Is Help on the Way for The Flyers?

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Let’s be honest, this season has been dreadful. From having many multiple game losing streaks, lots of injuries, COVID, the firing of Alain Vigneault, and the trading away of longtime captain and face of the franchise Claude Giroux, every Flyers fan is impatiently waiting for a merciful end to this year. But is hope on the way? Is the future of the Flyers bright?

If there is any bright spot to this season, it is that the Flyers will NOT finish with their worst ever record, but just barely. That record is still held up by the 2006-2007 team. But look what happened there. In three years, they made a magical run to the Stanley Cup, only to lose to the Blackhawks. In the following season, they won the Atlantic Division before falling to the Bruins in the conference semifinals.

How’d they get there? Part of it was a strong youth movement. Young players like Braydon Coburn, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, James van Riemsdyk, and the aforementioned Claude Giroux all became part of the team.

They blended this young talent by trading for Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timmonen and signing Danny Briere, who would become a Flyers playoff legend.

Do we have shades of this happening now? It’s hard to say. But let’s look at some positives.

Youth Providing Strong Play For Flyers

Noah Cates, Keith Yandle, Owen Tippett, and Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers (Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports) /

Noah Cates scored twice against the Pittsburgh Penguins this past weekend. In his 13 games this year, he’s found the back of the net five times. Cam York has struggled at times, as a young defender will, but he has shown he can score; at least he could before his season ending injury.

Oskar Lindblom, still only 25, has had his most productive year since being diagnosed with cancer. Likewise, Travis Konency has been on fire lately and has had his best season since the pandemic began. Joel Farabee is very close to setting career highs in points and goals scored. Travis Sanheim, likewise, is also close to setting career marks in points and goals.

Let’s also not forget Carter Hart. The 23 year old netminder has posted career highs in games started and has had better a GAA and save percentage than last season. He still has his ups and downs, as many young goalies do, but he has kept this team in many of the games they have lost. Put a good roster in front of him that can score, defend, and score on the power play. They may just be a contending team after that.

How about a strong veteran presence on the team? Cam Atkinson has had his best season since the pandemic began. JVR has had one of his stronger seasons since rejoining the Flyers. If Kevin Hayes can come back to his 2019-2020 form, something he isn’t far off stats wise when you consider how much time he has missed this year, then the Flyers will have a good core of vets around to teach the younger players. If you take away many of those late game collapses, the Flyers could be in contention for a wild card spot. That is a key area where you need a strong core of veterans.

Some laughed when Chuck Fletcher said that this team is only a few pieces away at making a serious run. He said the team needed to retool, but not rebuild. This offseason he will have the chance. He could add some great free agents; of which there are quite a few to choose from. He could swing a trade. The Flyers will have plenty of cap space to play with. Will they make the right moves or is this the beginning of a dark time in Flyers history? Time will tell.

Hopefully the future of the Flyers will be bright. The rest of the Metropolitan Division has gotten really good, really quick. If the team can’t fix their issues now, they may be chasing stronger teams for quite a while.

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