Fletcher and Scott Presser: Top 5 Takeaways

Late on Wednesday morning, Flyers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chuck Fletcher along with Chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor Dave Scott met with the media at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees. The 40-minute discussion covered a wide-reaching array of subjects of both short-term and long-term importance.
Topics raised included the team's highly disappointing 2020-21 season to date, plans moving forward, injury updates and rehab program assessment, Fletcher's job security as general manager, post-Draft player development processes, upholding the Ed Snider legacy within organizational culture and business-related topics such as Wells Fargo Center attendance.
Scott said that the organization will not spare any expense in the process of trying to right the ship despite how poorly the season has gone.
"We're going to give a blank check, we're going to get this right...I want it right now," Scott said.
Here are five key takeaways from the press conference:

1. Scott:"Chuck's my guy."
Scott was asked directly about Fletcher's job security. The team Chairman stated he fully remains confident in Fletcher as the general manager along with the current hockey operations staff. No major changes are imminent.
"Right now, Chuck is my guy. We're trying to build beyond that. Strengthen our front office as much as we can. But we've made a lot of positive changes that way. I'm excited about that. I feel like, personally, I'm surrounded by great hockey people. We've got our four advisors (Bob Clarke, Paul Holmgren, Bill Barber and Dean Lombardi). We've got Chuck and his staff, Brent Flahr. We've got deep talent on the hockey ops side. I feel like we're not lacking anything there," Scott said.
"I like the way he's built this organization. I've worked with predecessors. I like Chuck's style. I think he's collaborative. I like what we did going into this season. On paper, it looked really solid. Look, injuries happen. No excuses but it did happen. I think we have more than anybody I've seen. I just saw the [man games lost] numbers and we're right at the top."
2. Fletcher: "Take the temperature down" before making decisions.
Emotions and frustrations are running at a fever pitch run now among the players, coaches, front office and Flyers fans alike. With the team currently winless in its last 13 games (0-10-3) and the club having previously experienced a 10-game winless streak from the latter half of November to mid-December, the mood is despondent or sour in many corners.
"It's been a disappointing season. We're in a tough conference. It's a tough league. Our goal was to be in the playoff hunt and be a good hockey team. We haven't been. There have been a lot of factors. Injuries are a part of it. But other teams have had injuries and they've been able to get through it," Fletcher said.
Fletcher preached the need to proceed in a level-headed manner, while also identifying what he still believes to be the team's ongoing biggest on-ice problem predating the current season: too much time spent in the defensive zone.
"Our retrievals, our transition. We don't get out of the D zone quickly and cleanly enough for my liking and we defend too much. It's hard to score goals when you're defending," Fletcher said.
In terms of roster changes, Fletcher said that he's trying to keep a big-picture perspective on why he feels the team has been in a freefall after an 8-4-2 start through Nov. 16. The first order of business, before it comes time to make major decisions at the trade deadline and especially during the off-season will be to restore a sense of equilibrium.
"It's been extremely disappointing when we look at where I think we should be and where we are. Obviously, I'm the guy in charge. That falls on me. Right now, we are what we are. My mindset is, now, there are going to be opportunities to get better. We have to take advantage of it. We can't undo what's been done," Fletcher said.
"Right now, first, we need to find a way to get a win. We need to take the temperature down. We need to get a good environment back around here so we can make objective, smart decisions. There will be a lot of decisions to make. There will be opportunities to improve the team."
3. Ellis & Couturier: Season-threatening not career-threatening injuries.
Fletcher did not go into specifics about the lower-body ailment that has limited defenseman Ryan Ellis to four games played this season and the upper-body injury that has also placed Sean Couturier on long-term injured reserve (LTIR). However, he did acknowledge the possibility that neither player will return during the 2021-22 season.
"I think they're both working hard. I think it could go either way with both players. There's a chance that they could come back this year and there's a chance that they will need procedures that will take them out for the rest of the season. We're trying to do everything we can to avoid surgery in both cases," Fletcher said.
"Having said that, the most important for me, my direction to the players and to the medical staff is at this point, we have a long road ahead of us this year. Let's get these guys right for next year. If that allows them to get healthy this year and play, great, but the focus has got to be on their long-term health. Speaking with the doctors and our medical people, we do not feel these injuries are career-threatening at all. But they certainly could be season-threatening as we all have seen."
4. UFAs: Giroux and Ristolainen have decision input.
Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who recently passed Hockey Hall of Fame left wing Bill Barber for second on the franchise's all-time points leaderboard, is an unrestricted free agent after this season. He also has a full no-movement clause (NMC) in his contract. Thus, it is up to the Giroux camp to decide whether he wants to seek a trade to a Cup-contending team, stay put in Philadelphia and/or re-sign with the Flyers in order to finish his career in one city. Fletcher provided a bit of an update.
I spoke with (Giroux's agent) Pat Brisson yesterday, we speak two to three times a month generally. We have a few other clients of his on our roster, so I have a very good relationship with Pat and I think a great relationship with G," Fletcher said.
"I think we have to recognize what we're dealing with here, he's a franchise icon, his jersey's going to be in the rafters, to me he's a Hall of Fame player. Claude has a no-move trade in his contract. Ultimately that'll be his decision. We're at the halfway point, we're two months to the trade deadline. I guess the best way to put it is we'll continue to have conversations and ultimately a decision will have to be made one way or the other. It'll be Claude's decision."

