With the training camp and preseason inching ever closer, I thought I’d take a minute and organize a few thoughts I have for this upcoming Flyers season. Aside from the addition of a generational talent in Matvei Michkov, the Flyers roster remains mostly the same going into this year. It will be fascinating to watch several of last years subplots blossom as the team has grown and many players are poised to take that next step. I’m going to organize these takes from mild to spicy in terms of likelihood they play out, though given how last year went nothing would surprise me. It feels like a millennia ago I was preparing for the 23/24 season, and yet it truly was only a year ago. Things have changed drastically in Philadelphia and this season proves to be another wild ride.
As far as takes to put a stake into, some of these subplots are juicy going into this year. I’d say i’m probably the most excited I’ve been in ages to watch the season unfold. For example, with time to adjust and actually practice with his new team over here in the U.S. finally, will Ivan Fedotov be able to recreate some of the magic he had when initially drafted all those years prior? Will Sam Ersson be able to handle a full season staying healthy given he will have an actual partner to play with that doesn’t have pending criminal charges looming over their head? What jump in production will TK give us now that he’s secured Flyer for life status and a payday? Is Rasmus Ristolainen alive? Will Frost continue to build off last year’s success and provide for the next great Russian? It would be a disservice to not discuss my thoughts on what Michkov will do in his first professional NHL season, however I’d like to save that part for last.
- My first bold prediction for this coming season starts with Morgan Frost entering what could be the most important season of his NHL career. This is not only a contract year for Morgan Frost, but a year that he might get the chance to center the line for the next greatest player the Flyers have ever seen. If the hype is real about Michkov (which I’d like to think is true), Frost could capitalize on his playmaking talents and really anchor himself as a valuable player for this team Torts couldn’t possibly sit. We’ve seen flashes time and time again of the ridiculous talent Frost has with creating plays, his creativity is off the charts and having a player like Michkov known for his finishing touch could be a perfect match. My prediction is that Morgan Frost will have a career year finishing around 65 points this season dishing the puck to the Mad Russian all season long.
- For my second bold prediction i’d like to say this take isn’t wildly popular though I do think it’s necessary. Having both Nic Delauriers and Garnet Hathaway on the team for Michkov’s inaugural NHL season is not going to harm the team in any way. The Flyers were the most successful fighting team in the NHL last year just because they wanted to be, now give them a generational talent to protect on the ice every night. I do not think this will be the massive blocker for upcoming talent that many think it will be. There’s no question Tortorella likes his guys and gives out ice time on a merit based system this is something we can’t argue. I would like to think given the development of a few forwards Tippett, Frost, Foerster, Brink, AND the addition of Michkov it’s not secret Nic isn’t going to play too many games this year. Subbing in and out when the heavyweights come to town though there aren’t too many left willing to tangle with him. Facts are simple, throughout any team’s history. Whenever a possible generational talent comes to the team, that team must shield him with the toughest nastiest guy you’ve ever seen to make sure that kid has room and can do what they do best. Look at how Crosby came into the league, Mcdavid, even Bedard last year. Someone was there to answer the bell and keep them safe, you instantly become the one person the opposing team CAN NOT TOUCH. Having guys like them on the team, add Risto to that conversation (if he’s alive) Seeler, Laughton at times, even TK isn’t ever afraid to scrap despite his size. The bodyguards are here for a reason, and Hathaway has at least show he can be 1 of the best 4th line players in the league.
- Coming in at number three on this list I have the Goalie tandem of Ersson/Fedotov both posting a .910 or better save percentage this year sharing the workload like a well oiled machine. No matter what you do to the offense/defense, none of it will matter even if Michkov scores 50 goals if the Flyers don’t get any goaltending this season. Subpar ‘tending towards the end was the main reason the Flyers dipped out of their miraculous playoff bid for the majority of the season. Ersson was playing at Martin Brodeur’s pace starting 51 games last season ultimately getting burnt out and run into the ground. For stretches of the season Ersson was playing like a top 10 goaltender making save after save giving the guys a chance to even be in games. Carter Hart is gone, Fedotov is officially here ready to go through the entirety of the offseason with the players and prepare for his first full season as a Flyer. When Fedotov was initially drafted many thought he would be the next Nikolai Khabibulin, if he is able to capture some of that magic the Flyers could really do some damage. A healthy 40 game split between the two goalies would be phenomenal, a baby version of Swayman/Ullmark would be ideal if farfetched.
