Articles in Philadelphia Flyers

from the Philadelphia Flyers,

The Philadelphia Flyers unveiled today the club's new home and road uniforms featuring a collection of design elements and new features which officially usher in the team's New Era of Orange. The design changes are the first alterations to the team's primary home and away uniforms since 2010.

"This New Era of Orange is all about honoring our franchise's storied past while writing an exciting, new chapter of Flyers history," said Daniel J. Hilferty, Comcast Spectacor Chairman & CEO and Governor of the Philadelphia Flyers. "These new uniforms represent that sentiment perfectly with details to honor previous eras paired with a fresh, modern design. And there's no better company than Independence Blue Cross to be our first jersey patch partner! It is an organization that has meant so much to me personally and the entire Philadelphia region."

The club collaborated with the NHL's League-wide uniform partner, adidas, to bring the design to life. Many key stakeholders across the organization including Flyers season ticket members, Flyers alumni and broadcasters were consulted throughout the process. To honor its tradition while carving out a new era for the franchise, the Flyers are combining notable components of its past jerseys to form a modern adaptation of its storied history.

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Promo video is below.

via the Columbus Blue Jackets,

The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired defenseman Ivan Provorov as part of a three-team trade involving the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a first-round pick, 22nd overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft, and a conditional second-round pick in either the 2024 or 2025 NHL Draft, club general manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced today.

The details of the trade are as follows:

“Honestly, there’s times I wake up, I don’t know what day it is,” Jones says, laughing. “There’s just been multiple meetings and getting together with the group that’s going to make this thing happen, getting prepared for the press conference, getting acclimated to a new office, getting prepared to go and do the conference final, which I’m getting on a plane now to head to Florida where our house is.

“Now I’m organizing a move at the same time and getting ready to transition from one job to the next. There’s a lot to manage.”

-Keith Jones, the new GM for the Philadelphia Flyers. Michael Russo of The Athletic has much more ($).

from the Philadelphia Flyers,

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today the club has named Keith Jones to the position of President of Hockey Operations and named Daniel Briere to the position of General Manager.

With this announcement, the Flyers have finalized their new management structure. The President of Hockey Operations will lead the strategic direction for all aspects of the hockey operations department while collaborating on business goals. The General Manager is responsible for all hockey decisions as it pertains to signings, trades and draft picks as well as overseeing scouting, player development, roster construction and more. Head coach John Tortorella will remain boss of the bench and like most head coaches in the NHL, he'll provide input on various management topics.

Statement by Daniel J. Hilferty, Comcast Spectacor Chairman & CEO and Governor of the Philadelphia Flyers

"Today marks a new era for the Philadelphia Flyers. This is a storied franchise with the most passionate fans in the National Hockey League. Our ultimate goal is to deliver them a championship. Achieving that goal will take time. We intend to honor the incredible history of the Orange and Black while paving a fresh path forward. That starts by creating a winning culture throughout the organization.

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from Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer,

Two months after firing former general manager and president of hockey operations Chuck Fletcher, the Flyers have found their next president of hockey operations.

The Flyers are set to hire former player Keith Jones to the role, a source confirmed to The Inquirer Wednesday. Former Flyers defenseman Chris Therien, who now co-hosts the Snow The Goalie podcast, broke the initial news on Twitter after multiple reports on Wednesday stated that Jones was a finalist for the position.

Jones, 54, most recently served as the Flyers’ color analyst on NBC Sports Philadelphia and previously played for the team from 1998-2001. He suited up in the NHL for a total of nine seasons before transitioning to a career in radio and television, which included co-hosting 94.1 WIP’s morning show.

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from Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer,

For five decades the Flyers have been stuck in a toxic trap of nostalgia. They’ve been held hostage to Three Wise Men, legends as players who now sit in secluded offices, operating without accountability, peddling favors and favoritism to connections who see the game through the same mottled, last-century lenses as they still see it.

Last week, after 45 years of institutional nepotism, the Flyers had a chance to turn the page.

