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A New Era: Flyers Play First Games Without Claude Giroux, as Chuck Fletcher Answers Questions About the Trade

Anthony SanFilippo

By Anthony SanFilippo

Published:

Panthers graphic welcoming G

A new era began for the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.

While they played a game Friday without their former captain Claude Giroux and lost in Ottawa, Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders was officially their first game without Giroux as a member of the NHL roster since everyone was wearing their 2008 Phillies World Championship sweatshirts.

More changes are coming, and who knows how many, and where they will all come, but for one afternoon, the Flyers played some good hockey, spearheaded by a healthier Kevin Hayes (two goals), an energized Joel Farabee, and Owen Tippett, the one actual player acquired from the Florida Panthers in the Giroux trade a day earlier. He had an impressive first game that flashed speed, skill, and determination, as the team held on for a 2-1 victory.

Also on Sunday, GM Chuck Fletcher held a press conference to discuss the Giroux trade, and it was a strange presser that I want to break down for you.

So let’s get a couple quick hits in about the game and then do a dive into what Chuck had to say before leaving you with the remaining possibilities for today’s trade deadline.

Let’s hit it:

1. Tippett the Iceberg

It was one game. One. Nothing to overreact to and not enough to develop an impression or expectation. But, for that one game, Owen Tippett did a little bit of everything:

https://twitter.com/nosalaryretaind/status/1505636316792426497

There are a couple of nice plays in there by Tippet – him drawing a penalty, his quick snap shot catching iron, his pass to the back door almost resulting in a goal by Max Willman. All good stuff. As was this:

Tippett doesn’t get an assist here, because as the puck rebounds out front, it hits Travis Konecny’s stick before Farabee makes the deft pass to Hayes for the goal. But it’s the wickedness of the shot that creates the opportunity initially.

That’s what he’s known for – his quick release, his heavy shot, his fearlessness when shooting the puck , and collecting goals and points from his aggressive shooting.

It’s a style that can benefit the Flyers for sure, but one they’ll need to see with consistency over the final 20 games of the season, not just this debut.

When asked about Tippett, the first thing interim coach Mike Yeo said was, “He looks like a hockey player.”

And, as a matter of fact, he does… like soon to be teammate Wade Allison. I mean, you tell these guys apart, because I can’t.

2. Hollywood ending

You just saw the game-winning goal by Hayes. His first goal happened in a blink:

Farabee sneakily poked the puck of Sebastian Aho’s stick from behind and it went right to Konecny who quickly slid a pass to Hayes at the back door for a slam dunk goal.

But it wasn’t just the fact that Hayes scored a pair of goals. He did, but he looked even better skating. He’s still not 100 percent, and likely may not be until training camp in September, but the reality is that he’s getting better and better physically with each passing game, and it’s starting to show.

The Flyers are going to need him to be a lot more like the Kevin Hayes of 2019-20 than he’s been since. This season, of course, has been as rough as can be expected for any one person to have to manage. From his multiple surgeries to the sudden death of his brother to an infection that set him back even further, the fact that Hayes has even battled back to get on the ice has been impressive, never mind to play and play well.

And don’t forget, when Hayes scores a goal, the Flyers are now 34-4-3.

3. Chuck’s Take

OK, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this. Fletcher held a press conference to talk about the Giroux trade, and try to set the story straight considering there were so many differing tales out there.

All I think Chuck did was make things a little more confusing.

Let’s break down his responses:

Q. How difficult have the last few days been?

“It’s been a difficult season to put it mildly. I don’t think neither Claude nor I felt it would ever get to this point. I think we had higher aspirations for this season and we are where we are and it’s been a lot of work the last few weeks and this is where we arrived at.”

A mostly generic, mostly non-emotional answer here. Part of me thinks Chuck would have been better off giving us a gut-wrenching answer about how he didn’t want to see Giroux go, and that Giroux didn’t want to go, but they had to do what was best for the organization and the player, and it culminated in this outcome. But, hey, keeping it bland is playing it safe.

Q. There’s been some conflicting reports out there as to how many teams Claude cleared that he would go to? Joe Sakic said he did talk to you, is he, and Florida? Is there maybe more, how many teams were involved?

“Look, first of all we signed Claude 8 years ago to a lengthy, superstar type of contract, which he earned, and as part of that contract he had a no move clause and he earned that right to decide, to have a big say in where he would go, I think is the best way to put it. I did have a very limited market in terms of the teams I could speak with. I spoke with several teams, but not all of those teams I would have been able to complete a deal with. There was a lot of interest in Claude, but it was a very limited market ultimately that I could give him to.”

Q. Can you tell us how many teams?

“No. If Claude wants to disclose that, he can. Out of respect for him… I don’t begrudge him. He earned that right. I respect it completely. We knew the hand we were dealt. We grinded away and did the best we could.”

