There Was No QUIT After All In These Flyers
Sometimes the most logical answers are the right answers. In a fan base and even within the media community, we occasionally miss the obvious and attempt to fit events into our “theories”. I know that I’ve been guilty of this many times myself, but I’m glad I didn’t with this young Flyers team. Here’s why this Game 82 situation should be celebrated and not vilified.
The team never “quit” on John Tortorella
Show me the NHL coach that got more out of their rosters than anyone else. You’ll be searching for a while. This was not a playoff roster before the season or now in April, yet here they are fighting to get in.
The development of young players has been outstanding and the team commitment to blocking shots and playing hard was recognized league wide. Dan Hilferty having to make a statement that Tortorella will return is embarrassing. There was no player mutiny and there most certainly was not “quit” in his team. Sometimes a team is just not good enough or runs out of gas.
Carter Hart’s criminal case screwed them over
Carter Hart was the teams number one goaltender and expected to be the workhorse. Instead he ends up having to leave the team and Sam Ersson is pressed into a workload that he was not ready for. That stinks because it caused Sam to hit a wall and his play faltered after what was an impressive season overall for the rookie.
The Sean Walker trade
If the Flyers hadn’t traded Sean Walker to Colorado, I believe they would have won an additional game or two. They would be in. Nobody could have seen the injury barrage to the defense coming, but they were already thin. Acquiring another first-round pick remains the right decision, even in retrospect.
Danny Briere wasn’t going to make trades to help for this season at the trade deadline
Trying to acquire a veteran goaltender after the Hart departure would have been a move that we can now see would probably have guaranteed them a playoff spot. It also would have been costly and that would not have been the prudent long-term decision. Great job by Briere not blinking, even when guys like me wanted it!
This SHOULD be considered a huge success
The Flyers rookie class has been nothing less than one of the league’s best. There is plenty of more talent on the horizon. This heartache or miracle playoff berth will serve them well as a motivating factors.
FINAL THOUGHT
The fan base applauded when the team committed to doing a full-blown rebuild right. Whining about not making the playoffs in a completely unexpected feel-good Year One is ridiculous, whatever the reasoning.
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The All-Time Roster of Homegrown Philadelphia Flyers
Claude Giroux (RW)
The Flyers selected Claude Giroux of the Gatineau Olympiques with the 22nd-overall pick in 2006. Bobby Clarke mispronounced the name of the future franchise center.
Giroux quickly became a key offensive threat for a championship contender early in his career. He scored 10 goals and 11 assists in 23 games during the run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010, including an overtime thriller at the Wells Fargo Center in Game 3 to keep the Flyers in the final series.
The longest-tenured captain in franchise history is unfortunately associated with the worst era in franchise history, however. The talent pool dried up almost immediately after the Flyers gave the “C” to Giroux. He was a model of consistency in Philadelphia.
Only Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, and Alexander Ovechkin finished the decade of the 2010s with more points than Giroux. He played center through most of his career down the middle, but he transitioned to the wing in his final seasons with the Flyers.
Although Claude Giroux never led the Flyers to the playoff glory that fans dreamt of, he sits second in franchise history behind Bobby Clarke in points, assists, and games played. The number 28 will someday hang from the rafters with the all-time Flyers greats.
Bill Barber (LW)
The Flyers drafted Bill Barber with the seventh-overall pick in 1972. He scored more goals than any other player in franchise history. His record of 420 will stay secure for a long time.
Barber became one of the biggest offensive threats on a Broad Street Bullies team known more for their brutal intimidation than for finesse and scoring. The feared “LCB Line” with Reggie Leach and Bobby Clarke helped the Flyers to consecutive Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975.
Barber played all 12 of his NHL seasons in Philadelphia. He entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990, and he’s remained in the organization as a Flyers lifer in various roles for decades.
Shayne Gostisbehere
He only played 381 games in parts of seven seasons with the Flyers. He never reached the long-term status that fans hoped for, but Shayne Gostisbehere reached a higher level during his rookie effort in 2015-16 than any other homegrown defensemen achieved during their careers.
“Ghost” took the NHL by storm with 17 goals and 29 assists in 64 games. He provided a spark for a team in desperate need and pushed them from irrelevance into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He (somehow) finished second in voting for the Calder Trophy.
Chris Therien had a much longer track record. Ivan Provorov overtook Gostisbehere in the organization’s pecking order. Both played more games than Gostisbehere. Why is the slick, undersized blue liner on the list above them?
Consider that Gostisbehere scored five game-winning goals in the 2015-16 season alone. Therien scored just six in Flyers career, and Provorov scored 11. Gostisbehere edged Provorov for fifth in franchise history in points among defensemen in 151 fewer games.
Shayne Gostisbehere justifiably faded out of favor by the time he left Philadelphia in 2021 because of his defensive weaknesses and physical shortcomings. However, he still earned his spot as one of the two best homegrown defensemen in a limited talent pool.
