A lot was made about Owen Tippett when he came over at the trade deadline from the Panthers in the Claude Giroux deal. It was a grind for the tenth overall pick back in 2017 to find a place on the Panthers roster, as he has been up and down from the NHL to the AHL most of his career. When he did get a chance to play in the NHL he struggled to produce and find consistency offensively.
Now that he is with the Flyers the hope is that he will develop with the other young talent on the team. He got a lot of playing time with Morgan Frost at the end of the season and the two looked like they were building some chemistry. Hopefully they can continue developing that chemistry in training camp and carry it into next season.
Stats
In the full 2021-22 season Tippett played 63 games and contributed 21 points, 10 goals and 11 assists. With the Flyers he played 21 games and had seven points, four goals and three assist. There are a few interesting differences between his time in Florida and his time in Philly. When you look at his shots per 60 in Florida that number was 8.3 but with the Flyers he was at a 10.0. Additionally his S% was a 8.2 in Florida compared to a 7.5 with the Flyers. Another big difference was ice time, with the Panthers he was only getting 12:32 per game but with the Flyers he was getting 15:12. This is mainly due to the position the Flyers were in at the end of the season and the “ let the kids play” mentality, but there may be a connection to his increase in ice time leading to an increase in shots per 60.
When you look at his advanced stats at 5-on-5, his Corsi For% in Florida was a 55.2% compared to 49.5% in Philadelphia. One number that jumps off the page is his CF% relative where it was a -.08% with the Panthers and jumped all the way to a 4.9% with the Flyers. One negative when looking at all these statistics was that his XGF% with the Panthers was 22.02, while with the Flyers it was only a 13.15. Given all these numbers and the eye test of seeing him play at the end of the season, there is definitely reason to be optimistic that perhaps Tippett can get his career going in a Flyers uniform.
Three Questions
Did they live up to expectations?
It’s tough to rate if players that come over in trades live up to expectations because usually fans don’t really no what to expect. It’s safe to say that Tippett hasn’t lived up to the expectations of tenth overall pick, so then fans have to reevaluate expectations. Personally I was pleasantly surprised by the way he ended the season and am excited to see how he performs next season now that he’s more comfortable with the team.
What can we expect from next season?
In the offseason Tippett signed a two year deal worth 1.5 million a season. Tippet will most likely stay on the third line with Morgan Frost centering him and possibly a Joel Farabee, Travis Konecny, or Scott Laughton on the opposite wing. He should also get time on the second power play unit. Tippett should come in motivated knowing that he has to produce soon or he may run out of opportunities. Providing he plays about 75 games or more I would like to see 30 points next year from Tippett.
How would you grade their 2021-22 season?
I am only grading Tippett’s Flyer’s part of his season, for which I would give him a B-. He was solid in the 21 games he played for the team and provided a lot of energy that was missing at times from the roster. He was also put in a tough situation being the major piece in a trade that involved one of the greatest players in the franchises history. I am hopeful that he can take another step forward this season and continue to grow his game.
*All stats via Hockey Reference and Natural Stat Trick
