The Philadelphia Flyers were always a long shot to win the Johnn Gaudreau sweepstakes in the 2022 NHL free agency. After all, they just didn't have much financial flexibility to offer the enormous contract worthy of Johnny Hockey's talent. And that failure to land Gaudreau got some strong reaction from frustrated Flyers fans who didn't hide their feelings about it.  John Tortorella, the new head coach of the Flyers, understands the frustration but also believes adding a player of Gaudreau's caliber isn't going to align with where the team is at the moment.

Via Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia:

“But everybody's upset about Johnny G, that Johnny G wasn't signed. Any general manager would be interested in a guy like that and I'm sure Chuck was. But there's sometimes the lay of the land, where your contracts are at, where your cap's at and where your team's at, quite honestly. Is it time to sign a free agent like that? I think we have a little bit of building to do here and a little bit of growing.”

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After all the drama surrounding Gaudreau's decision, the 28-year-old forward, coming off a sensational season with the Calgary Flames in which he scored a careeer-high 115 points (40 goals, 75 assists), decided to take less money than what the Flames put on the table and ink a seven-year deal worth $68.25 million with the Columbus Blue Jackets — a move that sent shockwaves across the NHL.

As for the Flyers, they have a major challenge ahead of them to regain respect on the ice. They are coming off an embarrassing campaign in the 2021-22 NHL season, finishing with just a 25-46-11 record for 61 points — just three more than what they posted in the shortened 2020-21 season where they played just 56 games. Gaudreau would have given the Flyers a serious shot in the arm, but with a tight cap space situation, the team simply did not look financially capable of luring Gaudreau.