The Flyers have certainly impressed thus far this season, with many calling it “unsustainable,” “a bad way to rebuild,” or “not an accurate depiction of where this team truly is.” While there are many reasons to support the above claims, one must also ask themselves if this is the new norm for Flyers hockey. It is very hard to call an 18-10-3 record a fluke. There have been some very solid wins mixed in, comebacks, and close games that the Flyers prevailed in. The locker room is officially “back,” and the team seems to be having fun. That is a recipe for success in any professional sports league, and the Flyers are embodying what it means to be a winning team. How has this success come so soon? What are the main factors right now in aiding the success of the Flyers?  

Some started to see signs of this “new brand” of Flyers hockey last year. Players were sticking up for one another, working hard together, and playing as a team. Three ways the Flyers under Peter Laviolette always played but got away from for quite some time. That was very promising to see in Tortorella’s first year at the helm, a direct impact of his coaching style. However, the fact that this Flyers team did not finish dead last is surprising last year based on personnel alone. They played with half of their AHL team for most of the season, their veterans were out, and it was Tortorella’s first season. Many Flyers fans came into this season expecting the same result. It is easy to say this now, but in what world would you not expect an improvement this season? Bobby Brink, Morgan Frost, and Tyson Foerster were bound to get good playing time, Carter Hart has always been a great goaltender, and Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson are back in the fold. It still amazes me that some people were surprised this team could win games in the earlier part of the season. Now, with all of that being said, this team is still more successful than anyone could have imagined 31 games into the season. They are 10 games away from the halfway point and they are not here by accident. They are here because of the foundation John Tortorella, Danny Briere, Keith Jones, and the rest of the front office have/are building.

Flyers fans everywhere should be ecstatic with this “New Era,” because whether or not this team makes the playoffs, there is imminent future success in the air. If you look at some of the commonalities of a championship team in any professional sports league, there are a few things every team says. They preach about their locker room, the love they have for one another, and the harmony between players, coaches, and the front office. Everyone is working towards one common goal and trust amongst one another amplifies their efforts so that the field/rink/court sees the very best of each player. The Flyers are well on their way to creating that type of culture within the walls of this organization. They have all bought into the culture, the system, and the rebranding of Flyers hockey to what it once was. This has long been one of the most passionate and dynamic fan bases in all of sports. Flyers fans are loyal to a fault and a major part of the lack of enthusiasm in recent years has been because of the culture. Yes, if the team isn’t winning, the energy won’t be the same.

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Cool Matvei Michkov merchandise

However, Flyers teams recently have not only been bad performance-wise, but they have lost touch with what it means to be a team in Philadelphia, they lost their pride, and they became a shell of what this organization once was. The Flyers front office has brought that feeling back, and that alone should put a smile on every Flyers fan’s face. It just goes to show how important it is to build a team starting with the foundation. Some other teams across the league have been rebuilding for what feels like years. They add new parts every year and receive the same result. This has a direct correlation to the foundation of each organization and its values. Just because you have the pieces to the puzzle does not mean the puzzle is completed. You have to make sure they all go together, believe in the same mission, and work towards it. This is also not as simple as making sure everyone wants to win a Stanley Cup. Of course they do, they are in the NHL. It means making sure each player understands their role, trusts the coaching staff, and trusts one another.  The Flyers are clicking on all of these cylinders and the coaching staff and front office deserve a lot of the credit. Just look at teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. They have had some major personnel changes in the past 10+ seasons but the foundations have been built. Both are built differently but nonetheless, they are built and no matter who came in and out of the building over the years, they knew what the organization was all about, and the culture never changed. Yes, this Flyers team still needs more time to grow and add a few more pieces but buy stock now because this foundation isn’t going anywhere and the start of something great is happening in Philly. This team is fun again, they believe in one another, they play with pride, and most importantly they are playing for the City of Philadelphia: The Orange and Black we once knew and loved are finally back and they are here to stay!

Cutter Gauthier

Cutter Gauthier has been named as an Alternate Captain by Team USA for the upcoming WJC Tournament.

What an honor

Photo Credit: The Flyers

Danny Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers front office just made their first move as a unit, and it seems like the Flyers may finally have some competent people in charge. They managed to receive an impressive haul for an underperforming Ivan Provorov who was rumored to be having some issues within the Flyers locker room. This has opened up a variety of questions that have Flyers fans everywhere wondering what could be next. Are they going to trade away everyone with value and commit to a full rebuild? Is Carter Hart next? One thing for certain is that Danny Briere is wasting no time trying to change the trajectory of the Flyers future.

The Philadelphia Flyers finished the 2022-2023 regular season with a record of 31-38-13. Despite being among the bottom seven teams in the league, they showed some hope for the future. This was a very inexperienced team that battled injury throughout the entirety of the season, management change, and adjustments under a new head coach in John Tortorella. Many people had them being one of the bottom two or three teams in the entire league. Although finishing 26th in the league is nothing to brag about, they did finish 15 points or higher than the teams they were being compared to before the season started. With all this being said, what is next for the Philadelphia Flyers?

