The Oilers played 74 playoff games in McDavid's first nine seasons, going 37-37. It's a safe bet Michkov won't beat that in Philly.
These kind of statements really don’t paint the right picture.
The Oilers are the exemplary standard of a completely failed tank. It’s not a stretch at all to say they played the majority of those games solely on the back of McDavid, even if Draisatl is there.
Like, I get the ragging on the Flyers ineptitude. But those saying that the Oilers are some order of magnitude better than the Flyers over the last 15 years really need to go back a few years.
Keep in mind, the Oilers, with the undisputed best player in the world and likely top 5 all time, have made it to the finals - once. In his entire tenure there of 10ish seasons. Crosby had cups by then, as did the Hawks when they drafted their all world 1st overall picks. Oilers for the first time last season even got past the 2nd round.
As to why the Flyers? There may not be a team in the league for a greater positional need, high end talent that is already well surrounded by a lot of youth and good-to-great depth. It’s a perfect fit for him, to come in and lead this team offensively, and be well supported by more than a single teammate.
Now, does this charter mean anything? For sure it does. You don’t miss the opportunity to woo him in this instance, even if it’s a simple “we’ll give you a ride.” They are absolutely selling him. Don’t know if it will work.
But next year, the Flyers will have a solid defense, Ersson returning to form as it seems and a lot of good depth players. A single superstar would make the team a contender, trending up. As much as we all like to tag on the Flyers, to which they have deserved, this crop seems to love being here - and that sells to players, even if we don’t get it as fans.