PHILADELPHIA, Pa – If nothing else the Philadelphia Flyers are not boring. Oh I am not talking about the on-ice product, I am talking about the Game of Thrones off-ice version. Head Coach Dave Hakstol was fired Monday to no one’s surprise, especially once the man who hired him, former General Manager Ron Hextall was let go. Now the fun really begins.
Philadelphia Flyers Coach Dave Hakstol was fired Monday – file photo courtesy of Lewis Bleiman
The Flyers are still a hot mess, not just in the wake of recent events. Newly hired GM Check Fletcher was thrown into a fire and is expected to clean up a mess that was not of his own doing. Part of the problem is not just from the mess Hextall left, but because of the mess his predecessors, former GM and current Team President Paul Holmgren, as well as former GM Bob Clarke.
The goaltending position has become a collective joke, even for a franchise that has made the position the butt of jokes around the league. A boiling point reached its peak. The on-ice product was and is a mess, but with the exception of being the NHL’s best face-off team, every other aspect of the game is at or near the bottom of the league’s rankings.
If there is one ray of hope on the horizon it just might come at the 2019 NHL Draft, as well as some of the top prospects such as Morgan Frost finally making the team’s roster next season. The Flyers currently have the third worst record in the league points wise. Only the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks can boast of being in a better situation for the “top” spot in the Jack Hughes sweepstakes.
This year’s draft looks to be very top heavy for forwards. There is a very good chance you might see only as many as two defenseman go in the top 10 this year. The Flyers biggest need is an anchor on defense with scoring wingers a close second. The Flyers have drafted well at left wing and with the potential departure of Wayne Simmonds, right wingers could and should be a higher priority than left wing and center.
The Flyers do have a ton of pieces from which to trade from the current roster. If I were advising Fletcher I’d start moving some of the dead weight on the roster. Andrew MacDonald and Jori Lehtera are a combined $9 million plus of cap space just as two examples. In addition to the dead weight, the Flyers have two players with cap hits over $8.2 in Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek who does not have a no-trade clause. Simmonds reportedly wants a six-year deal and is due for a huge raise.
As far as prospects go, the Flyers are deep at center due in large part to Hextall’s philosophy of drafting best-player-available. Morgan Frost is the only untouchable in the Flyers system, but German Rubtsov is a close second. Both play center but Rubtsov did play for his junior’s team in the QMJHL.
If the Flyers can somehow land Jack Hughes at the draft it would mean another center in the fold, but if the Flyers stay at #3 Dylan Cozens could be hard to pass up especially if Kappo Kakko (RW) goes off the board behind Hughes. Vasily Podkolzin is also an RW and would bring a ton of speed and skill with him and would complement Frost in a huge way.
Some other prospects to keep your eye on is Raphael Lavoie, Mathew Boldy, and Arthur Kaliyev. If the Flyers decide to go defense Philip Broberg and Bowen Byram are slated to go high in the draft. If the Flyers decide to draft Broberg, keep in mind the Flyers drafted countryman Adam Ginning last season in the second round and would be the perfect fit ying to Broberg’s yang.
The fun has just begun. The way this season is going it will be a long off-season, but as we’ve discovered in recent weeks is that it will definitely won’t be boring.
Brian Jennings covers the Philadelphia Flyers for prohockeynews.com and can be found on twitter at @Flyersfan22.
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