Danny Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers front office still have a long off-season ahead of them and a lot of decisions to make. How will Briere trade Kevin Hayes and/or Tony DeAngelo if decided to move on from? Will Briere resign James van Riemsdyk or Brendan Lemieux? A ton of questions remain for this upcoming offseason. There are not as many big-name free agents as last year available but still some great players who can make an impact. There are big-name players reaching the end of their careers such as Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan O’Reilly, and Vladimir Tarasenko available. Proven NHL defensemen such as John Klingberg, Matthew Dumba, and Dmitry Orlov. There are also some players in their prime that could benefit from starting somewhere fresh like Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Michael Bunting, and JT Compher. What will the starting lineup look like come next Fall? A lot can happen between now and then, but one thing Flyers fans everywhere will be looking for is some much-needed change to the roster.

Take a look at the two teams in the Stanley Cup right now. Both teams have a solid defensive core that plays physically and moves the puck well. They each have some very talented forwards, but the rest of their lines are filled out with players who play with an in-your-face attitude. Their relentless pursuit of the puck and physicality has propelled both of their teams to the Stanley Cup Final. The Flyers, under second-year head coach John Tortorella, have already started to adapt this new style of play as their identity but lacked the depth and experience to do so consistently for an entire season. What can they do to ensure this identity moving forward? They should look to move on from Kevin Hayes, Tony DeAngelo, and JVR. These players have done a lot of good over their careers, but their style of play does not fit the direction the Flyers are moving. With that being said, the Flyers are not good enough to add one or two big-name players and compete for the Stanley Cup. One must ask though, how close are they? The answer to this question will determine how the Flyers go about their offseason. At this time there are too many holes to fill, and it would not be possible to solve them all in one summer. Instead, the Flyers should look to add 4-5 new pieces and see if they can get themselves to a middle-of-the-pack NHL team this upcoming season. Being a bubble team for the 2024 NHL playoffs will allow John Tortorella to really test his players and the shortcomings of the team will be highlighted dramatically during a late-season playoff push. This will allow management to pinpoint the exact issues that need to be addressed for the following season and 3rd year under coach Tortorella. If done correctly, this Flyers team could reach some serious success as early as the 2024-25 season.  

This offseason is very important and some of the players the Flyers should look towards signing include those who skate fast, work hard, and fit the mold of a John Tortorella-led Philadelphia Flyers. The potential lines listed below are ones that could have great success and put the Philadelphia Flyers into the middle third of the league for the upcoming season.

Forward Line 1

Joel Farabee Sean Couturier Travis Konecny  

Forward Line 2

Scott Laughton Morgan Frost Owen Tippett

Forward Line 3

Conor Sheary JT Compher Tyson Foerster

Forward Line 4

Nicolas Deslauriers Noah Cates Cam Atkinson

Defensive Pairing 1

Travis Sanheim/Rasmus Ristolainen

Defensive Pairing 2

Cam York/Sean Walker

Defensive Pairing 3

Ryan Graves/Radko Gudas

Goaltenders  

Carter Hart

Cal Petersen

Scratches  

Bobby Brink  

Tomas Nosek

Wade Allison  

Nick Seeler

Forward line 1 could be the much-needed dominant scoring line the Flyers have yet to find for an entire season, especially if Sean Couturier comes back healthy and close to his old self. Despite injury, Travis Konecny blossomed under John Tortorella and could be in for a huge upcoming season. Joel Farabee will have a full summer of training and could return to his normal form before last year’s surgery. The second forward line is very intriguing because each player is primed for a big jump in year two under Tortorella. They have played together before and Scott Laughton’s speed, Morgan Frost’s skill, and Owen Tippett’s shot could bode well together. Forward line 3 has two new faces and a second-year player in Tyson Foerster. Conor Sheary’s experience, tenacity, and speed will set up a ton of opportunities for two goal-scorers in JT Compher and Tyson Foerster. JT Compher can also play physically and provide a ferocious forecheck. The 4th forward line is something you see on a lot of very successful NHL teams. Experience, defensive-mindedness, and tight checking are all qualities needed on a successful 4th line. Nicolas Deslauriers, Noah Cates, and Cam Atkinson would cause all sorts of problems for other teams’ top lines and can put the puck in the net themselves too. The departure of Ivan Provorov most likely means Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen will take over as the #1 pairing. Although they both struggled at times, they showed some signs of improvement towards the end of the year. The 2nd pairing would be Cam York and Sean Walker which is nothing to be too excited about but hopefully the change of scenery for Walker and a full season for York will lead to some success between the two. The Flyers potential 3rd line pairing is one that is very intriguing due to the combo of Radko Gudas’s strength and power with Ryan Graves’s puck-moving and shutdown capabilities when at his best. The scratches in Bobby Brink, Tomas Nosek, Wade Allison, and Nick Seeler provide Tortorella flexibility when constructing his daily lines as all four players will compete for playing time and could earn themselves permanent roles. When it comes to goaltending, the big question remains will Carter Hart be here next season? As of now, he will be their starting goalie, and only if the return is right should they move on from the franchise goaltender with so much of his career left. Moving on from such a promising young talent does not make a whole lot of sense unless the return includes a first-round draft pick, a proven player or highly touted prospect, and other valuable assets.

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This team would be very capable of winning close to 40 games and if everything went well with injuries and coming together as a team, could even make a playoff push. The Flyers could then possibly be joined by Cutter Gauthier, Emil Andrea, Elliot Desnoyers, and their first-round pick from the 2023 draft for the 2024-2025 season. Mix in a big-name free agent or two in the 2024 Summer and this could be a very good Flyers team and something to be very optimistic about going forward. Only time will tell what Danny Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers front office will do moving forward but make sure to keep an eye out for multiple moves this upcoming offseason.