Ristolainen was acquired by the Flyers on July 23, 2021, in exchange for defenseman Robert Hägg, the Flyers 2021 first-round pick (14th overall, Isak Rosén), and a 2023 second-round pick. As with Giroux, Ristolainen is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Fletcher indicated that the decision on whether to trade Ristolainen by the deadline or to seek a contract extension with the player will significantly depend on Ristolainen's own aims beyond the current season.
"When we traded for him... clearly, I paid a big price. I recognize that. It's difficult to get physical defenseman, never mind physical right-shot defenseman. There were other teams that were offering similar type of packages to ours. And we had the highest pick, so we got him. And I recognize we paid a big price. We need more top-end talent. But I also think we need, some bigger, more competitive people, too. So we need to do a better job in competing in that area. As we go forward, Ristolainen can certainly be part of the six-man defense core and bring an element that not a lot of people have," the GM said.
"The goal when we traded for him was to keep him. And obviously, he's a pending UFA. He will control a lot of that discussion, and we'll work with his representation to see what makes sense."
5. Yeo to remain interim head coach the rest of the season.
Fletcher has already previously stated his intention to keep Mike Yeo on as the Flyers' interim head coach for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign. There are no guarantees beyond that, just as was the case with Scott Gordon during the 2018-19 season.
This week, the Flyers hired John Torchetti, an experienced assistant and head coach at various levels who actually served as the Minnesota Wild's interim head coach after Yeo in 2015-16. Torchetti will be an interim assistant coach under Yeo the remainder of this season. Longer-term decisions about the coaching staff will be made in the 2022 offseason, Fletcher reiterated.
"The best time to make those decisions is in the summer, the offseason, when you're not burdened with the daily grind of games and practices, so you can objectively look at what you need to do as a team," Fletcher said.
"Mike's been dealt a tough hand. He's doing the best he can. I've actually seen progress in some areas in terms of neutral zone, defensive zone. We're giving up less. Unfortunately, right now, it seems like we make some egregious, big mistakes at the wrong time, and right now we aren't able to generate enough offense to overcome those. But we've seen progress, and we're going to have an opportunity here. We only have two road games, I believe, between now and March 10, we have a lot of practice days, we have opportunities to hopefully reintegrate some of the injured players back into the lineup."
Roster-wise Fletcher said that he does not believe the team needs to "bottom out" or undergo a complete rebuild after the trade deadine and starting in the offseason. He said that he feels there's still good young talent already at the NHL level, as well as prospects such as Cam York and Morgan Frost that he'd like to evaluate a little more thoroughly in NHL action.
"We have some good young talent on our team. Kids like Farabee, Konecny, those are two of the better young forwards in the league. Lots of skills. I'm hopeful Morgan Frost can continue to take a step. He's a young man, I think the last three games have probably been his best. He's still a work-in-progress. But coming off missing a whole year, he's a guy that has a chance to play and bring the skillset that we need. He's one of the players that has a great opportunity here in the next couple months to impress upon us and maybe be a part of the solution next year so we don't have to buy one more player in free agency," Fletcher said.
Beyond Giroux and Ristolainen, Fletcher said that "everything is on the table" in terms of to what degree the Flyers will be sellers at the trade deadline barring a miraculous turnaround in the next seven-plus weeks.
"We're going to try to aggressively retool here. The trade deadline typically, as you all know, the teams that are clearly going to make the playoffs are often looking to add guys on expiring contracts. The teams that aren't making the playoffs have a chance to maybe add some future assets whether they'd be draft picks or prospects," Fletcher said.
"You do get the occasional hockey trade at the trade deadline. ... [But] the offseason is often your best chance to improve. We have some good young players. And some of those young players, their career arc is still going to play out. But we do need more top-end talent, there's no question. We've tried to address that a bit the last few years, adding some players with some skill sets that we need. We just have to continue to chip away at that. But I do believe there's a group of players here that can be part of a winning core. But we definitely need to add more pieces and that will be the focus going forward."