The Philadelphia Flyers season is right around the corner. Soon we will get to be overly dramatic about a single game’s result, or have crushing depression after a string of losses and a couple injuries — we’re trying to be realistic, here.
We have been so accustomed to not a whole lot of things happening through the start of Flyers seasons. Whether it was the same old core of players trying to go at it again with a couple summer additions that end up not really affecting anything, or the team eventually being so mediocre it hurts. But, this season feels different.
There are so many interwoven aspects of this team and questions that we have, that should be answered (or we should at least be given a half answer) by the time Game 82 has been played. This season is all about growth, development, and finding things out. But what specifically are we talking about here? What things need to grow? What things do we need to find out as we head into what should be an interesting season?
Can the young forwards take the next step?
This has to be the thing (beyond the obvious one that we will get to later) that will spell out whether this Flyers team can be a consistent playoff contender in the future, or should be stuck in mediocre hell. Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, Joel Farabee, and Morgan Frost, are all in the early-to-mid-20s and could certainly spend the next decade playing good, solid hockey in Philadelphia. That is, of course, if they end up being top-end hockey players.
All four forwards have the potential to be consistently in this team’s top six and score a bunch of points alongside the future talent that the Flyers keep on adding. But, for the more immediate future, this season is truly the one where we should find out what they have. They aren’t blocked by any aging veteran, they aren’t stuck in a depth role because the coaching staff despises what they do on the ice — they are where they should be and they should have a length amount of track in front of them to figure it out along the way.
We know they can be in this league, obviously, but it’s just finding out which of the four can truly become a top-line player. The Flyers have always had a problem with getting top-end talent, and they potentially have one in Matvei Michkov; can someone in this group take the next level and end up being on the same level as someone like teammate Travis Konecny? Or are they going to be staying where they are as very solid supplementary players, but aren’t the game-changing forwards that this team needs more of.
The goaltending situation
Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov are the designated NHL tandem to start the season. That will most likely not change barring catastrophe in between the pipes or injury (unfortunately for Alexei Kolosov). But, that doesn’t mean that we just need to wipe our hands clean of any thought about this position.
It’s a finding out season, after all. It is going to get so annoying, but that truly is what it is and maybe beyond any other position, we’re going to be finding out what the Flyers have in the crease.
Ersson has shown to be an excellent goaltender at this level, but also has suffered a terrible second half as soon as he had to take on more responsibility. Is that a weakness to his game? Does it mean that he can only be a goalie in a tandem and never a true starter in the NHL? This season should tell us more of what a normal hockey season (it is the Flyers, though) can look like for him. No global pandemic, no tandem partners being arrested and charged — hopefully it is just him playing around 50 games at a normal pace.
And with Fedotov, this is truly figuring out what he is. Three late-season NHL games, and a weird preseason, is nowhere near enough to know what a 6-foot-7, gangly goaltender can be in the best league in the world. It would be horrible to just scoff at him and think so low of what he is as a goaltender without considering that our exposure to him as been so limited. With him in a solid backup role and on a team that should give him a good amount of opportunity to give his starter rest on the bench, we should figure it out.
Hopefully by the end of this season, the Flyers can make more of a concrete decision about their goaltending. If these two work well, then it is a perfect short-term solution until the prospects fully develop. If not, well Kolosov is here to snatch up an opportunity and we will see what that looks like.
Matvei Michkov, duh
The player that this whole organization is depending on. Of course, it’s going to be about Matvei Michkov.
It is the first time in a very long time that the Flyers have had such a top prospect come in and seemingly make such an impact right away. A player on the cusp of something great; something we can all dream upon and envision playoff victories with one specific player involved.
If Michkov doesn’t blow our socks off this year, it’s not the end of the world. We know he is uber talented and will eventually develop to be that player, but it will just take more time than we initially thought through this preseason. That is most likely the worst-case scenario — Michkov is just average and finishes with something like 15 goals and 25 assists.
But if we’re thinking about what we all want him to be, that is someone who completely changes a franchise. He can rip off the old, decrepit skin of this Flyers team and bring them new, rejuvenated life; making them an actual destination team and a team that people want to enjoy.
