Photo Credit: Our very own Michael Reaves
After Wednesday’s loss taking on the Carolina Hurricanes, the Philadelphia Flyers find themselves 8-10-2 to start the 2024-25 season.
Interestingly enough in comparison to the team’s record through 20 games last season Philadelphia’s record so far is not that far off.
After 20 games last year the Flyers were 10-9-1. What that puts into perspective is how early it still is in the season.
Click here for all your Flyers related news
There’s a ton of hockey left to be played that will determine what exactly the Philadelphia Flyers identity is as a team this season.
Over these twenty outings, there’s been ups and downs which have provided some interesting trends to take notice of.
With this being my final article of the three part series I plan to dissect and provide analysis on the most interesting trends I’ve examined throughout the first 20 games of the Flyers season to date.
Five Observations
1) Konecny’s contract is well deserved, his production is proving that
Travis Konecny signed an eight year, $70 million contract with an average annual value of $8.75 million on July 25th this past summer.
At the time many criticized the contract, however when assessing Konecny’s play this season thus far he’s been Philadelphia’s most consistent point producer.
In 20 games, the right winger has recorded 11 goals and 12 assists for a total of 23 points. That places him 21st in the NHL in scoring currently.
Taking that into consideration it’s evident why Konecny received such a lucrative contract this summer. At this point in his career he’s proven to be a consistent point per game player at the NHL level which is something Philadelphia clearly lacks.
With that being said, paying Konecny $8.75 million per season to lock him up long-term was fair value for what a player of his caliber brings to the table.
When looking at some of the players surrounding Konency on the NHL scoring leaderboard some of them make significantly more money.
One can only imagine what Konecny’s offensive numbers could look like if the Flyers had a high powered offense surrounding him. As the NHL salary cap looks poised to rise further in the years to come the contract appears to be one that will age well.
When dissecting the total percentage of the salary cap the contract will occupy in relation to Konecny’s point production, if the forward can continue the 1.15 point per game production the contract could be a steal mid-way through the deal.
2) Andrae looks like a legitimate top four option in small sample size
Although he’s out of the line-up with a mid-body injury that’s been classified as day-to-day, Emil Andrae has impressed in the ten games he’s suited up for.
The key element of Andrae’s game that makes him an asset to the Flyers and the style they’re looking to play is his passing ability and willingness to be aggressive with the puck.
In just eight games Andrae has averaged 18:27 time on ice per game and in certain matchups over 20 minutes of ice time. Additionally, Andrae’s expected goals for percentage is 57.9% in ten games played and that’s second on the Flyers to only Sean Couturier.
Most importantly, with Andrae receiving such usage in a top four role and succeeding in a small sample size it adds another useful player to Philadelphia’s defensive core.
When Andrae, York and Drysdale all return to the lineup coupled with Sanheim, Ristolainen and Seeler, that makes for a defensive group that should be able to transition the puck up ice effectively.
3) Penalty-Kill is consistently a difference maker
One consistent theme for the Philadelphia Flyers through the first 20 games this season and even dating back to last season is the positive impact their penalty-kill has had.
Philadelphia typically does not allow their opposition to set-up in the offensive zone cleanly and consistently due to their mentality of constantly trying to pressure puck carriers.
Their strategy to pressure opposing power-plays as they attempt to enter the offensive zone has proven to be successful, considering the fact that the Flyers hold the fourth most effective penalty-kill in the NHL with an efficiency rating of 86.6%.
With the Flyers power-play still eleventh last in the NHL this season Philadelphia’s penalty-kill will need to continue to execute at a very high efficiency rate for the team to remain competitive going forward in most matchups.
4) Michkov can handle adversity
It’s certainly extremely impressive that 19-year-old Matvei Michkov has scored 15 points in 18 games to start his NHL career and is tied for the lead in rookie scoring at the moment.
However, what’s stuck out to me most is not just the offensive ability, puck handling skill, hockey IQ and deceptiveness but more importantly how Michkov responded to being a healthy scratch for two games.
It’s never an easy thing for a young player to be scratched so there’s no telling how they might potentially handle it.
When dissecting how MIchkov reacted to not playing against Tampa and Florida earlier this season, look no further than the score sheet in the games to follow.
In the three games after being scratched Michkov recorded two goals and three assists for five points. This shows the response to being scratched was not only a positive one but in the five games prior the young winger only managed to score one point.
Seeing a rookie that can’t even speak the English language yet respond in such a manner to being benched is a very positive outcome and signifies that Matvei Michkov is a very determined and coachable hockey player.
5) Young Forwards underwhelming through 20 games
One theme that’s been prevalent to begin the season is aside from their top of the lineup level players Philadelphia’s depth scoring has been fairly underwhelming through 20 games.
Several of the players the Flyers were relying on to take further steps in their play and progress in relation to point production have not yet done so.
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty Store
Cool Matvei Michkov merchandise
Forwards such as Owen Tippett, Joel Farabee, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink and Morgan Frost have all only scored 10 points or fewer this season thus far.
With the secondary scoring depth struggling to score on most nights this season that’s resulted in Philadelphia being the 21st team in the league in terms of goals for with 2.7 per game.
Based on their current production none of the players above are projected to score above a 46 point pace this season according to PHLY’s Alex Appleyard.
For a Flyers team that was hoping to take the next step this season and challenge for a playoff spot some of the struggles their forwards in the mid twenties have been having is concerning.
Ultimately, if Philadelphia is to improve its offensive output and scoring ability in order to remain competitive going forward this season they’ll need a lot more offensively from the aforementioned forwards listed above.
