In July 2019, CEO Chuck Fletcher was mathematically explaining the founding of the Flyers The foundation the Flyers wanted to build on, not breaking at the risk of collapse
At the time, following an early offseason remodel and a calm July 1, Fletcher said he and his team had « eight players in this NHL roster that didn’t had not yet peaked and know their career seasons «
That hasn’t changed for the Flyers Their youth has changed course this season, leading the Flyers to arguably the biggest turnaround and improvement in the NHL in 2019-2020 And the Flyers are still getting younger and younger with hopes on the way and many of their current youngsters are just « scratching the surface », as head coach Alain Vigneault said last month
One of the most influential aspects of Fletcher’s first offseason that called out the Flyers was that he didn’t put the Flyers’ foundation in jeopardy and always met senior management’s wishes to speed up the process towards restraint
After finally taking a step and breaking through an extended period of stagnation, the Flyers should and will be wise to take a heavy swing and potentially damage their entire approach
Jets star Patrik Laine, a 6-foot-5, 22-year-old winger who scored 36, 44, 30 and 28 respectively in his first four NHL seasons, has been rumored trade, according to several reports Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported on Monday that « the Flyers and Jets had trade talks with Patrik Laine last week, although they seemed to calm down last weekendTSN’s Frank Seravalli also reported on Tuesday that the talks had cooled down, but that he believed the Flyers were the ‘most engaged’ with Winnipeg and that a defenseman heading to the Jets was part of the conversation.
Fletcher isn’t the type to be reluctant to talk or listen Good GMs pick up the phone, check in and do their due diligence, which Fletcher said he would do this offseason On Monday, he said he has « spoken to every team in the league and many times » It is certainly smart overall management in an NHL offseason with a team looking to make another jump
But there are valid and valid reasons why you should be skeptical of Flyers jumping with Laine’s hum and plunging him into the cylinder This is the opposite of an alley-oop connection between the Flyers and the Jets The Flyers should be wary
Yes, Laine is young with a clear future, but would the Flyers sacrifice a young defenseman like Travis Sanheim or Philippe Myers? Or maybe a promising center on the list or in their system? In the last offseason, Fletcher said he believed the Flyers’ young defensive body was the club’s strength to move forward
« The way this franchise was built, before me, going back to Ron Hextall and what its mission was: it’s clear we’ve been an organization that places a lot of emphasis on writing and player development and we have a lot of young players who are on the squad or trying to make their way into the squad, ”Fletcher said last month“ I don’t think it makes sense to do a 180 and change your philosophy at this point «
Fletcher went on to mention the challenges the NHL’s economics will bring for teams progressing in a world of flat caps. Next offseason, Laine will be a restricted free agent eligible for arbitration. He currently has a cap of $ 6.75million and keeping him part of the future won’t be cheap or easy
Meanwhile, the Flyers will have younger pieces to give away new offerings as well as some staple pieces close to unrestricted free agency (Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux are on the last two years of their respective contracts)
“If you look at it practically, we have a fixed salary cap here for the next two or three years, more than likely,” Fletcher said. “In the next three years we have a lot of players right now. in our team who are good players who will need new contracts Whatever we do we will have to do by looking at a window of two to three years versus a window of just 12 months
« We’re going to have to make sure we’re managing the cap properly and we have the resources we need to keep the good young players who are here. That said, you’re still looking to add things if you can to help your squad We will do that, but I don’t expect us to be a major free agency player in the next couple of years I expect us to aggressively try to keep our own players and, obviously we will be working on the phones to see what we can find on the trade front
« We have a lot of good young players who still have their best days ahead of them »
Laine will require a really good draw, then a good chunk of the change Everyone should take a look at the Laine conversation, but sticking around and losing track of time could be dangerous for the Flyers
Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Jets, Philadelphia Flyers, National Hockey League
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