The Philadelphia Flyers dropped their all-important return to action against the Washington Capitals and now conversations have started once again about how this team might just not be good enough to even think about the playoffs for a while.
Whether it is looking at a blue line that lacks a true top defenseman — with all the love to Travis Sanheim — or a forward group that has skill on the flank but the spine is severely lacking any scoring or drive; there just is not a whole lot going on through the Flyers’ roster. But this conversation is not just taking place among the fan base of this team.
After the 3-1 loss in Washington, Flyers winger Travis Konecny spoke with NBC Sports Philadelphia and in their chat, they touched on a more broad-picture topic — whether or not this team is good enough to find success.
"We obviously need some stuff to help us get to that next level"
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) February 25, 2026
Travis Konecny expands on how he feels about the Flyers as they approach the trade deadline. pic.twitter.com/ZNMzpSyiuX
Travis Konecny wants more talent on the Flyers
When asked this question about the construction of the team he’s on, Konecny was treading extremely carefully, but still subtlety said that the Flyers need more talent to get where they want to go.
“The core of the group is obviously here. You know, we have a lot of guys that understand what we want to do here and how we’re going to approach it,” Konecny said. “But I think, you know, I’m not going to get into details but I obviously think we need some stuff in to help us get to that next level. You know, you look at some of the big teams in the league — and, you know, we need a little bit in areas that we need help in. But overall, you look at the talent and the skill and the depth we have on our team, there’s a lot of good things there.”
That is maybe the most polite way that Konecny could’ve said that the Flyers just aren’t good enough to be a playoff team.
It is completely understandable that one of the leaders on the team does not want to throw the existing team under the bus, but immediately after they suffered a bad loss that made it a whole lot less likely that Konecny would be experiencing playoff hockey soon, the 28-year-old winger was able to almost scream in between the lines that they just need more talent.
There is an existing core of players in the NHL for the Flyers that put them in a good spot. Konecny is obviously one of them, but players like Owen Tippett, Trevor Zegras, Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Noah Cates, and youngsters Matvei Michkov and Denver Barkey, could all conceivably be on the next great Flyers team. And add in goaltender Dan Vladar and that’s basically where Konecny’s description of “good things” stops.
But to get to that next level, the Flyers will obviously need to add. Whether that is having certain current or future prospects develop and reach their potential, or trading future assets for a bona fide top player that could lead the team upfront or from the back; there will be something that needs to happen.
The status quo is clearly not good enough and the players are hyper-aware of it.
