Is it time to blow it up?

[1865]

I feel like we're living in purgatory, in that eternal no-mans-land that gets you nowhere in the NHL. The Fletcher specialty, the corridor of mediocrity. We're not bad enough to pick high, we're not good enough to stand any chance of a cup. We're getting older and our farm has dried up. We're preening around during a unprecedented period of Metro strength and our best player is 34 with an expiring contract. Is it time to blow it up? I'm genuinely on the fence.

In the "yes" column, we're going nowhere. If we let this play out, we finish 4th or 5th in the division every season and we end up wasting Hart's career as we did G's and Couts'. We can try to offload AV, JvR, Hayes and all of the terrible veterans. We could start again and build around Hart, TK, Provy and Farabee. Plus, we may get the bittersweet joy of G getting the Kimmo treatment and maybe getting the cup he deserves elsewhere.

In the "no" column, i don't trust Fletcher and I don't believe he'd be able to do any better with a mulligan. He's learned nothing during his NHL career, we're a carbon copy of his 2021 Minnesota team. He inherited a club with one of the top farm systems in the NHL and we're somehow worse now than when he took over. In only a few short years we're somehow finding ourselves in a position where we're playing Nate Thompson and Keith Yandle every night. Also, it would be a sin to intentionally waste another 3 years of Hart on a restock and losing G and Couts would be heartbreaking.

So.. i don't know. Do we keep going on, knowing in the back of our mind exactly what's going to happen, or do we go for the mystery box? The team is what it is but the reboot could be anything, it could even be a boat.

Click to read more...

 

[PHILOUDELPHIA]

Fire everyone, fire Comcast nbc.

Trade everyone. We will never win with this group, ownership, coaches, development.

We’re the kings of wasting talent

 

[AaronTrieu]

You can win when you have this many black holes in the line up and bad signings.

 

[WIP CALLER]

Yeah I would love it if they went the Sixers process route and just tanked the next few years. 2023 would be the year to do it too with Bedard and Michkov coming out. We could have the chance at getting our own generational talent to build around. It'll never happen though.

 

[MorgantiDrinksBlood]

Yeah, this is it. There's nothing left to build around and Giroux if smart will be gone in the offseason. Why would he want to play with this pig slop? It's time to move in a diff direction, that being said, we'll "retool" and be middle of the pack again and get run out in the 1st round if we make the playoffs in the upcoming years.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Unless they start giving out a cut of playoff revenue to fans. I don’t know why anybody is acceptant of a ceiling of making the playoffs & maybe winning a round & a floor of essentially finishing in the low teens.

We’re going on 10+ years of this now with no clear end. This organization has shown no ability to win trades/free agents in such succession to be necessary to move the needle enough over the years. A potential high end prospect or few is really the only thing that potentially could outweigh their incompetence at this point.

 

[flyershockey]

What are they blowing up exactly?

They have some pieces that you absolutely need to win at a high level; a #1 center, a #1 goaltender, scoring wingers that can stretch the ice, and a crop of young defenseman. They also have a bunch of mediocre pieces and an ownership group that seems content with rehash coaching/hockey ops staffs that have no interest in player development, and the preference to backfill the roster with over the hill try-hards that are well past their expiration date.

That gets you to perpetual mediocrity. And I don't see wholesale changes coming anytime soon. Even the coaching staff seems safe, provided they keep the team "in contention". Unless gate revenue and TV ratings suddenly fall off a cliff, I doubt anyone from the mothership even gives a shit, frankly.

 

[Rebels57]

You start by firing this piece of shit coaching staff immediately. Then you see how they respond. If they cant put it together with a system that doesnt set them up to fail and with the scrubs replaced by our best prospects, then you blow it up in the summer.

 

[Appleyard]

One of Wright, Michkov, Bedard

would certainly be a help going forward if managed to somehow keep 5/6 of Hart, Provorov, Sanheim, Konecny, Couturier and Farabee.

But not sure that is possible... and Wright seems like if keeps developing is ~Tavares level, not Crosby, McDavid, Ovechkin etc.

though who knows if they keep playing like this.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Why all of the doom and gloom? They were just ranked 12th in The Athletic's 2024 Power Rankings.

 

[BillDineen]

Why all of the doom and gloom? They were just ranked 12th in The Athletic's 2024 Power Rankings.

This made me laugh after 3hrs of misery

 

[FlyerNutter]

I’d have blown this sky high last off-season.

This half ass retool, with poor coaching/development isn’t enough to stay on some naive path of contention.

What’s the fear? Trading Con Smythe Provorov?

 

[Juicy Pop]

Yep.

We've somehow fallen short on almost every pick it seems given that even Konency is looking like a perennial 40 point guy at max.

It won't happen though.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

 

[FlyerNutter]

Yep.

We've somehow fallen short on almost every pick it seems given that even Konency is looking like a perennial 40 point guy at max.

It won't happen though.

Id love to see what they can do with a proper coach, but really. Is it even worth it at this point?

You’ve had most of these guys brought up through at least 3 BS coaches in Hakstol, Vigneault, and Gordon.

I so badly wish they would do it right from the ground up. For one damn time.

 

[Beef Invictus]

If we go full Castle Bravo and fire every pathetic loser in every position of authority and sell the team to something competent, that might have a chance of changing things. Anything less and the perpetual sucking machine keeps grinding on forever and ever.

 

[Lindberg]

I thought they were on the right track by acquiring Ellis but then proceeded to completely muck it up.

Fletcher mentioned that cap space was important and then immediately blew all of the cap space away.

I honestly haven't watched more than a period worth of the Flyers this season. I was and still am completely befuddled by the management of this organization.

 

[Hurricane28]

I would say Fire AV but these morons would make Lappy coach for the rest of the year.

 

[Lindberg]

I would say Fire AV but these morons would make Lappy coach for the rest of the year.

I've heard over and over how he's so important to the morale of the Flyers.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Arguably the team went the way of the USS Maine in 2011 and we've just been slow to realize the things at the bottom of the harbor the whole time.

 

[FlyerNutter]

Just something to think about. Once Giroux is indeed gone.

Where do the Flyers go?

Enough of this facade.

 

[Lindberg]

Just something to think about. Once Giroux is indeed gone.

Where do the Flyers go?

Enough of this facade.

Giroux isn't getting an 8 year contract with the Flyers so where does he go? I'd imagine he's a competitive guy and he's made his money. Still in good shape with no real injury history. I mean if I was in his shoes unless I really loved Philly I'd go somewhere else. Ten years of just being mediocre would make me want to have a chance to win.

 

[Gurglesons]

Giroux isn't getting an 8 year contract with the Flyers so where does he go? I'd imagine he's a competitive guy and he's made his money. Still in good shape with no real injury history. I mean if I was in his shoes unless I really loved Philly I'd go somewhere else. Ten years of just being mediocre would make me want to have a chance to win.

He’s coming to PIT to hang with Hextall.

 

[Striiker]

There's not much to blow up anymore. Fletcher used an explosion last offseason to blow off some limbs and the patient is just barely holding on.

He's also keeping a vital donor organ in the AHL, so it'll probably end up helping a different patient soon.

 

[Gurglesons]

I think the most disappointing thing this season for the Flyers is Hart bounced back in a tremendous way and they still suck. Atkinson has been very solid. Ellis is good in the games he’s played. It’s like what else can you do.

And the Risto trade is somehow worse than anticipated.