No, but he didn’t progress it either. Poor ownership, management, decision making and drafting set the franchise back. It’s going to take a few more years to climb out of it too!
Some people are questioning all those 8 year contracts handed out. It’s all about the timeline and what appears to be a scattershot approach towards building towards a future contending team.
Having that much money allocated to two players in their mid-30s could be a problem. By that point, they could be third-liners—perhaps still capable of 20-goal seasons, but with a regressed all-around impact.
That kind of inefficient spending can severely limit a team’s ceiling. Instead of being able to add a top-four defenseman, for example, the Flyers may not have the funds to make that happen.