Chuck Fletcher has easily outdone Hextall and will continue to do so. Since he got here, he has acquired Kevin Hayes, Matt Niskanen, Derek Grant, Ryan Ellis, Cam Atkinson, Rasmus Ristolainen, Keith Yandle, Justin Braun, Martin Jones, Derick Brassard, Nate Thompson, Ryan Hartman, Tyler Pitlick, Owen Tippett, Zack MacEwen, Nick Seeler, and Patrick Brown. While not all of these players stayed or worked out, he is constantly trying to improve the roster overall.
Players who have been moved or claimed off of waivers since he got here (players already here when he got here) have been Shayne Gostisbehere, Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Phil Myers, Nolan Patrick, Robert Hagg, Connor Bunnaman, German Rubtsov, Radko Gudas, Michael Raffl, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel.
The draft has been good to Fletcher, especially while he was in Minnesota. He hit on guys like Kahkonen, Kaprizov and Greenway, three big pieces for the Wild. So who has Fletcher added since coming here? Now I will still put the prospects down even if their injured, but they are noteworthy. Cam York, Bobby Brink, Tyson Foerster, Zayde Wisdom, Elliot Desnoyers are all either having good seasons in their respective leagues, or were injured. This previous draft is still a little too soon to judge but overall, those five players have been good for their clubs and can hopefully all develop into something good.
Overall, Fletcher has a vision for what he wants this team to become and he is putting a lot of trust back into his young players. He tried this last season and it did not go well, but I think the roster that is constructed now is better than last season. Missing Couturier and Ellis doesn’t help them, but it does open doors for young guys to step up not only on the ice but in the locker room.
In his presser today, Fletcher said some interesting things and I personally liked what I heard. Yeo went to both Farabee and Konency and told them this is their time to step up and show what they have and can be. Konecny especially stepped up yesterday and you can see him leading. Konecny and Farabee both ended yesterday with two assists and Kevin Hayes had two goals.
Not every night can one line carry, but that was not the case like we were seeing for most of the season. It was a full team effort. Each line worked hard and they brought it to the Islanders even after being down a goal early. They fought back and worked hard and they just kept going. It was one of the best efforts we saw all season.
This style of play that we saw is what Fletcher wants. He is constructing a team that will be lead by young budding stars with speed, skill and high-IQ’s. Tippett showed all three of those yesterday, getting time playing with Oskar Lindblom and Morgan Frost. It was a young line with a ton of energy and skill. While they made some mistakes, overall the line played really well and it gave Frost some ice time with some other skilled players outside of Giroux and Konecny.
Scott Laughton and Nate Thompson will both be returning soon to give the Flyers a bit of a boost to help build something for next season but as Fletcher said, this is the kid’s time to play. I highly expect seeing Zamula up here and to play some defense over Connauton and Seeler. We may also see Ratcliffe back up for a couple games. Allison and some other potential players who can make the team at training camp or preseason may also see time if possible.
This offseason will be extremely crucial. This can make or break Fletcher’s time here. He needs to hire a head coach who can take the Flyers to the next level and they need to get some top end talent, whether that is bringing Claude Giroux back and some other players, or going a whole different way with just rebuilding this core with trades and bringing in top notch talent. I still believe this roster rebuild is far from over and I am curious to see how this is all going to shake out.
Chuck Fletcher is taking a lot of heat unfairly. I believe he is doing the right things. It takes time to build a solid roster and a good team that can compete for a four to five year window and that is the way we are heading. Fletcher has completely changed course and will bring in the young talent needed to push this roster over the top. The main goals outside of player personal are two things.
First, examine the Flyers medical staff and consider changing them. Mid season is not ideal to change a medical staff around but Fletcher needs to look thoroughly at what is there. The Flyers have had a bad injury bug this season and it was not something complex. It was the same injuries that the players were already dealing with.
Second, get a head coach. There are head coaches available, but who would fit a system you want this team to play? The dump and chase is dead and it is time to carry and break out with effective passes. Entering through the neutral zone has also been a big issue. A coach who is a generalist and all around good coach that doesn’t specialize in any special aspect would work well if you can bring in those specialists on your staff.
This is a crucial point in the Flyers crossroad and Chuck Fletcher is leading the way. We need to trust him and give him a chance. We have overvalued so much garbage in Philadelphia and Chuck Fletcher doesn’t. Fletcher will bring in talent this offseason that will only help this team.
So let this squad get healthy, let the kids battle for roster spots and potentially bring the captain home or name Sean Couturier the next captain. Chuck Fletcher, all eyes are on you.