When the Philadelphia Flyers started the NHL regular season on a 5-2-0 tear, more than a few eyebrows raised in shock. This was a franchise very little was expected of, despite the suggestions of GM Chuck Fletcher, so a hot streak to begin the year was a surprise.
However, since their Oct. 27 win over Florida, the Flyers have crashed to earth, and with a giant thud at that: they’ve gone 2-8-5, and currently are mired in a 10-game winless streak, including seven regulation losses (0-7-3).
This past weekend, they were drubbed by division rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders, and in their past six games, they’ve been outscored 26-12.
First-year Flyers coach John Tortorella began the year talking about establishing a new identity for the organization, but he didn’t have this identity in mind.
Were it not for the performance of starting goaltender Carter Hart – who, somehow, has posted a decent save percentage of .915 and a goals-against average of 2.85 in 15 games – Philly would likely be tied with, or worse than, the eighth-place-in-the-Metro Columbus Blue Jackets.
Now, some people will point to the plethora of injuries the Flyers have suffered as the main reason for their struggles. It’s fair to say that’s a factor – they’ve currently got seven key veterans (forwards James van Riemsdyk, Cam Atkinson, Wade Allison, Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier and Scott Laughton, and defenseman Ryan Ellis) out of the lineup – but as we’ve noted repeatedly this season, virtually all NHL teams are dealing with health issues.
The reality is, their defense corps is largely unscathed by injuries, and again, Hart started the year as one of the NHL’s better netminders.
Unfortunately for the Flyers, Hart has cooled off considerably in the past month, putting together only a 3.22 GAA and .896 SP in nine games in November.
He and backup goalie Felix Sandstrom have gotten next to no support on offense of late: in their current 10-game losing skid, the Flyers have scored two goals or fewer a whopping eight times. You can’t ask Hart, Sandstrom and the D-men to carry this group to more victories than defeats.
Unsurprisingly, though, that’s what’s going to happen when you need a game program to identify the majority of Philadelphia’s forwards. Only wingers Kevin Hayes and Joel Farabee are established elite NHLers for the Flyers at the moment. Everyone else is either a prospect still finding their footing in hockey’s best league, or they’re journeymen with no upside to pin hopes on.
It doesn’t matter what division Philly is in – that lack of proven depth up front will hurt you night in and night out.
Tortorella never fails to talk a good game, but not even a coaching legend like Scotty Bowman could make lemonade out of the lemons Tortorella has been handed this year. Fletcher has constructed a deeply flawed lineup, and most Flyers fans aren’t fooled by positive rhetoric.
Indeed, in Philly’s last home game, on Friday, fan chants of “Fire Fletcher” were unmistakable. And it’s difficult to argue with them. Fletcher is about to begin his fifth year running the franchise, and the Flyers have made the playoffs just once in his first four years. They’re almost assuredly not going to make the post-season this year.
You could understand a couple of losing seasons if they resulted in tangible progress on some front, but Philadelphia is just as bad, if not worse than they were when Fletcher took over.
That aura of bleakness permeates the team right now. Even if Fletcher decided to begin selling players, he likely wouldn’t get a big return on what remains.
The departure of former captain Claude Giroux last season said it all for this version of the Flyers. If they had legitimate hope to be a playoff team, Giroux may have been convinced to stick around.
Instead, Giroux got out while the getting was good. He knew as well as anyone what the state of the organization truly was.
The first 22 games of the current season merely underscore that reality. Any team can have a few wins strung together here or there, but when you’re winless in 10 straight games, the writing is on the wall, and the wall does not look good.
Tortorella’s patience is being tested, but that test is going to continue all season long. He has become a better teacher as he’s continued to coach, but you can’t teach the things the Flyers need right now. There’s simply not nearly enough elite-level talent to lean on in Philadelphia, and until there’s a change at the very top, Flyers fans have little reason to believe things will improve.
