Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Won’t Take Vegas’ Unique Route To Roster Building
With the Flyers rebuilding their team, it’s interesting to see how the Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights built their team in six years.
The traditional way to rebuild a hockey team is through the draft. You select good players, work with them, develop them. If enough players are good enough, you might have something.
Draft, draft, draft. General managers’ career have soared or have been ruined by draft classes.
You also build out through the goaltender, too. That’s a given, right? Contending teams must be strong in the game’s most valuable position.
Except Vegas blew up those theories.
Vegas took an unconventional route to winning its first Stanley Cup. In their Cup-clinching Game 5 victory, the Golden Knights had one player on the ice they had drafted. That was defenseman Nicolas Hague, a second-round pick in 2017, their first draft class.
Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault came to Vegas in the expansion draft. Jack Eichel was traded from Buffalo. Vegas grabbed William Karlsson from Columbus in the expansion draft.
Alex Pietrangelo was a free agent. Mark Stone, who scored a hat trick in the Game 5 clincher, was traded to Vegas from Ottawa in 2019.
Fourth-String Goalie
The goalie was another story, an amazing one. Adin Hill, who was a serious contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy, didn’t even play in Vegas’ first-round series win over Winnipeg.
Laurent Brossoit was Vegas’ starting goalie. But Brossoit was injured in Game 3 against the Oilers in the second round. Hill stepped in and ran the table, so to speak. He had a strong lineup in front of him but still, he made so many important stops that it became clear Vegas was winning because of him.
Hill played the remaining games and went 11-4. He had a 2.17 goals-against average and a .932 goals-against average. Until 2023, he had never appeared in the playoffs in six seasons.
He was traded to Vegas from San Jose in August 2022. The price? A fourth-round pick in 2024. He was the Golden Knights’ fourth-string goalie coming into season.
Now, The Flyers
The Flyers appear to taking a more universally accepted rebuilding route.
They appear to want to trade players to acquire draft picks, build through the draft, develop the young players they have, build from the goal out (well, maybe). Along the way, hit the free-agent market when prudent.
This is a tried and true method to NHL rebuilding. This would appear to be a conventional and safer way to relevancy rather than the jackpot that Vegas hit.
Let’s start in goal. Many, including me, have advocated for not trading Carter Hart. Logically, a team shouldn’t trade its best asset and best player at the most important position on the ice.
Then, there’s Hill, a 27-year-old journeyman who set a career high in games played this season with 27. In four years in Arizona, he started 41 games. He is not Carter Hart, not in pedigree and not in expectations.
Yet, this morning, Hill wakes up a Stanley Cup champion. Las Vegas had a parade yesterday and Hill was a big reason why. A guy the Golden Knights acquired for a future fourth-round pick.
In the Flyers’ final regular-season game on April 13, 12 of the 19 players in their lineup were their own draft choices. Eight of their 12 players were first-rounders. That’s the traditional template. That’s how teams rebuild. That’s how the Flyers are doing it.
Conclusion
When a team has success, other teams try some version of the same methods. In this case, Vegas is unique. Its unorthodox team building was helped by an expansion rules change that allowed Vegas to draft the eighth-best forward, fourth-best defenseman or second-best goalie from each team.
And being only a 6-year-old team, many Vegas draft picks are working their way through the system. Still, only one of their own draft picks in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals? One?
The Golden Knights latched onto a goaltender on his greatest career heater and rode Marchessault’s goal streak. He had 11 goals in 12 playoff games.
Teams rebuild traditionally because they are so committed to their drafting apparatus. They spend fortunes scouting kids and developing them. It’s difficult to believe teams could try the Vegas path. Not the Flyers, not anyone.
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Flyers, In Case You Missed It:
Speaking of the draft, if the Flyers want to take a defenseman at No. 7, David Reinbacher might be their guy.
Oliver Moore would bring speed and a two-way game to Flyers and he might be available at No. 7.
