The 2022-23 Philadelphia Flyers roster isn’t exactly the most inspiring group of players in NHL history, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t line combinations that raise an eyebrow with intrigue. Whether it’s the potential of the youth, or the grizzled vets finally uniting, which Flyers lines do we want to see most this season?
Number 5: Foerster – Laczynski – Allison
The kid line has experience playing together at various points over the last few seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and considering their arrival time in the NHL could all be about the same, it makes sense to reunite them as the new kid line. Foerster and Allison are both technically right wings, but considering the logjam on the right side, someone will have to adapt to the left if they want a chance in the NHL this season. Foerster is a sniper, Laczynski is an under-the-radar smart playmaker and Allison is a power forward, a perfect trio to see results and responsible enough to not be complete disasters in their own end either.
Number 4: Laughton – Hayes – Atkinson
This could very well be the second line on opening night, and it’s very intriguing. A healthy Kevin Hayes will go a long way, Cam Atkinson was arguably their best forward last season, and Laughton has had the most success of his career when he rides shotgun with Hayes. Not to mention Atkinson and Hayes are besties. The F-A-B line may be no more, but the H-A-L line will rise in its place, drawing off the power of famous former Flyer Hal Gill.
Number 3: Cates – Frost – Tippett
The trio of youngsters showed a spark of talent towards the end of last season. Frost and Tippett have both struggled to establish themselves at the NHL level, meanwhile Cates was awesome during his 16-game NHL debut sample size last season. If the three of them continue to find chemistry together, you’ve got a playmaker in Frost, a shooter in Tipeett, and the two-way stud in Cates. They could may start the season together on the third line and if they’re firing on all cylinders again, could see more success together than they will apart.
Number 2: Provorov – Ellis
The top pair of Provorov and Ellis got all of four games together last season before disaster struck, but it’s still exciting to imagine what these two could do together if everything went right. We’ve got no idea if Ellis even plays this season, but if he returns, better yet for an extended period of time, and reunites with Provorov, that would go a long way to making the Flyers defense a real threat. It’s a pair we really want to see, but who knows if it’ll ever come to fruition.
Number 1: Farabee – Couturier – Foerster
This is probably the best line the team could ice this year, but it may have to wait awhile. Farabee will start the season on IR, and Foerster’s roster spot out of the gate isn’t guaranteed. Though if the team is slow out of the gate, Foerster could easily be brought up as the shot in the arm the team needs, and Farabee’s return sometime around Christmas could mean the three players could unite for a mid-season push down the stretch. Farabee finally having a goalscorer to pass to, and Foerster getting the lime light out of the gate with Couturier to clean up any mistakes could be a decent line for the Flyers if it happens.
Honorable mention
Deslauriers – Brown – MacEwen
I don’t think anybody wants to see this line, but there is some morbid curiosity what a trio ripped right out of the 1980s would do in the modern day NHL. There’s a lot of face punching on one line, but the three players don’t exactly bring an abundance of anything else to the table. Fighting is down drastically across the league in recent years, but Deslauriers, Brown and MacEwen combined for 23 fights during the 2021-22 season, meaning if that pace keeps up they could combine for some of the highest totals in recent NHL history.
.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Getty images
brotherlypuck.com 