I know it’s a little late in reference to when the season actually ended for the Philadelphia Flyers, but I’ve had some time to marinate in it so to speak. A lot of people are calling this season a failure because they were booked out in the second round. I on the other hand disagree. If you look at what the expectations were at the beginning of the season compared to what they accomplished I’d say they met and exceeded those expectations. We will also take a look at what’s happened since the season ended and a look at what’s to come.
The New Coaching Staff
At the beginning of the season the Flyers were coming into a year in which it was all new faces behind the bench with the exception of Lappy. Michel Therrian coming off a season in which he was fired. Mike Yeo was in the same boat after being fired by St. Louis. Alain Vignealut came into this organization with one thing in mind and that was too win. He did just that leading this Flyers team to a number one seed finish in the east. Under AV the Flyers turned into one of the best defensive teams in the league propelling them into the playoffs even with all the outside distractions and injuries.
What Went Right
It seems like all the moves that the Flyers made last off-season paid off pretty well. Niskanen even though he decided to retire helped mold and grow provorov in every aspect of the game. His retirement also adds much needed cap space to resign younger RFA’s. Tyler Pitlick was a great depth player who was able to play throughout the bottom 9 lines. Justin Braun was a solid defender all season was slow at times but really helped develop end progress Robert Haggs game. With his recent re signing after Matt niskanen’s retirement shows the Flyers still require veteran leadership on their defense especially with the talks of trading Ghost. Kevin Hayes came in as a unrestricted free agent with high hopes and an ability to lead. He played up and down the line up from spots in the 1 C to the 2 C even the 3 C played on the power play in the penalty kill and was a driving force in this team’s ability to make the playoffs.
What Went Wrong
Too many key players had the inability to perform in the playoffS. Travis Konecney, Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier, and James van Riemsdyk lack of scoring is what led to the Flyers second round knock out by the Islanders. But what went wrong during the regular season? There were a lot of injuries a lot of heartache in a lot of difficult times. From Nolan Patrick having migraine disorder to Oscar Lindblum being diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma. Then on top of it you throw in injuries too Phillip Myers Travis sanheim jvr Tyler pitlick and Scott Laughton, you start to understand why the flyer struggled a times yes this team was resilient but with all resilient teams also comes fatigue. Even the most resilient team can’t overcome being flat out tired.
What They Need to Make More Progress
The Flyers really don’t need to do much they have a lot of youth they could sit back and do nothing and they would still compete next year. But if they did that, they’d only be cheating themselves. let’s start with the easy task first they need to re sign the restricted free agents. With already offering qualifying offers to Myers and Patrick they have already started that process. They also need to find a way to re sign Pitlik. The Flyers also threw Ghost on the trade block. I would expect them to be looking for a winger in return who is good at putting the puck in the back of the net. With niskanen’s retirement that also throws a hole in the defense we could also be looking at free agency for a replacement or we could be looking at the trade market with the options of possibly moving on from jvr or vorachek. But they also have the options of doing nothing at defense and moving Travis sanheim up a line to play with provorov and calling up Cam York to play on the same line as Phil Myers while keeping Braun and Hagg together.
What Gostisbehere Trade Looks Like
A possible trade option for Shayne would be the Winnipeg Jets in which the Flyers could receive Patrick Laine and the Jets would get Ghost and a second round pick and maybe a player like German rubstov.
Another option would be the Toronto Maple leafs in which the Flyers would give up ghost and maybe a prospect for Andreas Johnsson
One last option would be to trade ghost and a second round pick to Chicago for Brandon sadd
Free Agent Targets
Jesper Fast- from the rangers he’s 28 year old possible replacement for Pitlick
Anthony Duclair- 25 year old winger who adds scoring depth
Joe Thornton- who would be 3 or 4 C depending on Nolan Patrick’s health
Tyler Toffolie- another winger who adds scoring depth
Mikki Moivo- another 3 or 4C option
Sami Vatanen and T.J. Brodie are both ideas for top 4 defenders but it would depend on price tags
Broad Down 