Fletcher opts to stay the course … for now
A media-shy general manager calling a press conference for a team that has lost six consecutive games rarely portends good news. So for coach Alain Vigneault and any members of the Flyers who’ve grown attached to working in Philadelphia, the lack of news Tuesday as Chuck Fletcher poked his head out of the sand for a rare glimpse at sunlight was a positive.
Instead, Fletcher’s 25-minute address featured mostly banal, paint-by-numbers responses.
In short, he’s not happy that his team is mired in seventh place in the dastardly Metropolitan Division, kept out of the basement only by the team it was supposed to play Tuesday night, the COVID19-impacted Islanders. He’s not happy that they rank 27 out of 32 teams in goals scored at 49. (That includes 11 5-on-5 goals in the last 10 games and the league’s 28th-ranked power play.) He’s certainly not pleased that an aggressive offseason tack has yet to see the ice due to injuries.
But Fletcher is not yet reaching for the panic button, which these days might as well have “self-destruct” written on it.
“I’d really like to see what we have before we start making changes,” he said. “I don’t feel I’ve been able to see that to this point in time. We’re always looking. I’m talking to teams every day. If there’s ways to make us better, we’ll look at it.”
As the Flyers approach the season’s quarter-pole, Fletcher has only gotten four games from Ryan Ellis, the supposed veteran blueline stabilizer. He’s had two games of Kevin Hayes, who has weathered a nightmarish year between injuries and the sudden death of his brother. Time is still a factor for Oskar Lindblom, still not at the two-year anniversary of his cancer diagnosis, who has a solitary assist and a minus-9 rating in 19 games.
Those are big pieces to have all-but absent, around across-the-board dips from the forwards. With Carter Hart having rebounded from a calamitous 2020-21 and Martin Jones providing capable back-up goaltending, some of last season’s problems have been fixed. Bu new ones have cropped up, requiring attention.
Fletcher repeatedly broke his evaluation into 10-game chunks. The first tranche, navigated with a 6-2-2 record, showed progress from last year. The last stretch, stumbled through at a 2-6-2 clip, not so much, though Fletcher cited the difficult schedule. It won’t ease up, with a visit to the red-hot Rangers followed by welcoming in reigning Stanley Cup champ Tampa Bay and Presidents’ Trophy holder Colorado.
For the time being, Vigneault remains the man for the job. Or so we’re left to assume, since Fletcher answered a question about Vigneault’s performance without mentioning the coach, by name or otherwise.
“Players had a spirited practice today as you saw,” was the most direct insight offered. “The mood on the ice is still great. The guys still believe we can win, but it’s on us now to find a way to win a game starting tomorrow.”
If none of that, up against fairly dire salary-cap constraints, seems appealing, Fletcher would refer you to the alternative, which is to bring in the wrecking ball. From a talent perspective, the Flyers upgraded their roster from last year, even if it hasn’t shone yet. Before he begins a short-selling of veterans — a fire sale that could, oh by the way, jettison captain Claude Giroux if things really bottom out — Fletcher is willing to let optimism play out into the new year.
“We are what we are right now,” Fletcher said. “We’ve got to get better. We recognize that. Nobody recognizes it more than we do. The coaches were here all day yesterday, looking at the power play and looking at how we can have the puck more often, our entries, our forecheck. We’re looking at everything every day, line combinations, practice, load management, everything. We’re looking at everything every day.
“I saw the energy in the group today and that’s what still gives me hope. I’ve been doing this 30 years. You can see when players are frustrated and lack confidence and you can see when players don’t believe. There’s a big difference. We still believe. We got a lot of work to do and that’s our mindset is at.”
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Fletcher’s first order of business was injury updates. He’s “hopeful” that Hayes could play as soon as Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Fletcher said that Hayes, who had abdominal surgery in September, told him that, “this is the best he’s felt in over a year.”
Ellis (lower-body) remains week-to-week and will resume his rehab Wednesday after “some treatment about a week ago.” Derek Brassard
(hip) is not quite ready, but Fletcher is hopeful his condition is day-to-day rather than longer-term.
Nate Thompson (shoulder) will miss “a substantial amount of time” after undergoing surgery Tuesday. Wade Allison has returned to skating and could be in the picture this weekend, though likely with a Lehigh Valley rehab stop first. Patrick Brown (hand) continues to skate with a return plotted for “hopefully … sometimes next week”.