The men overseeing the rebuild said little of substance in their State of the Flyers address on Wednesday, but then, broadly speaking, that\u2019s their job. A pair of pronouncements did, however, leak through their 26 minutes of pleas for patience as they expect to miss the playoffs for what would be a franchise-record sixth consecutive season.<\/p>\n
First, the Flyers have seen the last of goalie Carter Hart<\/a>. <\/p>\n The NHL still forbids its constituents from commenting on Hart and the four other pro hockey players found not guilty<\/a> on July 24 in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial. With an arrest and trial pending, Hart took a leave of absence from the Flyers in January 2024, after which he became a free agent, and effectively has been suspended while the league deliberates on whether to reinstate him and his codefendants. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told reporters Tuesday that, with training camps due to start within the next few days, the NHL will issue its ruling in the \u201crelatively near future.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Hayes: Carter Hart\u2019s acquittal doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s innocent. But he could soon be employable. Should the Flyers consider it?<\/a><\/p>\n That might have mattered a few months ago, but now the Flyers don\u2019t appear to care.<\/p>\n This past January<\/a>, general manager Danny Bri\u00e8re<\/a> didn\u2019t dismiss the possibility that Hart could return if he didn\u2019t go to jail, and NHL sources said the Flyers were in contact with Hart and had tried to help him stay in good shape. When I contacted Bri\u00e8re after the acquittal, he declined to comment on Hart, but recent reports<\/a> indicated that the Flyers might be one of the teams interested in Hart when the terms of his return are announced.<\/p>\n Early during Wednesday\u2019s Q&A, team governor Dan Hilferty refused to answer any questions about Hart. However, about three minutes later, team president and former Flyers winger Keith Jones<\/a> made it clear that the chances of re-signing Hart are about as likely as Jones, 56, returning to the ice himself.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big believer in Sam Ersson<\/a>,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI think that Sam is in a position now, age-wise, and being pushed by the depth at that position \u2026 [it] is going to benefit him. I think that Sam is going to stand up to the test here this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Ersson, who turns 26 next month, was part of a historically incompetent goalie corps<\/a> last season. This season, he will be paired with Dan Vlada\u0159, a pedestrian goaltender whom, in early July, the Flyers overpaid<\/a> \u2014 two years, $6.7 million \u2014 as they awaited the verdict in Hart\u2019s case. The Flyers would be hard-pressed trying to trade Vlada\u0159 with that contract, so Jones\u2019 hearty and, more importantly, unsolicited endorsement of a goalie who ranked 44th in save percentage (minimum 30 games) was a clear message that, without disobeying the league\u2019s orders, the Flyers have closed the door on Hart.<\/p>\n Slam.<\/p>\n Unsolicited? Absolutely. <\/p>\n Jones was responding to a follow-up question to this declaration: <\/p>\n \u201cSome of our top young guys have been in the NHL for a few years now, in a position to really take on roles of leadership and help us continue to advance to becoming a team that\u2019s going to be eventually a playoff team on a regular basis.\u201d<\/p>\n This was the second piece of useful information the brass provided Wednesday: <\/p>\n The young guys ain\u2019t young no more.<\/p>\n Then Jones listed the players he hopes will lead the advance. <\/p>\n \u201cTyson Foerster<\/a>, Noah Cates<\/a> \u2014 I think both of those guys showed a lot. Bobby Brink<\/a> continues to become a better player. [Travis] Konecny \u2014 he\u2019s done that. [Travis] Sanheim has developed into not just a very good player for us, but a real leader on the back end. Really appreciate his development and his commitment to the team. I\u2019m looking for really solid contributions from Cam York<\/a>. I think his game will come back to a place that it was two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Hayes: The Flyers have a real goalie tandem again after free agency<\/a><\/p>\n Swell. <\/p>\n Konecny, 28, is already an All-Star and an alternate captain playing under an eight-year, $70 million contract, but the other fellows are in a different spot. <\/p>\n Foerster, 23, is a former first-round pick, a big right wing who scored 25 goals last season, his second full season in the NHL. Cates, 26, signed a four-year, $16 million extension<\/a> in June after bouncing back from a rough 2023-24 campaign. Brink, 24, improved and persevered in his second full season under the merciless hand of coach John Tortorella<\/a>.<\/p>\n No Flyer endured more invective from Tortorella than York, whose fiery locker-room argument on March 25 in Toronto immediately preceded Tortorella\u2019s firing two days later.<\/p>\n \u201cI do believe that he\u2019s going to be a big part of our blue line as well,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n Of course he does. York, 24, is a former first-round pick and a top-line defender who just signed a five-year, $25.75 million contract in July. <\/a><\/p>\n Ersson lacks the pedigree of York and the others, and he shows every indication that he lacks the ceiling of York and the others.<\/p>\n For the moment, however, Ersson has the same level of job security.<\/p>\n