We are bearing witness to the darkest period in Philadelphia Flyers history.
While that might sound like an overreaction, the last 12 seasons have been worse than anything they did or have done between inception and 2012.
Between 1967-68 to 2011-12, the Flyers missed the playoffs a grand total of 8 times: 2 came within their first three seasons, 5 came consecutively between 1989-90 and 1993-94, and once more in 2006-07 which turned out to be the worse in franchise history. That’s it.
Since then, which has been a span of 13 seasons, they’ve missed the playoffs 8 times and are on pace to make it 9 this season. That’s more in a 13-year period than the previous 45 years combined.
There was a lot of relief when Daniel Brière took over for Chuck Fletcher near the end of the 2022-23 season in the interim. The latter made consequential move after consequential move, he changed the direction and path several times within the same season, and there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel.
When Brière officially assumed the position of general manager in the summer, there was a lot of leeway given to the first-time GM, but all of a sudden that leash tightened and worry starting setting into the fanbase. The very same emotion that was felt under Fletcher, Ron Hextall, and Paul Holmgren.
Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen weren’t being moved, the goaltending was not being addressed, and long-term extensions were being handed out. The rebuilding path that the Flyers had taken was not of the straight and narrow variety.
Brière understandably took a lot of flack because while he was protecting his assets, there were several young building blocks available on the open market that he seemingly avoided or wasn’t able to get his hands on. The worrying intensified for many but his recent move might have been exactly what the doctor ordered.
Trading Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost represented more than just a perceived salary cap dump. It showed that the new regime – one that many believed insisted on holding onto its decrepit core – was willing to get rid of locker room favourites and young core pieces.
There was no denying that Farabee and Frost were skillful players. Unfortunately, they no longer fit into the equation. Another important piece to remember is general managers tend to side with their head coaches before making an even bigger move.
Hextall moved on from Scott Hartnell and Vincent Lecavalier, both of whom never saw eye to eye with Craig Berube. Fletcher got rid of Shayne Gostisbehere, Phil Myers, Nolan Patrick, and Jakub Voráček, and Brière moved off of Tony DeAngelo, Kevin Hayes, and now Farabee and Frost.
They were given ample opportunities to shine but it became very clear that under Tortorella’s system, they would no longer be serviceable. It’s not an easy system to get accustomed to or adapt to, especially if your forechecking, 200-foot game, and defense aren’t up to task.
Another important piece of information to take from the deal is that they didn’t receive much of anything in terms of immediate NHL help. They gutted their NHL roster of two important players who played top-9 roles and on special teams and in return took on an expiring contract and a young player with raw potential.
While they were absent from Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Colorado, it became clear that the Flyers are leaning into the tank more so than ever before. It has shades of 2022-23 when the Flyers were missing key players and had to trudge through the 82-game season shorthanded and without a lot of skill.
Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier aren’t going to change that, even if they’re given top-6 or top-9 roles alongside power play time. The final few months of the season are going to be an evaluation period for many, including the trio of RFAs that are expected to be pillars of the young core moving forward.
Noah Cates’ name has jumped up the hierarchy this season after his showcase over the last month or so. He was always sound defensively and was great on and off the puck but he added a little bit more offensively, which is always going to be a boon in the eyes of the evaluators.
Tyson Foerster and Cam York have a lot more to prove down the stretch if they want to better their chances at a higher AAV, but it was a telling sign when Comcast Spectacor CEO and Flyers Governor Dan Hilferty name-dropped the aforementioned trio as well as a few others but omitted Farabee and Frost.
We’ve been asking for it for quite some time but the path has been seemingly been blazed and the Flyers are going to attack the summer of 2025 with more fervour. They currently have 7 picks in the first two rounds alone of the upcoming 2025 NHL Entry Draft and with the salary cap spike they will have close to $24 million to play with.
That number can increase if they move Ristolainen’s $5.1 million AAV, Laughton’s $3 million AAV, and either move Ryan Ellis’ contract to LTIR or ship him off to a team with more cap space to burn similar to the days of the Arizona Coyotes.
Couple of weeks ago it seemed very unlikely that Laughton and Ristolainen would be moved, especially with how respected and well-liked they are amongst the locker room and by the coaching staff. However, the Farabee-Frost trade showed that Brière and company no longer care about that and are willing to move in a business-like fashion.
The market has been hot for both players for quite some time, especially Laughton, and if the Flyers are serious about positioning themselves for the future, they will finally do the unthinkable and rip the Band-Aid off even further.
Moves like that will only add to their draft capital which can then be used on future moves and Brière spilled the beans during Sunday’s telecast when the Flyers played the Avalanche.
“To position ourselves better in the future, more cap flexibility, to acquire the center that we’re looking for. It just didn’t make to much sense for us to bypass this trade.”
The Flyers understand that their biggest need is down the middle and it sounds like they’re going to make a serious run this summer. Brière alluded to that idea during his press conference last week and mentioned how he has been working the phones diligently.
President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones also mentioned earlier in the season that it’s the rumours you don’t hear that you should be worried about, because when the trade happens you’re going to be shocked. That happened with Cutter Gauthier and it seemingly took place again with Farabee and Frost.
The 2024-25 chapter can finally be closed as the Flyers have their eyes set on 2025 and beyond. The trade deadline is going to be a very important stepping stone to what we will see ahead of the draft and free agency and it should give us an even clearer picture of their future plans.
They will undoubtedly miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season, mirroring their 1989-90 to 1993-94 counterparts. It will also be the 8th season out of the last 11, which has not been in done in franchise history before.
These are the dark ages and it will probably be another few seasons before the Flyers can even sniff the postseason with actual expectations. Until then, sit back and try to relax as the Flyers have a lot of moves to make to fix the mistakes of yesteryear.
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