New Additions: F Trevor Zegras (from PHI), D Noah Juulsen (1yr x $900k), F Christian Dvorak (1yr x $5.4M), G Dan Vladar (2yr x $3.35M AAV), D Dennis Gilbert (1yr x $875k), F Lane Pederson (1yr x $775k), HC Rick Tocchet

Subtractions: F Ryan Poehling (to ANA), G Ivan Fedotov (to CBJ), F Olle Lycksell (to OTT), F Jakob Pelletier (to TBL), HC Brad Shaw

Retentions/Extensions: F Tyson Foerster (2yr x $3.75M AAV), F Noah Cates (4yr x $4M AAV), D Cam York (5yr x $5.15M AAV), D Helge Grans (2yr x $787.5k AAV)

I personally have nothing against John Tortorella, in fact I hear he is a great guy and an overall nice person. But the fact he keeps getting coaching gigs in the NHL puzzles me a bit. I understand he has loads of experience, and won a Stanley Cup (over 20 years ago), but his coaching style can make or break a locker room, and for a young team like the Philadelphia Flyers, I never saw the fit. He is now gone, and may never be an NHL head coach ever again. The new guy in town is Rick Tocchet, a former Flyers captain who parted ways with the Vancouver Canucks when he heard about the chance to coach his former team. Tocchet is only one season removed from winning the Jack Adams Award, after a 50 win season in Vancouver. Tocchet, at age 61 has a similar ‘this is how we are going to do things’ mindset as Tortorella, but does so in a much more pleasant way. The organization is hoping they have found their coach for the next decade plus.

Philly has not made the postseason since the 2020 bubble, and if they fail to make the playoffs again this season, it will be the longest stretch of missing them in franchise history, at six seasons without an appearance. There appears to be a bit of consistency with their front office and coach as not only is Tocchet a former Flyer, but so is their GM Danny Briere. Two former beloved Flyers are running this team, but they lack a true on ice face of the franchise, and they have since they traded former captain Claude Giroux in 2022. The closest thing they have is Travis Konecny, who posted a career high 76 points last season. While he is a great impact player that all 32 teams in the league would love to have on their team, he profiles better as a team’s second or third best forward, not a number one option. They need someone to step up and become that guy.

I believe that player is on the roster already, and he just had a quietly impressive rookie season, having 63 points in 80 games. None other than Matvei Michkov. The Russian winger has been known for a while, dating back to his early teens, when he turned heads of many, flashing elite potential. In the 2023 NHL Draft, him and Bedard were the top two prospects, you could even argue it was a 1A/1B type of situation, but due to contract obligations in the KHL, and the young player telling certain teams not to draft him, he fell to the Flyers at pick 7. Many thought Michkov would play out his contract in Russia, and would not come over to the NHL for at least a few years. But the Flyers would only have to wait one season, as Michkov was ready to make his debut at the beginning of the 2024-25 season. It was an up and down year for him, despite the clear talent, some weaknesses of his games caused him to end up in Torts’ infamous doghouse. He still managed 63 points, tied with Macklin Celebrini for second among rookies. Hopefully he and Tocchet can form a better relationship than he had with Torts, because the development of him is crucial to the future success of this team, as he has the potential to be a 50 goal scorer, and 100 point player in this league.

Another player the team is hoping can become a face of the team, is newly acquired forward Trevor Zegras. His face has already been on the cover of an NHL video game, there is no denying his marketability, but that is not why the team traded for him. In his first two full seasons, Zegras had 126 points in 156 games, and looked like he was going to be a star in this league. However, since then he has battled through injuries, and seen a big dip in his production. I had the pleasure of seeing him play live in 2023, and the impression I got was that he is a skilled offensive player, but a liability in his own zone. In fact, it looked like he did not care about playing defense, and was more worried about getting on the highlight reel. The word out of training camp and preseason is that Zegras is determined to become a more complete player, working alongside the coaching staff. He will be a popular bounce back candidate, and I wish him the best in Philadelphia. He will be an RFA at the end of this season, so he is looking to have a big season and cash in long term, rather than settle for another bridge deal.

Zegras reunites with Jamie Drysdale, his buddy from their days in Anaheim. Drysdale was the 6th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, seen as a potential elite offensive defenceman. Unfortunately, it has never translated to the NHL, as his career high is just 32 points. He too will be an RFA at the end of this season, and it may be his last shot at earning anything more than a string of short term, cheap money deals. Cam York, who is from Anaheim (not a former Duck, but where he was born) re-signed this offseason to a five year contract worth just over $5M per season. Travis Sanheim, serves as the team’s number one all around D man and makes a very reasonable $6.25M per season. Other defencemen include veterans such as Nick Seeler and Rasmus Ristolainen, and younger depth pieces like Egor Zamura, Emil Andrae and Helge Grans. The group does not strike fear in their opponents, and could really use a true number one.

It seems all of their position groups are lacking a true number one, and that is goaltending is no exception. A tandem of Samuel Ersson and free agent pickup Dan Vladar is very lacklustre. Ersson was the starter for the majority of last season, and despite posting a winning record, it is a bit of a surprise that he did, with a .883 SV% and 3.14 (π) GAA. Vladar has spent the last four seasons as the 1B/backup in Calgary, and with the emergence of Dustin Wolf, figured he could go get some more starts elsewhere. Philadelphia was a great landing spot as I believe he could take over as starter should Ersson continue to perform the way he did last year.

A strength of this team is their forward depth, despite lacking elite talent, it is a collection of solid role players. Sean Couturier does not put up points like he used to, but the former Selke winner is a capable two-way forward and the longest tenured Flyer on the team. Owen Tippett has scored over 20 goals the past three seasons, but has yet to reach 30, this could be the year for the sniper. Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink and Noah Cates all put up ~40 points last season and look poised to keep that up and provide depth scoring. The team landed free agent center Christian Dvorak, who has been a very steady 3C throughout his career. As a part of the Scott Laughton trade last season, the team acquired Nikita Grebenkin from Toronto, and the 22 year old Russian forward hopes to be a full time player in the lineup this season.

While I think it is more likely than not that this team misses the playoffs for a franchise worst sixth straight season. I expect this season to be full of growth for the Flyers. Growth under a new head coach. Growth for players like Michkov, and hopefully the team does enough to become a desired destination for players in the loaded 2026 free agent class. Briere has an important job, as the team is a few major pieces away from being a good team again, but he needs to make sure he brings in the right pieces, which could have already begun with the acquisition of Zegras. I expect him and Michkov to be on my screen quite a bit this season from the highlights they are sure to produce, but I do not expect them on my screen come playoff time.