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Can Flyers build winner without top-3 pick? Pronger says yes, but it's not easy
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- Can Flyers build winner without top-3 pick? Pronger says yes, but it's not easy
Can Flyers build winner without top-3 pick? Pronger says yes, but it's not easy originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers felt they hit "rock bottom" in March of the 2024-25 season, which led them to Porter Martone three months later .
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They've certainly had some seasons that could be considered bottoming out. They've had draft picks as high as Nos. 5, 6 and 7 over the last five years. But as a rebuilding team, did the Flyers need to bottom out even deeper?
It's a fair question.
"When we look at the teams that have won the Stanley Cup over the salary cap era, most have first or second overall picks as franchise players on those rosters," Chris Pronger said on NBC Sports Philadelphia's Flyers Talk podcast . "With one lone exception, I think, and that's the Carolina Hurricanes ."
The Hurricanes have been a perennial contender under Rod Brind'Amour, with eight consecutive playoff berths and a Stanley Cup title in June. They've added to their culture with a ton of key signings and trades. They did select Andrei Svechnikov at second overall in 2018, but they've hit on later picks like Jaccob Slavin (120th overall, 2012), Sebastian Aho (35th overall, 2015), Seth Jarvis (13th overall, 2020) and Jackson Blake (109th overall, 2021).
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"You just have to be meticulous in how you do it," Pronger, a Hockey Hall of Famer and former Flyer, said. "You have to get aggressive in searching out players that you think fit your mold and the way that you play. And maybe find some diamonds in the rough. So it can be done; it's not like it can't be done.
"You just need to have the right allocation of salary cap, and obviously with it now going up, there are a lot of resources still left there. So I'm not necessarily saying it can't be done; it's just a lot harder when you don't have those high-end superstar talents that can carry a franchise when they need it most."
The Flyers drafted Martone at sixth overall last summer and Matvei Michkov at No. 7 in 2023. They believe both can be cornerstones. They lost Cutter Gauthier , though, when the 2022 fifth overall pick requested a trade .
In his tenure, Danny Briere has put an emphasis on the draft and cap flexibility. The Flyers have $13.78 million in cap space, per PuckPedia.com . It's money they could use at some point when they feel the situation is right.
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"There are things that we're constantly looking at and trying to improve," the Flyers' general manager said in July . "We worked hard to get this cap space. You remember three years ago, how we were in a really bad shape there. We worked hard. And what we want to make sure is that we can use it in a proper manner where it's going to help the team moving forward."
There's no denying a top pick can be a franchise changer. It isn't the only way to build a team, but painful seasons can pay off.
The Penguins cashed in with Marc-Andre Fleury (first overall, 2003), Evgeni Malkin (second overall, 2004) and Sidney Crosby (first overall, 2005). The Blackhawks had their run with Jonathan Toews (third overall, 2006) and Patrick Kane (first overall, 2007). The Panthers are benefiting with Aleksander Barkov (second overall, 2013) and Aaron Ekblad (first overall, 2014).
"You start going through the teams that have the depth and have the star power," Pronger said. "In order to get those players, typically you've got to pick No. 1, maybe No. 2 to get those guys.
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"Occasionally you're able to find a Wyatt Johnston or a Nikita Kucherov or players of that caliber later in the draft. But you're lucking out that the player turns out to be that good."
The Hurricanes have proven to be a sustainable contender with shrewdness and precision. The Flyers saw them up close last season in the second round of the playoffs . Perhaps they saw something they could emulate.
