Philadelphia Flyers
Alain Vigneault addressed the media on Monday for the first time since the Flyers lost Game 7 to the Islanders nine days ago. His comments focused on a bright future ahead. “I believe that we’re on the right track as far as moving forward to win a Stanley Cup,” Vigneault said.
Join Kyle Collington and Kevin Durso as they continue to break down the Flyers and the rest of the NHL on another episode of the YWT Podcast.
A look at some of the things on the Flyers offseason agenda, areas they will look to address, the signings they have to make and some potential trade targets, trade options within the current roster, and free agents that could end up on their radar.
Flyers forward Sean Couturier was named the winner of the Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy, presented annually to “the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game,” for the 2019-20 season on Thursday.
Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher had his exit day media availability on Thursday afternoon and touched on a number of topics from the progress of the season, what went wrong in the playoffs and what’s ahead for the Flyers in the offseason.
The winner of the Jack Adams Award was announced on Wednesday night, with Boston Bruins’ head coach Bruce Cassidy taking home the honor. Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault finished a close second in the voting. Columbus Blue Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella was the other finalist and finished third.
Cherry Hill, NJ native Bobby Ryan was named the winner of the Masterton Memorial Trophy, presented to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom was also a finalist.
Kyle Collington and Kevin Durso spend this episode reflecting on the series against the Islanders and what went wrong for the Flyers. They also reflect on the season as a whole, the progress made, the uncertainty of the future and some of the early discussion surrounding potential offseason moves by looking at expiring contracts on the roster.
This is what is so hard about this Flyers loss. It’s not that it’s the end of the season. This happens for 15 other teams in the playoffs without a reward. Only one team comes away with the Stanley Cup. What’s so hard is having to once again hear “there’s always next year,”… and not knowing when next year really is.
The Flyers never had the answers. They could never counter the Islanders desire to finish this series. So it goes in the playoffs sometimes. Make no mistake, it’s disappointing, and this loss stings knowing the season is over, but there is a lot to take from this season. For now, let’s take a closer look at the game that did the Flyers in.
