(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
On February 26 a year ago, the Flyers had 65 points in the standings and a 27-22-11 record with 22 games to play. They won 14 of them to make the playoffs with one game remaining in the regular season.
February 26, 2017 was Sunday and the Flyers have very similar numbers — a 28-26-7 record and 63 points in the standings with 21 games to go. Only this time, the hopes are not high.
The Flyers are not trending upward like they were at this time last season. They are also running out of time, with 21 games to go, the trade deadline just two days away and the Eastern Conference being as competitive as ever with five teams within four points of each other and three points of a playoff spot. The Flyers are not one of those teams.
At this point, it seems inevitable that the Flyers will not make the playoffs. And that may be for the better.
Let’s start with what would be as good as it could get for the Flyers this season. Let’s say a miracle happens and the Flyers squeak into the final playoff spot. They would once again meet a team like the Washington Capitals or the Pittsburgh Penguins. Another first-round exit awaits, if they were to even make it that far.
A first-round exit last season could be the reason the Flyers are where they are at this moment. With the exception of newcomers in Dale Weise and rookies Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny, the roster remained the same from a season ago, with a few departures.
The Flyers are not a team in need of a total rebuild. That process is already underway. It was last season, even when they experienced modest success. It remains underway now, as they enter a position to shed some dead weight.
The rest of this season, starting with Wednesday’s trade deadline, and the beginning of the offseason, is about freeing up cap space and shedding the dead weight of pending free agents. That could start with the three unrestricted free agents in Mark Streit, Nick Schultz and Michael Del Zotto.
Nothing was going to fix the Flyers overnight, not even the light experience of making the playoffs last season and being in position to do so again this season. Still, there is disappointment, especially after a 10-game winning streak, to see the team where they are now.
That said, this is necessary for the Flyers to move into the future — once they figure out what that is. The Flyers will be better off in goal next season, once they clear up their goalie situation. The Flyers will be better off defensively next season when possibly two new prospects move up to the NHL to join two already there. The Flyers will be better off up front next season, when they free up some cap space to potentially make an offseason move or add a prospect to the mix as well.
Cap space is the name of the game. But what the Flyers need to do is see that the current group isn’t working. There are too many bottom-six forwards clogging the roster. There are too many third-pairing defensemen on the roster. There is no true No. 1 goalie. Not all of their problems can be fixed with one move, but they can certainly bring some newfound excitement to the mix by taking the wealth of prospects they have and maximizing the level at which they are playing, whether that is the NHL, the AHL or juniors.
Better days are coming for the Flyers, but with it now clear that the Flyers are finishing up a lost season, getting a head start on the offseason housekeeping is the best thing for them.
