Cooper Marody

The Flyers reduced the training camp roster by 14 players on Friday, bringing it to the final 23 likely to make the opening night roster.

With the Flyers preseason now past the halfway point, here are five observations from the first four games.

For as much scrutiny as Chuck Fletcher faces, Ron Hextall's drafts have shown the Flyers inability to build a core that lasted well into the future. The minor trade involving Isaac Ratcliffe was further proof.

Flyers head coach John Tortorella addressed multiple topics on Friday, including the captaincy, young players, and goalies, while the team made more roster cuts.

The Flyers will give a few players a second chance to see game action, with eight players on the ice in the preseason opener also on the roster for this game. The team takes on the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

The Flyers tried to move cap space, but couldn't clear enough for Johnny Gaudreau to sign with his hometown team. The Flyers instead added forward Nicolas Deslauriers and brought back defenseman Justin Braun.