ESPN doesn’t think much of the Flyers going into next season.
Some Flyers fans are feeling OK about the offseason, so far.
Around The National Hockey Network:
Boston Hockey Now: Bruins coach Jim Montgomery admits he misread his team’s body language as they collapse against Panthers in first round.
Buffalo Hockey Now: Could the Sabres move up in the draft? They have the 13th pick and two seconds and a third to bargain with.
Chicago Hockey Now: Taking a look at general manager Kyle Davidson’s first draft in 2022.
Colorado Hockey Now: Devils forward Yegor Sharangovich is the classic Avalanche trade target.
Detroit Hockey Now: Red Wings defense prospect William Wallinder is the 2022-23 European Hockey Club’s Young Player of the Year. It’s the third consecutive year the award has going to a Red Wings prospect.
Florida Hockey Now: Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad will miss start of next season due to injuries.
Montreal Hockey Now: The Canadiens will maintain a strong waiver-wire priority through the offseason.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Coach Mike Sullivan figures to have significant say in the personnel decisions president of hockey operations and interim GM Kyle Dubas will make for the Penguins this summer.
San Jose Hockey Now: Ten teams that might want to trade for defenseman Erik Karlsson.
Vegas Hockey Now: Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights getting no love from oddsmakers for next season.
Washington Hockey Now: The Hershey Bears, a former Flyers’ affiliate, is one game away from winning the Calder Cup.
There’s something to be said about inherited baggage. Flyers limit themselves by perpetually locking players to long, bad contracts.
Hextall had a meh record as far drafting, but he got the team out of cap hell, which gave them flexibility for the first and only time since the cap was introduced. That’s gone now.
Vegas didn’t have cap baggage. Just as Seattle did later (and Arizona does on an annual basis), Vegas weaponized the cap—compelling teams to give assets to draft bad contracts or one player over another. Vegas took bribes.
Flyers have almost always been on the wrong side of that—forced to make creative moves to generate cap space.
Flyers should be moving their appealing talent for picks and prospects, retaining some salary to move Hayes, DeAngelo and Risto, and using gained cap space to take on bad contracts combined with picks or prospects. They do this over the next 3-4 years and they will be in a much better position by years 5-7.
From what I see, success in the Draft (for the future) and maintaining the salary-cap (for the present) need to be simultaneously addressed…the Flyers Front office has failed at these two basic tasks over the past decade.
What’s so good about the Draft when we largely select ‘busts’ year-after-year, who either become career minor leaguers, or will never crack the NHL? Since these kids are young teens who won’t be readily available, and having to deal with never-ending salary-cap/contract woes…nothing is changing fast anytime soon.
I’ve said this many times before…a team has to have a competent Front office who know how to evaluate talent and develop it.
And do we really think that with the recent additions of Sharp and LeClair in the Front Office, that things will improve? Highly unlikely.
Jonesy’s been real busy as of late…I haven’t heard anything official about the imminent demise of the Three Kings…but see that he has helped our version of the Marx Brothers settle-in, and take their ‘rightful’ place in the Front Office (a place where the Kings have called ‘home’ for way too long).
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Good points Super Unoriginal. The Flyers’ best course of action is what they appear to be doing. Trade players who aren’t going to help you in a few years. Get back draft picks. JT Puck’s point about poor draft picks also is a good one. That’s why Chuck Fletcher will be on TV commenting on the draft and not at the Flyers’ table pushing buttons.
Rebuilds require patience, nerviness and commitment. If the Flyers really do trade Hayes, DeAngelo and maybe Konecny, there likely will be short-term pain on the ice. But, younger players will get their shot and I think that’s what everyone wants to see. How good are the young forwards? Will they thrive with power-play time?
Of course, the most important aspect is the draft. We’ll see how Briere operates and what the scouts put forth. Next year, the Flyers also have two first-round picks and two second-rounders. Theoretically, that’s five or six players from the 2023 and 2024 drafts who could become legitimate NHL players.
