The Philadelphia Flyers are officially at the quarter pole (well, they’re 30 minutes of regulation from that exact quarter for those into splitting hairs). So, with three-quarters of the season left to go, but the often-important American Thanksgiving date rolling around, it’s a time to look back at some of the things that have happened the last five to six weeks with the Flyers. So here then is a collection of thoughts that have seemed to come to the fore more often than not this first 20 games.
1. Power play isn’t great, but not horrid
Going into the games Friday evening the Flyers ranked 21st in the league with a 16.9 per cent success rate. They have 11 goals so far, or just 20 fewer than they had all of last season. Some have argued (and maybe rightfully so) the man advantage has fallen off a cliff the last few weeks after humming a bit to open the campaign. But one also has to remember they are progressing, albeit marginally.
The fact Matvei Michkov has managed to generate points as much as he had on the power play is a plus. Add to that the fact Emil Andrae’s short sample size turned some heads, making some believe he could be the guy who quarterbacks one of the two units if he gets healthy soon and maintains his consistency. If you look at it by comparison to last season, it took game 32 for the Flyers to hit 11 power play goals. So they’re already ahead of last year’s pace.
2. And speaking of Michkov
What can you say about the Russian rookie? He goes to the dirty areas. He isn’t afraid to take a hit to make a play and is still trying to get a Michigan but not as often and heading into Thursday’s games was tied with Dallas rookie Logan Stankoven with 15 points. This despite being a healthy scratch for two contests. He has almost as many even strength points (seven) as he does on the power play (eight), a game-winning goal and and overtime goal. And he managed to do all of this while giving Macklin Celebrini a stiff jab in the kisser.
One can only wonder or smile at what might happen the next 20 games, if Michkov can continue to produce or perhaps hits a little bit of a wall which a rookie does. It appears he wasn’t pouting or sulking after not playing in Tampa Bay or Florida but has simply dusted himself off and gotten back on the horse. He’s putting together a season that, if healthy the rest of the way, should continuously put him in the conversation for the Calder Trophy.
3. Morgan Frost is at a crossroads….out of town?
After reports Thursday by Elliotte Friedman suggested center Morgan Frost could find his way to the Windy City, the smoke concerning the struggling forward will only grow. Through 16 games, and being a healthy scratch four of the last five, Frost has one goal and five assists. He has as many goals as Erik Johnson, one fewer than Garnet Hathaway and Anthony Richard. That’s not a good thing. Perhaps even more concerning is that there is little to no competition when it comes to Frost and the center position. He should easily be the second or top center on the Flyers this season. But to not be in the lineup suggests he’s hit another wall here or it’s just time for both sides to part company. Optimists might suggest another bridge deal with a nominal bump in pay, but one can’t help but feel this situation has pretty much run its course.
4. Discipline, lack thereof
One thing you assumed starting 2024-25 was that the Flyers would be again a team that was disciplined, not taking foolish or lazy stick penalties in order to at least keep themselves from beating themselves by avoiding the sin bin. Well, that has gone out the window for the most part.
After 20 games the Flyers have been called 90 times, or just over four times per game. Only Boston has more with a mind-numbing 107. And not just the infractions themselves but often the timing is just as damning. The Flyers are one of the better penalty killing teams, which might be the saving grace of the season. They can’t keep taking this many hooking, tripping and high-sticking penalties if they want to keep their already less than rosy chances of a playoff spot alive. Or at least be in the mix when March rolls around.
5. Call ups have been pleasant surprises
The Flyers have had their share of injuries this year. Yet there have been a few call ups from Lehigh Valley that got off on the right foot. Emil Andrae is one. After getting into the lineup, Andrae has been a revelation of sorts. With three points in 10 games, Andrae has routinely made the little but effective plays at both ends of the ice. Some games have been better than others. But his presence on the point during power plays looks like something that could provide chemistry between he and Michkov. Andrae isn’t hesitant and often plays on his toes to use John Tortorella’s phrase. And he has given the blueline a much needed shot in the arm after injuries have affected Jamie Drysdale, Cam York, Nick Seeler and Rasmus Ristolainen so far. Hopefully Andrae returns to the lineup soon as it will be fun to see what happens.
