10 wishes for the Flyers as they head into 2023

It’s been a long 2022 for the Flyers and their fans. The team has suffered through a lot of losses, been stricken by injuries to key players, dealt with a coaching change, and said goodbye to one of the franchise’s greatest-ever players in Claude Giroux.

How bad has it been? The Flyers have accumulated a putrid 24-51-12 record and earned just 60 of a possible 174 points during the calendar year (.344 points percentage). Over that stretch, they have also labored through three separate losing streaks of at least 10 games, including a franchise-record 13-game skid to begin the year. Not to be outdone, the Flyers have lost 19 of 24 to close out the year.

In other words, Flyers fans can’t wait to say goodbye to 2022. As the team embarks on the second half of a third straight difficult season, in no particular order, here are 10 wishes for the Flyers in 2023:

The Flyers’ biggest shortcoming is a lack of high-end offensive skill. The easiest way to acquire that is through the NHL draft. After landing the No. 5 pick last year and selecting Cutter Gauthier, the Flyers would love to land another top pick in 2023. The Flyers currently have the fifth-best odds at landing the No. 1 overall pick, with generational prospect Connor Bedard the prize for the eventual lottery winner. While No. 1 is the dream and the quickest route to turning around the franchise’s fortunes, other talented players will be available at the top of the first round. Many scouts project University of Michigan phenom Adam Fantilli to be a future All-Star, while Russian star Matvei Michkov also has star potential, although getting him over to North America could prove a headache.

» READ MORE: Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier ‘focused on winning gold’ with Team USA at the World Juniors

After a disastrous 2021 season and a poor second half to last year, Carter Hart has been stellar this season, singlehandedly keeping the Flyers in games most nights. His .911 save percentage and 2.89 goals-against average are solid but he’s been even better than that when you consider the team’s inexperience and poor defensive play in front of him. Hart has faced the second most shots in the league, ranks third in saves, and is fifth in goals saved above expected with 12.8. The Flyers have long hoped Hart would grab the reins of being a bona fide No. 1 NHL netminder and he’s done just that so far this season. Now we’ll see whether he can sustain this focus and standard over a full 82 games.

Whether by choice or because of injuries, the Flyers have played the kids this year. While that has come with its fair share of growing pains, it hasn’t been all bad from the Flyers’ young corps. Former first-rounders Owen Tippett (11 goals), Cam York (five points in nine games), and recently Morgan Frost (eight points in his last eight games) have shown signs they could be turning the corner, while 20-year-old sniper Tyson Foerster has impressed in the AHL, and Gauthier, 18, is lighting up the NCAA ranks as a freshman. At this time last year, there weren’t many positives in terms of the organization’s young players; a year on and that seems to be slowly changing. The second half of the season is a chance for John Tortorella to continue to evaluate these youngsters and provide them with on-the-job experience at the NHL level. Frost finally coming good on his potential would be a huge boost for an organization that has swung and missed far too often over the last decade.

» READ MORE: As confident as ever, Flyers’ Morgan Frost working to prove he can be a consistent NHL threat

Here are the facts. Kevin Hayes is the Flyers’ second-highest-paid player at $7.142 million per year through the 2026 season. John Tortorella has not been happy with Hayes’ defensive play this season, as evidenced by multiple in-game benchings and Hayes being a healthy scratch on Dec. 17. Things are coming to a head, right? Well, given Hayes’ albatross of a contract, it would seem that he and Tortorella will be stuck together at least for the immediate future. With that said, the two need to find a way to coexist, as consistently benching a player averaging 0.86 points per game isn’t the solution for a Flyers team that ranks fourth from the bottom in goals per game (2.61). Yes, Hayes could be better in his own end but he’s also one of the only Flyers who is consistently producing points. The two need to sit down and meet each other halfway. If they don’t nip this disconnect in the bud now, it has the potential to turn into a truly cancerous dynamic.

Last year, the Flyers did a nice job of turning a 34-year-old Claude Giroux into a good young player in Owen Tippett and future first- and third-round picks. Giroux was a franchise icon but getting a 23-year-old, former first-rounder, and two valuable draft picks represents a good haul. The Flyers also flipped expendable veterans Justin Braun and Derick Brassard for third- and fourth-round picks, respectively. This year, they have more assets to move before the March 20 deadline, with James van Riemsdyk the likeliest to go given his expiring contract. The team could also opt to pull the trigger on a bigger move and look to bring back a package of assets. Defenseman Ivan Provorov, who has two years remaining at $6.75 million per year, still has significant trade value, as does Scott Laughton as a depth player/penalty-killing ace. Given the team’s long-term outlook and current cap situation, all moves should be considered.

