The Philadelphia Flyers are a historic franchise in the NHL, not only because they were a part of the first expansion pack in 1967, but also due to their successful runs throughout history. Yes, they never won another Stanley Cup after 1975 but they went on numerous runs throughout the years, they’re 3rd all time in winning percentage (2nd if you don’t count the Vegas Golden Knights), and from 1967-68 to 2011-12 they only missed the playoffs 8 times.
People wanted to come to Philadelphia and once they retired they wanted to stay and stick around. The Flyers alumni are a revered group, cherished throughout history, and have a great pull amongst the fanbase, the city, and the organization. The Flyers have brought back several former players to work in management and a lot of them remain. Bobby Clarke has been with the Flyers for 42 years as a player, coach, management, and executive. Paul Holmgren has been around for over 40 years as well, spanning six decades.
They both possess high executive jobs currently, both have had runs as coaches and general managers, and while both are in the Flyers Hall of Fame for their valiant efforts as players; their post-retirement runs have done more harm than good. The Philadelphia Flyers are in need of desperate changes and it goes far beyond another “re-tool”. This team has been swimming in mediocrity since their Stanley Cup run in 2010 and trying to regain that momentum has blinded their ambitions.
Bobby Clarke presided over a team that no salary cap restrictions, yet he went the other route and tried to save a penny. Scott Niedermayer was a done deal before he decided to save a penny by signing Darien Hatcher, Mike Ratjhe, and Dan McGillis instead. Signing Peter Forsberg put the Flyers over the salary cap and then were forced to make several moves to get under like moving on from Jeremy Roenick and Mark Recchi. Curtis Joseph expressed his dire interest in joining the Flyers but Clarke went the cheaper route and chose to go with John Vanbiesbrouck. These are just a few of the many costly mistakes.
Paul Holmgren ironically had to clean up his predecessor’s mess and credit should be given to him for the job he did in the first half of his general managing reign. He took a team from last place to the final four in the Eastern Conference in one year and then re-tooled his roster with low-risk moves at the deadline and big splashes in the off-season. However, after their miraculous Cup run in 2010, whatever their plan was before the run was thrown out the window and they entered a win-now mode that set this franchise back for years to come.
Ron Hextall, another former Flyers alumni member, had to clean up Holmgren’s mess and his way was the anti-Flyers way, and for a long time it was seen as refreshing and bountiful. However his 4-5 years as general manager of the Flyers didn’t blossom many flowers, even though he accumulated a myriad of picks and future assets. It took awhile for the Flyers and Hextall to steer out of Holmgren’s salary cap mess but it led perfectly into Chuck Fletcher’s tenure.
Fletcher is not a former alumnus but he works closely with Paul Holmgren and Dave Scott. Fans have been clamouring for change and Fletcher tried re-tooling his roster twice to no avail. In fact, they somehow look worse for wear now than they ever have in the last 10+ years.
You’ve gone through 6 different coaches, 3 different managers, roster re-tools, and a rebuild that never was; yet the result has remained the same. It seems like every player they bring in immediately starts to struggle. It seems like every player they get rid of blossoms and succeeds. The on-ice personnel has changed a lot over the years but it hasn’t changed a thing. The bench boss has changed a lot over the years and it hasn’t changed a thing. There’s been 3 different general managers and it hasn’t changed a thing.
What exactly are we supposed to cling onto with the future looking as bleak as ever? We have Bobby Clarke blasting and pinpointing Ron Hextall’s general managing tenure as being the key cause of concern as to why the Flyers are still struggling. It was seen as an attempt to make Fletcher look better and blame the shortcomings on his predecessor. Even though there’s some truth to what Clarke is saying and feeling, it goes well beyond Hextall’s time here in Philadelphia.
There were rumours that when Philadelphia was on the outside looking in of the playoffs in 2009-10, that Paul Holmgren’s seat was scorching hot. They were going backwards from a good platform that Holmgren had laid out and maybe it was his time to go, especially with an impatient and exuberant owner like Ed Snider.
The Stanley Cup run gave Holmgren life again and it allowed him to make whatever moves he saw fit as a way to get back to the promised land. Instead, the team imploded and he re-tooled the roster like no one has before. The initial re-tool in 2011 when he traded Mike Richards and Jeff Carter was supposed to bring better days to Philadelphia. Instead it just brought more inconsistencies, more losing seasons, more erratic contract signings, and a tight yearly salary cap that brought about no real chance for change.
It’s time for the old guard to make way for new changes. It’s time for Philadelphia to tear down every wall imaginable and start anew. They will go nowhere with their current systems in place, they will go nowhere if major changes aren’t made behind the scenes, and they will be going nowhere if they decide to re-tool yet again and forego the rebuild.
