Quick Hits: July 17, 2023
1) Flyers Daily: On the weekly Mondays with Meltzer edition of Flyers Daily, Jason and I discuss the Tony DeAngelo buyout, Travis Sanheim, the Flyers' powerplay, John Tortorella's influence on personnel decisions, whether to go long-term, bridge deal or another one-year contract with Morgan Frost and more. To listen to the podcast, quick here.
2) CSKA Moscow held a press conference on Monday with goaltender Ivan Fedotov and general manager Sergei Fedorov. Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) gave a full rundown on Twitter of the most salient questions and answers.
* On whether the CSKA organization had a hand in the player being detained and conscripted last summer: "Here you can say whatever you want. Personally, as a person who has served, I will refrain from commenting. It doesn't matter who had a hand and who didn't. I served a year and gave the time that I could devote to hockey. Now, we move on. It's pointless to draw conclusions here. Time has passed, and now we return and have to take certain steps."
* On re-signing with CSKA rather than coming to Philadelphia: "I was guided by the fact that I missed a year. The level of hockey in the military is not very good. As much as I wanted to keep my form there, I need to get back in shape. CSKA, as far as we all know, holds my rights. They are a top club and, as the entitled club, there was no choice here. We need to start winning, feel the adrenaline again and (regain) the taste for life."
* On how he felt during his time stationed on a naval base in northern Russia: "What can someone who has played hockey and is now marching feel? Nothing. I counted the days, as is customary in the military, you cross off the days. No emotion. Waiting, hoping that sooner or later, it will end. Either you swim out with your head held high, or you drown in it."
* On whether he was in contact with the Flyers while in the Russian navy: "How can you keep in contact with the outside world while in the military? You can only call relatives. The club knew everything from the press [coverage].... When I was demobilized, they got in touch. They indicated there was a [tolled] contact, there was such a decision, and that was all."
* Fedotov was asked whether he was able to maintain something close to his usual physical training regimen while in the military. He indicated that he did the best he could. There was only certain training equipment, such as old-school dumbbells, available in the gym on the base, which had Soviet-era facilities. There was only so much time available for him to spend on training. It's going to take a little to get back to his accustomed level.
* Asked what he learned over the last year, Fedotov said, "I learned that I can't drive a submarine." He got to spend time at the shooting range. Beyond that, he didn't learn anything extraordinary. He subsequently added that he doesn't want to dwell on the past year. He's happy now that he's been honorably discharged and all his focus is back on hockey.
* Fedotov was able to play a little hockey with fellow enlisted men. Worked out as possible. The most valuable thing, mentally, was being able to take a vacation after his discharge from the military. Unwound and was able to get refocused.
* Fedotov was asked on whether returning to the KHL means he's given up his long-stated dream of playing in the NHL. "Every athlete dreams of achieving at the highest level. They say in the army that a soldier who doesn't dream of being a general is bad. Of course, the [NHL] dreams remain and we will move toward them. Everyone wants this, but everything has its time."
* Sergei Fedorov said that he cannot comment on the player's KHL contract vs. his tolled NHL contract and the dispute over which should take priority in light of the pledge to honor the spirit of the canceled memorandum of understanding between the NHL and KHL. "If we start talking about memorandums of understanding, leagues, the NHL, the KHL, then we'd cross a line we were asked not to cross."
* Fedorov said that he realizes it will take Fedotov time to fully regain his game-ready conditioning and timing on the ice. He expects, by December, Fedotov will be back to performing at the level he did in 2021-22.
3) July 17 Flyers Alumni birthdays, Tommy Söderström (1969), Valerie Zelepukin (1968).
4) Today in Flyers History: Today is the two-year anniversary of the three-team trade between the Flyers, Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights. The Flyers sent Nolan Patrick and Phil Myers to the Predators in exchange for Ryan Ellis. The Predators then sent Patrick to the Golden Knights for Cody Glass.
Of the four players, only Glass spent the entire 2022-23 season in the NHL. He posted 14 goals and 35 points for Nashville last season. In 2022-23, the now 26-year-old Myers dressed in 11 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and 52 games in the AHL for the Syracuse Crunch.
Ellis, as Flyers fans know, appears unlikely to ever play professional hockey again due to "multi-layered" injuries in his lower abdomen, pelvis and hips that no one surgery or rehab regimen could resolve sufficiently to allow him to play. He dressed in the first three games of the 2021-22 season, made a one-game return in Nov. 2021, and has not played again since.
Patrick, who will turn 25 on Sept. 19, missed the entire 2022-23 season and was limited to 25 games (two goals, seven points) for Vegas in 2021-22. It has never been officially confirmed that the neurological issues that forced him to miss the entire 2019-20 season while he was still with the Flyers recurred in Vegas. However, this is widely believed to be the case.
Patrick, the second overall selection of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, showed promise in his rookie NHL season. He had a couple of hot streaks and couple of long droughts, finishing with 13 goals and 30 points as a 19-year-old. Bigger things were expected in year two, but the results were the same offensively (13 goals, 31 points). He did display some defensive development. Patrick missed the final two games of the season.
Since then, Patrick missed the entire 2019-20 season, struggled horribly in the pandemic-affected 2020-21 season (four goals, nine points, minus-30 while dressing in 52 of 56 games), and then was traded to Vegas by way of Nashville. In his first year with the Golden Knights, Patrick missed time early in the season due to an "upper-body injury" and then suffered a documented concussion in Feb. 2022. He eventually played again but his final game was on March 24, 2022.
On Sept. 22, 2022, the Golden Knights announced that Patrick would miss the entire 2022-23 season. The team did not elaborate. Patrick's contract expired after the season and he was eligible for restricted free agency. Vegas did not tend a qualifying offer, and he officially became an unrestricted free agent.