Another Flyers season filled with downward spirals, false hopes and disappointing outcomes. While John Tortorella has found players who he feels deserve to stay here, he has also found those who do not fit. While it may not be due to lack of talent or skill, it is due to them not playing the game the right way, or in other words, Tortorella’s way.
This offseason, once again as last, is crucial to make the right moves. Interim GM, Danny Briere, is going to have a lot of work to do alongside Tortorella to get the players into the building and on this team. Whether that means certain veterans are gone or some of the prospects might have one last chance, Tortorella knows who belongs here and who can help shift this franchise back to being the once proud team on Broad Street!
The Flyers are the laughingstock of the league. Just because they have made the Stanley Cup Finals, had more winning seasons than losing ones, or even have had minor success doesn’t mean that this franchise was filled with mediocrity. The inability to sustain success, win a Stanley Cup and overall have a franchise goalie speaks volumes to the failures of the front office and ownership.
Continuing to try to recreate the success of the Broad Street Bullies hasn’t worked and the players they continue to try to keep here in Philly aren’t fitting. The new game of the NHL demands speed and skill. Fighting and enforcers are slowly becoming a thing of the past. While you can have an enforcer, he better be able to score goals to stay on a roster.
There are a few players who need to go at the end of this season and won’t be a super big loss for the Flyers. Whether Briere has to trade or cut some of these players, the time has come for them to go as the new regime and era of Flyers hockey is on the horizon.