The sports wing of parent company Comcast Spectacor had a chance to ignore the Three Wise Men — Bob Clarke, Paul Holmgren, and Bill Barber — all former players and front office executives now ensconced as “senior advisers” along with latecomer and outsider Dean Lombardi. CEO Dave Scott had a chance to fire general manager Chuck Fletcher and promote someone from outside the Flyers’ inbred bloodlines — ideally, someone who would deviate from the incestuous progressions that ruined a once-proud hockey club.

As it turns out, Scott did just that.

Scott fired Fletcher on his own, according to two league sources. Then he named Danny Brière interim general manager — again, on his own. Brière is expected to have the “interim” removed at the end of the season, according to a league source.

But wait. Brière wore the Orange and Black, right? So, same old, same old, right?

Wrong. Brière might be a former Flyer, and he’s close to Holmgren, but he is no Golden Child in the eyes of the Three Wise Men.

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What happened? See below.

from Charlie O'Connor of The Athletic,

Philadelphia Flyers culture. It’s a nebulous, multifaceted concept — but very, very real.

The Flyers are tough. They take care of their own. They promote from within. They spend whatever it takes to win. They don’t believe in taking steps back to take bigger steps forward. True stewards of Flyers culture, the thinking goes, carry the torch of founder Ed Snider, in a relentless march toward inevitable success.

In the 1970s and 1980s under Snider, the march began. It continued through the 1990s, even as Comcast entered the picture and purchased Snider’s Spectacor, keeping Snider as chairman. The collective of former players and executives even continued to successfully trudge forward in the early 2000s, as the Flyers made another Stanley Cup Final appearance.

But the NHL’s implementation of the salary cap in 2005 slowed the Flyers’ advance. Snider’s death in 2016, of course, took away the embodiment of said culture. And on March 10, 2023, the man handpicked by the organization’s remaining stewards — Chuck Fletcher — was released from his duties as general manager and president of hockey operations.

If ownership has the courage to accept hard truths, March 10, 2023, could also stand as the moment when the old Flyers culture — along with all of its remaining champions — was finally, mercifully deemed in need of retirement.

After all, the fingerprints of Flyers culture were all over Fletcher’s ultimately failed tenure as GM.

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update 3:54pm, suspended 2 games, watch the suspension video in the comment section....

Watch the incident below.

Philadelphia aeason ticket holders were sent a letter today from John Tortorella.

Should more teams do this?

from Phil Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

I disliked Ivan Provorov’s refusal to skate in the Philadelphia Flyers pregame warmup Tuesday night. He boycotted because he didn’t want to wear the same LGBTQ+ Pride Night warmup jersey the rest of the team was wearing.

But I also disliked a lot of the hypocritical media fallout from his protest.

Provorov, cited his Russian Orthodox beliefs as a reason why he didn’t want to don the jersey or use a rainbow-wrapped stick that (via ESPN.com) “were to be auctioned off by Flyers Charities, with proceeds going toward their efforts to grow the game in diverse communities.”

The 26-year-old Russian defenseman was instantly excoriated by fans and media for refusing to partake in the promotion....

But it was NHL Network analyst E.J. Hradek who took the shame-hyperbole to new heights.

more and watch the Hradek video below...

Watch Provorov below.

from Russ Cohen of Phil Hockey Now,

The surging Philadelphia Flyers beat the Capitals at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday, then traveled to Washington and beat them again in the nation’s capital Saturday, 3-1.

The Flyers (18-18-7), who climbed to .500 for the first time in two months, got second-period goals from James van Riemsdyk and Wade Allison to build a 3-1 lead.

“Timely goals. Some grinding. Allie’s goal was a big goal. Not one thing. I think we played well as a team,” coach John Tortorella said.

Carter Hart was spectacular as he stopped 39 shots. Scott Laughton chipped in with a goal and an assist.

“A good win against a good hockey club. A division rival and a big four points for our team,” Hart said.

Hart stopped all 19 shots he faced in the final period.

“Carter took over the game in the third,” Tortorella said.

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Watch the game highlights below.

“We took the video on the bench off the bench because we want them to just worry about their next shift,” Tortorella said after the Flyers’ 5-3 win Wednesday over Washington. “I think it’s a major problem with us, understanding the momentums of the game,” You can’t understand momentums of the game if you’re looking at the iPad all the time.

