Flyers Should Find Inspiration From Divisional Rival

I grew up a Flyers fan in South Jersey during the Eric Lindros era. I went to college in Upstate NY during the Flyers’ rivalry with the Buffalo Sabres and Dominik Hasek. I moved to NY after college and watched as the Flyers battled the Sidney Crosby led Penguins for divisional supremacy every year.

In the fall of 2012, I moved to Eastern NC and the only hockey in town was the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were in near shambles just a few years after winning the Stanley Cup. Their attendance was lowsy. The crowds at their arena were quiet, unlike any crowd I’ve seen at the Wells Fargo Center.

They spent the first five seasons of the new Metropolitian Division as a bottom three team. Now, the Canes are an Eastern Conference juggernaut. How’d it happen and how can the Flyers copy that success?

It Starts With the Coach

In 2018-19, the Hurricanes promoted assistant coach Rod Brind’Amour. Brind’Amour was the Flyers’ second line center in the 90s, and my personal favorite Flyer. He was traded to the Hurricanes for Keith Primeau in January 2000. He would spend the next 10 years there, guiding the Canes to two Stanley Cup finals and capturing the title in 2006.

When he played, Brind’Amour was never the best player of the team, but he always played like it. Most of the time, his style of play didn’t show up on the stat sheet. He scored 452 goals with 732 assists. But he was a faceoff freak. He always seemed to win every draw he took. He would dump the puck into the corners and chase it down.

He could fight when he needed to or dish out a great hit. Everything you needed a player to do, he did. In recent times, Wayne Simmonds played with the same sort of intensity. Along the way, Brind’Amour would earn two Selke Trophies as the league’s best defensive forward.

As the coach of the Canes, Brind’Amour demands the same level of play from his players. He goes into the weight room with them and works out. He pushes the players to be their best. He has the experience and the trophies to back up what he is saying.

As a result, his players respect him and their attitude on the ice shows. Since Brind’Amour has taken over, the Hurricanes have made the playoffs four straight years, winning the Metro the last two seasons. He also took the Canes on a Cinderella run in 2018-19 to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Bruins.

So, the first thing the Flyers need to do is get a coach who can bring out the best in their players. It’s probably best to find someone who played hard and tough and therefore can relate to the players. Could someone, like Rick Tocchet be the right fit?  Could someone who left it all on the ice like Ian Laperrière be the right fit?

Either way, they need to get a coach who can inspire and led a team of vets and youngsters. Brind’Amour has done that effectively and has earned the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.