The Flyers lost to the Hurricanes on Tuesday night. A very spirited and competitive game, but a loss nonetheless, 6 to 4. They are now at the top of the NHL draft board as of November 6, 2024:

I don’t hate it. The Flyers, as you know, have conditional first round picks from the Avalanche and Oilers going down the pike. The Avs’ pick comes from the Sean Walker trade and Edmonton’s pick comes from this last draft, first-round trade. The best the Flyers can do this summer is pretty much what you see in the Tankathon chart above, as Colorado’s pick is protected in the top 10 and Edmonton’s is protected in the top 12. These Teams likely won’t crater, but if they do, the picks will pass into 2026.

Ask yourself: are the Flyers going anywhere? Probably not. They weren’t Stanley Cup contenders to begin with, they got off to a slower start than most of us thought, and the goaltending situation isn’t good. So, is it better to end up as a mid-ranked purgatory team, or a team able to land someone like James Hagens? The first is always the correct answer. You know it, I know it and Danny Brière knows it. If Chuck Fletcher were still in charge, he would concoct the NHL equivalent of the Cowboys’ trade for Jonathan Mingo. But that’s not the case, and Danny B is going to take his time and do it right.

Sure, we’re only 13 games in, but maybe it’s time to come up with this year’s tanking hashtag. Instead of #TankHardForBedard, we are #HopelessForHagens. We’re not going to #WinlessForWiggins, we’re going to #LoseGamesForJames. Perhaps it’s time to bring out the brown paper bags again, but with a pragmatic look to the future. That’s how it is.