The Philadelphia Flyers May Have Finally Done Something Right And Their Fans Can’t Believe It

There was a time, not so very long ago, where the Philadelphia Flyers were one of the NHL’s premier organization.

Surely, the Flyers haven’t lifted the Stanley Cup since the 1975. But they were a mainstay in the NHL players in the 35 years or so to follow and made the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010.

Since then, however, Philadelphia has been an abject disaster.

The Flyers have struggled mightily ever since the NHL instituted a salary cap in 2005. Those struggles only seemed to get worse with the passing of legendary team owner Ed Snider in 2016.

Snider appointed Comcast Spectacor’s Dave Scott to the run the team in his absence. Except Scott didn’t know the first thing about hockey.

Learning on the fly didn’t exactly go well, either. The Flyers made the playoffs in just two of the last six seasons and won just one playoff series in that time. Along the way, they’ve slowly become worse and worse, picking in the top 10 of the NHL Draft in each of the last two years.

Scott “retired” following the 2022-23 season, leaving a mess in his wake. Scott fired general manager Chuck Fletcher prior to leaving after Fletcher stripped the team of assets and spent to the cap only to have the league’s seventh-worst record.

In steps Dan Hilftery, a former Independence Blue Cross CEO, to take Scott’s job. Hilferty hired former Flyers Danny Briere and Keith Jones as the team’s new general manager and president of hockey operations respectively.

That move was met with skepticism, as many fans saw it as more of the same with the organization opting to hire from within rather than expand its horizons.

However, now that tune appears to have changed.

Briere made the first major move of his tenure on Tuesday afternoon, and it was a doozy.

The Flyers traded former All-Star defenseman Ivan Provorov to the Los Angeles Kings (who in turn sent him to Columbus Blue Jackets). They also sent out AHL players Kevin Connauton and Hayden Hodgson.

In return, Philadelphia received a first round pick in 2023, a second round pick in 2024, and a second round pick in either 2024 or 2025. They also took on goaltender Cal Petersen from LA in a salary dump as well as depth defenseman Sean Walker.

It was a gargantuan trade for a player who has struggled in each of the last three seasons. Provorov hasn’t been able to find the form from early in his career, and he had expressed his desire for a trade behind the scenes.

In return, Philly lands desperately needed draft capital for its planned rebuild. Fans were over the moon to see the team finally acknowledge the situation it’s in and make what’s scene as largely successful trade.

The Flyers are a long way away from winning. But it sure seems like they’re finally on the right path to doing so.