That hope all starts this season and of course we will be keeping track of every single shift Michkov takes.
Can Jamie Drysdale be what we want him to be?
While a lot of the Flyers present and future success hinders on Michkov being what he can be, the entire make-up of the team’s blue line is really dependent on Jamie Drysdale being as promised.
We know this group of defensemen features no true top-pairing guy. Cam York and Travis Sanheim are second-pairing players on championship-caliber teams, put fit in kind of perfectly with where the Flyers are at right now. But beyond that, it’s a lot of depth and then one, little, glimmer of dynamic talent in Drysdale.
Of course, it’s tough coming in as the majority of the trade return for Cutter Gauthier — the pressure alone must be unbearable — but considering also that Drysdale was essentially injured his entire time with the Flyers in the second half of last season, this upcoming season is where we truly get to see where he is at. We know he was rushed into the NHL by the Anaheim Ducks, and that the pandemic really made his development path unorthodox and clunky, but this year should be his first where he can truly try and establish himself as a top-four defenseman.
He isn’t a super young prospect anymore where just playing in the NHL is impressive, Drysdale needs to show that he can be a solid 5-on-5 player while being a contributor on the top power-play unit. That is what this season is about for him, and really the entire blue line.
What trades will they make?
Transactions are great. They might just be the lifeblood of what we love beyond watching the games. The Flyers should make some throughout the 2024-25 season, but how severe will they be?
Of course, it all depends on how the season is going, but could we see the Flyers being more active than we assumed? If the team is down in the standings and losing significantly more games than they are winning, despite having all of this talent locked up, what could we see?
The main thought surrounding what potential trades general manager Danny Briere could make as they approach the trade deadline next year, is if we could see them part ways with one or both of Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen no matter how much success the team is seeing. When it comes to Ristolainen, it’s a little bit easier to see — the cap hit, the age not fitting the timeline; it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Flyers sell him at the deadline if they are in a playoff spot.
For Laughton, the team’s record will affect it significantly more. With the 30-year-old being at the center of the Flyers’ leadership and culture, they would not risk touching that if it means sinking down in the standings during this transitional year.
Beyond those two players, we would honestly be shocked if they decided to trade anyone else in the middle of the season. No one else really makes sense, unless it’s a very minor move. We could be wrong, of course.
Sean Couturier’s form
Well, another player who can have a major effect on whether or not the Flyers have a successful season. Great!
Sean Couturier showed us in the first half of last season that he still has the juice. He can still be the top-six Selke-earning center that plays incredibly intelligent hockey and gels with just about any type of winger. And, well, the second half was almost the exact opposite and he looked rough. Like the prototypical aging center who is just a couple years from being retired on the Injured Reserve list.
Now, this season is all about figuring out which was the real Couturier at this age, or maybe if he is just somewhere in between that through all 82 games. He is supposedly healthy, so we will just see where he is at.
If he isn’t able to play all the minutes, then the center position gets really interesting with Morgan Frost essentially being the only skilled center the Flyers have. But if Couturier is Selke Sean, then we’re talking about a team that suddenly has a very intriguing group of forwards that care about every inch of the ice.
Who will be the AHL call-up on the blue line?
This one might not matter all that much, but it is something we never really thought would be a concern before the preseason. While forwards like Olle Lycksell and Anthony Richard played solid enough hockey that could warrant a call-up to the Flyers if they ever need someone up there, but when it comes to defensemen, just one player showed anything worthwhile.
Emil Andrae was by far the best defensemen in the preseason. He played more physical than before, and appeared to be much more built and just solid; while also mixing in his offensive skill. The only thing is that Andrae is the same type of player that the Flyers have in York and Drysdale — so do they really want another one of those guys in the scenario that someone like Nick Seeler or Ristolainen is off with an injury?
The depth chart got so murky through training camp. Adam Ginning showed nothing. Helge Grans and Hunter McDonald need to cook so much more, and Ronnie Attard was even worse. Andrae appears to be the only defenseman that is in the AHL right now who is capable of playing at the NHL level, they just want him to get top-pairing minutes and opportunity that he would not get with the Flyers. So, what would they do in an injury scenario? It’s tricky, like anything.