Another happy story is that of Anthony Richard. Richard was an afterthought when the Flyers signed him on July 2 but has done an admirable job with his speed and a bit of offensive flair with six points in seven games. He’s making a case for himself to stay with the big club or at the very least make it a conversation that both Tortorella and Danny Briere will have to have at some point.
6. Tortorella still Tortorella-ing
John Tortorella benched guys last year, he benched players this year. John Tortorella scratched players last year. This season alone has seen Morgan Frost, Bobby Brink, Matvei Michkov, Noah Cates and Nic Deslauriers also scratched (and I might be missing one or two). So far outside of Michkov, none of the scratches have come close to reaching the heights of Sean Couturier’s scratching in 2023-24. Now in the back half of his four-year deal, Tortorella is still looking to weed out those he thinks can be part of a winning team and those who can’t. One can question his actions, but what you see is what you get as he’s one of the more transparent and blunt head coaches in the league.
7. The Jett Luchanko experiment hurt nobody
Center and 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko had a solid camp, a good preseason and didn’t embarrass himself in the games he played to start the Flyers’ regular season. But he simply was not ready to prove he could endure the 2024-25 Flyers season having just turned 18 years young. The decision to keep him up provided some souped-up controversy over whether the Flyers were doing the right thing or ruining the kid’s junior year with the Guelph Storm.
Luchanko has 11 points through his first eight games back in the OHL. He also looks to be one of the forwards that will be part of Team Canada’s roster at the World Junior Championships. Luchanko’s maturity is showing again, looking like he took the stint with Philadelphia as a positive and something to work towards for 2025-26.
8. Slow starts to key players
Aside from Frost, there have been other Flyers who have gotten off to rather slow starts in terms of offense. Owen Tippett should’ve hired a BSOTB (broad side of the barn) coach earlier in the year to see if he could hit it with his shots. It wasn’t that hardly anything was going in, it’s that seemingly nothing was going near the net. He’s found his game a bit of late and he’s streaky. But four goals isn’t what you’d want from Tippett this far into the season. Ditto for Tyson Foerster (also looking a little better after another slow start in 2024-25). And one can’t forget Joel Farabee either for appearing at times like he’s just realized the blade of the stick is what goes down on the ice.
Then there are others like Noah Cates who, alongside Frost, might be half of the RFAs the Flyers have who could see themselves with at best short bridge contracts or used as possible transaction bait to attain more draft picks or prospects from other teams. The fact they’re still in the mix for a wildcard spot with this horrid start from roughly a quarter of the roster is almost amazing. Which brings us to…
9. The goaltending (or lack thereof)
The Flyers have a goalie who as of Friday morning is near the Top 40. This would be stellar if one was talking about a hit single or a great pop song, but not so much for save percentage. Sam Ersson is currently 41st with .902, just over the demarcation line separating an average NHL goalie from a trip to the AHL. Or at least you’d think that.
Ivan Fedotov sits in 59th place with a rising .875 while Aleksei Kolosov is almost right behind him in 61st position with .872. The idea they have all shown improvement the last couple of weeks (even Ersson who has been lately very good (when not injured) demonstrates how remarkably awful the goaltending was for large segments of the first 20 games. Almost rivaling the disaster that foiled their playoff hopes down the stretch last year.
It’s not clear how this goalie situation triangle will pan out, but with the injuries they can keep all three in play for the time being. If they continue to show improvement it’ll definitely result in a few more wins and possibly the Flyers getting back on track in the playoff hunt.
9. The Flyers winless since…
The Philadelphia Flyers are winless all time when wearing a Chevrolet logo and the brand name on the side of their helmets. I know it’s a relatively small sample size of one game but facts are facts. And sometimes thoughts aren’t exactly logical or rational.
