Adam Proteau analyzes the Philadelphia Flyers dismissing GM Chuck Fletcher, the Buffalo Sabres losing 10-4 and what the Nashville Predators could do in the off-season.
Welcome to Screen Shots, a regular THN.com feature in which we analyze a few hockey topics and write about them in a few short paragraphs. Let’s get right to it with thoughts on the Philadelphia Flyers changing their GM, the Sabres' 10-4 loss on Thursday night and what the Predators should do once future GM Barry Trotz takes over.
The Philadelphia Flyers did what many expected – and what many had hoped they would do far sooner – when they dismissed president of hockey operations and GM Chuck Fletcher Friday morning.
Fletcher’s four-and-a-half-year tenure in Philly was, for the most part, an abject disaster, with the Flyers missing the playoffs in three of his four years in charge of the organization.
The recent NHL trade deadline, when Fletcher could not find a trade partner for soon-to-be UFA winger James van Riemsdyk, appears to be added frustration that contributed to his dismissal.
But there were plenty of final straws dating back to this past off-season when Fletcher hired a coach in John Tortorella, who is not in the business of long-term rebuilds, and when he inexplicably signed defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a two-year, $10-million contract.
Rather than admitting to what many agreed was a non-playoff roster and tearing things down so that they were a front-runner for junior hockey phenom Connor Bedard, Fletcher and the Flyers added veteran pieces who all but guaranteed Philly would finish closer to the mushy middle and have a lesser shot at the No. 1 draft pick.
These are the reasons why Flyers fans were so irate at the trade deadline. Even with the team far out of a playoff position, Fletcher couldn’t drum up even a mid-level draft pick for van Riemsdyk. That was a brutal miscalculation of the trade market, and there was no good excuse for it.
So now, the interim role of head of hockey ops and GM goes to former Flyers star forward Daniel Briere, who had been serving under Fletcher as a special assistant to the GM.
The Flyers have a history of hiring former players to run things, so it’s OK to be skeptical of going back to that type of arrangement. But Briere is well-regarded as an up-and-coming team architect who was under consideration for Montreal’s GM job before the Canadiens picked former player agent Kent Hughes.
We suspect Briere will eventually have the interim tag removed from his new job, and get the reins on a permanent basis. But unless he makes it explicit that a drastic rebuild is necessary – and we’re talking trading all of Philadelphia’s older veteran forwards, including Kevin Hayes, Sean Couturier, and Cam Atkinson, as well as veteran defensemen Ivan Provorov, Rasmus Ristolainen and DeAngelo – the Flyers are likely to repeat their recent awful history.
Flyers fans are mature enough to be willing to sit through a tank-type rebuild, so long as there’s a clear plan in place. The Fletcher Era will be known for self-inflicted wounds and misread valuations of players, and it’s going to take some time to untangle themselves from their current mess of a roster before the true, desperately-needed starting-over process truly begins.
Thursday night in Buffalo, you could hear the hearts of Sabres fans begin to break as their team surrendered 10 goals in a 10-4 defeat to the Dallas Stars.
It was Buffalo’s fifth loss in their past six games – with all of those losses coming in regulation – and the Sabres have now squandered their games in hand in the race for a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
This is not to suggest the Sabres are out of the playoff mix. We said we liked them to outlast the other wild-card contenders and make it to the post-season for the first time since 2010-11.
However, clearly, coach Don Granato has to find a way to stem the defensive bleeding – Buffalo has been outscored 28-12 in their past five losses – and it has to happen in a hurry.
The Sabres have 18 regular-season games left, and they face current non-playoff teams nine times – Washington, Philadelphia (twice), Nashville, Montreal, Florida, Detroit, Ottawa and Columbus. They have no excuses not to go on a roll and push their way into seventh or eighth.
Falling apart at this point in the season would be a cruel blow to a fan base that’s had more than its share of them.
Finally, the Nashville Predators more than likely won’t be a playoff team this season, and that leaves incoming GM Barry Trotz with some crossroads-type questions to answer.
After moving out some of their veteran talents before the trade deadline, the Preds now have three highly-paid forwards – Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen, and Filip Forsberg – and star defenseman Roman Josi on the roster. The rest of that group of skaters is more or less a wasteland.
It’s difficult to envision them moving Josi in particular, but he’s going to want to remain with the organization as a shepherd for the next generation.
That said, I don’t think there are any other untouchables for the Preds, and yes, that includes star goalie Juuse Saros. Nashville’s defense corps needs more talent, and if they did choose to move Saros, they could command a huge return in draft picks and prospects.
Outgoing GM David Poile did yeoman’s work at the deadline, adding a slew of picks. This summer, the Preds will have 10 picks in the first four rounds, and they can refill their competitive tank with that many assets.
There will still be pain ahead for Nashville, but they’re doing things the right way.