The 2024-25 NHL season is just around the corner, and as the Flyers return from a very quiet summer, the stagnation leads to some very interesting questions and storylines that will emerge during the upcoming campaign. So what is happening in Flyerland that you should be keeping an eye on?
Number 5: Trade Deadline
It may be five months away, but considering the Flyers made it through the entire offseason (and last trade deadline) without making any kind of notable deal, the next time the Briere regime has a chance to make an impact, either buying or selling, is the 2025 trade deadline. If they’re in a position to buy, do they do more than overpay for a washed veteran like Erik Johnson? If they’re out of the race do they finally sell a guy like Scott Laughton? Sooner or later the Flyers are going to have to commit to something one way or another and March 7, 2025 will be their next opportunity to pick a direction.
Number 4: The Tortorella Effect
Running back a nearly identical roster from the 2023-24 season that was slightly above mediocre at best and an unmitigated disaster at worst in the name of a good culture is a bold choice. John Tortorella has managed to keep his troops in line for two seasons now, but can he continue to get everyone to buy in if the on-ice product stalls out? His demanding style has a shelf life in the modern NHL, something that the players can swallow when things are going good, but if those rough seas pop up, can he keep the puzzle from going to pieces?
Number 3: Ceiling of the Young Vets
We’re entering year six of Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee as NHLers and it’s “put up or shut up” time for both. In their ten combined professional seasons, only Farabee has hit the 50-point plateau once during 2023-24, which just isn’t good enough for your $5 million winger and theoretical top center. Is this the year either one of them finally break out or is it just more of the same mediocrity?
Number 2: Ersson and Fedotov
The crux of the Flyers success or failure in 2024-25 will, above all else, be the goaltending. There’s reason to believe both Ersson and Fedotov can be a worthwhile duo at the NHL level, but the way the pair ended the 2023-24 season, there’s more than a little bit of concern about their ability. They (along with Sandstrom and Petersen) had the league-worst save percentage from January until the end of the season which was a big reason why they lost 15 of their last 22 games and torpedoed their playoff hopes. Even if the tandem can provide just average results it should give the team a fighting chance, but if they’re both in “can’t stop a beach ball” territory, the team may be dead in the water before they even leave the port.
Number 1: Matvei Michkov’s Play
The only new face on the Flyers’ roster happens to be a 19-year-old Russian who they drafted seventh overall in 2023. He’s expected to be the savior the franchise has desperately needed and has displayed promising results during the preseason. Weather or not he’s a point-per-game guy out of the gate will determine how much growth the offense can produce. It’s kind of baffling the front office didn’t feel the need to attempt to insulate Michkov considering they had a 26th ranked offense and dead last ranked power play, but it’s the path they chose and the ball now lands in Michkov’s court to prove he can be a top guy in the NHL by himself.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Getty Images
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