When Will The Philadelphia Flyers Be Competitive Again? By: Dylan Robillard
Photo Credit: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
After an up-and-down 2022-23 season, the Philadelphia Flyers' faithful is starved for the team to tank and push for a top-three NHL draft pick. However, that is not the way things will likely pan out.
Under head coach John Tortorella and GM Danny Briere, who does not believe in tanking, the idea of even sniffing a top-three draft pick seems unlikely. Many people think the Flyers will be an outright awful team, which is just not the case under John Tortorella mixed in with a young developing down the middle.
A Winning Culture:
Philadelphia Flyers play-by-play announcer Jim Jackson and Lead Flyers writer for PHLY Flyers Charlie O’Connor spoke about the future of the new era of orange on the PHLY Flyers Podcast last week, mentioning the rebuild, how this new management is truly bringing fans back in, and how patient fans can actually be. Jim spoke about how the fans will react to bad news once it rolls around. Everyone is happy right now, but what happens if things get worse?
“What I love about Philadelphia is its passion and when you're winning there is absolutely no better city to play, to broadcast, be a fan, be involved…when they are winning…I've seen it I know, we want to get back to it, the question is are the fans going to stick with the rebuild?”
Jim Jackson also said he views this as a rebuild to contention, if the team is looking to rebuild for a Stanley Cup that could be a lot further down the line 5-6 years but competing and becoming a good hockey team could start as early as this upcoming season, it all depends on how the players react. Another factor is if everyone can continue to stay healthy, i.e Sean Couturier and Cam Atiknson have returned for the 2023-24 season after missing an ample amount of time with injuries, both of whom can help win hockey games.
“I think they will be competitive for a playoff spot way sooner than some people think. Many people think they are going to be awful this year, again if certain things go wrong, yes. But if they are healthy, which is not something we’ve been able to say for a while…some of these young players take bigger jumps and with John Tortorella as coach this team could be competitive this year, I'm not saying win the cup or even make the playoffs but be competitive into late March or early April, than a next year the naturally jump would be make the playoffs.” Jim Jackson said.
Those young guys being Joel Farabee, Bobby Brink, Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, Travis Konency, Tyson Foerster and others. Jim Jackson is the play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia Flyers, so he will not rip into the team like a fan would, but he has a point. The Flyers can be a strong team this year if all the pieces fall into place, which would speed up the rebuild.
Which in part is a tough pill to swallow for some. For others, it means speeding up the process, building off what the team started in the latter months of the season. Morgan Frost got hot after Christmas. Owen Tippett was solid all year. Travis Konency had a career year. All these little things can make for a better hockey team. It is truly up to the players how long this rebuild takes. The Flyers brass can only do so much.
The Truth:
Photo Credit: Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Image
Head coach John Tortorella considers this upcoming season to be the second year of the Flyers rebuild, the team has already gone through the first-year problems. John Tortorella will change his ways to work with the team and be able to coach this team, something a lot of fans did not think was possible.
“See, in my mind, we were rebuilding last year. I don’t care what we said, what was allowed to be said, or whatever. In my mind, we were rebuilding. I’m going to the second step of this here.” John Tortorella told the media.
Now this does not mean the Flyers are skipping a year, it may move things along a bit more. However, this is the true first year of the rebuild. Last year was just the beginning. Things should truly kick off this year starting with the trade deadline.
Back End Troubles:
The Flyers offense could look great for the coming seasons, but the defense is a big question mark right now. With the current state of the defensive core, things look ugly. The team is without a true number one D-man. Cam York looks good and is developing into something, but it is unknown if he is a true number one defenceman. In the pipeline, things are shaping up with guys like Oliver Bonk and Carter Sotheran.
