5 takeaways from the Philadelphia Flyers season as it stands
By Mike Zawisza
The Philadelphia Flyers were in the midst of one of their best seasons in quite some time before the NHL went on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Flyers gave the people of Philadelphia a lot to be excited about this season. Besides a strong sophomore campaign from Gritty, the Flyers surprised many by carving out a spot for themselves among the league’s best.
Winners of nine of their last 10, the team looked primed to make a playoff run and get out of the first round for the first time since 2012. Unfortunately, with the league in a holding pattern we may never see the conclusion of the 2019-20 season.
If that winds up being the case, there are still many positives that can be gleaned from the Flyers season. From depth in the bottom of the lineup, to the emergence of some young stars, there are plenty of reasons for excitement in the city of Philadelphia.
5 biggest takeaways from the Flyers season so far
5. Chuck Fletcher knows what he’s doing
After a decade of mediocrity in Philadelphia boiled over into a full on gong-show last season, Chuck Fletcher went to work this offseason putting his stamp on what the Flyers will look like for the next decade.
It was a tumultuous time for Flyers fans. Ron Hextall was supposed to be the savior. In many aspects, he provided just what the Flyers needed — a restocking of the farm system. However, he refused to stray from his plan and did nothing with the star power that already existed on the team. This lead to years of frustration among the fanbase.
That said, change is scary and while life under Hextall wasn’t great, Chuck Fletcher’s track record pre-Philly was a mixed bag.
Fletcher’s first major move of the offseason was to bring in former Rangers coach Alain Vigneault to fill the vacancy left by Dave Hakstol and interim Scott Gordon. Though fans were at first weary of the hiring, Vigneault quickly endeared himself to Philly.
Aside from the drastic improvement on the ice — which we’ll touch on later — Vigneault brought back a sense of pride, unity and even levity among both fans and players.
A star of the “Behind the Glass” miniseries on NHL Network, Vigneault punctuated his arrival in Flyers camp with a powerful motto – “Be a f***ing Flyer.” This level of personality and intensity was missing the past handful of years and Chuck Fletcher knew just the man to bring it back.
After taking care of the coaching vacancy, Fletcher got to work improving the defense. He did so by bringing in veteran defensemen Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun via trade. Though bigger names had been floating around in trade rumors, such as Jared Spurgeon and Dougie Hamilton, Fletcher picked two under-the-radar vets to bolster the defense.
Both Niskanen and Braun proved they still had plenty left in the tank and have done a tremendous job stabilizing the Flyers defense and penalty kill this season. Niskanen has also shone bright as a mentor for the young Ivan Provorov following an up-and-down season last year.
Fletcher also made a big splash just before the free-agency period by trading for the rights of Kevin Hayes and subsequently signing him to seven-year contract. Many balked at the price tag, but as we’ll discuss later, Hayes has been worth every penny. Both on and off the ice, Hayes has been crucial to the Flyers renaissance.
Perhaps most importantly, Fletcher has shown a willingness to hold onto his blue-chip prospects and even promote them when they’ve earned it. The Flyers have a pretty stacked pipeline of prospects — the most positive legacy from Hextall’s tenure as general manger — and Fletcher has gone to great lengths to keep it in tact (while also adding to it with highly touted players like Cam York and Bobby Brink).
Fletcher’s hiring came at a time when the Flyers franchise was in absolute disarray. However, a year into his tenure with Philadelphia, Fletcher has righted the ship. He’s shown both a “bias for action” expected by team ownership, as well as a willingness to cultivate from within. Chuck knows what he’s doing, and that should help every Flyers fan sleep at night.