After every playoff season and almost-playoff run, the same words were said but not always believed: “We’ll get 'em next year.” The Flyers have spent years trying to create the perfect foundation, and after all of the rebuilding, they are starting to benefit from the fruits of their labor.
General manager Danny Briere has been a breakthrough for the city of Philadelphia, helping to acquire new leader Rick Tocchet and the overflowing roster of young talent, including Porter Martone, Trevor Zegras, and Alex Bump.
What does it all mean for Philly?
For years, Philadelphia's loyal fans have tried and tried again, looking for pieces of hope to hold on to. It all starts from the ground up. Step one of the rebuild was bringing in former Flyers legend Danny Briere as the GM. Briere knows firsthand what it’s like and what it takes to be a Broad Street Bully. His personal coaching beliefs and style are focused on communication, development, and sustainability.
Which brings us to step two of the rebuild: the head coach. Tocchet and Briere mirror the new Flyers team, with Briere acting as the rookie, more than 10 years younger than the veteran player and coach. Both are known for a mentorship and teaching-style of coaching. Briere has described Tocchet as the “long-term solution” for the Flyers. These leaders are looking for team longevity, not the next quick fix.
As far as the team goes, they made their message clear. We are happy with who we have. Even with fans’ calls to action about re-signing former captain Claude Giroux, the team did no such thing. The trained vets of Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny are now paving the way for the young talent on the team. After all, the new brick must be added to the first bottom layer.
What can we expect this upcoming season?
Danny Briere sent out an important message to the excited rookies: “Don’t get too comfortable; the hardest work is still ahead.” After last season’s post-season success led by said rookies, the general manager must remind the young players they still have a lot of work to do and plenty to prove.
Tocchet has worked to mix rookies and vets to create team chemistry on and off the ice. He has also mentioned going back to basics and working on perfecting puck handling, forecheck execution, and offensive/defensive balance. Even at the professional level, players still need to keep practicing their skills.
In addition to honing in on their skills, the Flyers must revive their power play, pivot their defensive tactics, and cement their lineup.
Last season, the Flyers finished dead last in power-play ranking, and this didn't happen overnight, as this has been their ranking in four of the last five seasons as well. This has been a roadblock for so long that it is entirely too big to avoid anymore.
Defensively, the Flyers are known to stand guard at the blue line without quick feet attacking and heavily pressuring opponents. Other teams make an easy entrance, and from there, Philly is already behind. Tocchet has spoken about wanting to change the defensive philosophy to be more aggressive instead of giving space. Stopping opponents from making an easy entrance can also create blue line turnovers, giving the Flyers the advantage to rush the opposite way.
With an influx of young, talented players all vying for the same spots, this makes creating set lines a bit tricky. This is where the staff will need to use training camp to work extra hard to figure out which players work best together. The Flyers can't put one star player on a line and expect them to shine; it's all about who can talk together on the ice without talking. That being said, all of the rookies must match that mindset and be willing to lean on their line mates as well.
If the organization can correct these key components, it will catapult Philly exactly where they want to be next season. Even with the excitement surrounding the Flyers and the upcoming season, along with goalie Dan Vladar's ever-positive commentary, one thing remains clear.
The house is built, but the job is not yet finished.
Add us as a preferred source on Google