SteelFlyers Football Videos
The Flyers: Too Good to be Bad, Too Bad to be Good
Over the last ten games, the Philadelphia Flyers have given their fans something to finally get excited about by delivering a record of 8-2-0 during that time. But sadly, their recent stretch of wins didn’t manage to see them move out of the Metropolitan Divisions cellar seeing that even with the recent win streak, they still find themselves in 7th place with only 19 wins in 45 games played, which leaves them with a total of 45 points on the season.
So, to dive further into why the Flyers latest run didn’t advance them in the standings, let’s put the Flyers’ last ten games under a microscope. Ten games ago, the Flyers played the San Jose Sharks and beat them 4-3 in OT. A team who currently finds themselves seated in the 7th position in the Pacific Division, only achieving 13 wins and 35 points on the season to date. Meaning if the season ended today, they would be drafting 5th overall. Then the Flyers traveled to LA, where they took on the Kings on December 31st, where they were able to pull out a win by the score of 4-2. This win was quite impressive, seeing that the Kings presently find themselves among the playoff hopefuls ranked third in the Pacific Division. Now on a roll out in Cali., Philly then journeyed to Anaheim to take on the Ducks on January 2nd. Where once again, they were able to cash in on the success of their young goaltender Samuel Ersson earning themselves a 4-1 victory against a team who, if the season ended today, would be drafting 3rd overall. This is because the Ducks are, and have been for most of the season, ranked dead last in the Pacific Division. Moving on to Jan. 5th, some seven games ago now, the Flyers found relief (for some reason) in Carter Hart’s return and were able to gain yet another victory against the Arizona Coyotes, who have won just one game in their last ten which explains why they are currently positioned 7th in the Central Division with them only totaling 33 points on the season—making them now on pace to draft 4th overall. Then came an actual test when the Flyers faced off against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 8th, where their star goalie (sarcasm) Carter Hart let in six goals with the Flyers only able to score two. Now while this loss should have given most fans a hard dose of reality on how their team compares to a true playoff contender, most just brushed it off. So, let’s continue; five games ago, Philadelphia lined up against the Buffalo Sabers on January 9th, and with Ersson back in net, the Flyers beat an improving Sabers team by a total of 4-0. Speeding it up now, the Flyers then went on to face the Washington Capitals in back-to-back games on Jan. 11th and 14th, resulting in Philly being able to win one of those contests against one of the oldest teams in the league. This brings us to Monday’s 6-0 thrashing dealt out by the Atlantic Division’s 1st-place team, the Boston Bruins, an outing that once again proves the Flyers cannot compete against the upper echelon of the NHL. Finally, we’ve reached their latest game, where the Flyers defeated the struggling Ducks again by a score of 5-2.
So, when you look at these last ten games with a bit of scrutiny, you’ll begin to see that these wins are not that impressive. Don’t get me wrong; I applaud the team for winning the games they played against opponents they should have beaten! But I’m not going to go on record and say I’m satisfied with how the team has played. Sure, there are bright spots like the way Konecny, Hayes, and Owen Tippett are on pace to have career years, and who could not get excited about the early success that the young Sam Ersson has had; but what is concerning is the fan bases willingness to buy into the teams’ propaganda (or selling of these players achievements and the teams’ recent success) in order to hide the franchises ongoing battle with mediocrity.
Let’s face it, when was the last time you truley felt the Flyers put together a roster that could compete for a Stanley Cup? I hope you didn’t say 2010 when the Flyers lucked out and squeaked into the playoffs as the seventh seed. Only then to somehow make it to the Finals with Michael Leighton in-between the pipes to take on the Blackhawks, who had Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, and Patrick Sharp gunning for him, with guys like Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell, and Niklas Hjalmarsson standing guard for Corey Crawford and Marty Turco.
No, I’m thinking more like the 1997 Flyers roster that the Legion of Doom Line of Eric Lindros, John LeClair, and Mikael Renberg led. With a supporting cast of Rod Brind’Amour, Eric Desjardins, Paul Coffey, and Ron Hextall. Sure, they went on to be swept by an incredible Detroit team that had SEVEN now Hall of Famers, then playing on their roster. But be honest; wasn’t that the last time you truly believed the Flyers had a shot at winning it all? It was for me.
That’s why since then, I think the Flyers have been Too Good to be Bad, and Too Bad to be Good. What I mean by that is the way the Flyers were able to stay so competitive over the years was by throwing their checkbook around. Today is different, though; no team has been able to buy a championship in the salary cap era. Instead, the successful ones have had to endure years of hardships to gain the nucleus of what would then become their dynasties.
Take, for instance, the Penguins. After Lemieux retired and Jagr moved on, their fans had to suffer through several brutal seasons to get the chance to draft Marc Andre Fleury with the 1st overall pick in 2003. Then again, to be able to select Evgeni Malkin with the second overall pick in 2004. Only to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division once more to take Sidney Crosby 1st overall in 2005 and Kris Letang in the third round that same year. Then and only then were they able to return to their winning ways, winning cups in ’09, ’16, and again in ’17.
