On Wednesday, Flyers CEO Dan Hilferty and and President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones held an end-of-season press conference to reflect on this past season, and provide more insight on how the organization is planning to move forward with the upcoming season.
On Wednesday, Flyers CEO Dan Hilferty and and President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones held an end-of-season press conference to reflect on this past season, and provide more insight on how the organization is planning to move forward with the upcoming season.
On Wednesday, Flyers CEO Dan Hilferty and and President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones held an end-of-season press conference to reflect on this past season, and provide more insight on how the organization is planning to move forward with the upcoming season.
While they discussed much of the business side of the "New Era of Orange" vision, Hilferty and Jones also gave viewers a clearer definition of what progress and success looks like for this team going forward.
Hilferty reiterated the fact that building a new Flyers organization was a marathon, not a sprint, detailing how the first full year of this plan established a strong foundation that they plan to build on moving forward.
"This first year was all about creating an environment and a culture where we accepted nothing but the best, where excellence is what we're striving for," he said. "It's about creating an environment where players and coaches and us on the management part strive for excellence. I'm really excited about where we are, [I'm] thrilled with Keith's leadership, thrilled with Danny [Briere's] leadership, thrilled with [head coach John] Tortorella and how the three of them can finish each other's sentences and how, together, we're going to build a winner."
Part of creating a winning environment is obliterating the disconnect that formed between the organization and the fans during previous management regimes, with Hilferty emphasizing that the fanbase is the most important part of creating a new culture in the Flyers organization.
"We talked about reconnecting with the fans, and for me, there's nothing more important," he said. "In a couple of weeks, [the training center] will be filled [during development camp], and we'll be wandering our way through just making sure that the fans recognize that they may not always agree with us...but we're about restoring that great tradition of Flyer hockey.
"We want to change the losing environment to, 'What are they up to?' [and] 'They're not over-promising, but they're looking us in the eye and having a conversation about where we're headed...We wanted to be able to look each of you in the eye and have a conversation about where we are. We do the same thing with the region and the fanbase, to make sure we bring them around on the journey."
Another crucial part of creating a team that players want to be a part of is making sure that the front office makes those same meaningful connections with the locker room. Hilferty, Jones, and Briere were seen attending a large majority of Flyers games this season—both home and away—something that both Tortorella and the players have highlighted as having a positive impact.
"I've been fortunate enough to be welcome in the coach's office after games. I love it because I'm learning," Hilferty said. "Just watching the passion, watching [Jones and Briere] interact with Torts and the team. In the locker room, I was fortunate to go in there—I think I attended close to 60 games this year, including home and away, and every one of those games, I was fortunate to go to the locker room—win, lose, or draw—and just the love between those players and the folks that work there, from the equipment management up to the coaches, it's telling."
"It's important to continue building [the relationship between the hockey side and the business side of the organization]," Jones added. "There's opportunities for the players, there's a great connection that has taken place, and it's really important that we continue to build that. [We want] our players to feel that they're not just playing hockey, but that they're playing for the Philadelphia Flyers...You can say it, but you have to show it, and I think there's been an awful lot of progress made in that situation."
Even though it's only been a year, the front office is feeling extremely positive about the direction the Flyers are headed in. They know that they're still ways away from the end goal, but every success story has to start somewhere, and Hilferty believes their first steps have been promising.
"The truth of the matter is, across the board, people feel better about where we are," he said. "They feel that the things that Keith and Danny have done over the course of this year are about building for the long haul and doing it in a way that's as transparent as possible in an environment where not everything can be transparent.
"I long for a day—and I'm not knocking the New York Rangers—but I long for a day when people are so excited that not a Ranger fan can get a ticket at a home game at the Wells Fargo Center. We're not there yet, but we are seeing enthusiasm when we talk to people."
Jones said: "We still obviously have a long way to go, but we're keeping our eye on that prize. It does start within and I do think there's been a lot of progress made on the team coming together, the players enjoying playing here again...[Philadelphia] is going to be a destination that [top players] will want to come to again."
And even though the Flyers barely missed out on the playoffs, that doesn't deter the front office one bit. In fact, Hilferty isn't using a postseason bid as a measuring stick for the Flyers' progress at all, but rather how players develop and fit in to the team.
"On the business side, I would love for us to make the playoffs, but it's not how I'm measuring success," he said. "Let's take Tyson Foerster for example. You look at the year he had this year, and I'm hoping that players like that continue to impress and, with the next wave of young folks, they feel like, yeah, it's gonna take time for them to reach their potential, but they're on the right track, they're paying attention to their training, they're fitting in well in the locker room."
Jones has no doubt that the Flyers would've left it all on the ice had they made a playoff bid, but he agrees that not making it this season doesn't invalidate the strides they across the entire year.
"We would've battled hard [in the playoffs], we would've been a difficult opponent for everyone," he said. "That's kind of what we established last year. I don't think there were many teams that came in here thinking they could get an easy two points playing the Flyers, and I think our record against the final four teams, or even the two teams playing in the Stanley Cup Finals, it was respectable to say the least. So I do think there's been some incredible growth in that regard."
However, he did stress that the next few years are make or break in terms of building a team that can achieve the long-term success they're hoping for.
"There's no room for error for whatever players we add to the mix in a couple of years," Jones stated. "Those are things we have to pay a lot of attention to right now, and that's what we're really focused. Some of that comes from within, some of our younger players, whoever we draft with the two first-round picks this year and the multiple first-round picks next year...it's gonna be key.
"The removal of dead money is something that we're going to be able to use to our benefit, as long as we do everything right here and make sure this is a place where people want to play. It's really important to get that message out...We want to get to the point where we're in the playoffs not just one year, but for multiple seasons trying to contend and win a Stanley Cup."
And if anyone understands what the Flyers mean to their fanbase, it's Hilferty, who grew up locally and has made his passion as a fan an integral part of his chairman duties.
"I come at this as a fan," he said. "At the beginning of last year, I was hoping like heck we would outperform what the projections were. I go into this next year feeling the same way. Every game, I feel like we can win. I'm always gonna be that way, I'm always gonna have that fan perspective, and in the role as chairman, I'm very comfortable that there has to be a level of patience around this.
"We study other franchises...like, how did Florida do it, with the mix of young guys and seasoned pros that create this formula that works. I'm to the point now where I'm going to continue to be a fan and I'm gonna cheer for us to win every game. I'm not gonna worry about the wins and losses—yes, you want to be respectable and in a playoff hunt, but I'm not going to worry that it's gotta be this coming year that we make the playoffs. I just want to see continued progress, the development of the younger players—as a layman, I'm learning what they're thinking about as they build this team out. I'm not getting caught up in terms of years, I just want to see continued progress."
The front office knows that that progress and eventual sustained success won't be built in just a couple of seasons, and it will take a village, but that village can be an unstoppable force.
"It's not about anyone individual," Jones said. "It's about the Philadelphia Flyers."
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