Which is not enough, unfortunately. Bringing back the argument, the team needs a top-five draft pick, although this upcoming draft looks to be defense heavy. So, it could still be likely to score a high-end D-man. Maybe not a first pairing one but adding depth well going out and trading/signing a key defenseman when the Flyers are ready to make the Stanley Cup push is another discussion. Tony DeAngelo along with Ivan Provorov are both elsewhere now, so this season will open up a lot of opportunities for the young guys to show what they are made of, beating out the veterans for roster spots or getting longer looks at the NHL level.
Speaking of Flyers defenseman, Travis Sanheim struggled last season in almost all aspects of his game. After signing a lengthy contract, Travis has been lacking. He has already said he wants to be on this Flyers team, not that he wouldn’t. He did sign for seven years. Nonetheless, he had a solid training camp/preseason, which is promising as he desperately needs a bounce-back year.
Goaltending:
Goalies are so hard to predict, one year, vezina caliber netminder the next barely they barely have a .900 save percentage. Making the position so hard to analyze. The Flyers do not have any shortage of goalies, at least not right now which is a good thing; we all remember a couple years ago when the team went through about 15 goalies in one season. This time around it isn’t the amount of goalies, it is who plays where and maybe for how long. That’s not to say the Flyers number one goaltender Carter Hart is involved with the Team Canada investigation. Nevertheless, if he was, it would create a lot of complications for both himself and the organization, making him both untradeable and unsignable. Especially if he were to face suspension or a fine. There is no doubt that (most) fans want Hart to stay in Philadelphia, they want him to be the goalie that takes the Flyers to the Stanley Cup. Still this investigation looms and continues to be hung over players heads, making it hard for Hart to do his job; whether he is or is not involved.
Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
As for the other netminders, the Flyers have Samuel Ersson along with Felix Sandstrom currently up in the NHL. Both netminders would have to clear waivers to be sent back down to Lehigh which in itself is a big risk, going from a good chunk of goaltenders to a few — for nothing in return. Ersson is shaping up to be the backup to Hart this season, rightfully so after a solid season both in the AHL and NHL. The organization sees a lot of potential in him, having already signed an extension this summer. Cal Petersen was shipped to the Flyers as a salary dump, a part of the huge three way deal this offseason. The organization is not high on Petersen, giving them the easy choice of putting him on waivers Tuesday afternoon.
The Flyers goalie pool is also shaping up nicely, two Russians, Alexei Kosolov (2021 Draft) and Yegor Zavragin (2023) both of whom have been very successful over in the KHL/MHL this season. Along with Zavragin, GM Danny Briere traded into the second round this year to acquire the number one ranked goalie of his draft class, Carson Bjarnason out of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Who the team has already signed to his entry-level-contract, showing that the team sees promise in the young goaltender.
Importance of Good Drafting:
General manager Danny Briere and company had a successful draft this summer, adding elite talent in Matvei Michkov, Oliver Bonk (Signed ELC), Denver Barkey (ELC), and others. Along with Cutter Gauthier already being in their system, who could very well be in the orange and black next season. The Flyers already have a guaranteed first-round draft pick along with a promising pick from the Florida Panthers. Does that mean if the Flyers stay competitive they will be granted a top-10 draft pick? No, but there is still the possibility of a high-end player falling in between 12-15.
Even then, the draft pick does not provide as much of a spark if going into the “third/second” year of a rebuild, the team is already vastly improving. The addition of Cutter next season alone provides an improvement in roster depth, something the team needs to be a true cup contender. Having a productive bottom six is something to be admired, especially if they work well together and can score goals; teams do not win with one line.
The Thick of It:
There is a lot of hypothetical discussion that goes into a topic like this, but if the Flyers' young players step up and we see glimpses of the production that was present from the top six in the latter stages of last season, along with the new additions, this team could be competitive. Whether or not fans like it. Tons of them still think tanking is the way to go, but the sooner things look up, the better. Playoff hockey was meant for Philadelphia. It is time the Stanley Cup came back to the City of Brotherly Love. The Michkov era is right around the corner. Things could even look up before then. It is in the players' hands now.