Cursed? From injuries to free agency, the Flyers simply can’t catch a break this offseason

On May 3, following one of the worst seasons in Flyers history, general manager Chuck Fletcher addressed the media at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees. Fletcher called the 2021-22 season “beyond unacceptable” and reiterated what he previously said in January — that the organization planned to be “aggressive in every area” in order to quickly get back to being competitive.

The Flyers had just posted a 25-46-11 record, the second-worst mark in franchise history, and the fourth-worst in the NHL in 2021-22. Yes, the team was bad but it had also been decimated by an inconceivable run of injuries to key players.

» READ MORE: Projecting what the Flyers could look like on opening night. Not much has changed from last year.

The Flyers’ top two centers Sean Couturier (back) and Kevin Hayes (abdominal) suffered serious injuries early in the season and missed significant time, while top offseason acquisition and projected No. 1 defenseman Ryan Ellis suited up for just four games due to a mysterious “multilayered” injury. In all, the Flyers lost an absurd 585 man-games to injury.

Factoring in how badly the Flyers underperformed compared to expectations and the team’s horrific injury luck, there is nowhere to go but up. Right?

As the Flyers are quickly finding out, that is a big assumption. The team’s woes have spilled over into what is quickly becoming an offseason from hell, one that includes more troubling injury news, free-agency disappointment, and even a remote military base in northern Russia.

Here’s a timeline of all that has gone wrong for the Flyers since the season ended on April 29:

Having finished with the league’s fourth-fewest points, the Flyers had a 9.5% chance to land the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery. They had a 19.3% chance of landing either Nos. 1 or 2, weren’t eligible to pick third, and had a 15.4% chance at landing No. 4.

Given the team’s run of bad luck, the Flyers seemed due for a break and a good bounce of the ping pong balls. Instead, the Flyers actually dropped a spot to No. 5, putting them out of the running for the clear top three players on the board: Juraj Slafkovský, Shane Wright, and Logan Cooley. Meanwhile, Metro Division rivals New Jersey, who finished with the fifth-fewest points, jumped all the way up from No. 5 to No. 2.

The Flyers look to have landed a good prospect in Cutter Gauthier at No. 5 overall, but the fact they lost even in the draft lottery was a bad omen for what was to come.

» READ MORE: Ranking the Flyers’ top 10 prospects: Where does Cutter Gauthier fit?

We talked above about the Flyers’ injuries last season and how that decimated the organization’s depth and resulted in the team playing too many AHLers and even some ECHLers at the NHL level last season.

Well, the preparations for the 2022-23 season started off in that same vein, as it was revealed that Joel Farabee was injured during an offseason workout and had undergone disc replacement surgery in his cervical region. He is expected to make a full recovery but will be out three to four months, putting him in serious doubt for the opener on Oct. 13.

The 22-year-old, who missed 19 games with shoulder issues last season, led the team with 20 goals in 2021 and is one of the team’s few goal scorers. The surgery is also a relatively new one, as Farabee is just the fourth NHLer to have the operation.

Farabee’s injury likely means for the second straight season the Flyers will start the year down a top-six forward.

On May 3, Ellis proudly said there was finally a rehab plan in place for his pelvic injury and that he planned to be back for training camp. Less than two months later, Fletcher hinted that things weren’t progressing as quickly as expected.

The GM backed off any definitive timeline for Ellis, saying he still has “the bulk of his rehab ahead of him.” The longer this continues to drag on without concrete updates, the more unlikely it seems Ellis will be ready to go for opening night — if he’s ready this season at all.

The Flyers later acquired defenseman Tony DeAngelo and brought back veteran defenseman Justin Braun for cover, which has only increased concerns about Ellis’ status.

The latest update came from Fletcher on July 13 after the team announced they had signed Braun.

“Right now, we felt we had some major holes on defense with the uncertainty around Ryan Ellis,” Fletcher said. “He’s progressed, but there’s no guarantee when he’ll be back.”

Ellis, 31, is signed for five more years at an annual average value of $6.25 million per season.

In maybe the wildest moment of the NHL offseason, Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov was detained by Russian military police on July 1 on suspicion of military service evasion.

The 25-year-old, who had signed an NHL contract with the Flyers on May 7, was expected to come over to North America this season and be the backup to Carter Hart. Fedotov had just won the Gagarin Cup with CSKA Moscow (a team with a long history of Russian military ties) and had backstopped the Russian Olympic Committee to a silver medal at the 2022 Olympics.

