Flyers Need to Change Senior Advisors

GMs, coaches and players have come and gone from the Flyers, but senior advisors have seemed to stay the same. Entering into a new generation and era of Flyers hockey must also come with a purging of the front office staff outside of Danny Briere and Dave Scott.

Bobby Clarke and Paul Holmgren are two names that come to mind when mediocrity comes into play. Two former GMs of this franchise, both have been around as senior advisors and from what it seems like, have say in certain things that go on in the organization.

As for Clarke, we know about his 20 some seasons in the NHL as a General Manager and no Stanley Cup to show for it. For reasons unknown, the Flyers just always fell short in the three appearances they had with Clarke in power. Clarke went in 1991 as well with the North Stars before returning to Philly for his second stint.

While Clarke was one hell of a player in his time, he has just come up short as a General Manager. The Lindros/Clarke relationship was one we questioned heavily. It was wondered if Clarke knew how to deal with players and talent in the league.

Towards the end of his tenure, Clarke signed some heavily suspect contracts which led many to believe if he could survive in this new NHL that was forming. One that was being built off of speed and skill and less off of the ways of the Broad Street Bullies. Clarke’s biggest failings was the inability to bring a franchise goaltender which ultimately led to his downfall.

As for Holmgren, he was in a similar situation. Holmgren had a good team in 2010 that got to the finals and eventually just ran out of gas. Holmgren, like Clarke, failed at bringing a ring to this team. While the blueprint was there to have a contender, a franchise goalie was always the piece that was missing.

While we can’t blame Holmgren for the drama in the locker room, that I won’t get into, it is also on Holmgren for not creating a more family like environment. It all starts from the GM down. Holmgren began to dismantle the team that went to the Finals and tried to rebuild around Giroux until 2014 where he was promoted to President of Hockey Operations.

Holmgren just never did enough to help improve this roster. The best thing he did was set a blueprint for Ron Hextall, who as we know, went the complete opposite way. It was still a failure and an acceptance of mediocrity.

While a lot of people want Comcast to sell the team, it’s time to realize that a lot of this mediocrity happened under Ed Snider. Comcast hasn’t had a full 10 years yet, but in those years, they hired Chuck Fletcher, Alain Vigneault and tried to get back into contention for a cup.

1. The Flyers are now in rebuilding mode and one they have been needing for years. While this time sucks and is one no fan wants to go through, there is light at the end of the tunnel. This season is almost over and a new one will be beginning with Danny Briere at the helm and John Tortorella as the head coach.

This is the first offseason in a long time I personally am excited for. There is a brighter tomorrow with the sun setting on dark times and the sun rising on that brighter future!