- The fourth bold prediction is one that I have not seen much traction about at all this summer, something I’ve kept an eye on for awhile now. It is my belief that Rasmus Ristolainen is not only still alive far away from the fate that befell Ryan Ellis, but a valuable addition to this team. In the very short sample we got of Risto under Tortorella’s system we started to see why this player was a first round pick all those years ago. His size and shot can both be quite lethal, the latter being something we desperately have missed on any semblance of a power play. Deploying a HEALTHY Rasmus Ristolainen on the third pair is a massive win in my opinion, he has proven he can be an impactful player still and the Flyers defense would definitely benefit from having someone of his size out there. Yet again, another player they would be able to use to help shelter the kid whenever he’s out there if Michkov is on the ice.
- The fifth bold prediction is going to be focused on the power play itself. As many of you know, the Flyers powerplay has become renowned for being an actual Peco Power Outage sitting at the worst ranked power play in the league. On the other side of special teams the Flyers had the 4th best ranked Penalty Kill in the league last year, that also included the slide they had to end the season, most the year they were ranked 2nd best. I’m aware that it’s a bit of a cop out to just look at terrible parts of this team and say plugging Michkov in fixes many of them, but for the power play I think it’s just inevitable. The style of play he brings especially where he likes to score from has made him a power play threat his entire playing career. To this end, I feel that the power play continuing to be inept is just no going to be acceptable this year. I believe they will either figure things out positionally for a top 15 ranked Power Play or Rocky Thompson loses his job by Thanksgiving. Simple as that, they can’t continue to be ungodly awful at the one thing that would have secured a playoff spot last year. This team was mere inches from the playoffs with the WORST RANKED POWERPLAY IN THE LEAGUE!!! Think about that….
- Prediction number 6 is for the team itself! Last year this team was four points shy of the 8th spot in the East last year and by all rights should have made the playoffs last year. The Flyers were in a playoff spot for something close to 92% of the season or something ridiculous like that. The Eastern Conference wasn’t necessarily the strongest side of the NHL last year with immense meat on the bone to improve for any team willing to take it. Going off of how things played out last year and the off-season’s a few Eastern teams have had, I have things shaping up as such: Last year the Devils finished with 81 pts, the Flyers ended with 87 pts, the Penguins had 88pts, the Capitals had 91 pts, the Islanders had 94 pts and the Lightning finished with 98 pts. The Lightning and Capitals snagged the 7th and 8th wildcard playoff spots last year. Since they do stupid things for seeding now it is no longer solely points based, meaning the Islanders were a higher seed despite the Bolts having more points…dumb and should be changed back. ANYWAYS. The Devils finally added some real goaltending and are finally healthy for many of their key pieces missing last year, I see them finishing in the 7th spot potentially pushing Islanders for the 6th spot. The Flyers are healthy, some players that came overseas have had time to adjust, do I even have to say it? MICHKOV. I foresee several players taking a big jump this year alongside the Mad Russian. If the progression from last year continues and Michkov is even half as good as they expect him to me, I do not think it’s a far stretch to say the Flyers could finish 7th or 8th in the East for a playoff spot this year. Final Note: Devils and Flyers in, Islanders/Capitals out, remaining teams that made it last year stay the same in varying order for the 2024/2025 season playoffs.
- The final piece to this long winded puzzle, my 7th bold prediction as teased before revolves around the Mad Russian himself Matvei Michkov. There is no question that if not for political issues/war related tragedies a player of his Caliber would have gone any further than 2nd overall in the 2023 draft. Seeing how the cards fell it was even less likely that he would be able to play in the NHL before 2026 at the earliest, and yet here we are on the cusp of his Rookie season. I would like to extend my thanks to the management and ownership team for all that they’ve done to make this process as smooth as possible. Matvei spoke through his translator this past week thanking everyone from management to fans all around for the warm wishes and undying support. This young man carries the hopes and dreams of so many on his shoulders, yet he seems unfazed by it all and has the best posture some of us have ever seen??? Jokes aside, I don’t think transitioning to the NHL is going to be any difficulty whatsoever for this young man. Additionally, the fears that John Tortorella is going to dislike this player or scratch him in any way I find ludicrous. The workaholic mentality that Matvei shares with a burning desire to win is EXACTLY what Coach Torts wants out of his players. This should be a match made in heaven as Matvei figures out the NHL and tears it limb from limb. I predict Matvei is going to finish the season winning the Calder trophy for best rookie of the year en route to his first Playoff appearance in Orange and Black. I have him finishing the season with roughly 75 points and being a key contributor to the Flyers successes this coming season. -It should come as a surprise to nobody that Matvei Michkov has all the opportunity in the world to turn this franchise around largely by his own talent. There are several pieces here to this team that could really make this team ready for contention. The “rebuild” has not been the easiest thing to follow along with given some of the decisions made but having Matvei Michkov on your team makes up for a lot of it.
Written by: Anthony Spotts @Spottsongoal
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