Philadelphia Flyers: 5 reasons Chuck Fletcher deserves GM of the year

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher has excellently executed a turnaround of his team.

If I would’ve told you back in September that the Philadelphia Flyers would be tied for first in the Metro in March, would you have believed me? Probably not, right? Most of us even questioned if Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher had done enough with the roster to even clinch a playoff spot, let alone contend for the division title.

Yet here we are in March and the Flyers are just a point out of first place and in contention for the first division title since the 2010-11 season. Below I’ll give you five reasons why Fletcher deserves the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

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First and foremost, Fletcher hired Alain Vigneault. He could not have picked a more perfect coach for the city of Philadelphia, as Vigneault not only brings a tremendous winning pedigree with him to the City of Brotherly Love but also the authenticity and passion fans adore and haven’t seen from a head coach in years.

While Flyer fans may have been clamoring for Joel Quenneville, it seems Fletcher made the correct choice in hiring Vigneault to lead the Flyers to the promised land once again. Having won the President’s Trophy three previous times and gone to the Stanley Cup Final twice with two different teams, one can’t help but wonder if the third time will be the charm.

Fletcher’s arguably second-best move came when he decided to send a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft to the Winnipeg Jets for the rights to sign Kevin Hayes. Can you remember how you felt when this trade was announced? I know I do, I felt a bit underwhelmed.

It’s been a long time since the Flyers had done anything relevant during an off-season, aside from signing James van Riemsdyk, and I recall wanting the team to sign someone “fun”. Well, unbeknownst to me and I’m sure many others, Hayes couldn’t be any more perfect for this team and the city. Not only has he been fantastic and fun to watch on the ice but he’s brought personality and enthusiasm to a team that may have been missing it since the days of Scott Hartnell.

Now, Hayes could’ve arguably been the second-best move by Fletcher and Matt Niskanen is the reason why. Some fans were a bit skeptical when this trade was made, as Radko Gudas was somewhat of a fan favorite and Niskanen was seen as a player on the decline. Making matters worse was Fletcher’s decision to retain 30% ($1,005,000 according to CapFriendly) of Gudas’s salary for the 2020 season.

The reasons you could argue Matt Niskanen should be number two on this list are not only has he stepped in and helped Ivan Provorov right his ship but he’s produced at a top-pairing defenseman level having already scored 8 goals and 35 points in 66 games this season. Niskanen was a guy viewed to be on the decline, yet he’s on pace for his second-most productive season.

Sure, Niskanen has produced on the ice with scoring and stellar defensive play but he brings even more with his veteran leadership and winning pedigree which this team severely lacked. Fletcher got Matt Niskanen for Gudas. Let that sink in.

My fourth reason goes by the name of Justin Braun. That’s right, Justin Braun. Remember when everyone was all out of sorts over Fletcher sending a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 third-round pick to the Sharks for Braun?

Braun has provided consistent and a steadying veteran presence along a Flyers blue line that seemed to be a train wreck for the last four seasons. Originally paired with Travis Sanheim who has since graduated to second-line duties, Braun has now been paired alongside Robert Hagg to round out the Flyers bottom pairing on defense.

Braun eats up tough minutes in the defensive zone and on the PK allowing players like Sanheim and Phil Myers to flourish in the offensive zones. He’s become an integral part of this season’s success without a doubt.

Lastly, while all other teams in the Metro division made “larger” moves, Chuck Fletcher seemed to double down on his current roster and merely added “depth” in acquiring Nate Thompson and Derek Grant.

Since being hired, Fletcher’s done everything necessary to improve this roster properly. He went out and brought in a second-line center with a personality to boot, two veteran defensemen to bring along young defenders, brought Brian Elliott back to back up Carter Hart, and added the fourth line center with grit this team needed along with Grant.

Let it be known that while Grant is being called a depth player, he’s actually going to be a huge part of this team down the stretch. A player with his abilities allows players like Claude Giroux to play less hard defensive and PK minutes and allows him to spend more time playing in the offensive zone. So in my eyes, Chuck Fletcher won the trade deadline, at least in the Metro Division, by not overspending for a rental while also not messing with team chemistry on the top two lines.

Chuck’s won the 2019 offseason and quite possibly the 2020 trade deadline, next on the list is the Metro Division and a long, lengthy playoff run with eyes on the Stanley Cup and all this in a span of just over a year at the helm. This is why Fletcher deserves the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.