We are almost at the end of our summer Blue Jackets series comparing them to their rivals in the Metropolitan Division. As the calendar flips to September, we turn our attention to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Last season for the Flyers was one to forget. Coach John Tortorella didn’t finish the year. The team finished last in the Metropolitan Division. Thanks to a few key changes, there is a renewed excitement around them.
The Blue Jackets and Flyers do have one important thing in common as they begin the 2025-26 season. Each have significant questions they need to answer. Let’s explore.
The Michkov Factor
As with any team, you have to start with their stars. The Flyers have a shining star that has much of their fanbase eagerly anticipating what he’ll do for an encore.
Matvei Michkov was nothing short of impressive as a rookie. He scored 26 goals and 63 points in 2024-25. Yet somehow, he finished fourth in the Calder Trophy voting. (Author’s note: Yes, I had Michkov fourth. Didn’t feel great about it but it showed how strong the other three players were.)
Michkov is one of those players that is worth every penny of the price of admission. His skill can pop off at any time. He also plays the game with a swagger because of the confidence he has in himself. Seriously, how many guys after being tossed from a game sign autographs before leaving down the tunnel? That’s some major rockstar energy.
Even under a defensive-minded coach in Tortorella, Michkov scored 63 points. He has the talent to eventually become a 100-point scorer. We’ll see how the team around him develops over time.
When considering the Blue Jackets, the Michkov/Adam Fantilli matchup will be must-see TV. They are two of the best from the 2023 NHL Draft. Don’t be surprised if this develops into some great individual matchups between the two young stars. The games should be great too.
The Blue Jackets did a nice job on Michkov last season, limiting him to 0-2-2 and 8 SOG in four games played. The Blue Jackets must prioritize taking this talent away on any given night.
Trevor Zegras
It only felt like a matter of time before Trevor Zegras would have a new home. After five seasons and 268 games in Anaheim, he was traded to the Flyers in exchange for Ryan Poehling and two draft picks.
Two big questions coming into the season for Zegras and the Flyers. What can we expect from him after he got his fresh start? And where in the lineup will he play?
Health will be a major factor for Zegras as well. In 2024 alone, he dealt with both a broken ankle and a torn meniscus. He’s played just 88 games combined the last two seasons.
Many believe Zegras will get every opportunity to find his offensive form at center ice. A potential of playing with Michkov could bring a level of excitement to most every game assuming Zegras is able to regain his form.
Zegras’ best days with the Ducks were when he played at center. It remains to be seen if he’ll start at top center or if the Flyers will start veteran Sean Couturier there. How the lines look at the start will be among their top storylines at camp.
If Zegras can regain his form, that’ll be a massive help to a Flyers team who finished last season 23rd in goals for and third-worst in the Eastern Conference. Will their depth scoring be able to pick up any of the slack?
Rick Tocchet
The other big story coming into the season for the Flyers was the hiring of Rick Tocchet. He left the Vancouver Canucks in order to return to a team he is very familiar with.
Tocchet guided the Canucks to the playoffs in 2023-24 that saw them defeat the Nashville Predators in six games before ultimately losing to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games in the second round. The Canucks’ drama ultimately caught up to everyone leaving them outside the playoffs last season.
Tocchet’s main job will be to find a way to get the most out of the Flyers’ young, offensive talent. How will he unlock Michkov’s full potential? How can he get Zegras back to form?
Perhaps just as important to all Flyers fans, can they figure out their power play once and for all? It was just 15% last season which was third-worst in the NHL. Tocchet’s Canucks were at 22.5% for comparison sake which was 15th overall. Even that kind of jump in production would bode well for the Flyers’ chances.
In watching several Flyers’ games last season, outside of Michkov and occasionally Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett, there just wasn’t a lot of creativity out there. With Tocchet in and Tortorella out, there should be more offense untapped. We’ll see how long it takes them to figure that part out.
Tocchet is the right kind of coach for a young Flyers’ team who needs to establish a winning culture. Not much will shake Tocchet given what he encountered in Vancouver. He will be given ample time to establish the culture he wants there.
Other Key Stories
Here are a couple of other key stories for the Flyers we are watching in the new season.
- Goaltending: Samuel Ersson will be joined by a new acquisition in Dan Vladar. The Flyers gave up the fifth-most goals in the NHL last season with 286. They rotated through three goalies most of last season. Can Vladar be a stable-enough backup?
- Jamie Drysdale/defense: Drysdale was the return in the Cutter Gauthier trade. He scored seven goals in 70 games last season while showing some flashes after coming back from injury. But the defense was always a work in progress. Can he find a new level where he’s more responsible? Cam York and Travis Sanheim will have a lot on their plate as the Flyers’ top defensive pair.
- Porter Martone is at Michigan State. But how close is Jett Luchanko to the NHL? He played four games in the NHL last season and spent some time in Lehigh Valley as well.
- What’s next for Tyson Foerster? His last two seasons have been 20 goals and then 25 goals. Can he challenge for 30 goals while giving the Flyers a second dangerous offensive line?
Blue Jackets/Flyers Compared
As you can see, the Flyers have a lot of questions. But so do the Blue Jackets as we’ve talked about. They each have similarities to their situation.
- Both teams have a young star to build around for years to come (Fantilli/Michkov).
- Both teams have questions in goal. We don’t know who starts Game 1 for the Blue Jackets yet between Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves.
- Both teams have questions on defense as they each need to dramatically reduce their goals against.
- Both teams believe they’re on the way up and are hoping to be good enough to knock on the door of the playoffs.
The Blue Jackets get the checkmark on offense. Their young talent was among the best last season at scoring goals with most everyone back. Another year of familiarity and chemistry will do wonders for them.
The Flyers have talent and skill just perhaps not quite as much as the Blue Jackets do. The Blue Jackets’ center depth and wingers led by Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson give them a clear advantage.
The Blue Jackets get the checkmark on defense as well. Zach Werenski is the best defensive player on both sides and proved what he is capable of last season. York and Sanheim is a good top pair. Beyond them, there are questions they have to answer. The Blue Jackets have to stay healthy on the blue line and get some better overall performances.
Goaltending for now is a wash. Both situations face significant enough questions that it’s the ultimate wildcard. Good goaltending can put both teams in the playoff hunt whereas poor goaltending could have them in the draft lottery. The Vladar acquisition does help the Flyers. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of improvement Merzlikins and Ersson have.
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The Flyers should be better than last season. But the combination of the teams ahead of them in the Metropolitan Division coupled with significant questions they must answer have the Blue Jackets projected ahead of them in 2025-26.
Stay tuned for the last part of our series. We will look at the state of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