Or not. That’s always the deal with the draft.
Thanks for your comments.
CB
LOL, the Flyers CAN’T take the same approach, period.
The Flyers cannot replicate VGK because Vegas was an expansion team that hand picked their players, made aggressive deals, and had great roster management. Great roster building given the expansion draft and influx of players they picked (or forced onto their roster). How good was the roster management:
In 6 years they made the finals twice and won a Cup. They made the playoffs 5 times losing once in the Conference and once in the Semi-Final rounds.
Sure. Vegas has not drafted particularly well. Looking at the Silver Knights AHL roster, they have only 1 obvious NHL prospect in Brendan Brisson. That’s it. They need to draft better.
But right now, Vegas has Jack Eichel who looks like a top 10 players, the defense, and plenty of goalies. They have a short window to dominate if they stay healthy. The Eichel gamble really paid off on top of the other talent like Marchessault & Karlsson.
The Flyers? The Flyers are way worse off with players, contracts, and lack of prospects due to their own making. While fans and pundits are excited about some recent additions like Cutter, this is a 31 win team that even under their new coach, did not back check, didn’t play hard every night, were boring, lacked offense, and generally just stunk it up. Then PENS won 40 games and didn’t get into the playoffs! 40 wins! Our conference and division are monsters. We are not equipped.
Furthermore, the last GM did not orchestrate a “tank” in the sense that he set up the roster to be pretty bad and we still landed at 7 in the lottery. THIS was the year to be in the top 3 due to our play, not to hire a coach like Torts, and to move a lot more players at any cost.
Also, I am sick of hearing about culture. This team has been guided by Bob Clarke, Homer, Barber, Dave Brown (personnel and scouting), Hexy, coached by Berube, advised by Lombardi (2 CUPS), and somehow, this concept that the “culture” needed to change has taken hold with fans like a zombie virus.
Whose fault is the culture? Bobby? Paul? Hexy? Comcast? Dave Scott? Give me a break. They lack talent. Period. If they lack players with leadership and determination, sure, throw that in, but high-end skill makes up for a lot of other deficiencies. We have been nowhere near good, exciting, or dangerous for years. YEARS. For years, regardless of the coach, GM, or scouts. And right now, while Hilferty talks a smooth game, I have heard zero comments from Clarke, Homer, Barber, or Lombardi.
Now, the corporate stiffs at Comcast have installed a Blue Cross guy, multiple front office execs with zero experience, and a GM who spent 4 years int he ECHL.
I hope Danny Briere is a superman prodigy at GM, because he is surrounded by another group of ex-players without any roster-building, drafting, cap, or trade experience. He inherited awful contracts, an unhealthy team, & a handful of prospects.
Godspeed, Briere. Best of luck.
Not to mention we dumped Giroux who went on to have a giant season scoring over 30 goals and playing amazing (while surrounded with talent).
Good stuff, BigLeftHandie. The Flyers face hurdles. They have a new management team to tackle them. Will they be successful? We don’t know. If nothing else, they know what hasn’t worked. Can the correct that?
The Vegas team-build interests me. Of course, it’s not exactly the same as the Flyers. But in 2017, the Vegas franchise selected a roster full of players in the expansion draft. In 2017, Vegas began drafting. In 2023, plenty of time for their draft picks to be playing in the NHL, Vegas gets to Game 5 of the finals with *one* drafted player on the ice.
In their 2017 draft, the Flyers picked Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost, Noah Cates, Olle Lycksell. Frost and Cates played all season in 2022-23. We know about Patrick’s injury history. Lycksell was just offered a qualifying offer.
Meanwhile, the Flyers are relying on the draft — that appears obvious. So far, they aren’t trading their draft picks for veteran players, which is what Vegas did to a certain extent.
Thanks for you comments. I enjoyed reading them.
CB