The Philadelphia Flyers are in the midst of a five-game losing streak, which has led to them falling out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Nonetheless, they’ve exceeded preseason expectations, and it has many fans excited for what could be on the horizon.
The rationale is logical. If this young Flyers group can be in the mix for a playoff spot, they could be a contender within the next two or three seasons.
But this argument isn’t taking one key detail into account: how the Flyers are winning games. You see, the team’s veterans are the ones getting big minutes—not the young guns. If Philadelphia continues to shelter its young players, stagnation is more likely than legitimate improvement.
Flyers Are Winning Through Their Veterans
The Flyers have seven forwards averaging at least 16 minutes of ice time per night and four defensemen averaging at least 20. They are the following, sorted by ice time (descending):
- Forwards: Travis Konecny, Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, Tyson Foerster, Sean Couturier, Owen Tippett, Noah Cates
- Defensemen: Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Rasmus Ristolainen
If you throw starting netminder Dan Vladař into the mix, this is the group that is dictating the outcome of the 2025–26 season. An extended core, if you will. Anyone else isn’t getting enough ice time to have a true impact.
The problem comes with these players’ ages. By the end of the regular season, eight of the 12 players will be at least 27 years old. Jamie Drysdale and Tyson Foerster will be the two youngest at 24.
In other words, almost everyone is in or beyond their prime. Drysdale and Foerster may have more room for growth, and Cam York and Trevor Zegras could take another step, but that’s really about it. Not to mention, Vladař is having an outlier campaign—who’s to say it’s sustainable?
These players are being deployed as the extended core. If they stagnate, the team stagnates. Based on aging trends, that’s quite likely.
Flyers Must Cater to Martone and Michkov
The Flyers aren’t going to contend for championships if that group is the “core.” That’s why the team has been rebuilding these last few seasons—you need superstars, of course. To win the Stanley Cup, you must cater to these superstars. In the Flyers’ case, those two are Porter Martone and Matvei Michkov.
Related: Flyers’ Struggles Against Lightning Show How Far They Have to Go
That’s the problem at hand. At least right now, head coach Rick Tocchet doesn’t seem interested in catering to one of those hopeful superstars: Michkov. Instead of Tocchet adjusting his north–south, defense-first system, the 21-year-old has had to completely alter his game to fit in.
When Martone makes his NHL debut, it’s possible that he’s a better fit for this system. But at the end of the day, you need both players—your two best players—operating at maximum efficiency. Anything less, and your odds of winning a Stanley Cup fall to almost zero.
The first step for progress here is changing the deployment. That means getting Michkov and, eventually, Martone super involved.
The second step is making sure they are being catered to. That doesn’t mean letting them go rogue, but you mustn’t stifle their impact.
It’s a reasonable concern to have, though, that Tocchet may be unwilling to do either of these things. After all, it would essentially redefine the Flyers—the current “core” is a collection of two-way guys (something Martone and Michkov are not). Asking the coach to deviate from that may not go over well.
If the Flyers don’t alter their deployment, it’s reasonable that long-term stagnation is ahead. Is the head coach willing to comply without forcing Martone and Michkov to deviate from what makes them great?