The Flyers’ top four defensemen are all locked in through next season, with three of them — Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, and Rasmus Ristolainen — signed through 2025. Add in Tony DeAngelo, and all four are making at least $5 million per year, with the Flyers set to commit $23.1 million and almost 30% of their projected cap to that quartet next season. With Provorov still searching for a partner since Matt Niskanen’s retirement, the Flyers have recently tried York alongside the Russian defenseman. This is an interesting experiment, as pairing Provorov with another puck-mover could reignite his offensive game. Meanwhile, Tortorella hasn’t given the Sanheim-Ristolainen pairing that GM Chuck Fletcher raved about last year much of a chance, and Ristolainen has been particularly bad. The Flyers have made their bed by giving their defenseman these contracts. Now it is time for them to find a way to make the best of it.

Because of two back surgeries, Sean Couturier hasn’t suited up for a game with the Flyers since Dec. 18, 2021. The team’s best forward and one of the top two-way centers in the entire NHL, Couturier has missed the Flyers’ last 95 games, a harsh blow for a player still in the prime of his career and who had just signed an eight-year, $62 million contract extension. Couturier, who underwent his second back surgery in October with a recovery timeline of three to four months, began skating on his own this week. The 2020 Selke Trophy winner has averaged 0.88 points per game over his last five seasons, including twice crossing the 75-point plateau. The plan is for Couturier to return this season, so fingers crossed, there are no more setbacks for the franchise cornerstone.

Keeping in line with the Couturier item, the Flyers would seem due for some good health in 2023. After suffering over 500 man-games lost last season, things haven’t gotten any better this year with Couturier suffering a setback and Ryan Ellis (pelvic injury) and Cam Atkinson (neck) having already been ruled out for the season. Add in offseason surgeries for Joel Farabee (disk replacement), Bobby Brink (hip), and Patrick Brown (back), and more minor injuries earlier this season to Travis Konecny (hand), James van Riemsdyk (finger), Scott Laughton (upper body), and Wade Allison (oblique and hip), and it would be hard to argue that the Flyers aren’t cursed. Let’s all wish the Flyers better health in 2023 — they need it!

The Flyers haven’t won a Stanley Cup in 47 years and it could be another 47 if they don’t take a long-overdue look in the mirror. The team’s management group has consistently opted for quick fixes to try to stay relevant, particularly recently, and those decisions have subsequently blown up in its face. In the midst of a third straight playoff-less season, it’s time for the Flyers to finally give up the charade and commit to rebuilding. The team is not “two or three” pieces away, as CEO Dave Scott said in January, and instead needs to completely break the house down before rebuilding it back up. Drafting Gauthier was a start, but more high-end talent is needed in an organization that ranks in the bottom third of the league in terms of prospect pools. The Flyers have played the middle for far too long — see the shortsighted moves for Tortorella, DeAngelo, and Nicolas Deslauriers this past summer — without a clear direction. Acknowledging the team is rebuilding and finally taking a long-term approach in 2023 would be a step in the right direction.

» READ MORE: Blame Chuck Fletcher all you want, but the Flyers’ problems predate his arrival

For the Flyers to truly begin a new era, there needs to be a change at the top. While Comcast isn’t going to sell the team tomorrow, the clock seems to be ticking on general manager Chuck Fletcher. Fletcher, who was hired in December 2018, has made several severe miscalculations that have not only prevented the team from winning on the ice in the present but more importantly, have set the franchise back long-term. The overpaying for Hayes is a move that continues to hurt more and more by the day, while the team has recklessly traded away high draft picks for Ristolainen (a first and second), DeAngelo (a second, third, and fourth), and to unload Shayne Gostisbehere ( a second and seventh) over the last two summers. Subsequently signing Ristolainen to a five-year, $25.5 million extension after a spotty (I’m being kind) 66-game sample size was another level of incompetency altogether. While the organization’s biggest draft misses didn’t happen on Fletcher’s watch, the jury is still very much out on most of Fletcher’s selections. Yes, Fletcher has had some bad luck, namely, with the Ellis trade. That said, his shortsightedness the last few years as he tried to save his job, poor asset management, and the bad contracts he has handed out have really put the organization in a bind. It’s time for change and a blank slate, and for that to happen, Fletcher has to go.