The Philadelphia Flyers 2024-25 season has gone about as expected. The Orange and Black sit at a mediocre 17-19-5, putting them at sixth in the division and within 5 points of the final wild card spot. This is par for the course – they are not bad enough to draft very high, but not good enough to get into the playoffs. As the calendar has flipped to 2025, we have reached the midway point of the season which provides a great lens to evaluate the Flyers’ season thus far.
Biggest Disappointment – The Goalies
This one isn’t even close. The season has been largely marred by goaltending, as between Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov, the Flyers currently sport a league-worst save percentage of .868. The goaltending was always going to make or break their season, but most people didn’t expect it to be this bad. The hope was that Ersson would be able to improve after a full summer of preparing to take on the starter role, and that both Fedotov and Kolosov could exhibit some of their abilities that allowed them to succeed in the KHL. None of those things have happened.
Most Improved – Bobby Brink or Noah Cates
The award for most improved player was really a toss up between Brink and Cates for largely the same reasons. Cates missed significant time due to injury, while Brink was in John Tortorella’s doghouse for much of last year. Both of them have now found themselves a home on the third line with Tyson Foerster. This line has been the Flyers best by far for at least the last month, if not longer. Brink is currently 8th on the team in scoring with 19 points (4g-15a) in 37 games, which is only 4 points away from his last season total of 23 points. Brink’s play has improved tremendously over the past year, acting as a facilitator of the offense on his line. Cates isn’t too far behind on the scoresheet with 17 points, but he has seemed to regain the defensive center form that saw him garner votes for the Selke two seasons ago.
Biggest Trade Candidate – Rasmus Ristolainen
Ristolainen is quietly playing some of the best hockey of his career. With the cap going up, the Flyers needing to clear cap space, and only two years remaining on his contract with a 5.1M AAV, it looks like a perfect storm for the Finnish defenseman to be dealt. Not to mention he’s a rugged veteran and a right hand shot, which playoff teams highly covet at this time of the year.
Best Defenseman – Travis Sanheim
Sanheim has been a workhorse on the Flyers defense this season. He has the highest number of minutes of any skater on the team, averaging a career high of just under 25 minutes per game. He has been relied upon in all situations this year, typically receiving the toughest defensive matchups for the Flyers. He’s also had some offense to boot, scoring 21 points (6g-15a) thus far. It’s hard to complain about Sanheim’s work on the backend this year.
Most Valuable Player – Travis Konecny
After a career year last year, it was all but a foregone conclusion that the Flyers were going to re-sign Travis Konecny to a contract extension over the summer. Once he did, it was fair to wonder whether Konecny would be able to improve upon the year he just had; thankfully for the Flyers, he has done that so far. Through 41 games, the right-shot winger has amassed 45 points (18g-25a), which not only leads the team in scoring, but is also the only player on the team scoring at a point-per-game rate or better. He has 16 points on the team’s second place scorer, rookie Matvei Michkov. Konecny’s feisty offensive style is one of the few reasons to tune into the Flyers this season and is an easy choice for the Team MVP award.
By: Katie Bogan (@cl4udegiroux)
photo credit: Getty Images
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