Chuck Fletcher

Audible chants of “Fire Fletcher!” broke out at Wells Fargo Center as GM Chuck Fletcher's Philadelphia Flyers loat for the ninth straight game, 4-1 to Pittsburgh on Friday.

Before the puck even hits the ice, the Flyers are already dealing with more than their share of injury woes.

In a poll conducted by The Athletic ranking NHL front office confidence levels based on fan input, the Flyers ranked dead last, 32nd in the NHL. 

The heat is officially on all Philadelphia sports teams this summer with the Flyers unable to bring home Johnny Gaudreau and Phillies on a 4-game losing streak

On Wednesday, you saw that the current regime is incapable of handling a rebuild. They insisted upon an aggressive retool for a fast fix, not the necessary rebuild needed. Now it’s time to start that rebuild anyway, but focus on the front office that has so clearly set the Flyers back.

At his introductory press conference, John Tortorella recalled thinking about what an opportunity to coach in Philadelphia would be like as far back as the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. Now he gets that opportunity, trying to restore a standard for the Orange and Black emblem that he expressed great respect for on Friday.

If you were wondering just what the Flyers were going to try to do with this offseason or questioning if they were serious about an aggressive approach, you got your answer on Thursday. Tortorella is only the first piece of what could be a very busy offseason that features equally as many changes and moves as the last, likely even more aggressive than ever before.

The problem with each of these possibilities is that they are rooted in hope. Hope that the injured players return as advertised and stay healthy. Hope the young players take that big step everyone has waited for. Hope that you can perhaps manufacture some hockey trades or free-agent signings to plug in the holes that the team is lacking for speed and skill and make it all work.

There is a good chance we are seeing the end of the Claude Giroux era in Philadelphia.

GM Chuck Fletcher met with the media on Friday morning in the wake of an announcement that Sean Couturier had undergone back surgery that morning and would be out for the remainder of the season. Fletcher also provided more insight to the uncertain returns of both Ryan Ellis and Kevin Hayes in the 2021-22 season.