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[Philadelphia Flyers]

What Ty Murchison sticking around means for rest of Flyers’ depth defensemen

When the Flyers announced that Cam York would miss another short stretch of time with an upper-body injury on December 4, it seemed like the most likely outcome was that the team would just reinsert Yegor Zamula to fill the momentary void, and call up someone from Lehigh Valley with past NHL experience to sit as the seventh defender,

But on December 6, the Flyers made the somewhat surprising decision to call up the 22-year old Ty Murchison instead. Murchison had played 21 games with the Phantoms, amassing a goal and four points after making his AHL debut late last year. He brings physicality and 6-foot-2, 207 pound frame to a defensive corps that has skewed a bit on the smaller side, especially in the absence of Rasmus Ristolainen.

But it turned out that this was not just a paper transaction in order to have another body in case of emergency or further injuries; the front office and Rick Tocchet wanted to give the former Arizona State Sun Devil a real look, resulting in Murchison making his NHL debut in the December 9 win over San Jose.

Murchison would then get another game just two days later, when the Flyers lost to the Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime.

When looking at Lehigh Valley’s defensive options, there were much more seemingly straightforward options as a stop gap before you get to Murchison. Adam Ginning was recently waived, but has repeatedly been shuttled back and forth for short periods. Helge Grans also made a brief appearance in the NHL last season, and has a wealth more pro experience than Murchison does.

It seems as if the Flyers are changing how they view their depth options, and they no longer see names like Ginning and Grans as players they need to try and get up to the big club in the case of an injury. Not only does the Murchison promotion say a lot about how impressive the young defender has been in his first full pro season, it also brings into question the futures of players such as Zamula, Ginning, and Grans. Trades for Maxence Guenette, Christian Kyrou, and Roman Schmidt, along with the return of Oliver Bonk from injury, have greatly changed the makeup of the Flyers defensive depth in the minor leagues. Dennis Gilbert and Ethan Samson were both jettisoned, and it seems that Emil Andrae is finally establishing himself as an NHL regular. There is an obvious depth remodel going on, and it doesn’t seem like it’s particularly good news for the NHL futures of players like Grans and Ginning, who have gotten cups of coffee in the NHL and multiple training camps to try and secure an NHL role, to no avail.

Murchison’s spot on the Flyers’ depth chart going forward​

With Ristolainen getting ready to return and York coming back any game now, the Flyers will soon have a solid eight man rotation to try and sort through on the back end, with York, Sanheim, Risto, Andrae, Juulsen, Seeler, Drysdale, Murchison and Zamula all fighting for NHL minutes. And while it may be early to proclaim Murchison a part of the future, the quotes coming out of Rick Tocchet seem to suggest that he views him as part of the discussion.

Sounds like there's a good chance Ty Murchison gets another game tomorrow. Tocchet said that "if he keeps playing well for us, we're going to have to make some hard decisions."

— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) December 10, 2025

That all but confirms that Murchison has jumped the queue in terms of depth defenders, at least for now. For the other defensive options stuck in the AHL who are aging out of the “prospect” tag, their time in the organization might be running thin. Ginning, Grans, and even Zamula, all have been given chances to increase their organizational standing throughout their last year and change, and failed to really make an impact.

There is a chance this desire to revamp the defensive depth kicked into overdrive after training camp, when Cam York was ruled out to start the season. There were NHL minutes up for grabs, but none of the players on the bubble really took advantage of the opportunity. It ended up that Ginning, Juulsen, and Gilbert all started on the opening night roster essentially by default. No one stood out in camp or the preseason, and it left the Flyers with some tough decisions to make as they tried and re-orient their AHL affiliate after John Snowden took over as Head Coach.

Ultimately, it seems like the Flyers have chosen to look down some more non-traditional routes in order to find some defensive support, and while it’s only been a handful of games, that strategy seems to bearing fruit. It also signals that there may be some more turnover to come as the Flyers continue to pivot away from their plethora of below-replacement level options.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...nd-means-for-rest-of-flyers-depth-defensemen/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Takeaways: Flyers battle back to tie but once again lose in a shootout to Carolina 3-2

The Flyers were down 2-0, showed some moxie and character to tie the game up 2-2 late in the game, but lost their second consecutive shootout to Carolina 3-2.

