At the Olympic break, the Flyers are 25-20-11. The slide heading into the break puts them eight points out of both the wild card and third place in the division. When the NHL returns, Philadelphia will have five games before the Mar. 6 trade deadline. Danny Briere and Keith Jones have long said the players will decide how the team will approach things.
Something will have to be done. It's nearly impossible for the Flyers to stand pat once the deadline passes. But which avenue will the team take? With the team in danger of missing the playoffs for a sixth straight season, the obvious answer would be to sell. They don't have to blow things up by any means. But there are some pieces they could sell off to make room for others.
Since the beginning of January, the Flyers have just five wins in 17 games. They allowed four or more goals in nine of the 12 losses, allowing at least six goals in four of them. If the organization believes the players will be the ones to decide the next steps, those numbers alone should tell them that selling is the right option.
Of course, there is still belief in the locker room that things can be turned around.
"We'll need to get red-hot, I think that that's kind of it. I think we're capable of it. Everyone just take this break and reset. Good luck to [Sanheim and Vladar] and the guys who are playing in the Olympics. But we've got to come out swinging right away, not waste a game." Jamie Drysdale said after the team's loss to Ottawa.
But at what point does the organization decide that they've seen enough from the players?
Danny Briere has decisions to make ahead of the deadline
Briere has been here before. Just a few years ago, he made the tough call to trade Sean Walker despite the Flyers playing well at the time. Things fell apart afterward, and it's not out of the question to say that the move was part of it. The team went 6-10-3 afterward, that slide causing them to fall out of playoff contention.
It's not an absolute, but it's something to think about. Now, the Flyers are in a much different spot than they were at that time. Their current slide began well before the deadline this time. They have a few assets that they could sell off. Some of the names on the market include Bobby Brink and Rasmus Ristolainen.
There are other rumors that have suggested the Flyers could potentially look at trading someone like Owen Tippett or Travis Konecny. The latter feels almost impossible unless the player has decided he wants out. Konecny has recently come out and talked about the frustration of not being in the playoffs. But that's hardly an admission of wanting out. He's easily their best player and should be a key piece to their turnaround.
Tippett's name has been in trade rumors more than a few times. It still doesn't feel likely that the Flyers pull the trigger unless it's for a big name. He could fetch one of the biggest returns when you look at some of the other trade options the team has. But it still feels like Briere would need to be blown away.
That brings us back to a player like Brink. He is probably one of the wingers that the team could afford to move on from to make room for others. Denver Barkey has already impressed during his limited NHL time. Nikita Grebenkin has made a good impression and has recently been playing up in the lineup. Alex Bump isn't too far away. And not to mention, Porter Martone could make the jump after this season.
This could and should finally be the year the Flyers pull the trigger on a Ristolainen trade. How he fares at the Olympics could help determine his potential value. He has been on the Flyers' top pair recently and has played rather well in that role. But his injury history may be a problem. He has only appeared in 19 games this season after offseason surgery and a minor injury in mid-January.
As Drysdale said, the Flyers need to come out hot if they want any shot at making a late-season run. But do they have enough time to prove to Briere that they have what it takes to keep the momentum going?
Their recent play on the ice has told a clear story. It's a matter of if this stretch has already made up Briere's mind or not.