Flyers Governor Dan Hilferty and President of Hockey Operations met with the media Wednesday morning. The topics veered from the role Rick Tocchet will have to the status of Tyson Foerster and the goaltending situation. Here’s some of what they had to say about the organization and the future.
On what they would define as success for the 2025-26 season:
Dan Hilferty: I feel really good about where we’re headed. This patient approach is working, I’m excited about coach Tocchet coming in and I feel really good that we’re going to have a successful year. How we define a successful year consistent with last year is not necessarily the playoffs although that would be great for the fans and the fan in me. But just to see improvement throughout the year and our players and that competitive edge continue to grow.
Keith Jones: I would agree with Dan on all of that. I’m really excited to get things started this year. It feels a little bit different from the first two years. Starting to progress, our players are continuing to move forward and we’re doing everything we can to ensure that continues to happen. I feel really good about where Danny has the team now and for the future. I like the way the plan is coming together. I like the way Danny has laid out the plan and is sticking to it. Some of that is by design, sometimes you need a little bit of luck along the way too. So far things are working out the right way. So we’ll continue to grind away and get it right.
On why now was the right time for the team to start adding pieces:
KJ: Yeah, I think we owed that to our players that are here. They’ve done everything that we’ve asked of them. We’ve moved out a lot of their friends. We’ve taken away players at a time when other teams are building to make a playoff run. We’ve continued to accumulate assets to help us in the future. A lot of our top players have been patient with that. So I do think a lot of that played into it. Really, we’re just in a better position to move forward. A lot of things go into that. But our execution so far has been solid and I’m really looking forward to seeing the next steps come into play.
We’re a deeper team. I think there are way more options for our coaching staff. And at the trade deadline, just as an easy example, we’re not going to be giving away players to gain future assets. Unless it was something crazy that happened, that’s the plan as we sit here today.
On if last year was considered a step back for the organization:
KJ: Not at all. I do believe the year before we felt pretty good about our team that season. But we recognized that we needed to be more flexible in the future. And I think that’s what led to some of the selling off at the trade deadline. Sean Walker comes to mind when I think back to that time. Last year was kind of a steady type of progression up until the trade deadline. It was clearer that that was the way we had to go. It was easier in that regard. But recognizing what was on the horizon made us feel pretty good about things.
I think the execution of the draft was another very important step for us. With Danny in charge I think it’s three drafts now and feel really good about the accumulation of talent. Not just assets, there are some talented players that are coming. I think that’s going to help us as far as building that foundation from our younger players advancing and some of our top young guys who have been in the NHL for a few years now in a position to really take on roles of leadership and help us continue to advance to becoming a team that eventually will become a playoff team on a regular basis which is not an easy thing to do in this league.
On which current Flyers need to take that step forward:
KJ: The ones that I comfortably predict will are Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates I think both of those guys showed a lot. I think Bobby Brink continues to become a better player. Konecny’s been there. He’s done that. Sanheim has developed into not just a very good player for us but a real leader on the back end. I really appreciate his development and commitment to the team. I’m looking for really solid contributions from Cam York. I think his game will come back into a place where it was two years ago. I think last year wasn’t a great year for him, but I think he’s going to be a big part of our blueline as well. And I’m a big believer in Sam Ersson. I think that Sam is in a position now age-wise and being pushed by the depth at that position that’s there now is going to benefit him as well. I think that Sam is going to stand up to the test this year.
On if a similar season this season like last season would be considered a step back:
KJ: That would be disappointing. We definitely want to continue to take steps forward. I believe that we will. I think we’re going to do everything that we can to make sure that happens. So in the previous two years we’d be quick to make changes in order to get better for the future. Now it would be about staying course now and advancing. It’s not about moving back.
