Ed Snider is probably rolling over in his grave. At his 5:00 PM press conference, Chuck Fletcher confirmed that free agency is over for the Flyers; they are dead. The press conference had to be one of the most uninspiring in the franchise’s history. If you didn’t get to see it live, please don’t torture yourself.
The front office is banking on Couturier and Hayes returning from injuries, toughness and hoping the team plays harder because of John Tortorella. I don’t know about you, but I am not ready to run through a brick wall or even commit to having the game on every night.
Now I’ve seen some significant overreactions to the Gaudreau news, a pretty big Philadelphia media personality calling him a top 5 player, and someone else calling him a generational talent; both seem very extreme. The bottom line is the organization needs life; he could have provided that on the ice and with the fanbase.
I hope these players can overachieve despite the front office’s incompetence, but we are probably better off hoping that somehow the hockey gods throw us a bone for the JVR/Kane/Patrick drafts and gift us, Connor Bedard.