Tag: Ryan Ellis

With the preseason winding down, a closer look at what the Flyers line combinations could be when the season starts in a week.

Following the first season of the Flyers “New Era of Orange,” Dan Hilferty and Keith Jones discussed the first-year progress and the future.

A low-cost deal that could be flipped at the deadline? Take a flier on a low-risk, high-reward player looking for a chance? There are a few scenarios for the Flyers in free agency starting Saturday.

For as much scrutiny as Chuck Fletcher faces, Ron Hextall’s drafts have shown the Flyers inability to build a core that lasted well into the future. The minor trade involving Isaac Ratcliffe was further proof.

Reports surfaced this week that the Flyers could start to explore the possibility of a trade involving Ivan Provorov, first discussed on the 32 Thoughts Podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek.

The course of a season in any sport is a day-by-day affair. In the Flyers case, it’s become an ongoing soap opera that shows no signs of stopping.

According to a report from Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo, Cam Atkinson will not play in the 2022-23 season, as he undergoes a non-orthopedic medical procedure.

The guys discuss the start of Flyers training camp, injury updates on Sean Couturier and Ryan Ellis, and the preseason opener.

As the city of Philadelphia is abuzz with the Phillies playoff run, the Eagles undefeated start, and the approach of the Sixers season, the expectations and anticipation for the Flyers is at an all-time low.

Tuesday morning, the Flyers officially announced the 23-man roster ahead of opening night on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils.

The Flyers are set to close out the preseason on Tuesday night when they host the New York Islanders at 7 p.m.

Flyers head coach John Tortorella addressed multiple topics on Friday, including the captaincy, young players, and goalies, while the team made more roster cuts.

Before the puck even hits the ice, the Flyers are already dealing with more than their share of injury woes.

At the end-of-season press conference, and for much of the offseason, the Flyers focus was on injured players returning healthy. The so-called plan has already backfired before the team even takes the ice for training camp.

According to a report from Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo, Flyers forward Sean Couturier suffered a herniated disc and could miss significant time this upcoming season.

The NHL Draft has come and gone, blink and you missed free agency. The final piece of the Flyers offseason outlook is to focus on line combinations for the upcoming season.

On Wednesday, you saw that the current regime is incapable of handling a rebuild. They insisted upon an aggressive retool for a fast fix, not the necessary rebuild needed. Now it’s time to start that rebuild anyway, but focus on the front office that has so clearly set the Flyers back.

The Flyers acquired the rights to defenseman Tony DeAngelo from the Carolina Hurricanes along with a 2022 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick, and a 2022 fourth-round pick. DeAngelo will reportedly sign a two-year extension with an AAV of $5 million.

Last week, the hockey world was rattled by the firing of Barry Trotz by the New York Islanders. As the Flyers coaching search continues, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in his 32 Thoughts column that Trotz is a “top candidate” of the Flyers.

The problem with each of these possibilities is that they are rooted in hope. Hope that the injured players return as advertised and stay healthy. Hope the young players take that big step everyone has waited for. Hope that you can perhaps manufacture some hockey trades or free-agent signings to plug in the holes that the team is lacking for speed and skill and make it all work.

Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher held his end-of-season availability on Tuesday, first confirming that Mike Yeo would not be returning as head coach of the team. He also discussed the meaning of an “aggressive retool,” how youth factors into the future, and some injury updates.

It wasn’t all that noteworthy to hear players speak of the frustrations of the season, the losing streaks and such that made this a historically bad season for the Flyers. There were a few players that addressed it in a way that rang through louder than others.

The final 15 games for the Flyers will serve as a chance to evaluate. They will provide a look at some new faces entering the lineup in the last couple of weeks and maybe even a new face or two to come down the road. It is a way to take inventory going into the offseason – what does the team already have and what does it need even more of on the roster moving forward?

As the trade deadline passes and the Flyers open up a few roster spots, it presents more of an opportunity for younger players to get more of a look at increased roles in the NHL. GM Chuck Fletcher used Sunday’s game as an example of what he hopes to see for the rest of the season, “energy, hard work, young players playing a bigger role and getting an opportunity to show what they can do for next year.”

The Flyers extension of Rasmus Ristolainen makes for a confusing message and sense of direction, just as the trade deadline starts to approach and a time to set the foundation for change draws near.

Since getting introduced as Special Assistant to the GM, Danny Briere is looking to make a name for himself. If this season continues to get worse, he might soon be in position to be Chuck Fletcher’s replacement.

GM Chuck Fletcher met with the media on Friday morning in the wake of an announcement that Sean Couturier had undergone back surgery that morning and would be out for the remainder of the season. Fletcher also provided more insight to the uncertain returns of both Ryan Ellis and Kevin Hayes in the 2021-22 season.

Wednesday’s Flyers press conference with Dave Scott and Chuck Fletcher was another example of just how far the Flyers are from an identity and a sense of direction. It presents more questions than answers, and it runs through a range of emotions that rival the five stages of grief – some congruent like anger and denial and others like irrationality and delusion.

At the halfway point of the 2021-22 season, the playoffs aren’t happening and things appear to be in shambles on and off the ice. So what happens in the final 41 games? What makes them noteworthy? Here are three questions that are facing the Flyers going forward for the remainder of the season.