It’s been ten years of unruly hockey and everyone has been trying to figure out what has gone wrong and who’s to blame for this mess. With the recent losing streak closing out at a whopping ten games before last night, it’s gone from bad to worse within a month. Up until 2011, the Philadelphia Flyers had missed the playoffs only once dating back to 1993-94, which is a grand total of 17 seasons.
Since 2011-12, the Flyers have alternated between making and missing the playoffs ever since. It happened a very long time ago but the shockwaves that have debilitated this franchise started all the way back on the fateful day of June 23rd, 2011, and it started the domino free-fall that is the current Flyers hockey team.
Fresh off back to back successful seasons, falling two games short of winning it all in 2009-10 and then winning their division in 2010-11, the Flyers decided it was best to move on from franchise cornerstones Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, both of whom were in their primes and at the beginning of their extremely long term contracts. It was a trade that didn’t really need to happen, but Paul Holmgren felt that it was the right move to make for the franchise.
Even though Richards, and to a lesser degree Carter, had some run-ins with the media and were refusing to respond to questions or show up, it still came as a shock for everyone involved. Richards and Carter were both completely unaware, Flyers fans had no idea as the rumours were hush-hush, and the NHL as a whole was left mystified.
There were several reasons as to why the Flyers pulled off these trades with a lot of them being because of behind the scenes and off-ice issues. However, it’s no surprise that the Flyers slowly spiraled out of control and out of the conversation of perennial contenders for years to come.
Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were both drafted in the first round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and were both on an offensive tear for the big the club at the time of the trades. In the four seasons prior to the trade, Mike Richards had amassed 112 goals and 283 points in 315 games. In his three seasons prior to the trade, Jeff Carter had scored 115 goals and 211 points in 236 games. They were both in their prime and ready to lead the Flyers to another deep playoff run.
However, it was not meant to be for several factors. First and foremost, everyone has heard about the “Dry Island” that head coach Peter Laviolette wanted his players to take part in on six separate occasions. Paul Holmgren refuted those rumours by saying that Richards and Carter weren’t the only ones who refused to put their jersey number up on the board.
Then there were rumours that Richards and Chris Pronger didn’t get along and that caused a separation in the locker room. Wherever Pronger went in his career, he was always looked at as the leader type, so it was no surprise that Laviolette latched onto a player of that ilk.
However, when Pronger went on the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast to talk about his career and subsequent stories, he was asked about his time in Philadelphia and he mentioned that this was the first time in is career that he never tried to really assert himself in the locker room as the alpha male. He sat back and let the actual captain take charge. He mentioned that Laviolette really wanted him to take the mantle and essentially take it away from Richards, which brings into question the strained relationship between captain and coach.
It remains to be seen if Pronger and Richards did actually have such a strained relationship that the Flyers had to choose between the two, but several years later it’s resurfacing that that might not have been the case. The media issues definitely played a hand in their departures, considering the fact that they sometimes refused to answer questions or that Richards would wear articles of clothing of different brands that weren’t Flyers related during his post game pressers, which at times irked the team and media alike.
So if it wasn’t because of the “Dry Island” (as Paul Holmgren so vehemently denied), and if it wasn’t his relationship with Pronger that caused the trade, look no further than Peter Laviolette. There were other avenues that the Flyers could have explored if they wanted to keep both cornerstones and still subsequently sign Ilya Bryzgalov to his mega-deal.
That was not the case, because Richards and Laviolette had several run-ins to the point that they weren’t necessarily on speaking terms all the time. Laviolette was quoted at the time of these possible run-ins to have a “work in progress” relationship with his captain; something you don’t really want to hear.
Whether or not the reasons are justifiable or not, the Flyers haven’t looked the same since these trades and it’s mostly because the identity of the team was Richards and to a certain degree Carter. It ripped the foundation of the team and they have never been able to replace either player; the snarl, grit, and leadership of Richards and the goal scoring of Carter.
In return they received Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn for Mike Richards from the Los Angeles Kings and then essentially Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier, and later Nick Cousins from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jeff Carter. A decent haul of players to combine with Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, Daniel Briere, Scott Hartnell, Chris Pronger, and Kimmo Timonen.
The Flyers went further that off-season by signing Jaromir Jagr from the KHL, Ilya Bryzgalov in a sign and trade, and Maxime Talbot. The Flyers had a great run in 2011-12 thanks to the explosive top line of Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, and Jaromir Jagr. They received good early returns from Voracek, Simmonds, and Matt Read. If it wasn’t for an implosion in net by Bryzgalov against the New Jersey Devils, the Flyers might’ve had a chance to go all the way.
However that season brought about several inconsistencies that affected the future. Daniel Briere’s point production and play in general dropped, as he went from 34 goals and 68 points to 49 points, James van Riemsdyk was traded in the off-season to Toronto for Luke Schenn, Chris Pronger’s career unfortunately ended due to a freak eye injury at the beginning of the season, and Jaromir Jagr walked away in the summer when he wasn’t given the role he wanted from Holmgren.
The ripples didn’t stop there as Peter Laviolette was given a short leash as he was fired 3 games into the 2013-14 season, Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen lasted only 2 more seasons as coach/player relationship strained the former’s tenure and injuries and age hampered the latter’s tenure.