After being detained, Fedotov also fell ill, his lawyer Alexei Ponomaryov told Russian outlet RIA Novosti, and was rushed to the hospital with stress-induced gastritis. Fedotov’s agent, J.P. Barry, later confirmed that after being released from the hospital, the goaltender had been sent to a remote military base in northern Russia to begin his military training.

Fletcher released the following statement on July 1: “We’re aware of the reports and are investigating the situation. We have no further comment at this time.”

The Flyers have since brought back RFA goaltender Felix Sandström and signed journeyman Troy Grosenick to compete for the backup role. There have been no further updates on Fedotov from his agent, lawyer, or the Flyers.

By now we’ve talked ad nauseam about Fletcher’s plans for an “aggressive retool” and CEO Dave Scott’s claims that the team is “two or three” pieces away.

Scott even said he would give Fletcher a “blank check” to get things corrected. On July 8, Day 2 of the draft, Fletcher looked to be putting his words into action, as he traded three future picks (a second, third, and a fourth) to the Carolina Hurricanes for the rights to DeAngelo, a restricted free agent. DeAngelo, a native of Sewell, Gloucester County, subsequently signed a two-year, $10 million contract ($5 million AAV) with the Flyers.

» READ MORE: Wrong guy. Wrong time. Wrong reasons. Flyers’ trade for Tony DeAngelo is a mistake in every way.

The move, whether you agree with it or not, was a signal of Fletcher’s intentions to win now. DeAngelo’s controversial past includes two suspensions for racial comments and being waived by the Rangers after causing a series of distractions. Still, he was coming off a career season and was set to become one of the most sought-after defensemen on the market. He had just put up 51 points and fit the Flyers’ need for a power-play quarterback and someone to generate offense on the back end.

Four days later, Fletcher made another controversial, win-now decision, buying out popular winger and cancer survivor Oskar Lindblom in order to free up $3.33 million in cap space ahead of free agency. The move seemed to be the prerequisite to a bigger one, a necessary evil to help the team go all-in on the “aggressive retool” and acquire a star. That star was none other than Salem County’s Johnny Gaudreau, a top 10 player in the league and the top-ranked free agent.

The Flyers even had the added advantage of Gaudreau’s previous comments about someday wanting to play at home for the team he grew up rooting for. Oh, and Gaudreau has a house on the Jersey Shore, played at Boston College with Hayes, and counts Hayes among his best friends.

All that was left to do was free up some money (between $6 million to $7 million) — something Fletcher had more than six months to do — to bring Johnny Hockey home. The easiest way to do that? Trade James van Riemsdyk and his $7 million cap hit along with a draft pick sweetener to a rebuilding team like Arizona or Chicago.

Even if the asking price to take van Riemsdyk’s contract was a first-rounder, the Flyers have traded first and/or second-rounders in deals for Shayne Gostisbehere, Rasmus Ristolainen, and DeAngelo all within the past 12 months. A first-round pick to position yourself to sign the league’s second-leading scorer who is still in his prime? Given everything the Flyers have said and done over the past year to indicate they are retooling and not rebuilding, being in play for a bona fide star like Gaudreau should have been a no-brainer.

» READ MORE: Does passing on the Johnny Gaudreau sweepstakes show the Flyers lack a clear plan?

To make matters worse, Gaudreau signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, an outsider who only emerged after other options had seemingly dried up. Meanwhile, the Flyers made just two signings, adding 31-year-old enforcer Nic Deslauriers to an eye-opening four-year contract and bringing back the 35-year-old Braun.

At six o’clock on the day free agency opened and Gaudreau not signed yet, Fletcher packed up shop, telling the media, “We are done. We are out on the remaining free agents.”

Talk about a free-agency letdown.

The latest gut punch for the Flyers came on Monday when it was revealed that promising young winger Bobby Brink would be out for five months following hip surgery.

Considered one of the Flyers’ top prospects, Brink recently tore the labrum in his left hip during an offseason workout. The 21-year-old led the NCAA in scoring last season with 57 points and won the national championship with the University of Denver before signing with the Flyers for the final 10 games of the season.

Brink, who had four assists during his NHL cameo, was expected to compete for an opening-night roster spot for the Flyers. Going by the Flyers’ current timeline, it is hard to envision Brink playing for the Flyers before January at the earliest.

He joins Ellis and Farabee as Flyers who are likely to miss the start of the season.

» READ MORE: How the 1992 draft-day trade for Philly icon Eric Lindros revived the Flyers