Against the Detroit Red Wings, the Flyers got an up-close look at the benefits of bottoming out and rebuilding through the draft
In 2017, the Red Wings committed to breaking it all down and rebuilding. Five years later, they are seeing the fruits of that decision. It's time for the Flyers to do something similar.
Just by taking a glance at the stat sheet following the Detroit Red Wings’ 6-3 victory over the Flyers on Wednesday night, the impact of young, homegrown talent on the Red Wings this season is evident.
For example: 2019 sixth-overall pick Moritz Seider: two assists. 2020 fourth-overall pick Lucas Raymond: one goal, one assist. 2018 30th-overall pick Joe Veleno: one assist.
“Everyone can score,” Seider said of the team’s overall depth after the game. “We have a really good lineup. Guys are chipping in. We’re really happy with the W tonight.”
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What did it take for the Red Wings to secure such premium draft capital? They became perennial sellers, acquired tons of picks, and embraced five seasons of losing and finishing near the bottom of the standings.
The rebuild isn’t over, but the young Red Wings are gradually turning a corner as they sit in fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 21-21-6 record. On Wednesday, they beat the Flyers in regulation for the first time in Philadelphia during the regular season since Jan. 25, 1997. They are seven points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Red Wings provide a snapshot of where the Flyers could be if general manager Chuck Fletcher and Comcast Spectacor chairman Dave Scott ever decide to tear the team down to its studs and rebuild primarily through the draft.
After making the playoffs the previous 25 seasons, which included four Stanley Cup victories, the Red Wings finished seventh in the Atlantic Division (33-36-13) in 2016-17. It was the team’s first losing record since the 1990-91 season and ushered in the early stages of then-general manager Ken Holland’s roster makeover.
Prior to the start of the season, those efforts had already begun when the Red Wings traded Pavel Datsyuk’s contract to the Arizona Coyotes in an effort to clear salary cap space.
With the ninth-overall selection of the 2017 NHL draft, the Red Wings selected 6-foot-6 center Michael Rasmussen. In hindsight, Rasmussen was the first of the Red Wings’ trove of high draft picks they would earn and acquire throughout their rebuild that has already made an impact at the NHL level.
The following season yielded similar results for the Red Wings. Despite a higher finish (fifth in the Atlantic), they produced a worse record (30-39-13). However, the Red Wings saw promise in the production of young players including 21-year-old center Dylan Larkin, who led the team in points with 63, and 23-year-old Anthony Mantha, who led the team in goals with 24.
During the season, Holland shipped off bottom-six center Riley Sheahan to the Pittsburgh Penguins, goalie Petr Mrázek to the Flyers, and center Tomas Tatar to the Vegas Golden Knights. Each trade brought back draft capital for Holland, most notably the Tatar one, which earned him a first-round pick in 2018, a second-round pick in 2019, and a third-round pick in 2021. The Red Wings used their two 2018 first-rounders on Filip Zadina (sixth overall) and Veleno (30th), while Tatar was a healthy scratch for most of the playoffs that season with Vegas.
The Red Wings missed the playoffs for the third year in a row in 2019, finishing seventh in the Atlantic. Holland was active prior to the trade deadline again, sending veteran defenseman Nick Jensen and a 2019 fifth-round pick to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Madison Bowey and a 2020 second-round pick. Additionally, Holland acquired a conditional 2019 second-round pick and a conditional 2020 third-round pick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for winger Gustav Nyquist.
On April 19, 2019, the Red Wings announced Holland’s promotion to senior vice president and the hiring of franchise icon Steve Yzerman as general manager. Yzerman, who had previously built the core of what would prove to be a Stanley Cup-winning team with the Tampa Bay Lightning, inherited Holland’s horde of picks and strong positioning in the 2019 draft. With the sixth-overall pick, Yzerman selected defenseman Seider.
In Yzerman’s first full season as GM, the team finished with the league’s worst overall record (17-49-5) for the first time since the 1985-86 season. Prior to the trade deadline that season, Yzerman sent inconsistent forward and soon-to-be free agent Andreas Athanasiou (and Ryan Kuffner) to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for veteran Sam Gagner and two second-round picks.
The disastrous finish catapulted the Red Wings into the top 10 of the draft once again, and with the fourth-overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft, they selected winger Raymond. In the offseason, the Red Wings traded for defenseman Marc Staal and a second-round pick, essentially agreeing to take on his cap hit from the New York Rangers to acquire the pick.
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The Red Wings had nowhere to go but up in 2021, finishing seventh in the Central with a 19-27-10 record. In April, Yzerman was a seller yet again, sending Mantha to the Capitals in exchange for Jakub Vrána, Richard Pánik, a first-round pick, and a second-round pick. With Mantha and Vrána widely considered relatively equal players, many experts viewed this trade as coup by Yzerman given the picks that were included.
To start the 2021-22 season, the Red Wings boasted the seventh youngest opening night roster in the NHL with an average age of 26.86 years old. Of the Red Wings’ most recent high draft picks, 20-year-old Seider and 19-year-old Raymond have had the most impressive starts to their young careers.
In 47 games this season, Seider has scored four goals and registered 27 assists. He reached 30 points on his first assist against the Flyers, making him the first rookie defenseman to achieve the milestone since legends Nicklas Lidström and Vladimir Konstantinov did so in 1991-92. Seider’s 27 assists leads all rookies.
Raymond ranks third on the team in points with 37 (12 goals, 25 assists) and first among NHL rookies. In November, he earned Rookie of the Month accolades when he scored 12 points in 14 games.
The Flyers, 15-23-8, will take another stab at the Red Wings on Saturday in Detroit with their playoff dreams all but dead. From the balcony level, Fletcher also will have the opportunity to again mull the state of the Flyers’ roster as the trade deadline approaches.
If he needs a road map on how to sell, he ought to look no further than the home team.