@flyercanuck
Totally agree with your post here and in the Sabres game thread. Simply put, the flyers can't be constructed as TK as your best player. TK would be a fine 2nd line player for a contending team. Eventually I knew Coots was going to hit the wall. This roster is not good so I don't know why fans and the front office got so hell bent on making the playoffs or winning a PO series. Yes this season was far more enjoyable. But it's nowhere close and true fans know that.
If missing the playoffs is what it takes for the leadership triumvirate to keep their eye on the ball and realize that this team is not good enough, then good. Even if that means moving TK. (And I like TK) The Flyers do not have the high-end offensive skill, nor the depth along the blueline to compete and be a playoff team. They simply don't.
As much as it would pain me to trade away TK, you do it simply to hopefully obtain draft assets and or younger players. Right now the Flyers do not have a "contention window". They would have to actually make enough quality draft picks and trades to have such a window installed in their house, let alone have it be open for contention.
That window will open once there’s a clear elite scorer (hopefully Mitchkov), elite center (might have been Gautier but now no one in the system), elite d-man (none in system), and a reliable top-15 goalie (almost certainly not Carter Hart now, if he ever was going to be one .. could that be Fedotov? ...sample size is way too small at this time).
So yeah .... I am totally open to moving TK after the season. He's gonna be 28 when due a extension. He's going to command, I believe around 9+ million/yr. And probably longterm too. Do the Flyers really wanna spend that much on the Cap knowing you have so many young natural RWs Forester, Tippett, Michkov, yeah Forester can play LW I believe. That is why I am willing to move him now. TK surely could get you into the top if not a legit prospect. Look I could be totally wrong here in this assessment but it is obviously what the Flyers have been doing for the past 3 decades simply is not working ....
Losing Cutter hurt ... not worth the headache he was going to bring but it still hurts nonetheless.
Finally ... FWIW ....Johnson is -12 in his limited time with the Flyers. Think about that ......