If you polled 100 members of the Flyers fanbase about the team’s odds at winning the Stanley Cup during the 2025-26 season, chances are you won’t get many confident answers.
But not us! The 2025-26 NHL season will be the Flyers’ year for success!
According to ESPN BET the Flyers have +15000 betting odds to win the Cup this season, the sixth worst in the league. Bunch of naysayers.
Are the Flyers finally poised to bring Lord Stanley back to Broad Street? First, some things are going to have to go right in order to reach that goal.
Number 5: Youth Movement
This one took a bit of a hit after the training camp cuts left Jett Luchanko and Nikita Grebenkin as the main roster’s only real prospects. But the idea is that if or when guys like Alex Bump, Oliver Bonk, Denver Barkey and the rest of the crew prove that they’re ready for NHL action that the front office and coaching staff actually gives them an opportunity at the NHL level.
It’s a transition year for a reason. Start with one group and end with another. It’s a hopeful philosophy based on the organization’s complete lack of prospect integration over the last handful of years, but hey, they’ll have to do something right sooner or later…
Number 4: An Improved Power Play
Based on how atrocious the defense and goaltending both looks on paper and was playing during the preseason, the Flyers are going to need to find a way to counteract that with the resources they have, which is an intriguing offense. The man advantage was one of the bright spots from preseason action, so even if they have to win games 7-6 every night, the power play may finally be a positive point and keep their head’s above water this season.
Number 3: The Power of Friendship
The Flyers supposedly had a great “culture” under Tortorella, which was ruled by fear and intimidation and ended when one of his players had a fist fight with him in the hallway.
The entire purpose of Rick Tocchet’s presence is to bring a much friendlier face to the team and thus allowing his players to actually let their own personalities shine a bit. The Flyers have used words like “culture” in the past as meaningless corporate buzz words, but having an actual good room isn’t nothing when the team could embrace the underdog role they find themselves in.
Number 2: Matvei Michkov
Let’s be real here, the team’s success or failure will depend on the development of sophomore forward Matvei Michkov. A hundred point season from the Russian sensation would go a long way to carrying the ragtag group of players around him to success. Will he avoid the dreaded sophomore slump? Of course he will, he’s Matvei Michkov.
Number 1: Nikita Grebenkin
Nikita Grebenkin is the greatest hockey player of all time. A hero to the people and friend of puppies and kitties everywhere. He’s the most charismatic man to ever lace up a pair of skates and possesses talent that Sidney Crosby could only dream. If the Flyers hope to win a Cup in 2026, it will be because Nikita Grebenkin put the team on his back and carried them there.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
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