The Flyers, Good and Bad: Observations After 20 Games
The Flyers are nearly at the quarter pole of the season and have provided a body of work that is large enough to study and critique. Nothing is set in stone at this point, but there are some observations that do reoccur and will define the team at the seasons end.
The 2022 Flyers Edition Easier to Watch and Enjoy
The team has seven wins to this point and is already out pacing last seasons total of 25, but after a solid start the team has endured a 10 game winless streak and has tumbled to the bottom of the standings. But even through this rough patch, the team still gives good effort on most nights.
The fact that the team was able to steal games through effort and superb goaltending made it exciting. Last season, the Flyers lacked something, maybe it was the playing style or scheme, that made the thought of a comeback impossible. This year is different. This team seems like it just needs to get a couple of breaks and victory is possible.
The Flyers Need to Be Close to Perfect Each Night
In order for this team to compete it requires the team to commit to their strategy and for each players top effort, and for the team to be playing very close to their best. The stratgey looks a lot like the Flyers strategy from the mid eighties, where the top talent, Hayes and TK, take care of scoring and for the rest of the team to pin the opposition deep in their end and forecheck them into submission. This throw back approach may be what is so fun to watch. If the scorers fail to score, or the forecheckers fail in tilting the ice, this team will struggle to win
There is not a lot of offense on this team which makes mistakes very difficult to overcome. A bad turnover, a bad goal, a failed penalty kill can and will cost this team. It is hard to be that perfect that often.
But there have been nights where it has all come together, and to Tortorella’s credit, it seems most night the team is giving its all to play its best, which is a nice change in the culture. This team looks to be trying.
Goaltending Has Been A Bright Spot
Even with recent struggles, the Flyers golaies have been better than solid. Hart looks like he could be an all star most nights. He has faced the third most shots against in the league and also bosts the third highest high danger save percentage. If Hart’s play this season is not elite, he is as close as one can get to it.
Felix Sandstrom has settled into the backup role and the numbers say he has done a reasonably good job. Watching Sandstrom begs the asking of how much better will he get. He is big and athletic and surpringly quick. He makes some absolutley incredible saves, where he just beats the shooter. Many of the goals that get by him are bizarre tough luck deflections (I think Justin Braun has 2 himself). Sandstrom looks like he has a chance to be a very good NHL keeper.
The Roster Has Severe Flaws
The Flyers’ roster, at Dave Scott’s direction, has been crafted by Chuck Fletcher and this was to be the season when all the moves were going to come together and the team would be a contender. At this point, Fletcher is out of moves, and Scott has only one move left, to fire Fletcher. Firing Fletcher at this point would be deserved, but also pointless.
Fletcher has inflicted maximum damage to the franchise leaving little in the way of draft capital or cap space. The Flyers were in position to make a strong rebuild in 2021, but rather than looking to build off their young players with more youth and depth, the team looked to veterans with little regard to anything beyond the next season. That kind of thinking got the team in its current state.
The most pressing issue is the Flyers are an extremely damaged team. Ellis, Konecny, Allison, Couturier and JVR, all of whom are injured, amount to almost 30 million dollars in salary against this years cap. Add Atkinson to the list and the Flyers have around 36 million dollars on the sideline, or around 40% of their cap space. Fletcher built a roster top heavy with injured players, and maxed the salary cap to do so. The Flyers will need to be rebuild, which will squander much of Provorov, Hart and TK’s prime years.
Tortorella is a Really Good Coach
Given the Flyers issues, Tortorella is doing a good job at the helm, even with the 10 game losing streak. The team has stolen points this year, something that did not happen much last season with a roster that included Giroux. This is a down cycle that Tortorella and the Flyers will have to endure. The Flyers were a bad team last season, and now without Giroux and with injuries to their top players things are worse. But Tortorella will keep them hustling and ready to compete.
What will be interesting to watch is how Tortorella deals with the losses. The coach feels any team he runs can, and should, win any game they play, if they do it his way. This is what makes him a great coach, but it is also why his coaching stints have a tendency to get radio active. Don’t look for Tortorella to blame the injuries. He will turn up the heat on his guys to get them to play the way he wants. He won’t stop, he won’t accept excuses, he will just push harder and either the losing streak or his relationship with his players will be broken.