Flyers’ eternal rebuilding operation is tough sell to fans

VOORHEES, N.J. — Three days before the trade deadline and five years after it all began, Chuck Fletcher Tuesday shared the next entry from his thick and yellowing rebuilding manual.

“We’re selling,” he said. But of course.

From aging forwards to incapable defensemen, from expiring contracts to the kind that are cost-ineffective for eternally inept franchises, from popular players to some in disfavor, the Flyers will be selling everything but James van Riemsdyk replica sweaters that by Saturday will be value-less.

It’s what they did last year, when Mike Yeo was coaching after Alain Vigneault was fired. It’s what they did the year before that. And they’ll probably be selling next year, too, for as John Tortorella said the other day, “It’s going to take time.”

The pattern is easily scouted: Promise rebuilding, declare some progress, fail, change coaches, promise more rebuilding, mix in a campaign slogan (“aggressive rebuild” was a recent pip) and then try it again. Once, the Flyers were a franchise whose legends proudly followed orders to walk together forever. Any more, they are an operation that takes that long to rebuild.

Good thing they changed that culture.

“Clearly, we have work to do,” Fletcher said. “It’s going to be a longer process than maybe what we want. But I think we are starting to build the right way and integrate a lot of young players into our team.”

Young players lose too, particularly if the same politburo keeps making the personnel rulings. But give the Flyers credit for being insult-immune. No matter how often Fletcher is badgered about the length of the rebuild, no matter how many times his reconfigured roster is booed, no matter how many times the Flyers miss the playoffs or change coaches or mail pay stubs to Carter Hart that are at least a comma too long, all it takes is for the next trade deadline to arrive so Fletcher can try it again.

Every once in a while, a rebuild is necessary. But this one is taking longer than a pre-pitch-clock baseball game. Extra innings. Why?

“It’s a good question,” Fletcher said. “Obviously, there’s been a lot of adversity. We haven’t played as well as we should have. I just went down in the dressing room and was sitting around with (Sean) Couturier, (Cam) Atkinson and (Travis) Konecny. That’s 100 goals right there. Obviously, Konecny played most of the year, but there’s some good players out of the lineup. That’s hurt us.”

That is one of two reasonable stances the Flyers are authorized to assume at the dawn of their third annual estate sale. With Atkinson and Couturier, they likely would have been on the fringes of playoff contention this season. And with Konecny destined to be missing for a while, too, there was no reason for Tortorella to deny the obvious the other day when he made a rare February declaration that they were not going to make the playoffs. The other responsible position is to plead for patience with Tortorella, who will get it all right if given a few years. There’s not a third.

By Friday, van Riemsdyk and his expiring contract will be gone, likely to Minnesota, where he owns a home. Kevin Hayes, not Tortorella’s favorite player, is sounding resigned to the reality that he will be punted.

But while Fletcher is open to any trade suggestion, he remains hesitant to use the phrase “rebuilding,” which has been taboo for more than 50 years on the south side of Pattison Ave.

“It’s teminology,” he reasoned. “Are we going to gut this team? No, we are not going to gut this team. I’m not looking to trade (Owen) Tippett and (Joel) Farabee and (Morgan)

Frost and (Cutter) Gauthier; to just trade everybody and start over. But clearly we have to get younger. And we have to find some more assets. So what we’re going to do is probably more in line with what most of the teams in our league have tried to do in the last few years. You keep your better assets and if we can move some other players out to get younger, then we’ll do that.

“The goal is to get better and to get value, and not just to move guys out.”

If the Flyers can fit Tortorella with the right talent, it could work out. Maybe Couturier, who is skating again, comes back next year and boosts the mood in the room. Maybe Atkinson returns and scores goals. Maybe the Flyers get lucky in the draft lottery.

At some point, there has to be a way out of whatever they have gotten themselves into.

“We have a chance here to add a few assets,” Fletcher said. “We’ve seen some kids this year. I think we have a chance next year. I think that’s the best way to build, the tried and true method.”

Tried. And tried and tried and tried.