Chuck Fletcher wants to use last 20 games as building blocks for the Flyers future

With the trade deadline past and 20 games left in the season, general manager Chuck Fletcher says he feels like the Flyers are “in a good spot.”

The playoff hopes they had at the start of the season are long dead, but there’s still some things to look forward to. The Flyers made strides in the right direction Sunday when they responded to the Claude Giroux trade with a win over the New York Islanders. In the game, they showcased energy, hard work and young players playing major roles.

» READ MORE: Claude Giroux's legacy with the Flyers goes beyond the numbers

“We want to finish strong, we want to see a little bit more what we may have going into next season by how players play the rest of the year,” Fletcher said.

While Fletcher would like to see the team start playing the right way, he’s not sure how much momentum will carry over into next season because “the team next year might be different.” Fletcher has decisions to make before the 2022-23 season. Not only does he want to see how certain players perform, he wants to see how others recover from injury.

“There’s a lot that will happen between now and then,” Fletcher said.

In terms of building for the future, the Flyers acquired a conditional 2024 first-round pick and two third-round picks and a fourth-rounder in 2023.

Any players remaining on the NHL roster after the 3 p.m. trade deadline Monday automatically became ineligible for the AHL playoffs. With that in mind, the Flyers sent Max Willman and Cam York back down to the Phantoms. Morgan Frost and Tippett, however, remained up with the Flyers.

“Tippett and Frost are third-year pros, and to me, they’ve paid their dues,” Fletcher said. He particularly liked how the two played together. With both permanently on the NHL roster for the rest of the season, they will have a long audition.

Fletcher called sending York and Willman back to Lehigh Valley “paper moves” so they can compete with the Phantoms in the AHL playoffs and said they’ll eventually rejoin the parent team. York will continue to play on the Flyers’ top pair if he shows interim coach Mike Yeo he deserves it. York and Willman can return to the lineup after a day has passed.

In the last 20 games, Fletcher hopes to get to see the younger guys play more and see how they develop. Fletcher included Travis Konecny, 25, and Joel Farabee, 22, in that group as well.

“I know Mike challenged them [Sunday] that now it’s their time to take on a little bit more leadership, too,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher made no promises about which youngsters may get some time with the NHL club because he said they’re still expecting to get some players back, such as Nate Thompson, Wade Allison, and Scott Laughton.

Laughton, who skated by himself Monday, joined the team for its five-game road trip. Fletcher said Laughton is feeling better after his concussion, but he still has to pass his neuropsychological test.

“If he clears that, then it’s just a question of speaking with him and making sure the medical people feel good about about him returning,” Fletcher said. “So I would think there’s an outside chance he could play before the end of the trip.”

The Flyers won’t be able to evaluate what they have in Ryan Ellis (lower-body injury) before the season is out, though. Fletcher confirmed for the first time that Ellis will not return this season. He said they’re still evaluating treatment options, but he expects Ellis will be ready by next season’s opener.