All of that writing was clearly visible on the wall, because Claude Giroux, the team's longest-tenured captain and the second-leading scorer in franchise history, was on an expiring contract. The Flyers were nowhere near playoff position and needed to plan for the future. The chatter was heating up, turning more towards where, not if, Giroux would be headed at the trade deadline, which was five weeks away.
A year ago at this time, Owen Tippett's season was in a tailspin. The Florida Panthers were soaring, sitting in first place overall in the NHL, but he wasn't helping much. In a 23-game stretch from November 24 to February 1, Tippett had managed just two goals and two assists and was a minus-6 in a stretch where the Panthers, as a team, had a plus-30 goal differential. There was definitely something still there for Tippett - he was sent to the AHL for a weekend in January and posted five points in two games. But in the NHL, he was averaging around 12 minutes per game, and wasn't putting up the kind of goal scoring that Florida hoped he'd be doing when they drafted him 10th overall in 2017.
The writing was on the wall. Florida had clearly established itself as buyers for the upcoming deadline, looking for that final piece to put them over the top in an effort to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup. There were several options available as far as players coming to the Panthers, but it began to seem more and more likely that Tippett would be made available in a return package.
As it turned out, that's what happened. And it brought him to Philadelphia, as Florida acquired Giroux for Tippett, a conditional first-round pick in 2024, and a third-round pick in 2023. The Flyers also sent Florida a fifth-round pick in 2024, and cleared two contracts by including Connor Bunnaman and German Rubtsov, neither of whom were in the Flyers' future plans. Tippett was, however, and in the long run it was a compliment to him that the Flyers looked to him for the return in the deal.
"I think when you look back on it, when they give up a piece like that, it's pretty special," Tippett said. "But I wasn't thinking about it too much at the time."
All trades are judged over time, and as the anniversary of the deal approaches, it would seem the scales on the deal are leaning towards the Flyers. Florida was swept out of the second round by Tampa Bay, Giroux is now home in Ottawa, and Tippett is having the best offensive season of his career - with plenty of runway in front of him to improve. More time may swing the scales further in the Flyers' favor, depending on how those draft picks are used.
As far as Tippett is concerned, it was a classic case of a player needing a change of scenery. The benefits were apparent, as he scored four goals in 21 games after picking up six in 42 with Florida. This year, he has 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points through 50 games - a step forward, with hopefully more to come.
"I think I've found my game a little bit more this year than in the past," he said. "Just keeping it simple. I feel like I've been a lot more confident and capitalizing on opportunities more. It's nice to come in and know my role a little bit more, and play more freely."
While last year was a typical traded-player-challenge situation of meeting a whole bunch of new faces, Tippett has been right with everyone else this year as far as getting used to a new coaching staff.
"Coming in and meeting all the guys, it wasn't a bunch of new faces at camp," he said. "But a whole new staff, whole new coaching group, obviously it helps that we're all going through it together."
Whatever the rest of this season holds for the Flyers, Tippett just wants to continue his improvement.
"Just continue to build and continue to go," he said. "You never know what can happen. I've been playing well lately and just building chemistry with guys. Hopefully I'll keep that up."
