Right now, Philadelphia is a pumped-up sports city. The Eagles aren't playing their best yet, and are still undefeated, and look like they will be a strong contender for the NFC Championship. The Phillies are storming into Red October. For the first time in a while, there is some buzz around the Flyers.
Red October is a lot of fun. Eagles' parades are always a wonderful thing to behold. The last thing on my sports fandom bucket list is to see an Orange June. A few years ago, my wife and I were in Chicago visiting a friend, and unbeknownst to us, got off the subway and walked right into the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup parade. It just wasn't on my mind. It was fun, though, as little as we saw, as we had things to do.
I want to see and experience that too. So, what will it take for the Philadelphia Flyers, at this point, to reach the playoffs after a half-decade of missing them? It's not going to be as much work as you think. Remember, two years ago, they were within a point of making the postseason, and last year, they went on a run after letting John Tortorella go.
So, hey, anything could happen!
Fix the Power Play
This is a broken record at this point. You could copy and paste this thing for the last few years and maybe just adjust a few names (delete Ivan Provorov....add Egor Zamula....). However, the issue has been the same. The Flyers can't score on the man advantage. They can't make the best of those opportunities, usually finishing in the bottom five teams in power play percentage.
Here's the thing. A goal or two here could turn losses into wins or overtime games into wins. Five to ten extra points would make a big jump in the standings. With Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak on the team, I think they might be more flexible on the power play. Rick Tocchet might end up playing a little more aggressively than Tortorella was. This could translate into more goals. More goals will end up translating into more wins. This may sound like basic hockey economics here, but hey, start with the basics.
Better Defense
We're already seeing signs of this with some of the preseason cuts. Emil Andrae and Helge Grans didn't make the team, and Zamula may be on thin ice. Some of these defensive prospects the team has been holding onto might be let go. Perhaps the team may swing a trade, keep someone like Adam Ginning, or take a chance on the waiver wire.
A better defensive squad will be better for the goalies (more on that...). A more consistent defensive squad can prevent goals from being scored and transition up to the offense. The Flyers have some speedy guys (Cam York and Jamie Drysdale) who can do that with some decent stay-at-home guys (Nick Seeler and Travis Sanheim).
The Goalies
Again, another copy and paste. The Flyers' goalies have been poor quality since Ron Hextall...blah blah blah.
Again, scoring more goals and a better defensive unit will make it easier for the Flyers to not have to rely solely on the goalie play in order to win. It is, after all, a team effort. Better play between the pipes will make it easier for the team overall.
This revolving door storyline could be ending soon. Partly because the goalie tandem of Dan Vladar and Sam Ersson could be better than last season's mess. If not, there could be help on the horizon with Carson Bjarnasson on the way.
It All Comes Down to Rick Tocchet
Tocchet was one of the most fan-favorite Flyers in history. His toughness and tenacity, combined with his ability to score, endeared him to a generation of hockey fans. He is bringing that to his coaching in a big way.
While he has a reputation for being a "player's coach", one of the things we are seeing is that he is trying to build a culture of accountability. He has been working with the veteran players to build a culture. At the same time, he is working with the "bubble players" to push them more. Nobody is guaranteed a spot. Tocchet is pushing players to want and deserve a spot.
This is creating some interesting battles at the tail end of camp. At the same time, this team can't continue to carry the dead weight of players they are hoping to develop (Morgan Frost). Playing as a Flyer is a privilege, and nobody knows that more than Tocchet himself. However, instead of doing that in a confrontational way like the last administration did, this is all about getting the best out of players instead of publicly embarrassing them.
It's not a guarantee that the Tocchet and the Flyers can do all of these things. But if they can, it will help to take things in the right direction for this once vaunted franchise. This could be the start of turning this team around.