Success can be a lot of things in sports. Winning a championship qualifies, of course, but hockey wouldn’t be much fun if 31 of 32 teams were guaranteed misery. While only one team can win the last game of the season, every team has its benchmarks to aspire to.
The 2023-24 season was largely positive for the Philadelphia Flyers. The team exceeded every expectation in the standings, recording their best campaign since 2019-20. More importantly, a good chunk of the team’s young talent produced at a good rate, both those playing for the Flyers and prospects spread out across the hockey world.
The Flyers will still be focused on creating a brighter future in 2024-25 rather than short-term success. It’s important to quantify what that looks like before the season begins. So, here are four critical developments that would go a long way to helping the Flyers continue to progress in building themselves back up during the season ahead.
Sean Couturier Plays All 82 Games
Not since his breakout 2017-18 campaign has Sean Couturier dressed for 82 regular season games, and even then, he missed a playoff game due to a torn MCL. In the six years since, Couturier suffered another MCL injury in the playoffs and underwent multiple back surgeries that sidelined him from Dec. 18, 2021, until last season’s opener.
Couturier missed a couple of games early last season, which was understandable for a veteran getting re-acclimated to playing in the NHL after a 22-month absence. John Tortorella scratching him for two games in March is more concerning, especially for a team whose long-term plan is centered around team culture.
The Flyers are stuck with Couturier, who is under contract until 2030. They also have no intention of parting ways with Tortorella, who has been given significant influence in shaping the team’s direction. Playing every game would indicate that the relationship between these two main characters is at least palatable. It would also go a long way to instilling confidence that Couturier can hold up physically for the remainder of his contract.
Matvei Michkov Is a Calder Trophy Finalist
No Flyer has ever been named the NHL’s top rookie and it’s been almost a decade since the last time one came close (Shayne Gostisbehere finished second to Artemi Panarin in 2015-16). But Matvei Michkov is different. Arguably the team’s most anticipated prospect since Eric Lindros debuted in 1992-93, he’ll become the second top-10 pick to debut for the team since 2007 next month. While wingers aren’t typically seen as franchise faces, Michkov’s future will galvanize the team’s rebuild or create a devastating setback.
Of course, a 19-year-old doesn’t need to have it all figured out on day one. While FanDuel does have him as the odds-on favorite for the award at plus-350, four other players are plus-500 or better. So, it’s not the end of the world if one of them explodes in their first season and edges him out. A top-three finish should ensure he is on the right track to become the superstar capable of leading the Flyers back into Stanley Cup contention.
Cam York and Jamie Drysdale Take the Next Step
The Flyers have a forward with franchise-face upside in Michkov, but things are more uncertain on the backend. There are several players with promise. Oliver Bonk is one of them, but he’s at least another year away from the NHL. In the meantime, 23-year-old Cam York and 22-year-old Jamie Drysdale will be the main focus of Philadelphia’s blue line.
Though they’re listed under the same category here, the next step means different things for both. For Drysdale, staying healthy is just as important as it is for Couturier. He’s only played in 41 games the last two seasons due to a litany of ailments, and he was dealing with a sports hernia during the 24 games he has played as a Flyer.
Tortorella and defensemen whisperer Brad Shaw will probably look to develop Drysdale as they did York, who also entered the league as an offensive-minded player. However, his progression has come from the defensive zone out. York scored 30 points last season, a solid total for his first full NHL season on a team with a non-existent power-play. But the biggest positive was that he earned the trust of Tortorella, playing over 24 minutes a night down the stretch.
The real question for York is whether he can reach another level with the puck. Corey Sznajder’s All Three Zones tracking data shows he is below average on zone exits, which is surprising for someone billed as an offensive defenseman when the Flyers drafted him at No. 14 overall in 2019. If he has another gear at the NHL level, he’ll probably show it this season. If the Flyers don’t have a Cale Makar or Adam Fox level player, they need a lot of players to reach the tier right below that to make up for things. York and Drysdale can be the future, but first, they need to prove they’re capable of being leaders in the present.
The Power Play Hits a 20% Success Rate
This point is intertwined with the two above it. While this isn’t a make-or-break year for the Flyers as a team, it should be for power-play coach Rocky Thompson. Since he arrived in 2022-23, the Flyers aren’t just last in the NHL on the man advantage — they’re over 2.5% worse than any other team. Only two teams in the bottom 10 have made the playoffs in either season and only the New York Islanders have done so both seasons. While the Flyers have had other issues and the personnel available isn’t top-tier, things have been far too dire in this department.
Michkov’s arrival and a healthy Drysdale are two reasons for optimism. The growth of other players like York, Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster could also help. But there’s still not a ton of firepower for the Flyers, so it will be up to Thompson to put together the right combinations and system to make things work. A 20% mark would have ranked 22nd last season, which isn’t great but is enough progress to have faith that things are trending in the right direction.
Philadelphia hasn’t had an identity on the power play since the departure of Claude Giroux, who expertly ran the 1-3-1 formation that produced at a high level in the 2010s thanks to the deft playmaking of Giroux and Jakub Voracek and the net-front prowess of Wayne Simmonds and Scott Hartnell. It doesn’t feel like any of the current Flyers have established themselves in a role on the PP, although players like Foerster (elite shot) and Morgan Frost (good hands, strong on zone entries) should have the skills to thrive. If this unit fails again, it could mean a coaching change and accelerate the need to add more NHL-ready talent.
Remember What the Main Goal Is
This was mentioned above, but it’s worth re-stating because of how likely it is to happen. With the Flyers coming so close to making the playoffs last season, it’s natural for some to expect taking a step forward means making the playoffs. Doing so would be nice for everything from fan interest to team morale to getting playoff experience for the youth and getting through “the learning experience” playoff run (which usually doesn’t last long) sooner rather than later.
Related: Do the Flyers Need to Provide Matvei Michkov with an Elite Center?
But the Flyers aren’t at the point of chasing immediate satisfaction, yet. They will have one of the younger rosters in the NHL and they stood pat in the offseason while many of the teams on the playoff bubble in the East last season made significant additions. It’s okay if the Flyers stagnate or even slightly regress in the standings while taking steps forward in other areas — namely the ones mentioned above. Success doesn’t have to be linear, but they must achieve it in whatever form it takes when the puck drops in just over a month.