Or how about the aforementioned Chicago Blackhawks, who it took drafting Brent Seabrook in the first round of 2003, Jonathan Toews third overall in 2006, and who could forget them lucking out and getting what was supposed to be the Flyers 1st overall pick in 2007 only to draft arguably the best American born player ever to play the game, Patrick Kane. (Let’s squash this argument before it happens-Remember Brett Hull may have always played for Team USA, but he was born in Ontario, Canada) Anyway, it took the Blackhawks drafting these three players before they could go on to raise banners in ’10, ’13, and ’15.
Or a more recent example would be the Tampa Lightning, whom it took drafting Steven Stamkos 1st overall in ’08, Victor Hedman 2nd overall in ’09, and selecting Andrei Vasilevskiy as the first goalie off the board in ’12 before they could win it all in ’20, ’21, and lose in the cup finals in ’22.
Now I don’t want to put this kind of pressure on the kid, but the Flyers may already have gotten a jump start building their own future dynasty when they selected Cutter Gauthier 5th overall this past off-season. He’s already scored 19 points in just 15 games played for Boston College this year. Along with scoring 10 points in seven games played for Team USA at the recent World Junior Championships. So why not continue on that trend for a year or two and get players like:
Andrew Cristall- in the upcoming draft from the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL, who currently has 62 points in 36 games played this season.
Then maybe grab a defenseman like Finland’s Aron Kiviharju in the 2024 draft.
In 2025 maybe the Flyers will try and take either American sniper Cooper Dennis
Or a goalie Gabriel D’Aigle who is already shining at only 16 years of age playing for the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL. I mean, he only spends his summers training with Marc Andre Fleury.
I could go on, but I think if Philadelphia just accepted how bad they really are and made sure they are in a position to draft these players in the coming years. Then a couple of seasons down the road, when these prospects join the group of talented youth they already have in place. The Flyers would then be able to at least spark the interest of some enticing free agents enough to make Philadelphia a place where talented players once again consider to come and play. Thus, they then, might have the makings of a successful NHL franchise. It’s worth a shot, right? I mean, everything they have tried since winning the 1975 Stanley Cup up to this point hasn’t, so why not give it a shot?
The Flyers would be wise to Trade Ivan Provorov to this NHL team ASAP
When the Flyers selected defenseman Ivan Provorov back in 2015 with the seventh overall pick in the NHL’s Entry Draft, they thought they might have just found their franchise’s next great blueliner. However, despite Provorov being able to log a ton of minutes for the orange and black over the last seven NHL seasons, I think most fans would agree he still is a far cry from the likes of Kimmo Timonen, Eric Desjardins, or Mark Howe.
With that being said, Philadelphia currently finds themselves in quite a conundrum. In the midst of their third straight losing season, the Flyers clearly can longer be considered the perennial playoff contenders they once were, and to add insult to injury, they are again up against the cap ceiling. So, with no clear answer in sight and far too many bad contracts currently on the books. The team must now look to unload what they can in order to acquire future assets that will help them moving forward.
Now it should go without saying that the team would love to rid themselves of the injury-prone defenseman Ryan Ellis’s contract that has the Flyers on the hook for $6.25 million for not only the rest of this season but the next four. But the likelihood that Chuck Fletcher will be able to find a fellow NHL general manager as gullible as he was when he accepted a trade for Ellis from the Nashville Predators is slim to none. So that should be considered but a pipe dream.
Instead, a more feasible option would be to try and trade away the aforementioned Ivan Provorov, who Chuck Fletcher overpaid a few seasons ago when he inked Ivan to a six-year $40.5 million deal with a cap hit of $6,750,000 a year. While this deal, on its face, does not seem that bad considering what other defensemen are getting paid nowadays, it does cause a problem when you take into consideration that the Flyers also just handed out an eight-year $50 million contract to fellow left-hand shot defender Travis Sanheim. If you do the math, Sanheim will be getting paid a cap hit of $6.25 million through the end of the 2031 season. That means the Flyers now have $19.25 million tied up into two left-hand shot defenders and a broken-down Ryan Ellis, who will most likely milk his injury until his contract runs out in 2027. Giving the team the earliest chance at any cap relief from these three players coming when Provorov is off the books after yet another two seasons.
However, if the team were to trade Provorov, who is still in his prime at just 26 years of age with term still left on his contract, they could not only get back quite the return but free up space in the top pairing for their 2019 first-round pick defenseman Cam York; which would finally give him the ice time he not only deserves but needs to have in order to continue to develop his game.
