There’s never a dull moment when it comes to the Philadelphia Flyers. It seems like there’s a nonstop onslaught of mind-blowing headlines that only happen to this team and the 2023-24 season was no exception. So, let’s recap some of the craziest WTF moments the Flyers faced this season!
Number 5: Ivan Fedotov’s Arrival
Not all WTF moments are a bad or negative thing, sometimes they can be an unexpected positive. Russian goaltender Ivan Fedotov spent the last two seasons trapped in his home country, and as soon as he started to fade from the minds of fans an all hoped seemed lost he’d ever make the jump to North America, his contract with the KHL was terminated and he joined the Flyers for the last few weeks of the season. He wasn’t exactly the hero the Flyers needed in the crease during his brief appearances, but perhaps it was the fact that he was able to finally leave Russia that gave more hope, especially with Matvei Michkov still awaiting his chance to leave.
Number 4: The Losing Streak
Remember when the Flyers had an 80% chance to make the playoffs when March started then missed the postseason thanks, in large part, to an eight-game losing streak? Theoretically the immaculate culture the Flyers created was supposed to stave off yet another one of these legendarily bad collapses, but hey, don’t ask questions about that kind of thing. They were high stepping to the end zone and were tackled at the one yard line, and it left the entire organization searching for answers.
Number 3: Naming a Captain
John Tortorella spent the first year-and-a-half of his tenure with the Flyers openly refusing to name a captain because he didn’t feel like anybody was worthy. Then on a random Wednesday afternoon in February, 31-year-old, 13-year NHL veteran Sean Couturier was named 20th captain in franchise history. What sparked the sudden change? Well that part wasn’t really explained. They theory is that Couturier was always the next man up after Giroux, and his gargantuan contract is going to keep him in Philly til the sun burns out, so may as well just give it to him now that he’s proven he can still play after missing two years with back problems.
Number 2: Carter Hart Arrest
On January 23, 2024 the Flyers announced that goaltender Carter Hart would take a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. A week later Hart was officially asked to surrender to the London Police in connection to his role in the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault case. A few days later he was officially charged. There had been speculation for years that Hart was involved in the case, but the reaper finally came calling. It’s just the luck of the Flyers to finally find a franchise goaltender after decades of searching and he gets ripped away from them to face the consequences for his atrocities.
Number 1: Cutter Gauthier Trade
Forward Cutter Gauthier, the fifth overall pick in 2022, had a standout collegiate career and was a player the Flyers were hopeful would solve their seemingly endless quest for a top forward. Then, through a he-said-he-said story that is still unclear, Gauthier decided he didn’t want to play for the Briere-led Flyers which ultimately forced them to trade his rights to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second round pick. The Flyers haven’t had a franchise player since Giroux’s departure and now they’re still left searching when Gauthier took his ball and went home.
Honorable Mention
Scratching Couturier
The Flyers love to make dumb decisions that throw them in the national spotlight for their actions. And they did just that when Tortorella healthy scratched Sean Couturier just 34 days after handing him the captaincy. He sat for two games (which his on-ice absence was hardly noticeable) and returned just in time for the team’s eight-game losing streak.
His scratching drew the ire from commentators from across the league and created a much bigger shitstorm than it deserved and the only reason it stirred the pot to this level is because they named him captain for no reason a few weeks earlier. If they just scratched letter-less Sean Couturier, it would have been news, but not the full-on media sensation that it became.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Getty Images
brotherlypuck.com 