Philadelphia Flyers: 4 Reasons Flyers Should Be Sellers at the Trade Deadline

With victories over the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals in a span of just over 24 hours, there's enthusiasm once again in the City of Brotherly Love for its beloved hockey team.

The Flyers used a total team effort Saturday in handing the Bruins just their eighth regulation loss of the season.

Then, just a day later, Philly erased a two-goal third-period deficit en route to a thrilling 5-4 overtime triumph against the Capitals.

The two wins snapped a four-game winless skid for the Orange and Black and moved the Flyers to within just two standings points of the New York Rangers for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

But a solid weekend is nothing more than that. It doesn't erase the two-and-a-half months of unbalanced play that preceded it.

And with the NHL's trade deadline less than 72 hours away, teams must now focus on what they truly are and not what they hope to become.

With that, here are four reasons why the Flyers should be sellers at this year's deadline.

Math

While intangibles like heart, passion and intensity often factor into whether a team qualifies for the postseason or not, there are also logistical elements at play.

And with just 13 regular-season games remaining, the math just simply isn't on Philadelphia's side.

The Flyers may only be two points back of the Rangers for the final playoff spot in the East, but they have to leap over three teams (Washington, Carolina, NY Islanders) first just to get to the Rangers.

What's even more discouraging is the separation between the Flyers and the sixth- and seventh-place teams in the conference.

It's a stretch to think Philly will pass the four teams mentioned above, and the task becomes nearly impossible for the Orange and Black to close the six-point separation between them and seventh-place New Jersey.

And forget about closing the 11-point gap between the Flyers and fifth-place Ottawa and sixth-place Toronto.

Even a victory like Sunday's win over Washington came at a cost as the Flyers surrendered a critical standings point to the Capitals in the overtime decision.

In the shortened 48-game season, every single point is enormous, and Philadelphia has simply left too many on the table.

Schedule

The Flyers also don't have an overly forgiving schedule the rest of the way.

Ten of Philadelphia's remaining 13 games come against opponents with winning records. That stretch includes a pair of showdowns with the second-place Montreal Canadiens and another meeting with the rough and tumble Boston Bruins.

Moreover, seven of the team's final 13 games come on the road, where the Flyers have produced a pitiful 4-12-1 mark this season. Three of those critical road contests come in succession over the next 10 days when Philadelphia starts north of the border for difficult meetings in Toronto (April 4) and Winnipeg (April 6) before traveling to Long Island (April 9).

Finally, Philadelphia has only four showdowns left with the four teams directly in its path for the final playoff spot in the conference.

Just two points back of the Islanders, the Flyers have two meetings left with their Atlantic Division rivals and only one meeting remaining each with the Rangers and Devils in back-to-back games in mid-April.

In other words, there just isn't a whole lot of opportunity for the Flyers to control their own destiny from here on out.

Inconsistency

The Flyers have been one of the most inconsistent and, quite frankly, disappointing teams in the NHL this season.

Sure, the Orange and Black pulled out a successful weekend, claiming all four points in a pair of showdowns with Boston and Washington. But that was immediately preceded by four straight setbacks where the team garnered only two of a possible eight standings points.

Philadelphia has won back-to-back games only four times this season and has yet to ever stretch those two straight wins into three consecutive triumphs.

On the flip side, the Flyers have dropped back-to-back games 10 times this season and have suffered through three three-game losing skids this year in addition to the four-game winless slide mentioned above.

Philadelphia has shown desperation and promise in spurts this season but not to the level at which teams find prolonged success.

The Big Picture

All of the reasons mentioned earlier are contributing factors as to why the Flyers should be sellers at the deadline. But this is clearly the biggest factor and the one that should drive Philadelphia's thought process over the next 72 hours.

If this season has shown Philly fans anything, it's that this team is not yet ready to make a run for the Stanley Cup.

Their enigmatic goaltending can't compete with some of the Eastern Conference's more consistent performers.

Their specialty teams can earn them a couple of wins here and there but aren't nearly enough to put this team among the NHL's elite.

And it still remains to be seen whether the Flyers have the leadership on hand to push this team to a prolonged run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

And that's the ultimate goal of decisions made at the trade deadline.

If you're a buyer, the decisions at the deadline should help in your quest for the Stanley Cup now, whereas if you're a seller, they should prepare you to hoist the cup in two or three years.

As it stands today, Philadelphia clearly can't compete in a seven-game series with teams like Pittsburgh and Boston. And that's OK.

The Flyers have solid young pieces in place with which they can build for the future. This is a team that could make a serious run in a year or two, but that can't happen if the club mortgages its future now to secure a lower-level playoff berth, only to be promptly ousted by a team that's ready to win today.