Hayes will be traded, I don't see him surviving here under Torts. TK is part of the solution here, I don't think he should be traded. Provorov to me is the best candidate to move because the moron Fletcher resigned Sanheim and Risto and traded for DeAngelo.
- jd250

Maybe. But If it happens it will be in the offseason, with 50% retained, and Chuck taking back an equally bad contract or throwing in a draft pick....or both.

They are not good. They play this way because they have to - it's the only chance they have to win.
- Scoob

They don't have to play that way. They should be playing in the manner that is best for the future of the team. The future, not winning should be the priority. Play the right way and let the chips fall where they may.

Hayes will be traded, I don't see him surviving here under Torts. TK is part of the solution here, I don't think he should be traded. Provorov to me is the best candidate to move because the moron Fletcher resigned Sanheim and Risto and traded for DeAngelo.
- jd250

Hayes may be traded but if he is, the Flyers will take it on the chin. Fletcher was not a moron for re-signing Sanheim.

Its depressing. I've been watching Bedard like a Hawk. Seeing this organization piss away that opportunity for perpetual purgatory enrages me.
- MBFlyerfan

It’s not that simplistic. The odds of not getting him, even when finishing last, are much greater than actually getting him. I hope we finish fifth last and win the lottery!

No. What they ARE doing is trying to determine who can/should be pieces of the puzzle moving forward. Yes, they need a superstar. Yes, their cap situation is a mess. No, while they have some decent prospects in the pipeline, there isn't a franchise player.

As far as the draft lottery goes, it is what is it. If you are building from absolute scratch, you can draft Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, have them become everything they were hyped to be, and still be far from a Cup contender. This is year 8 of McDavid's career. It's year 9 for Draisaitl. Both are bonafide superstars. The Oilers are currently barely clinging to the lower wildcard spot near the midpoint of the season. Colorado, with all of their injuries, has a higher points percentage and is one point behind with two games in hand.

This season MAY be the final (12th straight, 14th in the last 16) season where Buffalo finishes out of the playoffs before becoming a playoff club again. That's after years and years of drafting at or near the top.

Worry about building a team -- the Flyers still have a long way to go -- and not pining just for a guy who could win Art Ross Trophies on otherwise rotten to middling clubs. Whatever direction they go in, the Flyers will need no small amount of good luck, too.
- bmeltzer

Everyone uses Edmonton and Buffalo as their examples but at the same time completely ignores Pittsburg, Chicago, Tampa, Washington, Colorado, etc. when it comes to winning the first overall pick. Those teams have won 9 of the past 14 Stanley Cups and all of them have a first overall pick on their teams.

I will agree that building depth and talent with the draft is more important than winning the first overall pick but you need multiple draft picks to do that. Something that seemingly eludes the organization since Hextall left.

Arizona has positioned themselves really well in that regard, time will tell if it’s gonna work for them but they’ve collected some great young talent without winning the first overall pick.

What should they do? Send York back to the Phantoms? Keep Hart on IR for the rest of the season and return Ersson to the Phantoms? Healthy scratch Konecny the rest of the year? Bench Tippett, recall Bellows and install him instead near the top of the lineup? Go back to giving Frost 10 mins of ice time a game and very few o-zone starts with two among Mac, Deslauriers or Bellows as his linemates again? Tell Hayes "you know what? We've been rethinking that expectation about two-way play. No need!" Rebreak JVR's fingers?

And THEN what happens if the roughly 80 percent odds of NOT getting Bedard even if you have the worst record in the league plays out as the odds strongly favor?

I strongly agree with this sentiment. However what they shouldn't have done was trade a 2nd, a 3rd and a 4th for two years of Tony DeAngelo. He's a good offensive player but nowhere near good enough to help make this team a playoff contender. So he's just worsening their draft position while taking up ice time that Cam York and Attard and Zamula could be getting.

I guess if the Flyers can trade him to a contender in February, 2024 for a decent return then it won't be so bad.

They don't have to play that way. They should be playing in the manner that is best for the future of the team. The future, not winning should be the priority. Play the right way and let the chips fall where they may.
- MJL

Winning the current game is always the priority. No coach or player with integrity is going to behave otherwise.

This is not going to be turned around very quickly. None of Gauthier, Andrea or the player they draft is a guarantee to make the Flyers next year. Getting a top 10 pick for Provorov is very unlikely.
- MJL

It's sad because Provorov is much better than Risto, but the Flyers probably can't get as good a return for him as Buffalo did from Fletcher.

14th overall in 2021

~39th overall in 2023

Hagg - traded for the 187th overall in 2022

We can't stand pat. I agree. But I don't see unloading Hayes, Provy, TK, etc. as viable options. JOB or JVR gets a 2nd, then yes. TK is our best player and we have him at a decent cap hit for 2 years. What team wants Hayes? I could see us moving on from Provy. Maybe Sanheim. But why rush? There may be deals to be had at the draft...?

We just have to suffer through the rest of this year.
- cdearth23

Sanheim just signed a 6 year deal and Risto a 5 year deal. There is no way I see either getting traded. What team would want this term for these players?

The continued evolution of Frost, Tippett, Cates, and York has been unexpected- in a good way.
- Trox88

The only thing unexpected out of those four has been the Flyers decision to force Cates into the center position where his offense has struggled mightily compared to how he played on the wing last season.

Fropst, Tippett and York just needed to get regular minutes with not terrible linemates and they were going to be fine.

Winning the current game is always the priority. No coach or player with integrity is going to behave otherwise.
- Scoob

Playing an ultra -conservative strategy in order to win and to sustain a coaches legacy is not an example of a coach having integrity in my opinion.

