The St Louis Blues played our Flyers tonight and are arguably is the same poor state we are in. Some suggest that they are perhaps a good trade partner in the making and the shake up of both rosters would be beneficial to both teams. Names that keep coming up are Pietrangelo, Parayko, and Tarasenko. Hood names having solid years. Voracek is having a better season than most of their squad so it begs to question are they a good trading partner. At least Parayko is in the plus 5 range that has an appeal, but watching in person, this was a boring game with not much to comment on except they lost 3-0. The kick in the groin was Brayden Schenn scoring. But in what was a disappointing loss, all it really did was hammer home what fans have been pleading for.
All across Flyerland right now your are hearing the word TANK. Well i say Tanks but no Tanks. I for one am tired of next year mentality and whole “it’s a process “ mentality. That particular brain path is a dangerous game to play for at some point you are expected to produce results. Just ask former GM Ron Hextall, the current team is a left over of much of his results of not doing anything at all but amassing prospects and inconsequential signings in the off season. We are in 4 plus years in to a plan that seemed to have no end. No next step. The plan seemed to be we will cross that bridge when we get there. Draft pick after draft pick. Mediocrity after mediocrity.
Tanking isn’t the solution. Remember, we have a multitude of draft prospects already in the Flyer’s system. We cannot sign them all. The simple fact is that there are not enough roster spots or enough money. Young dynamic players are expecting some type of payday and more are going to lose out and move on than find that future. The best in the business are the ones that can get the most bang for the buck and still be contender every year. Players come and players go. The simple facts of every business and not just pro sports is that you very rarely anymore have the job with the same company or team your entire career.
Once we get past the part of untouchable players we can finally talk about trades. Define an untouchable player. The only thing that fits my criteria is “the player i am building my team around”. You have to start somewhere right? Draw that line in the sand and say ‘Here! I want to start here!’. I look down the roster and i only see 2 possible candidates. Ivan Provorov and Carter Hart. Provorov turns 22 soon and Hart is just starting to get his feet wet in goal for the team. I could go down the roster and look at other players like Patrick, Konecny and Sanheim, all young and all worth looking at but hey, I gotta start somewhere right?
Now that we have established the value of our starting point, the rest can fall into some kind of order. We need to see past the love we have for players,Sometimes you just have to move on. Sometimes you don’t hit your potential until you have that change of scenery. This is the dangerous Claude Giroux dance. I have said in the past he should have been traded. I stand by that.
I look now and see that this team will most likely not win anything during his tenure here. Turning 31 years young very soon and with 3 years under contract that carries 8 million plus a pop against the cap, is trading him to a contender the best option for him? Is it even possible? The Flyers face a decision. If they’re unwilling to offload some of the heavier contracts prior to the trade deadline, they’re arguably wasting Claude Giroux’s prime and time.
Giroux derves the shot at a team that can make a run this year or next. Make the trades. You have the prospects, you have some cap space and now is the time. Blow it up. If you choose send players out and bring kids up and let them play and make the mistakes they can learn from.
The Flyers were embarrassed at home by a team that was ripe for the picking, a team that they could’ve pounced on to turn things around. Masses of empty seats and a quiet, dreary atmosphere only further hammered home my mindset. The Flyers have to make a move, now. The fans are becoming increasingly passive, games are becoming quieter and optimism fading. The season may not be alive much longer if Chuck Fletcher is willing to sit on his house of cards as the deadline passes.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
