles Kings, Michkov tallied two points (1G, 1A).
“What I’ve been impressed with Matvei [Michkov] is how he reacts to the benching, how he reacts to missing a few shifts, or being challenged, or called out in front of his teammates. He responds. He’s got a special character, in a good way. He’s ultra-competitive. I think when he was younger, we heard some rumors that he was a bad teammate, but I think part of it is he didn’t know how to channel it. [He] didn’t know how to tell his teammates that they have to work harder, and work at the same level as him. He’s maturing, but really, what’s impressive is how he answers the bell. Already at his age, he’s not afraid of the big moments. He actually welcomes the big times in a game where he can make the difference. He really believes he’s there to make a difference. That’s not something you can teach. You have it or you don’t. You’re afraid of the moment or you’re not. So far, already at 19, it’s impressive that he has that and feels confident enough to want to be a difference maker every game.” – Daniel Brière; 1/6/2025
Michkov only trails Travis Konecny in team scoring, who contributes at a point-per-game pace.
He plays the youth. This narrative isn’t driven by the arrival of Michkov, either. In 2024-2025, prospects like Kolosov, Jett Luchanko, Emil Andrae, Helge Grans, and Olle Lycksell.
“Sometimes, the perception of Torts [Tortorella] is he’s tough on the young guys, and he’s not letting the young guys play. It’s actually quite the opposite. He’s always the one that wants to give the young guys a chance to play more and put them back out there after they make mistakes. I’ve been really impressed with him as far as that goes.” – Daniel Brière; 1/6/2025
Luchanko (4GP) returned to the Guelph Storm and appeared in the World Juniors for Team Canada. Grans (6GP) logged his first NHL assist versus the Colorado Avalanche in a quality stint. Lycksell (1GP) had a goal reversed against the Columbus Blue Jackets but returned to the Flyers after Nicolas Deslauriers (upper body) went on injured reserve.
Andrae and Kolosov are debatable. In 20GP, Andrae proved he is an NHL defenseman, but as the only waiver-exempt defender, the decision to put him back in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms was made. It wasn’t a popular decision, but the preferred method was to keep progressing in the AHL, a similar route taken between Tortorella and York in 2022-2023. Kolosov, on the other hand, inexplicably maintained the 2G role over Ivan Fedotov.
“He’s [Tortorella] tough, demanding with the players, but it’s genuine. He shares with them how much he cares about them. It’s not a personal vendetta against the guys; he wants to make them the best they can be. Sometimes, you don’t like it in the moment, but most players come back and appreciate what he’s done for them.” – Daniel Brière; 1/6/2025
Tonight, the Flyers host the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:30pm/ET. Fedotov will start in consecutive games versus the Maple Leafs since being held out of action for a month. Ersson (lower body) worked out this morning. Kolosov will back up.
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