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The Bright Spot of Travis Konecny’s Injury

By Scott Cole

Feb 20, 2023; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Travis Konecny (11) skates during the warmup period against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 20, 2023; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Travis Konecny (11) skates during the warmup period against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s safe to say that the Flyers suck without Travis Konecny. Throughout this year, despite being sidelined with a previous injury, he’s led the team in scoring. He’s been benched and been on a scoreless drought. At the same time, he powered the team to a great winning streak after the Christmas break. During that mid December to mid January stretch, only David Pasternak scored more goals than he did. That’s pretty awesome.

But with him out, the Flyers look lost. They can’t buy a goal or a scoring opportunity. Shots on goal have dropped and their goalies have been hung out to dry. So why is this a good thing? Well, there are two reasons.

Losses equal better lottery chances for Flyers

The more we lose, the more likely it is we get a better draft pick. If you go to tankathon.com, it shows the current lottery situation. Currently, the Flyers are the eighth worst team in the NHL. But you can click that “Sim Lottery’ button, and the algorithm changes the draft order. When I’ve done it, usually the Flyers end up between seventh and tenth. One time I got lucky and got second place and another time they dropped to twelfth.

Either way, the more we lose, the better chance we have of getting a better draft pick. Remember, a few years ago, the Flyers jumped all the way to second place. However, that was 2017 and we picked Nolan Patrick. So…there you go.

Bring up the kids

We need to see what this team has to offer moving forward. When he was hired, John Tortorella said he was “going to play the kids“. He needs to. We need to evaluated and see who’s worth keeping.

After today’s trade, Isaac Ratcliffe’s time as a Flyer is over. He’s not going to be the only one. Who’s next? Is Morgan Frost  ready to stick around? Is Elliot Desnoyers going to contribute? What about Olle Lycksell, Wade Allison, or Tyson Foerster? Does Ronnie Attard have what it takes to stay in the NHL? Will Bobby Brink be healthy enough to play?

What about the other younger guys? Will Owen Tippet or Joel Farabee keep taking steps forward to show what leadership skills they have? What will happen if JVR and others are traded?

All these questions need to be answered. With TK out of the lineup, maybe some of them can be answered.

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