The Flyers returned to practice Sunday down in Florida with the marathon of the regular season about to become a sprint.
There are 32 games left starting with Tuesday night against the Panthers, and the Flyers will enter this last stretch in possession of a playoff spot, something few expected them to have this late into the game.
And they're going to make their push.
A five-game losing streak ahead of the All-Star break to counterbalance a five-game heater the week prior – punctuated by batterings from the NHL's elite in Tampa Bay, Colorado, and Boston – showed the club that it'll be anything but easy. But they have a shot if they can just keep playing decently enough – a 60.4 percent chance to make the playoffs per MoneyPuck and a 50.8 percent chance per Hockey Reference, both as of Monday.
However, there's a long-term goal here and the trade deadline is coming up on March 8. The Flyers are going to get calls and general manager Danny Brière has to listen.
This is still very much a rebuild, and the Flyers can't lose sight of that. Head coach John Tortorella won't let them, but he knows there's a balance to be struck here right now too.
"We're kind of in a situation that a lot of people didn't think we would be in," Tortorella said after the Flyers' skate on Sunday. "We're starting our last 32 games here, last third of the season, and we're looking to try to do the things we want to do to get where we want to be, but also, we're not backing off at all as far as what we're trying to do with the organization in the big picture too, as far as rebuilding.
"I think some people have watched us play, have watched a number of our players play, and I think there will be some questions to Danny. I think there will be some conversations with Danny as far as 'What about this guy? That guy?' Those are questions we have to take, that we have to listen to."
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Some of those questions rumored to have come in already, per The Fourth Period's Anthony Di Marco, regard defenseman Sean Walker, who has played solid hockey in the middle-bottom pairings since coming over from the summer trade with LA, but has done so on an expiring contract and within a blueline logjam ever since Jamie Drysdale was acquired. And with the Flyers having a reported interest in trying to keep depth defenseman Nick Seeler around, Walker looks to be the odd man out.
Calls are also being taken on bottom-six center Scott Laughton, per TSN insider Darren Dreger. Laughton has been a steady and reliable skater within the lineup for years, and has risen into a valuable veteran presence within the locker room (he's the only player Tortorella has wearing a captaincy letter), but he has been inconsistent of late. Still, there aren't a lot of centers to go around right now, and with the Montreal Canadiens having recently gotten a first-round pick and a conditional third back from the Winnipeg Jets for Sean Monahan, the price for a team in need of help down the middle may have just been set, even if the Flyers aren't exactly eager to make a deal as Dreger alluded to.
"He's that guy, he's the glue," Tortorella said of Laughton, who acknowledged the forward's inconsistencies this season. "He's, especially with some of the youth that we have around here, I think they rely on him and ask him questions. Just the way he plays the game, I think it's so important with what we're trying to build here in Philly. The intangibles, when you're trying to build a team and develop a room, he has those and that's a big reason why he's wearing a letter."
But that could also ultimately prove a big reason why an offer might come in over the next few weeks that the Flyers can't refuse. Same goes for other names who might end up on the rumor mill too.
They have a shot now, and they're going to make their push. But remember, it's still a rebuild.
"And I don't want to speak out of turn with Danny, but if it's a situation where it's a really good asset that comes back, it's going to happen," Tortorella said. "We cannot lose sight of what we're doing here, but on the other side of that, we're trying to win every G** d*** game we play.
"We lost the last five. I think it's very important that we get our energy back, our swagger back, both offensively and defensively to start these last 30-plus games and try to find a way. That is paramount as far as the coaching staff. The other stuff that comes around when you get near the deadline, and we see deals that are being made now, those are things that the organization will listen to, I'm sure.
"Have discussions, and if it's the proper asset that's coming back and we're gonna lose one of the players who are a big part of this, in building this right now and where we are this season, there will be no hesitation."
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