While some may still doubt that the Flyers are rebuilding, the transactions the team made at the trade deadline last Friday should leave no doubt: this is a rebuilding club, and the front office has the wherewithal to make the decisions necessary to secure the team’s future. Scott Laughton may be a third-line center at best on a contender, but he brought a lot of intangible value to the locker room and embodied being a Flyer about as well as anyone in the last decade–in fact, we’ll let Briere express that sentiment.
Trade rumors have circled Laughton for years but, even before the trade was called, this felt like the year it was going to happen. The Flyers traded their heart’n’soul glue guy and two late-round draft picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 1st-round pick and prospect Nikita Grebenkin. They didn’t have to do it–Laughton has one year left on his contract, so the Flyers could’ve easily kept him around to keep locker room morale up–but they made the necessary decision to cash in while his value was high during a seller’s market. The Flyers had their price, the Leafs met it, and off Laughton went to his hometown team.
Danny Briere and co. could’ve handwaved away keeping Laughton with any number of lines: “We’re only a few points out of the playoffs,” or “We have no other centers,” or “He’s too important to the development of our young players,” or “The coach will be irate if we trade him.” None of that came to pass, though; instead, we got a clear sign that this front office will do what it takes–including letting go of beloved players–to construct a team that will perennially contend for the Stanley Cup.
That doesn’t even cover Briere’s trade earlier this year of Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to the Calgary Flames for 2nd- and 7th-round picks, Jakob Pelletier, and Andrei Kuzmenko. Both guys, like Laughton, well-liked in the locker room, but were moved for cap reasons and future assets. Briere did well to then flip Kuzmenko–ostensibly a cap dump by Calgary–and that 7th-round pick to the LA Kings for a 3rd-rounder. The Flyers have struggled to score most of the season, and they sent one of their most pure offensive creators to the West Coast–that’s what rebuilding clubs do. To cap off deadline day, Briere did veteran defenseman Erik Johnson a solid by sending him back to Colorado for one last ride before, presumably, retiring. Johnson stayed in Philadelphia after last year’s deadline to usher in the franchise’s next wave of core players, and was rewarded for being a good soldier.
Of course, the Flyers didn’t need to prove anything to anyone. If you’ve been watching how this front office operates since Briere took over, it’s plain to see this is a rebuilding club. They’ve got their budding super star in Matvei Michkov, they’ve converted roster players into copious future assets (three 1st-rounders, plus a fourth if you count the pick that came back for Claude Giroux, and four 2nd-rounders), and they’re on track for their third top-ten pick in four years. It was one trade deadline, but this front office is serious about building a contender–and it’s exciting to think about what they’ll do next, even if it’s taken time to convince everyone.