“We took them off and aren’t even going to use them, so that they watch the game and see what’s next.”

-John Tortorella, head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. Ariel Melendez of Philly Hockey Now has more.

from Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now,

Kevin Hayes has been the Philadelphia Flyers’ most productive offensive player with 29 points in 31 games. But three benchings, and coach John Tortorella’s complaints about his defense and play without the puck have stirred trade rumors.

The winger/center has a limited no-trade clause.

There is also speculation that the Flyers will buy out the final three years of his Hayes’ contract.

On his “32 Thoughts” podcast Monday, the highly respected Elliotte Friedman said: “I’m sure in Tortorella’s eyes, he says, ‘I’ve warned you, I’ve warned you, and it didn’t get any better.’ And Hayes I’m sure is saying, ‘Look, I’m scoring. This team isn’t winning games. How does it help the team (to bench him?’) He’s like any other player. He doesn’t want to get benched.”

Said Friedman: “I looked at Hayes’ contract. In his deal, there’s about 14 million in bonuses. Almost all of that is paid off. … I have to tell you, I can’t help but look at this contract and say, is this going to be a buyout at the end of the year? At the end of the year if he gets bought out, he’ll make slightly more that 2 million a season on average.”

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A hard dump-in turns into a goal.

from Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now,

Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella, who has his team off to a 7-4-2 start, was not in a good mood Saturday morning when asked why he didn’t address the media after a sloppy 5-2 loss Thursday in Columbus.

During Thursday’s game, which was Tortorella’s return to Columbus for the first time since he parted ways with the team in the spring of 2021, the coach received a standing ovation as a tribute video was shown.

Did he not talk after the loss because he was upset at his team’s play? Sick of talking about returning to Columbus? Was there a family emergency?

“None of your business,” he snorted on Saturday.

The NHL requires head coaches to talk after games. Tortorella instead sent associate coach Brad Shaw to speak after the loss to the Jackets.

“I think during his career, he’s almost always talked to the media after every game,” GM Chuck Fletcher said. ” … I don’t think it will be an issue moving forward.”

Asked why Tortrorella declined to speak Thursday, Fletcher said: “I can’t speak for John. It’s up to John to speak for him.”

An NHL spokesman said the league was “handling” the situation.

more

from Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now,

Sean Couturier undewent another back surgery Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers announced Satrday, and it’s fair to wonder if his career is in jeopardy.

It’s his second back surgery in 10 months. The Flyers say his “expected recovery time” is three to four months.

They also said last month that doctors said he would NOT need a second surgery.

In other words, it’s a guessing game.

No one really knows when he will return. No one really knows if he will be effective again or if he’ll be a shell of his former self, a one -time Selke Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defensive forward.

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from Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now,

It was Throwback Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center, as the Philadelphia Flyers paid homage to their teams from the 1960s and 1970s with videos, appearances by former players, and music that had understandable lyrics. (Damn, I sound old.)

On the ice, the Flyers looked like a version of the 1969-70 team (17 wins in 76 games) in the opening 20 minutes Thursday, as they allowed a season-high 19 shots in the period and were badly outplayed and outhustled.

But they recovered, cashing in on their few chances against Sergei Bobrovsky.

Final: Flyers 4, Florida Panthers 3.

Somehow.

The Flyers (5-2) are in first place. The Flyers are in first place. The Flyers are in first place.

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Highlights are below.

from Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia,

Sean Couturier's on-ice rehab work has come to a halt.

The Flyers' first-line center had been skating this month in his recovery from a back reinjury. But with a back issue, especially following a reinjury, it's such a wait-and-see approach every day.

"Pretty much," Couturier said Oct. 9. "At the same time, I really want to just get out there and rip some pucks and go 100 miles per hour, but the trainers are really kind of holding me back, just really trying to slowly progress me where I don't have any setbacks."

Couturier has endured a setback given he's no longer on the ice.

"He stopped skating," Flyers head coach John Tortorella said Thursday during the team's optional morning skate. "He's just not ready to skate right now. That's a ways, that's a ways away."

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