October 10, 2022 | 7:15pm ET
By Anthony Di Marco, TheFourthPeriod.com

YEAR OF “STABILIZATION” PRESENTS YEAR OF OPPORTUNITY

Flyers head coach John Tortorella

MONTREAL, QC — “Right now, our goal, our full focus, is making the playoffs.”

That’s what then-Assistant Coach (and eventual interim Head Coach) Mike Yeo said to me when I sat down with him a year ago at this time.

The Philadelphia Flyers turned over nearly 25% of their roster in the summer of 2021 following a disastrous Covid-shortened campaign. The hope was to get this team back on the rails to where it was pre-pandemic, when the team was challenging for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and ultimately led to them going to Game 7 of the second-round of the 2020 NHL playoffs.

A lot has changed over the last 20 months in Philadelphia; the last 12 months even more so. The “Claude Giroux Era” officially ended in March, closing the book on a decade of the now-former captain’s tenure as the face of the franchise. The ugly split between Giroux and the Flyers was a result of yet another disaster-filled year in 2021-22, fueled by dysfunctionality behind the scenes, a landslide of injuries beyond anyone’s control, a Head Coach (Alain Vigneault) who threw in the towel and an overall lack of accountability between players.

The message from management from January was that of an “aggressive retool,” presumably to (once again) get this team back to playoff contention.

The Flyers tried to gauge the market on what it would take to make such a thing happening. They attempted valiantly to move the salary of James van Riemsdyk but were unwilling to pay the egregious price to do so, and looked at every avenue to land a big fish, most notably Johnny Gaudreau, who did seem willing to come “home.”

While not actively shopping them, the Flyers did test the waters on what Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov would garner via trade; they quickly realized it wasn’t sufficient to move either player. And Alex DeBrincat was never an option, as the team wasn’t willing to part with the fifth-overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft.

But as the summer dragged on and the options began to run out, it became clear there was no way the Flyers were going to be competitive this season. The Flyers were forced to pivot from their initial plan; it was simply unattainable.

The messaging from the team was poor and the road to get there wasn’t pretty – and suggested a lack of direction from the organization – but the outcome of the Flyers’ off-season was likely the best case in terms of the long-term outlook of the team. There were surely some things that could’ve been done differently but mortgaging the future by moving assets to add high-priced players to a flawed roster would have been simply compounding the existing issues and doubling down on a plan clearly wasn’t working.

This was further cemented before training camp got under way when top-centre Sean Couturier was (officially) announced as “week-to-week” by the team and defenceman Ryan Ellis was ruled out for the entire season, with his career also in jeopardy.

Like it or not, the Flyers have been barreling towards needing a “stabilization” year, as General Manager Chuck Fletcher called it, for 24 months. Without a lack of “high end talent” anywhere in the system to replace the production of Giroux and Jakub Voracek from the 2010s, there was no way this team could be put on a contending path for the 2022-23 campaign.

As Fletcher alluded to back in January, the easiest way to obtain “high end talent” is through the Draft and developing internally. While the Flyers don’t (as of today) have any prospects that project to develop into elite players, there is a solid crop of forwards who have middle-to-top-six ceilings.

Aside from the (glaring) lack of talent, a clear culture change is needed in Philadelphia. Since Head Coach John Tortorella was hired in June, he has referenced concerns about the Flyers’ locker room, calling it “splintered” and lacking accountability. As much as this year is about assessing what you have internally, it’s arguably more about setting a “standard” and implementing a new culture behind the scenes.

“Getting back to playing the right way, trying to create some good habits,” said Special Assistant to the GM Danny Briere in discussion with TFP. “Body language is a big thing we need to work on, as well.”

On the “Athletic Show” a few weeks back, Michael Russo mentioned a lot of “moping” that went on in the Flyers’ room last season. On “Stick 2 Hockey Live” this past week, The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor mentioned how there was a “here we go again” feeling players would exuberate whenever something would go wrong in a game. Keith Yandle, who announced his retirement last month, mentioned how they had fun last season, even though the results on the ice were an unmitigated disaster.

Either way you cut it, there was a clear lack of accountability and commitment to winning from the Flyers’ players’ last season. As much as the team desperately needs high-end talent if they want to eventually contend for a Stanley Cup, it is imperative a culture committed to winning is set behind the scenes.

Unlike years past, there were as many as 10 roster spots for the taking entering this year’s training camp. With a clear path available for young players to make the NHL, it’s something that (one would assume) would positively impact the motivation for guys looking to earn a spot with the big club.

“For me, it (having open roster spots) would get me excited,” Briere said. “It would fire me up knowing that there’s not just spots, but responsibility up for grabs. You look at the changes the last few years, losing Voracek and Giroux, that’s a lot of points that are no longer on the table and a lot of opportunity and responsibility that weren’t available for a lot of years.

“Personally, I’d be very excited by that. And not just for the rookies and the young guys, but also for the guys who have been around but never had a chance to be put in that position because they were locked up with star players that were here for a long time.”

With massive voids being left in so many departments of responsibility, it presents opportunity for players all throughout the roster. There is obviously an expectation from the younger players to find their niche in the NHL, but also from veteran players to take on more elevated roles as leaders, both on and off the ice.

“Atkinson, Couts, Hayes and Laughton; they’ve been around a long time and there’s more responsibility for them as leaders,” said Briere. “As far as the young guys, like Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost, those are guys that can maybe take on a bigger role than they have in the past with us. Farabee, as well.

“You have the guys who are coming on this year – (Noah) Cates, (Wade) Allison, Laczynski. There’s different stages of players, everyone will get a look and everyone will have a chance to run with it. It’s a matter of who wants it most and who is willing to make the sacrifices to get there.”

A camp that has been “for the taking” has already had its disappointments, as 2019 first-round pick Cam York was already demoted to the AHL. York, who spent a decent chunk with the Flyers last season and played admirably, was arguably the prospect with the best shot to make the team this season and with the highest ceiling. He was projected to be a slam dunk to start on the Flyers’ third pair this season, something he will have to earn down in the AHL.

By all accounts, he had a poor pre-season and did not impress the Flyers’ brass. Had he made the team, it would’ve been based on merit and pedigree rather than performance and effort. Torterella and the coaching staff have wanted to set a standard and instill accountability from the onset, something that York felt head-on.

From an on-ice perspective, this season will not be about winning hockey games and pushing for the playoffs; it’s going to be about figuring out what this team has internally and seeing what players will sink or swim. Can Allison, Frost and Tippett stick in the NHL? Are Konecny, Provorov and Sanheim all part of the long-term solution? Can players like Atkison, Hayes and Laughton take the next step as leaders?

There will also be questions about the players within the system but playing outside of Philadelphia. How will 2020 first-round pick Tyson Foerster fair in his first full year transitioning to professional hockey? Will York get a spark starting in the AHL and quickly make his way back to the main roster? How will 2022 fifth-overall pick Cutter Gauthier develop at Boston College?

Tortorella and the Flyers’ brass have decided this season is about development and presenting opportunities to those from within. The onus is now on the players to prove how much they want to be part of the solution for a team that has a very long way to go before getting to where they want to be.

With a lack of top-end talent throughout the organization, this season really is about getting back to basics. But as much as a good standard and hard work is, high-end talent ultimately reigns in the NHL, something the Flyers will eventually have to find somewhere to inject into their main roster.