Paul Holmgren’s unnecessary aggressiveness seemingly went too far and it cost the Flyers several years into the future, with little to no depth and nothing in the pipeline coming up. Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds became focal points on the offense, Brayden Schenn had his moments of offensive explosions, Matt Read was more or less a one hit wonder, and Sean Couturier’s development took around 6-7 years until he stepped in the limelight offensively. Salary cap management went out the window in the latter half of his tenure and that’s why they had to bring in Ron Hextall to clean up his mess.
Trading Richards and Carter was a way of changing the guard and giving the keys to the team to Giroux and van Riemsdyk. James van Riemsdyk only lasted one season before he was shipped to Toronto in a trade that brought the Flyers Luke Schenn. To this day that move never really made sense because Luke Schenn was never supposed to be a gifted, puck moving, offensively talented defenseman that Holmgren was looking for and needed. Giroux has been around ever since but unfortunately hasn’t been able to drag this team anywhere.
The roster turnover was far greater than Holmgren could’ve imagined. Losing Richards and Carter was his doing but then to lose Daniel Briere, James van Riemsdyk, Ville Leino, Simon Gagne, Jaromir Jagr, Chris Pronger, Ilya Bryzgalov, Kimmo Timonen, and Scott Hartnell in such short order was truly the pitfall for this organization. Yes, Giroux, Simmonds, Schenn, and Voracek played well but they had no one behind them helping with secondary scoring, which was the kryptonite for Flyers hockey from 2012-13 onwards.
It was even more puzzling because Richards had signed his-12 year extension that would’ve taken him into 2019-20 as did Carter, who is currently in the final year of his 11-year contract. It’s obviously tough to say whether or not they would’ve made a difference had they stayed, and it’s also tough to predict whether or not they would’ve stayed longer.
But based on how they were playing and progressing, it’s tough not to have expected big things. However their impact on the team was sorely missed and was on full display as they went on to win 2 Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings; the first coming the very next season after their trades.
Yes, the argument can be made that the Kings were deep and balanced, they had great goaltending, and Richards and Carter weren’t the focal points like they were in Philadelphia, but the Kings knew exactly what they were getting in Richards. When they initially made that trade, rumours were rampant for awhile that the Kings were trying to cut bait on then-captain Dustin Brown. He was almost traded at the trade deadline and had they not won the Cup, they would’ve parted ways and named Richards the captain. The Kings were that enamoured with his playing style. Unfortunately his career took a downturn and ended a few years later.
Jeff Carter, who was initially sent to Columbus, found his way to Los Angeles near the trade deadline. He was consistently putting the puck in the back of the net during the Kings’ heyday with three consecutive 30-goal seasons. Unfortunately, as the Kings started falling from their throne, so did most of their players which included Carter. He has always been a serviceable player and is currently playing a vital role for the injury-plagued Pittsburgh Penguins.
Both players felt betrayed and for obvious reasons. You don’t ever trade the pillars of your organization without letting them know, not even mentioning the fact that they had just signed hometown discounts on extremely lengthy contract extensions. The team wasn’t struggling either. They had just won their division and needed a few patchwork moves to keep them contending. They were part of the solution, not the problem, but Paul Holmgren did what most GMs do and sided with his head coach.
Laviolette and Richards didn’t get along and Holmgren took the side of his coach. Things never really changed over the course of the next decade as Scott Hartnell and Craig Berube had issues and he was sent out shortly after. Alain Vigneault had issues with Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Nolan Patrick and they were all traded this past off-season.
It’s easy to use hindsight bias now with the team crumbling at the seams yet again. It’s easy to use hindsight bias when it would’ve been nearly improbable to predict the freak injury to Pronger or the quick departure of van Riemsdyk, or the implosion in net from Bryzgalov. Holmgren’s aggressiveness cost the team several years that had to be pushed even further back by the Ron Hextall rebuild.
Ten years later and we’re still somehow in the same boat. Ten years later and somehow those trades didn’t help us reach the summit, let alone the peak. Ten years later and the Flyers are even more inconsistent than ever, potentially on the verge of missing the playoffs again. Ten years later and the Flyers are still playing without an identity; an identity that was forged by Mike Richards. That snarl, grit, determination, and feistiness has never been replaced or found again. Nothing against Giroux in the slightest, but obviously different leadership strategies and viewpoints from the two.
Trading Richards and Carter seemed like a trigger-happy move, more than anything else and caused the free-falling domino effect that no one seemed to anticipate. It did not need to happen but because of the strained relationship between captain and coach, seemingly something had to be done. Trading one of the two could’ve been an avenue to pursue as well. The haul they received from the Blue Jackets for Carter could’ve gone a long way had they kept Richards. If push came to shove, maybe the relationship between Richards and Laviolette could’ve been repaired.
To have a 3 centre-pronged attack of Richards, Giroux, and Couturier would’ve been something to die for. The type of player that Richards was, the way he comported himself, and the way it showed across the team is very tough to replace. It’s no surprise that he hasn’t been replaced since and that the Flyers have been floundering from these moves ever since.
Team identity doesn’t seem to be something that comes to mind for most hockey fans but when Richards left, as did the identity of the Philadelphia Flyers. They haven’t been able to find any success since and they’ve played and are currently playing some of the worst hockey in franchise history.
In the six years that the Flyers had Richards and Carter, they made the playoffs five times. In the ten years that have followed, the Flyers have missed the playoffs five times and are playing their way out of the playoffs yet again.
