Is a competitive rebuild jeopardizing the Flyers chances of landing top talent?
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Travis PolitakisFebruary 20, 2024 (8:54)
Going into the 2023-24 season, the Philadelphia Flyers were predicted to finish in last place and be one of the worst teams in the NHL and be in contention to land the number one overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. To everyone's surprise, head coach John Tortorella is squeezing every drop of talent out of this team and has the Flyers staring at a playoff spot as they sit at third place in the Metro Division.
Despite exceeding expectations and the Flyers being a competitive hockey team for the first time in years, is being competitive hurting their chances at landing a top-level talent?
As the Flyers continue to win, the "rebuild" has now been renamed as a "competitive rebuild" as Danny Briere and Keith Jones attempt to build the Flyers, while remaining a competitive team.
Although the idea seems full proof, if the Flyers miss out on landing a top talent in the draft because they exceed expectations, there are going to be thousands of unhappy fans.
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"The biggest issue of the Flyers' planned 'competitive rebuild' is simple. They know they need more high-end talent. They've acknowledged this. But by not bottoming out, they've removed the most efficient way to get it (high picks). So how do they get those guys."
All season long the talk has been that the Flyers are a GOOD team, but are missing that elite, franchise player like a Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Nathan MacKinnon.
This only puts more pressure on 2023 first round pick Matvei Michkov who is absolutely lighting it up in the KHL, but uncertainty still remains on if Michkov will even be able to come to the United States.
According to one NHL insider, the Flyers are taking the approach of building through trades and free-agency as they try to make Philadelphia a "sexy" destination for players in free agency.
"It's possible to get high-end players via trade and free agency. Look at Vegas, who traded for Eichel and Stone and signed Pietrangelo. And then won a Cup. With shrewd management, the Flyers could theoretically do that! But it'll be difficult."
| POLL | ||
20 FEVRIER | 106 ANSWERS Is a competitive rebuild jeopardizing the Flyers chances of landing top talent? Is a competitive rebuild jeopardizing the Flyers chances of landing top talent? | ||
| Yes | 61 | 57.5 % |
| No | 45 | 42.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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