The Philadelphia Flyers need to plan for the future starting now

The Philadelphia Flyers sit tied for last place in their division with just 39 points. It is time to start looking toward a rebuild, and the best way to go about it. With Pitt, Carolina, and the upstart Rangers leading the charge. There is not only a massive gap in points but also in talent.

Looking at the roster the Philadelphia Flyers might be one of the oldest teams in the league with a total of 15 players over the age of 28. Not to mention having ten over the age of 30. Of those over the age of 30, Giroux, Van Riemsdyk, Atkinson, and Ellis all come with large contracts and cap hits.

We have already heard talks of possible moves of Giroux and Atkinson, and that seems to be a smart move. They should also bring back the most bang for their buck, pending the Flyers don’t have to eat money.

The Flyers are about as close to the playoffs as the average person reading this is to become an NHL superstar. So it is now time to shoot for the rebuild, with several divisions close and some teams points away from being in good playoff contention, they could get some solid returns for the older players.

The Sabers and Kings have already started youth movements, and I would not be surprised if the Stars, Flyers, and Coyotes follow suit.

As of now, they are at the low end of the table with zero cap space, and it does not get much better as next year they are 19th as of now in cap space with just under 15MM. If they are able to unload these older guys for picks, prospects and not have to eat money that would be a massive win for the franchise. Setting them up for years to come.

Of course, no fan wants to lose a fan favorite, or see their team slip for a couple of years. It may be the only way the Flyers get back to the playoffs any time soon. And with Ristolinen going on IR and Couturier out for the rest of the season with back surgery, the season is all but lost. So it’s time to look forward to the 2022-2023 season, but if they were smart they would aim harder for competing in the 2023-2024 season and trying to secure as many picks in the top-75 as possible.

Since 2015 the Flyers have finished:

2015-2016- 5th in the division losing in the first round.
2016-2017- 6th in the division missed the playoffs.
2017-2018- 3rd in the division losing in the first round.
2018-2019- 6th in the division missed the playoffs.
2019-2020- 2nd in the division losing in the second round.
2020-2021- 6th in the division missing the playoffs.
2021-2022- 7th, but technically tied for last in the division.

It seems as though the streak of playoffs then missing over the last several years will stop this year. They are not ready to compete at a high level, and some of their best talents are close to hanging up their skates or getting moved onto different teams. It will do the Flyers no good to continue to keep and pay an aging roster as they slowly get worse, while they currently don’t offer a ton by way of prospects. They can change that rather quickly as teams on the cusp of a cup or the playoffs, would be willing to give them away for players they think can help them get to a title, pending they have the cap space.

If they can free up a lot of cap space, and get picks we could see this team have a resurgence in just a few short years. As each year the NHL draft seems to throw out more and more talent even in the later rounds.

The Flyers cant continue to throw out this team paying out big money, and hope to win a cup anytime soon. In the coming weeks, I would look for them to talk to teams such as the Canucks, Canadians, Oilers, Islanders, and red hot Flames as trade partners.