But then comes the question of what team might potentially be a buyer if the Flyers were willing to move on from Provorov? Well, if I were in Chuck’s position, I would call Rob Blake, the Los Angeles Kings general manager, and here’s why. The Kings are currently in second place in the Pacific Division, and this season may be their last real chance at hoisting another cup with the aging trio of Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, and Jonathan Quick, who were previously able to hang Championship banners for their club back in 2012, and 2014. Why might they make this trade, you may be asking? Well, as good as LA has been this season, they still have needs. One of those needs is a left-hand shot defenseman. The team has only substantiated these claims by forcing their right-hand shot defenseman Sean Durzi to play his offside as well as kicking the tires on Arizona’s Jakob Chychrun. So why not try and offer them, Ivan?
The Kings are ideal trade partners for the Flyers because, besides the fact that LA’s window of winning a championship with their current roster may be closing, they have a plethora of promising prospects in their system that should be considered ripe for the picking.
Such as:
Right-hand defenders:
Brandt Clarke is a 6’2 185 pound, 19-year-old who was taken eighth overall back in ’21
Helge Grans is a 6’3, 205-pound 20-year-old who was taken back in the ’20 draft in the second round.
Or Jordan Spence, a 5’10 181 pound 21-year-old who the Kings drafted back in 2019 with their fourth-round pick.
Forwards:
Samuel Fagemo, a 6’0, 201-pound Swedish winger LA, picked in the second round of the ’19 draft.
Arthur Kaliyev, a 6’2, 209-pound sharpshooter who the Kings took back in the second round of 2019
Alex Turcotte a 21-year-old forward who stands at 5’11 and 185 pounds. That LA took with their fifth overall pick back in 2019.
Or Rasmus Kupari, a 6’2, 201-pound 22-year-old Finnish player that the Kings were able to acquire back in the first round of the 2018 draft.
If the Flyers could acquire a couple of these young and talented prospects in a trade for Provorov, they should not think twice before sending Ivan packing. For if they did, they would be not only giving themselves some breathing room financially but would be setting themselves up in the future as well, as most of these promising prospects have already started to show some success at the professional level in both the American Hockey League as well as the National Hockey League.
Prospect Watch: Avery Hayes
Prospect Watch is back once again with another name that you, the fan, should have on your radar. This week that name is non-other than the latest member of Peterborough Petes, forward Avery Hayes. Who was acquired in a recent trade from the reigning Ontario Hockey League (OHL) champions, the Hamilton Bulldogs. A very successful franchise in which Hayes played a big part in over the past few seasons.
So much so that it has left, this writer perplexed as to why no NHL team to date has thought to sign this now 20-year-old undrafted free agent. Far too often, professional clubs focus solely on building their team from the draft, which to their credit, does play a massive part in the development of their future, but it is not the only way to stay competitive. For example, the true contenders who are forced to select at the tail end of the draft year in and year out have found ways like signing late bloomers such as Hayes (and players like him) to entry-level deals to compensate for their lack of draft capital.
While this type of thinking may be considered innovative, when you think about it, it is nothing more than common sense. I mean, why would any prospecting club not want to add a player who is a threat to score each and every time he touches the ice? Who cares that Hayes is 20 years old when he possesses such a quick and accurate one-timer that it has allowed him to pile up goals on the power play? Not to mention the fact that he has been blessed with the patience of a seasoned NHL veteran that has allowed him to buckle the knees of goaltenders in the OHL for the last few seasons when on a breakaway. With that being said, it is this writer’s opinion that Avery would instantly become a top prospect for whatever club is smart enough to offer him a contract after this season. Don’t believe me? Just look at these stats. Last season, while playing for the Bulldogs, Avery scored 41 goals and 38 assists for 79 points over the course of 66 games played during the regular season. Folks, that means he was able to score at a 1.19-point-per-game pace. What may be equally impressive to NHL clubs, though, is that as dominant as Hayes was able to be in the offensive zone last season, he was able to match that defensively with him being able to maintain a +43 average. A feat that he sought out to best come playoff time when he scored 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points in just 16 games played, which, again, if you do the math, averages out to an astounding 2.12 points per game. This kind of production led to Hamilton winning the aforementioned Ontario Hockey League Championship. But because of the NHL franchises’ inattentiveness to anyone not in their first year of draft eligibility, Hayes’ historic run last season was all for naught.
That’s why once again, this Michigan native was forced to set out this season with the intent to open the eyes of any scouts that may be attending their games. Which, so far, I think he has done. In 33 games played for the Bulldogs this season (before being traded), Avery maintained a 1.24-point-per-game pace scoring 27 goals and 14 assists for 41 points. In addition, since being traded to the Peterborough Petes just a short time ago, Hayes has been able to instantaneously step into an unfamiliar offense and produce, scoring two goals in his first game with his new club. To put into perspective just what type of year Avery is currently on pace for, here are his projected end-of-the-season totals: 55 goals, 27 assists for 82 points.
I don’t know about you, but if Hayes can finish the year with these stats, he at least deserves a camp invite from somebody for his troubles, if not a 2-way contract.