On balancing patience with the five-year playoff drought:
DH: The way I look at that. As the fan you want every year to compete to get into the playoffs. You want fans to get excited, you want to sell tickets, you want people in the arena. The way I look at this and the stage in my career — the relationship with Comcast — they agree, we agree, Keith agrees, Danny agrees that we’re going to take our time and do this the right way. The point being there’s no pressure from me in my role or from an ownership perspective beyond me to say we need to do something drastic, dramatic because we need to have a better shot at the playoffs. This is about that steady growth, building the number of young players coming up through the system, making sure positionally we’re doing the right things, bringing the coaching staff in starting with Tocchet who we think can continue to develop these players. We’re going to wait this out. I’m not getting any younger but I said this to the players the other day, we want to build a culture of sustainable excellence. Not just a shot next year and it falls off after.
On if Tocchet will have any impact on player personnel:
KJ: Not a lot. Coaches coach. Obviously if he has an experience with somebody, yes. You talk to everybody you can before you go out and make a transaction to add somebody. It would be foolish not to. But his number one priority will be to coach this team.
On the status of Tyson Foerster:
KJ: I know he’s doing well. That’s the great news there. I’ll leave that for Danny, I think he’ll talk next week probably. Tyson’s on pace to be there for us when the season starts. But Danny will get more into it.
On what he’s learned about Danny Briere since he became general manager:
KJ: I think both of us have been impressed by Danny. He’s an extremely intelligent, dedicated person to his job. Methodical, thoughtful, sharing in the ways he does thing not just with us but with our Flyer community and you guys as well. He deals from a position of honesty and has a really good plan in place that he has so far executed very well. I am extremely happy with Danny.
DH: His attention to detail and his willingness to allow analytics to come into his thinking along with the eye test has been very impressive. From a communications point of view he’s been terrific.
On whether the Flyers were worn out from John Tortorella:
DH: Well first of all we can go back to all the things I’ve said about Torts since I’ve been here. I have a great deal of respect for Torts as a person and as a coach. I think everything he did here can be viewed as foundational to what we’re trying to build. And part of that was that players would be in the best shape they could be in, would compete every second on the ice. And I think this will pay off for these players later having played for John Tortorella. We’re grateful for that. I think the one thing he did say to me at the beginning of last year was, ‘The third year is sometimes hard.’ Maybe the players are hearing the same thing over and over again. But I have nothing but great things to say about the things Torts did around here.
On whether Matvei Michkov’s arrival affected the Flyers timeline for rebuilding:
KJ: There’s no doubt that it helps. It helps in the Flyers fan community as well, he’s a very excitable player to watch. He embraces trying to be the best. It’s an interesting thing to watch him operate. We’re really excited that obviously he’s here. He’s going into year two so that’s always a challenge for young players that got their first taste of the National Hockey League. But he is a driven type of personality that wants to be a star in this league. And we really appreciate what he brings. So he does help us get to a point where we continue to advance maybe a little bit earlier because he’s here. And we need to help and add players to that mix.
On the fact two of the brightest stars on the horizon in Michkov and Porter Martone are wingers and not centers:
KJ: I’m happy that we have them. If there were starts or potential superstars at those positions when we drafted then of course you’re having a different discussion. I’m just really excited about what they bring. To me if you look at Kucherov, he’s a winger, I’ll take him any day. He’s a superstar. So when you can get those types of talents you take them. And you want to add pieces around them to make sure you complement them. A very good young center ice man coming up would certainly be something that we’re always going to be looking out for. We feel like we have a couple in our system now. But they’re going to take time to develop. But we’ll be patient.
On if the goaltending problems should have been resolved earlier and if the goaltending issue will be problematic moving forward:
KJ: I don’t think there were mistakes made. We brought in players that we’re drafted by the organization, to give them an opportunity. I think there were adjustments that we hoped their ability to adjust to would occur quicker than it did. I wouldn’t write off either guy in Fedotov or Kolosov. Kolosov’s obviously younger and is an extremely athletic goaltender if he can put all the pieces together in the future he could be a very good goaltender. He’ll be here. And we’re excited about that too. He has an opportunity like everybody else to come in here and show what he has. Developmentally we would have preferred that he spent a little more time in the American Hockey League, it was just not in the cards. I wouldn’t do it differently, but I’m excited about the depth that we have. Dan Vladar is somebody that we targeted and we’re very happy that he’s part of the mix. And the other guys are going to have to really show that they have the ability to get there again. We’ll see how it plays out.
