Other than knocking Patrick down to 3rd C to overpay a vet mediocrity in Hayes, they now have a plethora of D-men which usually means a trade is coming.
They will obviously not be trading Niskanen or Braun. All the others are young prospects (Sanheim, Hagg, Myers, Morin) or younger talents like Provorov or Ghost.
The top 6 now is:
Giroux - Couturier - Konecny
Voracek - Hayes - JVR
For Frost or other elite Flyer prospects, the path is blocked unless Voracek is traded or Konecny is not re-signed.
Sure, they could be played in the bottom 6, but as we know time on ice, line skill and production correlate strongly together. If the Flyers are serious about developing their elite prospect talent, they need to play in the top 6 and on the power play.
The major reason they fired Hextall was because the hybrid rebuild was not moving fast enough for them and revenue was being impacted. Ticket sales had slackened, merchandise was sitting on shelves, season ticket holders were restless. I'm convinced they continue to be laser focused on icing a more competitive team next season to reverse those trends.
Who loses most when that is a team's mission and people like Holmgren & Scott are involved in the decision making? Young prospects either already on the roster or ones in the pipeline.