Philadelphia Flyers
False report on Flyers’ Dave Scott; offseason may resemble 2019
Social media was abuzz Tuesday after a report in Hockey Buzz surfaced.
The outlet said they were “just rumors” at this point, and listed a litany of Philadelphia Flyers developments, including this one: Dave Scott was retiring.
Scott is chairman of the Philadelphia Flyers’ parent company, Comcast Spectacor.
Contacted late Tuesday night, Scott said the rumor was false.
“It’s not true,” he said, adding he had “a lot more work to do!”
The Flyers, crippled by injuries and without much depth, had their second-worst record (25-46-11) in franchise history and missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1992-93 and 1993-94.
Scott and GM Chuck Fletcher have said that if their injured players return healthy, the Flyers are two or three players away from turning things around.
Lots of needs
On Tuesday, Fletcher acknowledged “we need to get younger; we have to get more talented. We have to get faster. We have to aggressively look at trades, free agency, and can we add a couple players to supplement what we have here and make this team better.”
Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau, a star left winger from South Jersey, is among the UFAs on the market.
Fletcher said “another element will obviously be the return to health of certain players.” He mentioned top-line center Sean Couturier and top-pairing defenseman Ryan Ellis.
“This is slightly different circumstances, but this offseason could be a lot like the offseason in 2019,” Fletcher said. “If you look back at that year, we traded back in the first round, got an extra pick, traded picks for players, and acquired picks at the deadline. You are constantly doing what you can to improve your team. That is what I guess I call a retool.”
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In that offseason, the Flyers traded down three spots and drafted defenseman Cam York in the first round. Fletcher, in his first draft with the Philadelphia Flyers, also picked up a second-round pick from Arizona, enabling him to take Bobby Brink. He traded two draft picks to Nashville to move up 11 spots and grab Brink.
That summer, the Flyers acquired Tyler Pitlick from Dallas for Ryan Hartman. (Hartman, 27, scored 34 goals this season for Minnesota). They dealt second- and third-round picks to San Joe for Justin Braun, acquired Matt Niskanen from Washington for Radko Gudas, and picked up Kevin Hayes from Winnipeg for a fifth-rounder. The Flyers signed Hayes 16 days later to a seven-year deal that carried an annual $7.1 million cap hit.
Some of the moves worked; some didn’t. And three years later, the Flyers still find themselves no closer to their first Stanley Cup since Gerald Ford was in the White House.
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The strategy it seems is not to win or make steps to be a legit contender, but what amounts to a perfunctory solution to a real problem that’s been developing for the last decade. Making the playoffs or aspiring to make the playoffs seems to be the goal–the perception of being competitive–and nothing more. Patchwork corrections to become a contender. That has no hope of success and the fans are smarter than that.
It’s kind of hilarious in a sad way as to how disconnected from reality Scott and Fletcher are–or portend to be. The idea that they can take a page from 2019 and bring the team back to that ignores the idea that maybe that was a fluke based on a winning streak. The team was doing everything right for 1/4 to 1/3 of a season, and in the playoffs they struggled. “If we can just get back to 2019…”
Niskanen is long-gone. Hart has struggled with consistency. Giroux is gone, and his success with the Panthers should serve as a testament to how bad the Flyers are. Given the tools and support, Giroux doesn’t need to try to carry a team. And let’s not forget the abysmal state of the special teams. Getting the one-man advantage actually seems to hurt the Flyers. Also, the team currently doesn’t have a head coach.
The curse of this organization is the heavy reliance on nostalgia as both a strategy and selling point. They cannot move forward or hope to succeed if they’re stuck in the past.
You articulated this so well. I commend you. And you are 100% correct.
Well said. Stuck in 70s mode… and having several ex-Flyers from the 70s in the front office is hurting the team even more. Another albatross of a problem: that dreaded salary cap, which the GM-in residence can’t even manage.
They are completely adverse to drafting skilled shooters. And for the life of me, I cannot figure out how a front office led by 3 guys totaling 6,000 PIMS in their careers ALSO built a small soft team. The majority of their picks are these hard luck, 200-foot defensively minded centers stuck in the middle between 5’10 – 6 foot and 165 – 180 lbs who can’t put the puck in the net, influence the game with physicality, or LEAD the team. Remarkably incompetent.
Agreed, well said. That other team playing in the western part of the Commonwealth almost always hit ‘gold’ in the draft…no matter what round. They had a ton of injuries a few years back, and their farm system got them thru some rough stretches. Unlike us, where we largely draft career minor leaguers (and management seems ok with that).
Scott talks like a politician in fantasyland
If only Gritty would retire.
Scott and Holgrom are the only two left. Everything else was changed. Why are the problems still there???. Yes those two are the problems !!!!! The strategies of the game stinks !!! I’ve been in hockey 25 years !!! Adding gaming to hockey makes it look like a pick for gamblers. Let’s watch a game together .