Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports
By Mike Santa Barbara (@Mike__SB)
Welcome back for another edition of “Orange and Black Thoughts” (Hey, we made it two weeks in a row!), a weekly column where I ramble on about the Philadelphia Flyers.
This week is an answers edition where we’ll delve into the reasons behind a quiet Trade Deadline for the Flyers, and why a playoff run – even a short one – would be beneficial for the growth of the team.
Okay, here we go…
Standing Pat
This year’s trade deadline was a quiet one throughout the league, with no blockbusters to speak of in an evolving new age of the NHL, one that’s void of gun-slinging on a day that used to be akin to Christmas morning for most NHL fans.
No, most of the action coming through the transaction wire occurred well before Monday’s deadline, the Leafs said goodbye to James Reimer, the Ducks upgraded at forward, LA added Kris Versteeg, and Andrew Ladd is back in Chi-Town, just to name a few.
While some teams were more active than others leading up to the deadline, 3 p.m. came and went Monday afternoon without the Flyers making a single move.
Sure, some of the Flyer faithful were disappointed at the lack of action especially with rumor mongering at an all-time high on social media. On the flip-side, there were many Flyers fans that were quite thrilled with the team’s uncharacteristically silent deadline day.
Whichever side you landed on, you shouldn’t be surprised by what the Flyers did – or in this case, didn’t do.
The writing has been on the wall since Ron Hextall took over for Paul Holmgren as general manager of the Flyers – the old way of doing things on Broad Street was over. No more ludicrous contracts, no more over spending, no more trading away of young assets, and Hextall has said as much at every opportunity.
When he spoke to the media after the deadline, he explained again:
“We’ve said this all along — if we could make ourselves better today and not hurt our future, we’re all for it.” Hextall said Monday evening prior to the Flyers’ game against the Calgary Flames. “Nothing came up that made sense.” – CSN PHILLY
Hextall would go on to talk about how the Flyers could have traded away picks and young players making themselves a better hockey team immediately. However, that’s not the plan – and to Hextall and Flyers’ credit they have not wavered from that plan.
While there were no shiny new toys for fans to open up on deadline day, the real gifts have already been received.
First, there’s Shayne Gostisbehere- the gift that keeps on giving. When the now Calder relevant defensemen was first called up, there was chatter that he might be sent back to Lehigh Valley for more seasoning when the Flyers’ blue-line health improved. Boy, can you imagine where this team would be without him now?
Gostisbehere has injected life into the roster, and his play has rubbed off on others as well. If he’s not in the lineup every night, the Flyers are likely basement dwellers and surely aren’t in the position they are now – three points out of a wild-card spot entering play Tuesday.
Then, there’s the trade that sent Vincent Lecavalier and Luke Schenn to the Kings. The move netted the Flyers a draft pick and some much-needed cap relief, both of which will be beneficial down the line adding even more assets to the rebuild.
In the end, the Flyers are in better shape now when compared to where they were back in October. Their editions came by subtraction and through calling up home-grown talent from their own system, and that’s the way it should be for now.
We’re Talkin’ About Playoffs?
And finally, leaving the team intact at the deadline was the right thing to do. Sink or swim, the team on the ice earned the right to play it out, as Hextall also mentioned in his presser after the deadline.
They’ve fought through an awful lot, but have crawled back into the playoff race despite being without players like Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier for different stretches. Now, with Michael Del Zotto out for the season, and Jake Voracek on the shelf for at least two weeks they’ll have to overcome even more if they hope to reach the post-season.
Of course selling off pieces like Mark Streit, Sam Gagner, or even a player like Brayden Schenn would have left the team even more shorthanded than they already are, but having them around for the stretch run could have a bigger impact on the future than one would imagine.
With 20 games left, the Flyers stand to be in the thick of things down to the wire. These are the times where a team can truly become that – a team. Now, I’m in no way shape or form saying this team is a cup contender – they are not. However, even if the next few weeks don’t end with a playoff berth, this time of year can offer essential moments for younger players.
The intensity of the games to come, especially the three remaining match ups against rival Pittsburgh, cannot be duplicated. It’s invaluable experience for guys like Gostisbehere, Nick Cousins, Scott Laughton, Michael Raffl and the players dangled at the trade deadline that may want to be a part of the Flyers’ future, like Gagner and Schenn.
Right now, Gagner has stepped up his game – posting three goals and two assists during the month of February after having only five points combined his previous 20 games played.
Schenn has also been electric, surpassing his previous career-high for goals in a season after notching a hat-trick on Monday night against Calgary to give him 21 goals on the year.
Cousins has been slowly but surely finding his way, looking more comfortable with each outing as he tries to solidify himself as depth-scorer among the bottom six forwards. Raffl just signed an extension with the Flyers, and looks to prove the team was right in doing so as he tries to tap into the potential we’ve seen at times.
With little depth beyond the top lines, trading away one or two of the players we’ve already mentioned likely derails what the Flyers are working towards. After 62 games, there was no reason to pull the rug out from under the team and staff that’s put in the work all season, not for assets that can be acquired during the off-season.
With the finish line in sight, if the Flyers had made moves that put the team out of contention they risked alienating some of the players they hope will be part of an even better future ahead. When those players look back years from now – hopefully when the Flyers have higher aspirations than a wild-card spot – do you want their first experience within a playoff race to be remembered by a front office ending their run before it even had a chance to get started?
Hextall has already done yeoman’s work this year in improving the Flyers’ chances at a bright future, for now, more salary cap space and draft picks can wait.
Until next week……
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