10. Travis Konecny is a great player
He’s on the power play, he’s on the penalty kill, he can make the occasional screwup in his own end (and get chewed out publicly for it) and if he had any puck luck this season he might have about 15 goals. Regardless of the empty net gimmes that didn’t materialize, Travis Konecny is having a great season (23 points). He’s on pace to eclipse his career high last season (68 points) by a wide margain if he stays healthy. He’s been everything you’d want a newly extension-signing player to be and so much more. If Tippett, Foerster and Farabee were clicking at half the rate Konecny was in terms of production the Flyers would easily be one of the top three in the Metropolitan, goalie issues included.
The Flyers might not be a great team this season, but they’d be a hell of a lot worse with Konecny out of the lineup or on the trade block.
11. Jamie Drysdale is…
It’s getting close to one full calendar year that the Flyers have had Jamie Drysdale. And that one year hasn’t been really all that fantastic. Between the injuries which hampered him the last half of the season to the current injury that’s kept him out, it’s been a trying season for all concerned. Hopefully Drysdale is healthy enough the rest of the season and is able to make a few baby steps in the direction that could turn him into something good. This writer still believes with Brad Shaw’s help he can develop into a top four blueliner as he’s still quite young. Whether he’s passed by the likes of Andrae, Helge Grans or Oliver Bonk who should be at the ready in 2025-26 is anyone’s guess. But you would’ve hoped he could stay healthy to give himself a chance at developing.
12. Not finishing on few chances
Through 20 games the Flyers have had the upper hand in terms of chances five times, which seems to mirror the fact they have only a handful of wins in regulation. Even more concerning is two of those five times came on the opening West Coast trek (Calgary and Seattle). Since then games against Washington, Montreal and San Jose have been the only games they’ve outchanced their opponent.
The structure defensively has been better, but when a team like Carolina wipes the floor with you (73.8 per cent chances for) you’re playing without the puck and defending nearly every shift. That number only puts more pressure on the forwards to capitalize on the few chances they have. And it puts a lot of pressure on the goaltenders who have to save damn near everything for the Flyers to have a boxer’s chance of winning. Hopefully that starts to improve, otherwise it’s going to be a long, long year.
13. Erik Johnson in, Nic Deslauriers out
Goal scorer and 1000-game veteran Erik Johnson has been a bright spot on the blueline. He’s definitely playing more than even he thought he would’ve this year with 15 games so far. Most would’ve thought that number would be half that or lower by now. But he’s still out there on the third pairing, averaging over 13 minutes each game.
Johnson’s game total is probably what many believed Nic Deslauriers would’ve had this season. Deslauriers has gone from 80 games in Tortorella’s first year to 60 games in year two to now seven games a quarter of the way in. Deslauriers, who still has a year left on his contract after this season, simply doesn’t have much to offer outside of punching people while taking punishment. And with the youth moving ahead of him on the depth chart, it might be a case of Deslauriers now being the equivalent of Marc Staal for the forwards, generally called on once in a while but should be on the outside looking in from now on.
14. Travis Sanheim has been dynamite
It’s been quite a journey for Travis Sanheim since his scratching in Calgary a few seasons ago. After Torey Krug nixed the trade that would’ve sent Sanheim to St. Louis (and the departure of Ivan “don’t blame me” Provorov), the defenseman has been very, very good. Whether eating minutes, knowing when he can pinch and knowing when the team needs him to carry the puck deep, Sanheim has impressed everyone including Tortorella.
If Sanheim can maintain this level of play for two-thirds or three-quarters of his contract then it’ll be one of the steals of the league. Third in team scoring, first in defensive scoring, averaging 25 minutes a game (nearly 28 minutes in November), Sanheim is doing everything one would’ve hope he did when he first entered the league. It took some time and patience but he’s looking like he’s taken things to the next level. He might be overlooked for the Four Nations coming up but if so it’s Team Canada’s loss.
15. Still can make hay while sun shines
The Flyers are in the Metropolitan Division. They were to start the year and they will be to end it. They’ve played just four games against divisional opponents: two against Washington and two against Carolina. And no points to show for them. That means they have a slew of four-point games the rest of the way and could make up some ground if they can beat up on the likes of Pittsburgh, Columbus and the Islanders and hold their own against the upper echelon in the division.
