For as much scrutiny as Chuck Fletcher faces, Ron Hextall’s drafts have shown the Flyers inability to build a core that lasted well into the future. The minor trade involving Isaac Ratcliffe was further proof.
One day prior to the four-year anniversary of Ron Hextall’s firing as Flyers GM, chants of “Fire Fletcher” could be heard at Wells Fargo Center. Chuck Fletcher’s time should be running out, but it’s not the only change that needs to be made.
If you were wondering just what the Flyers were going to try to do with this offseason or questioning if they were serious about an aggressive approach, you got your answer on Thursday. Tortorella is only the first piece of what could be a very busy offseason that features equally as many changes and moves as the last, likely even more aggressive than ever before.
The offseason will present its challenges for a team in need of an overhaul and massive improvements at every level of the organization. There will be plenty of stories to come as next season’s team is constructed. For now, here’s one last look at the 2021-22 season with five takeaways from the season.
“We signed Claude eight years ago to a lengthy, superstar type of contract, which he earned, and as part of that contract he had a no move clause and he earned that right to decide, to have a big say in where he would go, I think is the best way to put it,” Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher said. “I did have a very limited market in terms of the teams I could speak with.”
In the end, Giroux ultimately held the keys to his destination. Florida was where he wanted to be. That left the Flyers limited in what they could get in return. If nothing else, the return in the Giroux deal is more of a reality of what the state of the Flyers is and remains after this trade, and the result of years of shortcomings by the organization.
Since getting introduced as Special Assistant to the GM, Danny Briere is looking to make a name for himself. If this season continues to get worse, he might soon be in position to be Chuck Fletcher’s replacement.
Bobby Clarke’s appearance on the Cam and Strick Podcast led to some comments regarding Ron Hextall’s tenure as GM and the selection of Nolan Patrick in the 2017 NHL Draft. The guys discuss these comments and give their thoughts. They also look at another postponement due to COVID and two more losses to extend the losing streak to seven games.
With Bobby Clarke’s recent comments about former Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall, it’s time for another revisit not just about the Brayden Schenn trade, but the 2017 NHL Draft as a whole.
It has reached a new level for the Flyers. This is essentially one great, big reality show. The play on the ice is only one part of the equation, and at this point, the things happening off the ice are becoming bigger headlines, most recently comments from Flyers legend Bobby Clarke on the Cam and Strick Podcast regarding Ron Hextall’s time as GM.
In a 7-1 rout by the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Flyers losing streak reached eight games, with now three of those losses coming at the hands of the back-to-back champs. And the takeaways from this one are pretty simple. It can’t be much longer before more changes start coming. There isn’t much more to say about the play on the ice that hasn’t already been said during this streak. A season that was all about making the playoffs and getting back to winning has become the opposite in a hurry.
There’s really no end in sight for the Flyers losing trend, not without some serious adjustments. That was fully evident in the most recent defeat, a 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night.
The finalists for the Flyers Hall of Fame were named on Tuesday morning, with six members of the Flyers long and storied franchise being up for possible induction later this season. Here’s a closer look at the six and their case to join the names in the rafters.
Former Flyers GM Ron Hextall is about to get back in the GM chair, as he is reportedly in negotiations with the Penguins to become their next GM, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.
What Alain Vigneault has brought in that time has been refreshing. For the better part of a decade, the Flyers lacked a coach that seemed to challenge a steady core group of players, that didn’t demand the same excellence the fans did, that was satisfied with a participation award in the playoffs, but never advancing. That’s not Vigneault’s style.
The draft doesn’t lose its importance to the Flyers, even if they are now turning the corner from the building stages to the contending years. The Flyers pick 23rd overall in this week’s draft. It’s the latest they have picked in the first round since 2012, but the team still expects to find talent.
The Tampa Bay Lightning built the foundation of their championship team through the draft and had to experience a lot of failure before reaching the top. The Flyers may be in the early stages of following the same blueprint.
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.
622 days ago, the Flyers were a team in complete disarray. They needed a change and fired the GM. They followed by replacing the GM, firing the head coach and powering through with an interim coach and a rookie goalie in net. Now, they have claimed the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Flyers face the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, and there’s certainly plenty of storylines to look at in this series. Here are five to watch for.
One of the most prolific players in Flyers history is Eric Lindros. From his infamous arrival in 1992 to his rather unceremonious exit in 2000, Lindros’ career was always shadowed with controversy. Here is a look back at the trade saga that brought him to Philadelphia and his career.
The series of greatest moments continues with a moment that is not a great moment, but a tribute to one of the greatest players the Flyers franchise has ever known, Pelle Lindbergh.
On Dec. 8, 1987, Ron Hextall was in the middle of his second season in the NHL and the opportunity presented itself in a game against the Boston Bruins at the Spectrum. To that point, no goaltender had actually fired a shot on an empty net and scored a goal.
When the Flyers and Oilers met in the Stanley Cup Final in 1987, what ensued was a battle of wills that featured two epic comebacks and nearly saw the Flyers top a legendary team in a seven-game war, quite possibly the best Stanley Cup Final ever to take place. Even the greatest player in the league called Flyers netminder Ron Hextall the toughest he ever faced.
After the Eric Lindros-led went through Mario Lemieux and the Penguins, another passing of the torch took place when the Flyers faced the Rangers in the conference final. Here is a closer look at the 1997 Eastern Conference Final between the Flyers and Rangers.
With everything going their way, pushing pause had to be difficult. Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher joined Mike Gill on The Sports Bash on 97.3 ESPN on Monday afternoon and offered his thoughts.
Ron Hextall was fired as Flyers GM over a year ago in late November of 2018 and yet his fingerprints remain all over this roster. In an interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark, Hextall expressed his feelings for the current team and the young players experiencing some success.
It has been no secret that the Flyers greatest weakness for decades was finding a goalie that had the ability and the potential to get them to the next level. In just two short years, Carter Hart has appeared to transform that discussion.
For the first time in a long time, the Flyers were in a position to be able to add at the trade deadline and Chuck Fletcher got active in trying to improve one area: experience.
