Offseason Assessment: Philadelphia Flyers

It’s fair to say that so far no team has had a more tumultuous offseason than the Flyers. It began when when arguably their top two players were dealt within hours of each other. Richards off to LA and Carter to Columbus. Coming back – Wayne Simmonds, uber prospect Brayden Schenn, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier (from Columbus’ 8^th pick overall in the 2011 draft), and a couple of picks from LA. Once they were able to pick their jaws up off the floor, Flyer fans began debating the effect this would have on the team. I will say this about Holmgren: when the guy swings, he swings for the fences. A lot of fans talk about “blowing a team up.” Well that’s pretty much what Holmgren did. He took the two prized centers acquired during the absurdly deep 2003 draft (go look up that draft if you’ve forgotten how loaded it was) that the Flyers have been building around, and he shipped them both off in one day. Yes, the Flyers got younger, but it’s not as if Richards and Carter were old. They are either in their prime or entering it, depending on your perspective.

Everyone knew the Flyers were going to address their goaltending. It was so bad during the postseason that one wonders if it affected the way the team in front of them played. Having a lack of confidence in a goalie can really deflate a team and force them to change their game plan. Holmgren acquired the rights to Ilya Bryzgalov from Phoenix, but he had to create room to sign him. The common perception was that Carter would be the one to get dealt in order to make the cap room for a contract with Bryzgalov. It turned out to be both Carter and Richards. There was a lot of speculation about what was going on in the Flyers locker room. There were rumors that it was party central. There were rumors that there was a division between captain Mike Richards and veteran Chris Pronger. Perhaps there was truth to these rumors. In any case, Holmgren must have been scared at a Flyers future with both Richards and Carter at the helm while locked into long term contracts with no movement clauses that would have gone into effect next year. So he blew up a team one year removed from a Stanley Cup final and proceeded to begin rebuilding it. However, the interesting moves weren’t over….

Once free agency began, the remaking of the Flyers just kept on coming. The Flyers lost Ville Leino to the Sabres, Sean O’Donnell and Dan Carcillo to the Blackhawks, and Brian Boucher to the Carolina Hurricanes. They then raised a lot of eyebrows by swooping in to sign 39 year-old Jaromir Jagr and Maxime Talbot. These moves further divided Flyer fans. Jagr was hated in Philly during his entire NHL career prior to leaving for the KHL. Talbot was absolutely reviled as he was one of the lead agitators of the hated Pittsburgh Penguins. Now they were both coming to play in Philly? Bizarre. If Holmgren’s intention was to get younger while trying to rebuild, why sign Jagr? Why bring Talbot in on a 5 year contract to a city that had him near the top of its hit list? We will see how Holmgren’s plans pan out. One thing is for certain, the Flyers will have a completely new identity next season. There is an immense amount of pressure on Bruzgalov to bring stability to the goaltending position now. Many Flyers fans see his long-term contract as the reason for the team’s extreme makeover, and the loss of the (mostly) beloved Mike Richards. If Bryzgalov doesn’t deliver, he will be public enemy #1. In addition, if these moves blow up in Holmgren’s face, he won’t be GM of the Flyers for much longer.