Is Chuck Fletcher’s job really in jeopardy?

Claude Giroux was traded to the Florida Panthers on March 19, 2022. It was a tough day for fans, but the trade would have been much more distressing if no one expected it. In reality, we had been preparing for the move long before it happened. When did you first hear the rumor about G’s impending departure? February? January? Already in December, when Alain Vigneault was fired and the downward direction of the season was predetermined?

In hindsight, the trade wasn’t necessary. One might legitimately ask if it had any purpose. Of course, it mercifully allowed Giroux to move to a team with a real chance to win the Stanley Cup, but did the Flyers gain anything? Did the store open a cork space? Did it strengthen the current lineup? Are we really excited about next summer’s third round pick? The trade was arguably a no-brainer, but at the time it seemed inevitable. Remember Giroux’s 1,000th game: a game that was incredibly emotional (I cried), not because it was his 1,000th game, but because it was his take game. Technically, no one outside the organization knew Giroux was being traded, but somehow everyone outside the organization knew he was coming.

The rumor mill has a unique way of talking things into existence. It’s a strange phenomenon, not caused by leaks or insiders, but instead by speculation and loud noises. There is a strange correlation between the attention a situation receives and the inevitability of its outcome. I’ll be the first to admit that the Kevin Hayes buyout rumors have me on edge.

A month ago, it looked like Chuck Fletcher was ruling his throne to infinityDespite his complete unfitness and inability to do the assigned job, that job can sometimes be too difficult. However, there are now rumblings that the Buzz Lightyear of General Managers may not make it through the next two weeks. Who started these rumors? Are they justified? No one knows. But you’ve heard them, right?

Obviously, it’s absurd that Fletcher got this far. By the numbers, Fletcher has led the Flyers to a 102-107-33 record since his first full season, creating a current $86.4 million daily cap hit with some of the most loathed and/or useless players in the league. By comparison, Fletcher’s record with the Flyers is worse (MUCH WORSE) than his 399-298-89 record with the Minnesota Wild, and his current cap hit is second-highest in the Metropolitan Division (behind only the Washington Capitals at $92.1 million). ).

No one believes Fletcher will actually do a good job, and no one believes Fletcher will turn this ship around to produce a Cup winning team anytime in the near future. He’s also not the most popular person on Twitter.

The most optimistic view of Fletcher’s tenure sounds like this: Everything is bad. In fact, it’s the worst era of Flyers hockey in recent history. But the team could be more competitive if it wasn’t plagued by injuries. This perspective is shared by Dave Scott, who once defended Fletcher, saying such things, I like the way he built this organization, injuries happen and I think he deserves a chance to fix this. I give him a blank check. We were going to get this right no matter what we had to do.

Scott makes a fair but completely irrelevant point. In what other multi-million dollar industry can someone stay employed because they aren’t that bad or because they might be better one day? It must be nice for Fletcher to have an employer who moves his goalposts every time he kicks. That is, instead of offering a reasonable rationale for why Fletcher is good in his job, the front office wants the fan base to believe that Fletcher is not bad in his work. Instead of claiming that Fletcher can create a championship caliber hockey team, the front office asks for your patience because the team could be better in different circumstances. Fletcher simply has no good reason to stay.

Thus we get once again to public opinion and the infamous Rumor Mill. As a general rule, when there is little support for one theory, it takes little opposition to supplant it with another. The Flyers could have (and probably should have) kept Claude Giroux, but the emotional dumpster fire of the 2021-22 season sparked undeniable rumors of a trade. Point-per-game player Kevin Hayes has proven to be one of the only stable pieces on this roster, but John Tortorella’s seemingly irrational decision to scratch him almost immediately prompted compelling buyout rumors. And here, Chuck Fletcher’s long string of irreversible contract decisions created one of the worst Flyers teams in history and fueled whispers** of his potential firing.

There’s no real way to know Fletcher’s fate, but if you’re reading tea leaves, keeping your finger in the wind and/or eating fortune cookies, he might not be around much longer.

** By whispers, I mean the 10,000 fans chanting Fire Fletcher in unison at home games at the Wells Fargo Center.