Quick Hits: Jan. 10, 2022
1) The Flyers will hold an 11 a.m. practice today at the FTC in Voorhees. Until further notice, practices are closed to the public. Media can attend practice but all player and coach interviews (on game days, as well) are back to being via Zoom rather than in person inside the press conference room.
The Flyers hope to have all four players who remained in COVID-19 protocol as of Saturday's game against San Jose -- forwards Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny, defensemen Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim -- back on the ice for practice. Derick Brassard (hip) remains day-to-day.
Interim head coach Mike Yeo will speak to the media after practice along with players Cam Atkinson, Provorov, Sanheim, and Morgan Frost.
Tomorrow night, the Flyers (13-15-7) will host the first-place Carolina Hurricanes (24-7-2) at the Wells Fargo Center.
2) Last night, Jason Myrtetus and I recorded a 56-minute edition of Flyers Daily. We discussed the state of the team, why both of this think it's almost inevitable that the team will become sellers by the trade deadline but neither of us think the "total tear-down" that some fans are clamoring for is forthcoming (we also don't think that much of the fanbase that's calling for it fully understands -- or truly has the stomach for -- what a total tear-down would entail for an indefinite number of years).
We're both in favor of pursuing a combination of hockey trades and asset collection if both are workable, but not tearing down so much that the Flyers turn themselves into the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche (during the nine-year period when they missed the playoffs seven times and lost in the first round twice) or Edmonton Oilers (during their full decade out of the playoffs and missing the playoffs 12 of 13 seasons despite frequent first overall picks and having Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl aboard over the latter years). Neither of us think the New York Rangers model is applicable to Philadelphia. Imagine the Rangers without Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox but with a rebuild based primarily instead on hoping for fast NHL impact by Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko as the main component, and it'd be closer to what the Flyers would likely face if they go total tear-down.
This episode of Flyers Daily also features an extensive "Ask Billy" segment. We covered enough turf for a two-part episode. The first 34 minutes are available now. Part 2 will run tomorrow.
3) Today in Flyers History: Jan. 10, 1972 The Flyers recalled rookie right winger Don Saleski from the Richmond Robins. He made his NHL debut the next night in a road game against the Detroit Red Wings. The next season, "Big Bird" became a regular in the Flyers' lineup, dressing in all 78 games (12g, 9a, 205 PIM).