The Philadelphia Flyers didn’t exactly wow anyone with their underwhelming 2024 offseason. They chose to more or less run back the exact same team that had a late-season tailspin and missed out on an almost guaranteed playoff spot because of it. So what are they looking for from the roster during the 2024-25 season? It may be a deep question right now, but the offseason stagnation sets the team up for some potentially disappointing performances on the ice during a critical year for the Flyers.
Number 5: Morgan Frost
One can argue that Frost has been a perpetual disappointment through a vast majority of his professional career, but considering he’s the theoretical top center on the depth chart and Matvei Michkov is here, it’s really now or never for Frost to become anything more than an random 40-point guy. Will he get an opportunity to even play alongside Michkov considering Frost has spent long stretches in the doghouse of John Tortorella? That’s TBD, but this’ll be Frost’s sixth NHL season and he has yet to hit 20 goals or 50 points. At some point they just have to give up hope that Frost can be anything more than painfully average.
Number 4: Travis Konecny
There’s a fair amount of pressure on Travis Konecny heading into the 2024-25 season. He’ll either re-sign before the campaign begins and will carry the weight of his new, potentially massive, contract and the team’s top player, or he’ll be playing for the highest dollar value possible, be it with the Flyers or elsewhere, if his extension isn’t signed before opening night.
The arrival of Matvei Michkov also throws his roster position into a bit of uncertainty. Will he remain the 1RW on the depth chart or does the rookie take a big slice of the pie early and TK is playing second fiddle? Konecny has proven over the last couple years that there’s indeed an above-average player within, but with the rest of offense being as bland and stale as the Flyers’ can he continue to excel if the coaching staff allocates the little resources they have into their new Russian toy instead of Konecny?
Number 3: Jamie Drysdale
22-year-old former sixth overall pick Jamie Drysdale was acquired back in January in exchange for disgruntled prospect Cutter Gauthier and his debut for the Flyers wasn’t exactly the home run they were looking for. He missed time with a shoulder injury and was later announced to have undergone offseason hernia surgery as well.
Considering the two things known about Drysdale from his time in Anaheim were his copious injury record and that he wasn’t living up to his original lofty draft positioning, it wasn’t a great start to his time in Philly. He should theoretically be healthy heading into the 2024-25 season, but we’ve seen core muscle problems have lasting effects on players in the past, so it may be another full season’s wait before Drysdale can truly show what he’s capable of.
Number 2: Sean Couturier
Maybe this one isn’t “disappointment” as much as it is just accepting that Couturier is old and broken down. Sean Couturier’s 32nd birthday is in December, and the new captain isn’t exactly looking like a spring chicken anymore.
His play was actually surprisingly good through the first few months of the 2023-24 campaign considering he missed 22 months of action, but it quickly devolved and a feud with John Tortorella was front page news across the NHL. Much like Drysdale, it was announced that Couturier had undergone hernia surgery during the offseason. Sure, that can be the cause of his lackluster play, but it’s also yet another injury to an aging player with an injury list longer than a Leo Tolstoy novel.
Maybe he bounces back, but there’s only so much tread left on his tires and the new normal is going to be less and less as the years go on. Hopefully he can still hold down the fort as a middle six two-way center, but his days as a consistent top guy have probably passed.
Number 1: Matvei Michkov
Thanks the the “masterclass” of an offseason Danny Briere put together, the 19-year-old Russian has the entire weight of the franchise on his back with very little help coming during his rookie season. Yes, he’s probably possesses the most raw skill on the whole roster and could very well lead the team in points by season’s end, but there’s only so much he’s going to be able to do without a NHL-caliber center or wingers that can’t break the 50-point plateau. He can still be a building block for the future but if you’re expecting a 100-point campaign right off the bat and that he’ll single handedly save the franchise you probably won’t be happy with the results from the 2024-25 season.
Honorable Mentions
Nick Seeler
Seeler has gained quite the cult following from the fanbase, as a prototypical mucker, grinder and shotblocker, which earned him a four-year extension with a nearly $3 million aav. The problem here is that Seeler’s overall ceiling is still fairly low and we’ve seen him have less-than-stellar stretches during his three seasons in Philly and pretty much every stat during the 2023-24 campaign was an outlier from the rest of his career. He’ll definitely have a role in the Tortorella-led defense regardless, but to expect his above-average play to become the norm needs to be seen to be believed.
Tyson Foerster
Foerster was the one rookie that was able to adapt and succeed under Tortorella, but the Flyers have been fairly unlucky in recent years when it comes to sophomore slumps. The 22-year-old played a solid two-way game and hit the 20-goal mark last year but managed just 33 points. If he can’t attack the 2024-25 season with the same veracity that he did 2023-24, don’t expect his cheery relationship with Tortorella to continue unabated. Especially with the depth on the wings, Foerster will need to keep his head above water to avoid falling into “just a guy” status with the rest of them.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
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