2024-25 Flyers Player Grades: Cam York can step up

It was a contract year for Cam York and, in the eyes of many fans, he really seemed to struggle throughout the season. You know it was bad when the most memorable moment of York’s year was the reported disagreement he had with head coach John Tortorella in late March that led to Tortorella’s firing.

However, if we look at some of the underlying metrics, York’s season might’ve been better than meets the eye. He may not be the “offensive defenseman” we were sold when he was drafted, but he’s become a legit blueliner in his own right. Let’s dig in.

We’ll start with the obvious: York missed the tail end of October and most of November due to injury. That’s a tough way to start a season and, while we can only assume he was fully recovered by the time he rejoined the lineup, he never looked quite right: two of his four goals came in the first seven games of the season, and the other two came in the remaining 59. As mentioned, not what you want to see from a player who was oft-billed as an “offensive defenseman,” though his profile the last couple years is more of a defense-first sort of player. That’s a good player any way you slice it, but we do have to reframe our expectations. Whether York’s play was part of the Tortorella effect or a natural progression of York’s game is an interesting question, and one we’ll be following closely next season under Rick Tocchet.

Despite a lack of scoring, it wasn’t for lack of statistical strengths: of the five Flyers defensemen with over a thousand minutes of ice time, York had the best expected goals-for percentage and the second best high danger chances-for percentage. That’s all the more impressive when you consider that York had the worst PDO of those same five defensemen, too, and the worst goals-for percentage of that group reflects how much the Flyers struggled with York on the ice. York was owed more on the scoresheet, but a Flyers team that couldn’t score as a unit had a major impact on his box scores.

None of York’s rate stats stand out in a particularly positive or negative way; he was middle of the pack among all Flyers defensemen. One thing of note, though, is his all-situations shots per 60 of 2.8–that’s the second lowest rate of his NHL career. Now, most of that can be chalked up to the paltry 9:40 of power play time he saw in 2024-25, but it’s something to keep an eye on heading into next season. As Jamie Drysdale develops, time on the top power play unit will be at a premium, but a new coaching staff may start things with a bit of a rotation to see who’s the best fit, and that will be York’s time to shine.

Looking on the bright side, that lack of power play time means most of York’s points came at 5-on-5–14 of them, to be exact. To put that into context, his 0.71 5-on-5 points per 60 puts him 99th among 138 defensemen with 1,000 or more minutes of ice time. In a vacuum, it might not be that impressive, but it’s better than big names like Mo Seider, Kris Letang and Brock Faber, among others–and better than York’s most frequent partner, Travis Sanheim.

Three Questions

Did he live up to expectations?

Not really. We can grant some grace due to the early injury, but it’s difficult to extend that grace throughout an entire season. York came in playing for a new contract, and failed to take a major step. We can place some of that blame on coaching (who knew it was that bad towards the end of Tortorella’s tenure?), but as a player, there are expectations that you do your job anyway. At the very least, York acknowledged as much in his exit interview.

What can we expect from him next season?

At time of writing, York has yet to sign his new contract with the Flyers. We haven’t seen any news about disagreements or trades, so we imagine it will get done. Next season, we expect York to bounce back–and a new coach with a new system may benefit his offensive output, as well. It doesn’t have to be a 50-point season, but we do expect at least 30, as York doesn’t see enough power play time to put up gaudy totals, and his underlying 5-on-5 play should result in more scoring.

How do we grade his 2024-25 season?

This was a season that left you wanting more. While his underlying play was stronger than the eye test may’ve let on, the lack of points really burned the Flyers as a whole. Plus, he got the head coach fired, and now there are going to be questions about “attitude” and “professionalism” around him for a while, no matter how much that head coach had clearly worn out his welcome. This was not the kind of year you want to see from a young player fighting for a contract, and a repeat performance next season will absolutely result in an F.

Grade: C

Stats courtesy Natural Stat Trick