Considering everything that’s gone on — from the Cutter Gauthier/Jamie Drysdale trade, to the Philadelphia Flyers overachieving last season before dramatically collapsing, to Sean Couturier being named captain and then getting scratched, to the early arrival of Matvei Michkov, to the drama surrounding goalies Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov — it’s a bit hard to believe that president of hockey operations Keith Jones has only been in his role for about a year and a half. It’s still the early stages of the current regime, but headlines haven’t been lacking.
There are more to come. The Flyers are still in a very tenuous position when it comes to their rebuild, and have a ways to go before anyone brands them as a Stanley Cup contender.
With that in mind, we felt it was a good time to check in with Jones now that we’re well into his second season. The following interview, conducted before the Flyers-Detroit Red Wings game on Dec. 12, has been lightly edited for clarity.
Two words we hear all the time in hockey are identity and culture. You mention them often. How is having a strong culture and team identity now going to help you become a perennial playoff team in the future?
I think it’s really beneficial for kids who are at that age where they are continuing to develop through some ups and downs. I think it gives them so much quality information that when they’re in their primes, like teams that win Cups, it’s going to serve them extremely well. I think that’s what’s important.
Some will be there through it all. Some will be used as assets to acquire different players, as well. But I just believe it’s really important, and I think it’s awesome when it comes from within your organization and it becomes part of what the Flyers are. I look forward to seeing what it looks like in a few years.
You’ve spoken about how important the decisions are when it comes to who you select to be a part of the team for the long term. In that regard, how pleased are you with the way a guy like Travis Konecny has played, one year before his significant extension kicks in?
That’s probably the big one for (general manager Daniel Briere), is getting that deal he got done. I thought Danny did a great job throughout the entire negotiation. It’s not an easy negotiation to have. But we were both in agreement that Travis Konecny is a Flyer. If you were to call around to other teams and ask them what they thought about Travis Konecny, they’ll tell you he’s a Flyer. He represents what we believe it is to be the type of player that can contribute to success here in Philadelphia. He had all the qualities that we want in a player to be here. To see him perform the way he has this year is no surprise. He just continues to, as he gets into his prime, show that he is not just a great Flyer, but he’s a world-class player.
I don’t think Danny and I are at all surprised that he’s part of Team Canada in that 4 Nations tournament. We kind of envisioned that happening and felt like it would be really hard to get that number down if that’s the way it played out. Feel pretty fortunate that we’ve got him under contract.
Someone we both know is former Los Angeles Dodgers GM (and current San Jose Sharks scout) Ned Colletti. I remember him telling me once that one of the hardest things for an executive to do is to keep players motivated after they get their big paydays. Do you agree with that, and how do you identify that before you determine who you want to sign those big deals?
By knowing them, you have a better chance of making the right decision. So homegrown does matter. There is an advantage to that because you have a peek under the hood. It’s like taking a car for a drive before you buy it, and maybe having it for a couple weeks. Just knowing what makes that player tick. I think it lessens (the chances a player says) “I’ve got X amount of dollars coming in, one particular game is not going to matter to me.” Obviously, those are not the type of players that you want to sign.
I think we’re in good shape in that regard. The players who we have elected to keep on long-term contracts represent what we want in a player. Those are the ones you don’t want to miss on. It’s definitely a point of emphasis for us. We’ll really dig in and do our homework on players that come from somewhere else to make sure they have those attributes.
You have some core guys playing well. We spoke about Konecny. Travis Sanheim is another. Matvei Michkov is here early. I know you’re preaching patience, and I get that, but how much has the timeline to compete moved up from the day you took over in the summer of 2023?
It moves. We’re not in the same place we were, and that’s good news. Obviously Matvei being here is awesome, but it hasn’t changed that timeline. Our timeline is kind of out there for everyone to see. In an era when the salary cap is so critically important, it’s not hard to look and see when we should project to have money to spend. Those are going to be the most critical decisions that we make in the next couple of years.
Internally, our guys on a nightly basis have an opportunity to prove that they will be a part of it. That part is kind of neat. There’s a balance there of almost having to have patience because money is not going to open up for a while, and also watching the players internally try to continue to be a part of what we’re doing here in the future.
John Tortorella has talked about how he has to coach this group a little differently in his third year. Did you witness some changes from Tortorella that took a little while to take effect earlier in the season?
