If. It's one of the most haunting words in the English language. As a history teacher, the word makes anyone wonder how different history could have been. Let's be honest, it's a big reason why time travel movies like "Back to the Future" are popular. Could we have changed the past?
As sports fans, we like to use "if" to justfiy what went wrong. How would our season have been if “insert injured Flyer” (Tim Kerr, Eric Lindros, Keith Primeau, Wayne Simmonds, Ryan Ellis) hadn't been hurt? How many times have the Flyers traded to get someone who crapped out here (Adam Oates) or traded away some who took off somewhere else (Sergei Bobrovsky, Patrick Sharp, Vaclav Prospal)? What if we could do that all over again?
For some, "if" brings a measure of hope. If I win the lottery, I can do this, this, and this. For sports fans, "if" our team can do "this", we can finally be successful. For Flyers fans, we've been running on "if" for a while. I bring this all up because the upcoming season if full of "ifs".
If the Young Players.....
It's a bold move to run it back with a team that hasn't made the playoffs in five straight years. Either the players are as good as we've been led to believe or the management is blind. After all, with the exception of trading Ryan Poehling for Trevor Zegras, the Flyers didn't really shake up the roster too much.
The big "if" here is the cast of young players. Can Matvei Michkov, Bobby Brink, Owen Tippett, Cam York, and Jamie Drysdale improve on this past season? Will a young prospect like Alex Bump (who had a great training camp with Jack Nesbitt), Jett Luchanko, Helge Grans, or Nikita Grebenkin break camp with the big club? Will another year of maturity turn these young guys into solid vets? Will any of these draft picks we've been banking on and believing in pan out? If not, this team needs a complete overhaul.
If the New Coach...
Unfortunately, the Flyers change head coaches about as often as I end up burning out a lawn mower (three in the ten years I've lived in my current house). There is always the hope that the newest head coach, this time Rick Tocchet, can change the prospects of the team. I've been waiting 30 years now and the coach is always blamed for the stars not performing. At some point, it isn't the coaches, it's the players. We get rid of the coach every other year, but keeps the same players. So which is it? Are the coaches we hire bad or is it the players who play bad?
But "if" the new coach can turn this team around, they will be good. "If" Tocchet can push and challenge the young players and the vets to be their best, this team can finally reach the potential we've all believed they have. "If" he has that special ability to unlike their skills and maximize them, the Flyers can start to win.
If the Power Play...
Just like you, I'm tired of hearing about the atrociousness of the Flyers' power play unit. This has been a problem for years. It becomes frustrating when a team loses a 2-1 game after going 0-4 on the man advantage. Hell, just before John Tortorella was let go, this team went 0-for-three weeks worth of games on the power play. However, the "if" remains. A handful of games here and there in the win column (or at least an OT loss) and this team is suddenly is playoff team.
If the Goalies...
Even longer than hearing about the power play is the goaltending in this city. "If" the goalies don't suck, we could win some more games. Of course, the goalies not stinking like the Schuykill River could really be helped by the defense not coughing up the puck in the zone right in front of the net. Dan Vladar is next in line to be the gatekeeper. Let's see how he shakes up.
If....
"If" is what keeps us coming back. We continue to have hope that maybe this year will be different. We return to our seats at the arena and in our living rooms and our favorite watering holes to cheer on a team that more often than not breaks our hearts.
However, when you talk to fans around the area, or online, you are starting to get a sense of optimism that hasn't been around since Barack Obama was in office. There is a feeling that we are trending in the right direction. And if these things are trending in the right direction, maybe the Flyers will finally make it back to the playoffs. If all goes well, we could have a really good season this year. But that will only happen if........