Chuck Fletcher is not a rebuilding general manager, he is a general manager that loves to make moves and big ones at that. His time in Minnesota should be a significant example of that even though they had one stolen gem in the fifth round in Kirill Kaprizov; a broken clock can be right twice a day.
If the Flyers were a few moves away from really contending then by all means, Fletcher deserves to stay. However, in the 3-4 years that he has presided as general manager, he has done nothing greater or better than his predecessors. The issues have seemingly gotten much much worse.
In terms of on-ice personnel, there should be very few players deemed “safe” moving forward. You obviously can’t trade everybody but in terms of untouchables the Flyers have very few. Carter Hart and Joel Farabee are the ultimate locks as untouchables. Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny are still young and have plenty more left in the tank, also signed long-term, but they also hold the most value in terms of returning assets. Morgan Frost can also be included, mostly because of his age and potential but if the right deal came along, then his name can be included in a deal.
Claude Giroux’s days as a Flyer are soon coming to a close and the writing is all over the wall. The Flyers have nothing left in the tank in the present or the near future and with Giroux being a grizzled veteran now, it’s time for him to chase a Cup and add to his legacy. Players like Kevin Hayes and James van Riemsdyk pose as difficult trade bait because of their contracts and salary. Fortunately in the case of van Riemsdyk, there are a lot of examples of rebuilding teams that will eat the last year of a soon-to-be expiring contract, a la Arizona and Detroit.
However, as previously alluded to, getting rid of players and bringing in future assets isn’t going to be enough. There needs to be wholesale changes everywhere around the organization. As much as Flyers fans want a new ownership group, that is probably the least likely change that can occur. A new general manager is needed, a new head coach is needed, and senior executives like Holmgren and Clarke can’t be around moving forward. Their presence will keep the old guard mentality in place and the Flyers will be stuck in perpetual mediocrity for the foreseeable future.
A culture change is required at this point and a new brazen head coach needs to light a fire inside and outside of that locker room. Authority needs to be in place and with a veteran, loud mouth head coach, the Flyers will be held accountable for every single mistake they make. It’s tough to see newly appointed head coaches like Dave Hakstol or interim coaches like Scott Gordon or Mike Yeo really commanding a lost locker room.
A general manager with no prior commitments or attachments to this franchise is required as well. Ron Hextall refused to fire his head coach, Chuck Fletcher was refusing to fire his head coach, and certain players found a niche on this team because they became personal favourites of either head coach or general manager. A new leader is needed for this rudderless ship and they need someone who is willing to tear down every single wall but to also have no prior attachments or loose ends.
This rebuild is going to require another 3-4 years because of how bad things are currently. A quick rebuild is hard to come by unless you win unexpected draft lotteries and possess the revered reputation that superstar free agents look for, like the New York Rangers.
The Colorado Avalanche were able to successfully rebuild under Joe Sakic with shrewd moves like his acquisitions of Nazem Kadri, Ryan Graves, and Philipp Grubauer, on top of the fact that they hit on their high picks like Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen. They were also able to cut bait on core players like Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly, paving the way for Nathan MacKinnon’s takeover.
There’s obviously a lot of luck involved with successful rebuilds because you have to make good on your draft lotteries and high picks. There were several years where the top picks didn’t hit like Nico Hischier/Nolan Patrick in 2017 or Nail Yakupov in 2012. However, teams like Toronto, Florida, Edmonton, and Colorado all hit on their picks that turned out to be superstars like Auston Matthews, Jonathan Huberdeau, Connor McDavid, and Nathan MacKinnon.
The Flyers need that luck and then some if they want to find a way to maneuver out of the storm they’re currently in right now. They have some prospects to look forward to in Cam York, Egor Zamula, Tyson Foerster, and Elliot Desnoyers but they are far, far away from the exceptional or generational talents that the Flyers desperately need.
As we watch this season unfold, it’s getting tougher and tougher to watch but it’s becoming easier to accept their fate and move from there. At the beginning of the season, it seemed improbable and laughable that the Flyers would trade Claude Giroux at the deadline but now with only 5 wins in their last 25 games, it’s a necessity for both sides. The grass is always greener but if the Flyers don’t act fast enough, they are going to fumble the bag like they have in previous years and it’s going to tarnish the reputable name they once held.
A lot of people are asking “what’s wrong in Philadelphia?” and not many people are able to answer that question. What looked like a solid foundation for the future is breaking at the seam on a game by game basis. Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny, two players who were seen as the building blocks of the future, have found themselves in the rumour-mill; something that would’ve been unforeseen years ago. That’s how bad things have gotten and we are at a point where almost no one is safe. The future we once thought we had has turned into a nightmare and it all starts from the top.