I can tell you the number of teams. One. Florida. That’s it. And I got that from the Giroux camp, and not the Flyers camp in this discussion. Fletcher’s hands were tied. He wanted Giroux to consider other options. That way the Flyers could have gotten a better return, even if it was ultimately from Florida. But Florida GM Bill Zito knew Giroux wasn’t budging on that, and as such, wouldn’t bid against himself. So Chuck saying he was “very limited” was putting it mildly. Oh, and yes, Colorado, New York and Boston were teams who submitted at least partial offers, but Fletcher couldn’t really engage with them without Giroux’s blessing which he never got.

Q. To follow up, you first mentioned talking to (agent Pat Brisson) at your mid-season press conference, did you know then what your limitation was and did you think it would change over the course of the last month, month and a half?

“No, things have evolved over the last month and I’ve had ongoing dialogue with Claude and Pat since the summer on a myriad of things. We spoke to Claude probably every other day and Pat probably every day here for the last month. I think things have evolved, as he went through the process, of deciding whether he wanted to be traded, and then thinking about where he might want to be traded to. That was his process and again, he earned that right. I respect it. There was never, ever any animosity or nothing acrimonious. Everything was done professionally and as it should be. We just worked with him, and within the limitations we had, we made the deal we did.”

This was an interesting response. It didn’t quite answer my question, but it was interesting that Chuck referenced there being no animosity or nothing acrimonious, as that wasn’t part of the question. I’m not sure why he felt the need to say that in that moment. He went back to it again later, again, unprompted. And he never said whether or not he knew what his limitation (ahem, one team) was from the time he checked in with Giroux’s agent Pat Brisson in January when he told us at his presser that he had just spoken to him and that they were going to start to discuss what was going to be on the table as far as a potential trade, etc. We’ll get into that a little more coming up.

Q. How do you see Tippet fitting in? And is he playing today?

“Yes, he’s going to play today. He was in Charlotte and we got him the flight last night to come in. Owen’s a talented young player. He’s 23-years-old. He was the 10th overall pick in ’17, I believe. I think he’s played 60 American League games, and he has about 60 points. He’s a point-per-game player in the American League. I think he was on about a 12-goal pace with the Florida Panthers this year in a more of a limited role. They obviously have a very deep and talented hockey club. They’ve added Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhardt over the last year in addition to Claude now. It’s a difficult lineup to crack. He’s a young man that’s ready to take this step, ready to play in the NHL. Like every young player, there’s things we’ll have to work on him with and help him develop. His size, speed, skating, a shot, he’s got a lot of attributes that we need and he brings youth.”

Q. How important was it for you to acquire a player that was NHL ready?

“Yeah, that was our first priority. Trying to get a player… we talk about our age distribution all the time internally. We’re trying to build core players under the age of 25 that can play together here for a long time. Getting a player like Tippett instead of an additional pick for example, meant a lot to us because he was a first-round pick and he’s developed now. He’s developed in the American League. He’s developed in Juniors. Time will tell what that means for the NHL but he’s ready to play. That’s exciting for us that he’s a guy that can come in and start to learn and develop. Hopefully in the next year or two, he’ll start to make an impact here.”

Everything Chuck said there is true. However, the Flyers wanted Tippett to be a part of the trade, not the primary piece of it. There were other Florida prospects the Flyers coveted more, but again, with no alternatives to leverage back at Florida, Fletcher had to take what he could get. Tippett is an NHL player, of that, there is no doubt. Where the question marks lie is whether he lives up to the potential of being a top 10 draft pick. The Flyers have their fingers crossed.

Q. You were able to move a couple other contracts as well to give you flexibility, With that flexibility, will you be looking at some of the potential college free agents that are coming up here in the next week or so?

“Yeah, absolutely. That was a critical part for us as well. We have 47 contracts now, instead of 49. Whether it’s today or tomorrow or the coming weeks, we have the ability to be more involved in potential opportunities that may be there. When you’re at 49, it gets a little tough and you may have to make choices. Frankly we didn’t want to have to make choices.”

This is an underrated part of the deal. Fletcher was really able to dump two contracts – Connor Bunnaman and German Rubtsov – who had no future with the organization – in order to create room in the organization to add a player or two from the NCAA free agency ranks. Those free agent additions, while separate transactions, will be linked to this deal because of the dumping of those contracts, meaning that if whatever free agent or agents they sign pans out, you have to acknowledge that signing as a positive that came from the Giroux trade.

On another note, Bunnaman has a one-way contract in 2022-23, meaning that the Panthers either have to put him on the NHL roster next season, or expose him to waivers and if he goes unclaimed, still pay him. It’s a minor burden, but in the era of a flat salary cap, or one that even if it goes up it will only go up a smidgen, every last dollar you can save is critical. So, nice work there by Chuck.