But that will still take some time as they only play four more divisional games the rest of the calendar year (Rangers on Nov. 29, Columbus on Dec. 10 and Dec. 21 and Pittsburgh on Dec. 23). January will see nearly a dozen inter-divisional games which could be the make or break month for the Flyers, if they haven’t been beaten down and broken by then.
16. Nick Seeler is a bit of a question mark
Nick Seeler might have Sean Walker to thank for this current contract. After emerging last season and showing he had a lot to give, Seeler hasn’t been looking like himself. Missing a few games to injury to start the season, the defenseman has taken a dip in chances for (51.82 per cent in 2023-24 versus 37.32 per cent so far this year) and his expected goals for has plummeted (49.76 per cent last season versus, er, 6.14 per cent this year).
Seeler is still blocking shots, still standing up for his team (Sean Couturier knows all about that) and looking like the guy in his own end who will do anything to stop the puck. But he has to pick things up quite a bit more if that four-year contract is going to look as attractive as it did before the trade deadline last year.
17. Two goals against in quick succession…
Under Alain Vigneault the Flyers often saw one goal against followed by another goal against within a minute or two minutes of each other, often making what was a close game at worse a laugher if not a guaranteed loss. That wasn’t the case a lot under John Tortorella last season but this year it’s been rearing its ugly head.
So far in 2024-25 the Flyers have had 10 occasions where the opposition has scored twice in a span of two minutes or less (against Seattle they were eight seconds apart). Granted a few times the second goal has been an empty netter as the Flyers tried to get back in the game in the late stages. But 10 times in 20 games is a lot of lapses that can make all the difference between playing meaningful games late in the year or just playing out the string.
Some think calling a timeout after a goal scored is a panic move. But I’d rather see a bit of panic than a time out called after the opponents pot two or three to put a game out of reach.
18. Penalty kill is still a plus
With all the dumb penalties taken you’d believe the Flyers are suffering short-handed. That’s not the case. They still are near the top of the league on the power kill that going into Saturday’s game stood at 86.6 per cent. They haven’t been nearly as dangerous with short-handed goals as they just have the one, far less than the ridiculous pace they were at last year.
The tandem of Scott Laughton and Konecny remain one of the more effective in the Eastern Conference if not the league. The Flyers hope the percentage stays around the same and doesn’t take a nosedive the last 62 games of the year.
19. Youth movement
Despite what some morons might believe about the Flyers being near last in terms of going young or not rebuilding, they remain one of the younger teams in the league. Sure, they’re ahead of their rivals down the road in Pittsburgh, who could sign Jaromir Jagr and see the team’s average age drop with the acquisition. Big whoop. The Flyers have 11 players 24 years old or younger on their roster, including a 24-year-old goalie and a 22-year-old goalie. Cam York, Helge Grans, Emil Andrae and Drysdale are all in that age range. To put them 29th in a “Future Power Rankings” is a testament to the fact you can’t believe everything you read.
20. Couturier looks fine…knock on wood
Sean Couturier is looking good. Not great or a frontrunner for the Selke, but he has driven play the last few weeks the way one could’ve only hoped for entering the season. Had the Flyers finished 20 per cent of their empty net gimmes this year he’d have a handful of additional points. He’s clicking on the faceoff dot (58.1 per cent), and has drawn nine penalties while only taking three, and one of those three was a major penalty for fighting.
So far though Couturier, who has been put up and down the lineup while Tortorella tries to find some spark, looked more than adequate with Michkov as a linemate. And he’s been looking good in crashing the net and going to the dirty areas to get chances. If this is the Sean Couturier that can withstand 82 games (well, 81 as he’s missed one game) and look like classic Couturier, Flyers fans will be breathing a lot easier. The center position has its holes and flaws for sure, but a quickly declining Couturier will be a problem for everyone concerned moving forward.