Not overall. I think there are certain challenges that come with a really tough camp. I thought our guys did well to get through it. I don’t think the start of the season helped us much. I think starting on the road, it was hard, especially after a tough camp. I think we paid a bit of a price for it but I think we’ll be rewarded for it as we start to get closer to the dog days of the season, because we have a really committed group to being physically fit, to putting in the time when necessary, and grabbing rest when that’s what’s best.
The team is maturing, there’s no doubt. I think we really benefit from having some veteran players around who have been through the grind before. I think it helps our younger players to recognize what it takes. I think those things being passed on are going to be important, obviously now but also down the road.
One criticism — including from me — is the way the front office has handled the backup goalie position, even going back to last season. How do you respond to that, and how do you view the backup position now behind Sam Ersson?
I was really pleased with the way both our Russian goaltenders played in the absence of Sam. I thought they both got in a rhythm. I think they showed what we anticipated they would show. Ivan being in a different situation as far as age when he arrived, and us knowing that we had Sam as our No. 1, we were searching for a backup goaltender. I don’t mind the way it’s played out. You want options in that regard. We have two options who are both battling to prove that they deserve to be that No. 2 guy, and right now Kolosov seems to have the edge in that regard. But I wouldn’t change it. I’m OK with the way it’s played out.
You’ve said in the past that there are only about a dozen or so true, top-line, No. 1 centers in the NHL. Obviously you would love to have one. Is it necessary to have one of those 12 to 14 guys to win a Stanley Cup?
It seems to be a reality. When you look at it, just going over the recent Cup champions in the back of my head — Florida, Colorado, Vegas. They’re there. They’re really important parts of the puzzle. There have been teams along the way that have done it (without one). St. Louis did it, Carolina did it back in the day. (But) you could go through the list, and history would say yes.
You have to have a little bit of luck and get your guys in place and develop through your system. It’s a tough challenge, for sure.
I want to give you a hypothetical situation. It’s the first week of March and, like last season, you’re still in the playoff race. Obviously you have some players that other teams might be interested in. Is the bar higher this season to trade them because of what happened last season when the team collapsed late in part because of the Sean Walker trade?
I think it’s the same. I think we’re in the same place. I don’t think much changes in that regard. Sometimes you can be surprised with the players that other teams are interested in, too. To throw out the usual names, it doesn’t work. Everyone is searching, everyone that’s in a window that they believe can win a Stanley Cup is looking to add pieces. Based upon the way our team plays, our players garner a lot of respect because of how hard they work and how they have success as a group based upon some of our key players being glue guys — the kind of players other teams want to try (to acquire) to get over the hump. We’re fortunate we have players like that.
I would suspect teams will come knocking again. How our players play every night matters right now for us, and for themselves. So we’re evaluating all the time. We’re in the same position we were last year.
How do you walk that line of potentially selling off some key guys but also keeping the rest of the team happy and content, and giving them a sense that management is putting them in the correct spot to succeed?
I would say the deal has to make sense. As players, you’re watching, you see so-and-so was moved. (They know) we’re not as good because that player has left, but (they) recognize that what they got in return is more than worthwhile.
Players don’t care about draft picks in 2026.
They don’t, but they do notice. If you’re just giving people away for the sake of giving them away, that is going to bother players. That’s one of the advantages Danny has being a former player. He recognizes how things are internally accepted, or not accepted. Those things do factor into decisions that are made. Players recognize value. I would say just continuing to be honest and not just making a trade to make a trade.
I know you actively scout prospects from time to time. I get the sense you really enjoy that.
It’s a big year for us. We have six picks in the first two rounds. We want to get them right. It’s a group effort. Our scouts are out there. We’re fortunate. We have the ability and resources to pay really good people to go out there to find the best players we can get. We’re going to take advantage of all of that right now and try to get another Michkov.
Is there anything about Michkov that maybe the public isn’t aware of yet that might be of interest?
He’s not hiding anything. He shows it all. That’s what I love about him. He’s an entertaining player at the same time as being a special talent. In this city, that works, probably more so than most cities. He’s in the right place, and we’re really fortunate to have him.
Have you seen much progress in terms of the Flyers getting back on the local sports radar?
Yes, but it’s still a work in progress. We have more to do. I look at it like the Phillies, when Bryce Harper arrived, and they still weren’t selling out. Started to win with Bryce Harper being part of it, players started to show their personalities, and now they’re selling out and they’re performing well as a team. We’re not there yet, but I envision that happening at some point. Hopefully, in the near future. I think that’s going to be fun.
(Top photo of Keith Jones at the 2024 NHL Stadium Series: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