Q. What made you make the decision to execute the trade now rather than wait closer to the deadline and maybe push for more?

“There wasn’t much left to push for. It was an everyday grind. I commend Bill Zito; he was very professional. I think he’s probably happy he doesn’t have to speak to me today. I think it was a long, drawn-out process and they fought hard for what they believed in. We did too. This was a deal that we felt was fair. It took a lot of work on both sides to get there. The first-round pick always has value. I know it’s a couple years out, but that was the reality. They didn’t have their ‘22 or ‘23 first, so we got the best one we could. Teams always want first round picks. It’ll either be a great chip for us on the draft floor, or we can use it as part of a package to get a good player this summer or next summer, whatever the case may be. It gives us more options. Obviously Owen Tippett, I think he’s one of the better young players in the American Hockey League. Again, he’s earned the right to be in the NHL now. It’s up to Owen and us to maximize that talent. It’s a fair return and it was time to pull the trigger.”

Because there was nothing else for Chuck to do. He tried to convince Giroux. It didn’t work. He had special assistant to the GM Danny Briere try and leverage his friendship with Giroux to try and elicit at least a second option out of the now-former captain. It didn’t work. I spoke to one Flyers source who said they tried everything and that in the end the deal is the deal. “It will be reasonable, although not perfect,” he said.

Q. When Claude signs that contract in 2013 and it has a no move clause, it has the intention that it won’t come to this point where you’re content in not having to make a trade. How much accountability is felt by pretty much everyone from the top down in management when something like this happens and it doesn’t go to plan?

“Yeah, for all of us. It’s a thousand games with the Flyers and I think 900 points or maybe slightly more than that. A long serving captain of our franchise. He did a lot. He’s certainly upheld his end of the bargain. I know everybody tried. We’ve tried. I’m sure Ron Hextall, Paul Holmgren, everybody tried and we weren’t able to get there at this point in time. That’s the frustration and that’s why we are where we are right now.”

Definitely a fair response.

Q. Justin Braun is sitting out today, any other players you considered in that same situation?

“No. There’s been a lot of teams calling on Justin, and we’ll see what that means over the next day, whether we move him or not. He plays really hard. He’s a guy who blocks shots and takes hits. I just thought it would be prudent to at least resolve this over the next 24 hours and just hold him out for today.”

With defensemen flying off the board – and some with ridiculous price tags, it’s not hard to imagine Braun getting better value than one would think. He’s definitely worth a third rounder at this point, and maybe more. Maybe a third rounder and a player? Maybe a third rounder with conditions that could bump the pick up to a second rounder? I still think the Flyers prefer picks in 2023 over this season, but, they’ll also settle for 2022 if it assures them a pick that is of equivalent value to a later pick in 2023.

Q. How many people are you hopeful of moving before the deadline?

“We’ll see. Again, there’s been a lot of calls on Justin Braun, but a few calls here and there on some other players. The interesting thing about the last few weeks has been that I’ve been able to speak to a lot of teams about different types of ideas and most of them don’t make a lot of sense right now. I think it’s been really good to get an idea of what may be available in the summer. I remember the trade deadline in 2018-19, my first year here. I had a long talk with Brian MacLellan about Niskanen and Gudas. At the time, it just didn’t make sense for Washington to pull the trigger, but in June, it did. I don’t know how eventful the next 24 hours will be for us, but it’s been a very informative process.”

This is a very telling quote. This is the one that should push you to believe someone with a contract – or maybe more than one someone – is going to be moved this summer. Konecny? Ivan Provorov? Oh, speaking of Provorov…

Yeo’s press conference after the game was over… until it wasn’t. Rather than walk off the stage after answering the last question from the media, Yeo said, “I would like to say one thing before I go. I would like to point out Provy’s game today. Nobody asked about it because he obviously doesn’t show up in the scoresheet but, I thought he had a hell of a game today and that it was an outstanding reminder of what a great defenseman he is.”

That came out of nowhere, eh? Especially after Yeo expressed a displeasure with his play after a game a couple weeks ago.

That was either a make good by the coach, or an effort to try and rebuild Provorov’s value. Time will tell. OK… back to Chuck for the conclusion…

Q. Claude has been traded but he is a pending UFA this summer, did he leave the door open for the possibility of coming back to resign next year and is that something you guys would have interest in?

“Well first of all, he’s now a member of the Florida Panthers, so I have to be careful what I say. I can tell you that we have a great relationship. I haven’t read any media accounts, to be honest with you, so I don’t know if people are saying anything to the contrary, but there was no acrimony, no animosity at all. We had three great conversations yesterday. This is a great fit for him for now. He’ll have that option like every pending UFA to make that decision this summer. Again, there was no animosity at all. It’s a great relationship and I’m sure he’ll have a lot of options this summer.”