Sanheim just signed a 6 year deal and Risto a 5 year deal. There is no way I see either getting traded. What team would want this term for these players?
- jd250

Sanheim is the team's best ES defensmen, again. Risto is one of the worst dmen in the entire league with an absurdly expensive contract that's going to have to be bought out. There's nothing similar about them.

Sanheim just signed a 6 year deal and Risto a 5 year deal. There is no way I see either getting traded. What team would want this term for these players?
- jd250

Sanheim's deal was an 8 year deal.

The only thing unexpected out of those four has been the Flyers decision to force Cates into the center position where his offense has struggled mightily compared to how he played on the win last season.

Fropst, Tippett and York just needed to get regular minutes with not terrible linemates and they were going to be fine.
- Feanor

Agreed. Hopefully the latter 3 players are able to climb over the walls the Flyers put in place.

I totally agree that tanking leaves a bad taste in your mouth. But, it’s not like we have an all-star lineup and we’re just laying down for games. Point is, while we’re down take advantage of the system in place to better ourselves going forward. Let’s not get carried away with the western sweep, two of those teams are extremely bad. The Flyers are not built or constructed to compete this year or next. Drafting can be a crap shoot at times, why not accumulate as many picks as possible and continue to build through the draft. If that means moving a player sooner than later, and it weakens our team now, I won’t lose any sleep.

Hayes may be traded but if he is, the Flyers will take it on the chin. Fletcher was not a moron for re-signing Sanheim.
- MJL

Resigning Sanheim to that type of contract was asinine. 8 years at over $6M for what Sanhiem brings to the table?? But what is done is done. Risto and Sanheim are here to stay for the foreseeable future, Ellis is done. York is a nice player so far, and we'll see what Andrea, Attard and Zamula have to offer. However with all this there are no studs on this defense so it comes down to Provorov or DeAngelo, who do you trade? I think Provorov gets the Flyers the best return. With Hayes, I think the Flyers take on the chin regarding salary retention, but little else.

Playing an ultra -conservative strategy in order to win and to sustain a coaches legacy is not an example of a coach having integrity in my opinion.
- MJL

Do you believe the system is constraining or hampering the development of the younger players on the team?

Sanheim is the team's best ES defensmen, again. Risto is one of the worst dmen in the entire league with an absurdly expensive contract that's going to have to be bought out. There's nothing similar about them.
- Feanor

Sanheim is not worth the contract offered to him and that he signed, period.

Agreed. Hopefully the latter 3 players are able to climb over the walls the Flyers put in place.
- MJL

I have to give credit finally to Frost. I have said for a while this kid has to stop deferring offensively and be more assertive and shoot more. Maybe his shoulder is finally better, but for whatever reason Frost is shooting more and driving more plays. I still think he is too timid, but he is finally showing me something and that is a good thing. Though John Gibson looks to be a shell of himself in goal for the Ducks, that wrist shot from Frost last night was gas!

Sanheim is not worth the contract offered to him and that he signed, period.
- jd250

I agree that I wouldn't have given him an 8 year term without something in return. However that doesn't make the GM a moron for re-signing him.

Playing an ultra -conservative strategy in order to win and to sustain a coaches legacy is not an example of a coach having integrity in my opinion.
- MJL

I think Torts deserves a lot of credit. The younger players on this team have been given a chance to shine and are being clearly coached up. I don't see why you are down on Torts. I hated the hire initially and called it a "lazy hire". But Torts has really done a good job this season.

I agree that I wouldn't have given him an 8 year term without something in return. However that doesn't make the GM a moron for re-signing him.
- MJL

Wait, are you defending Fletcher? :-)

I have to give credit finally to Frost. I have said for a while this kid has to stop deferring offensively and be more assertive and shoot more. Maybe his shoulder is finally better, but for whatever reason Frost is shooting more and driving more plays. I still think he is too timid, but he is finally showing me something and that is a good thing. Though John Gibson looks to be a shell of himself in goal for the Ducks, that wrist shot from Frost last night was gas!
- jd250

This deferring to teammates is something that you invented. Doesn't exist. Frost is always going to be more of a playmaker and passer than a goal scorer. The signs for Frost have been there all along. Is the only way you can see a sign is the player scoring a goal? Frost is just getting some puck luck now. For a smaller player, there is no timidness to his game. He just needs to continue to progress this year.

I think Torts deserves a lot of credit. The younger players on this team have been given a chance to shine and are being clearly coached up. I don't see why you are down on Torts. I hated the hire initially and called it a "lazy hire". But Torts has really done a good job this season.
- jd250

Since they are clearly coached up. Give me some specifics. Not generalities and cliches.

The only thing unexpected out of those four has been the Flyers decision to force Cates into the center position where his offense has struggled mightily compared to how he played on the wing last season.

Fropst, Tippett and York just needed to get regular minutes with not terrible linemates and they were going to be fine.
- Feanor

Disagree slightly. I wasn't sure Tippett could score at 25+ goal pace. Would FLA had traded him if they believed he was capable of that production? Considering G only wanted to go to FLA, they had plenty of leverage in trade negotiations. Yotk was carrying the carcass of Braun last night and I thought was again the best Dman moving the puck out of the D zone quickly. Frost has been great the last 10 games. Cates might be figuring things out at center. He has been lined up against the other teams 1C constantly for awhile now. My basic point with all these guys there was hope to see improvement. I do believe all of them are exceeding those expectations. Let"s hope it continues. The trade off is if it continues, they will be picking closer to 10 then 5, which is going to infuriate a decent portion of the fan base.