Q. As a follow up to that, prior to the trade, was he looking for any kind of assurance or say something like “would you bring me back next year, if…”

“No.”

Q. That did not happen?

“No. That’s why we were where we were. Last summer we both agreed let’s get through this season. Let’s see where the team’s at. Are we a player away? Are we two players away? What’s the cap situation? I give him a lot of credit. He didn’t want to lock in a number and tie my hands until he kind of knew where we were. Again, I don’t think either one of us anticipated this type of season. That’s what made it necessary to be where we are today. He’s a smart guy. He’s obviously been able to make a lot of money in his career, but he wants to win. That’s what he wants to do. I’m excited, not just for him, but for Ryanne, Gavin and Palmer. It’ll be a great adventure for them down in Florida.”

Here we go again referencing animosity when that wasn’t the question. Charlie O’Connor from The Athletic simply wanted to know if the door was open for Claude to come back next season. Chuck wouldn’t say. I asked the follow up question, and he gave a hard no, but then went back to their conversations before the season, which is strange, because that wasn’t what I asked about. I mean, technically, yes, those conversations did happen “prior to the trade” but it was clear both Charlie and I were talking about recent discussions and not last summer.

I guess Chuck wanted to make sure people knew that they was nothing contentious with Giroux’s parting despite no one asking that because of this:

I know Russ got all giddy because I used the words “broken relationship” which was something I said in the moment. I don’t believe it’s broken. But, I also stand by everything else I said. I was told by multiple people very close to Giroux that he wants to come back – hell, he never really wanted to leave – and that he was hoping, when talking to Chuck, that he could get a straight answer about how he could fit in to a role on the Flyers next season and that he felt that he couldn’t get that straight answer. That he got a lot of runaround – much like we did when we asked these questions at the press conference.

As a result, Claude felt jilted. He felt that he deserved some kind of, “let’s leave the door open and we’ll make every effort to make it work,” response. Without that, Giroux became even less willing to go somewhere else than he already was, and held his ground that it was Florida or no trade at all.

Fletcher wasn’t happy with this approach. And as I already stated, tried to have Briere be the go-between to see if that could be resolved. It couldn’t.

Does that mean it reached a level of animosity? No. Do I wish I didn’t say “broken relationship” on the podcast and then we used it in a promo? Yes. But, hey, it happened. Sometimes when you talk you say something that isn’t quite right and need to clarify, which I hope this does now.

All that said, the Flyers really want a change of culture in the locker room, they want new voices, new leaders, new everything. They don’t want to go back to Giroux – at least not right away. They feel they need to re-tool/rebuild this thing as part of a new era. Yeo used those exact words after the game “new era.” So did Farabee.

If Giroux is still plugging along in a few years and wants to finish his career here once all that newness is established, then maybe it would work then.

But a few months from now. Nope. Not going to happen. The Flyers aren’t interested. And by June it’s very likely Giroux won’t be interested either.

4. The Deadline

It’s coming fast – 3PM. Here are some quick predictions:

  • Justin Braun is traded (details mentioned above)
  • Derick Brassard is traded (although for very little return)
  • Martin Jones is moved (not sure he gets traded, if not I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s waived so the Flyers can get a look at Felix Sandstrom down the stretch).
  • Keith Yandle is not traded. No team wants to take the PR hit of ending his streak just to add his locker room leadership value, because he’s not a top 6 defenseman on a team trying to win a Cup. No. 7? OK. But not No. 6.
  • As mentioned earlier, contracted players survive the deadline (unless Chuck can pull off some wizardry and move JVR’s contract) but the valuable players – Provorov, Konecny, Sanheim. If they are moved it’s not until the summer.

5. A tragic loss

Prior to puck drop, the Flyers held a moment of silence to mourn the passing of one of the organization’s employees, Justin Ott, who tragically passed away suddenly last week after a skiing accident at the age of 25.

Justin had been part of the organization since he first started as a game presentation intern in August of 2018, and he continued working with the game presentation department. He is remembered by his colleagues as a talented creator, a passionate sports fan and lover of the outdoors, and most of all, an incredibly warm, positive, and loving person to be around. 

 Justin’s friends and loved ones have created a GoFundMe in order to create a permanent memorial to Justin and launch a foundation to support charities on Justin’s behalf – see this link for more information: https://www.gofundme.com/f/justinottforever

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Anthony SanFilippo

Anthony SanFilippo writes about the Phillies and Flyers for Crossing Broad and hosts a pair of related podcasts (Crossed Up and Snow the Goalie). A part of the Philadelphia sports media for a quarter century, Anthony also dabbles in acting, directing, teaching, and strategic marketing, which is why he has no time to do anything, but does it anyway. Follow him on Twitter @AntSanPhilly.

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