The basics​

First period: 5:44- William Carrier (Sean Walker, Jordan Staal), 15:53- Taylor Hall (Alexander Nikishin, Jackson Blake) (PPG), 19:07- Jamie Drysdale (Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov)
Second period: No scoring
Third period: 18:08- Trevor Zegras (Travis Konecny, Christan Dvorak)
Overtime: No scoring
Shootout: Seth Jarvis- No goal, Trevor Zegras- No goal, Andrei Svechnikov- Goal, Christian Dvorak- No goal, Jackson Blake- No goal, Matvei Michkov- No goal
SOG: 26 (PHI) – 33 (CAR)

Some takeaways​

Comeback kids

The Flyers were down 2-0, but battled back. And it’s almost becoming habit. With the goalie pulled for the extra attacker, Travis Konecny fed Trevor Zegras a nice pass to Zegras who had a decent portion of an empty net to beat Brandon Bussi to tie things up 2-2 late in the third. The Flyers nearly had a chance to eke out a regulation win but couldn’t jam the puck by Bussi.

With their net empty, the Philadelphia Flyers tied things up with a Trevor Zegras goal#CarolinaCulture #LetsGoFlyers #NHL pic.twitter.com/8gJ9Y9riXA

— Queen of the Puck (@rbarkleyhockey) December 15, 2025

Unfortunately, the overtime session saw a rather tough penalty to take when Seth Jarvis blew by brink but blew a tire when he toe-picked. The officials saw it as a Bobby Brink trip. A huge kill concluded with Cam York breaking his stick, Sean Couturier clearing the puck, and Philadelphia nearly scoring the game-winner.

Not much animosity

Despite playing against each other less than 24 hours earlier, the Flyers and the Canes couldn’t scrounge up much vitriol Sunday. And unlike Saturday’s contest, the Canes got the opening handful of shots while Philadelphia was still seeking their first. They also got the first power play, with Andrei Svechnikov blasting a one-timer into Nick Seeler’s leg. Seeler was down momentarily before he got back up and helped the Flyers make the clear. Sadly, some mix up between the Flyers forwards (Travis Konecny and Christian Dvorak) in their own zone resulted in a shot from the point. The puck didn’t make it that far but William Carrier got the rebound who wristed the puck by Vladar for a 1-0 lead.

#Flyers 0 @ #Hurricanes 1 [P1-14:16]:

Goal: William Carrier (3)
34' Deep Lead-Taking Wrister

Assists: Unassisted#LetsGoFlyers #CarolinaCulture #NHL pic.twitter.com/Dlfigrd4k4

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalsVideo) December 14, 2025

Thankfully, the Flyers got the better of the play the longer the first period went on, getting more pressure and offensive zone time.

Vladar very good

Dan Vladar was holding Philadelphia in the game after the first period, making 12 stops on 14 shots. He kept it from being a laugher with some good saves throughout the first, including a few late in the first before the Flyers scored their first of the night. There was one section in the second where the Canes fired three shots off in about six seconds. It wouldn’t be very noteworthy except for it being a few consecutive faceoffs that slowed things down to a crawl. He also made a key save on a two-on-one midway through the game, stoning Taylor Hall in deep. Perhaps the biggest of the night was on a breakaway after a Zegras giveaway allowed K’Andre Miller in alone. Miller deked but Vladar got his pad on it to knock it away from harm.

Return of the York

Cam York returned from a few games away, and had some rust on him to start. An early giveaway led to a Carolina chance but Vladar knocked the puck away with his mask. For the most part, York settled in rather quickly along with longtime partner Travis Sanheim. In the second period he got a long wrist shot off that Trevor Zegras nearly got his stick on.

York was just over 15 minutes of ice time after two periods, with three blocked shots and a few giveaways. Overall, he was doing and looking okay against a team that loves to pressure and forecheck the hell out of the opposition.

Glorified G

Carl Grundstrom was on the ice for the opening faceoff alongside Garnet Hathaway and center Rodrigo Abols. Abols fell heavily into the boards on the first rush but the line looked better than any fourth line the Flyers have had 30 games in. Sadly, if Garnet Hathaway didn’t have bad luck he’d have no luck at all. With Philadelphia already down 2-0, Hathaway knocked the puck out of the air and into the crowd for a delay of game penalty. They killed it and, on a delayed call to Carolina, the Flyers pulled Vladar to make it six-on-five. They were successful this time, as a Jamie Drysdale shot (that hit Carrier) beat the Canes’ Brandon Bussi for a crucial goal to cut the lead in half.

JAMIE DRYSDALE MAKES IT A 2-1 GAME!!! ZEGRAS AND MATVEI ASSISTS. 2-1!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/753dTyVthZ

— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) December 14, 2025

The Flyers nearly tied it up seconds later as Owen Tippett nearly scored and Matvei Michkov was at the doorstep but could finagle the puck over the line.

But back to Grundstrom. He seems to be a calming factor on this line and might be the key that final gets this three-man unit on the rails after what’s been a hellish two months and change.

A man advantage? A few actually.

It only took 68 minutes of play but the Flyers finally got their first power play against Carolina this weekend when Cam York was tripped up. The possession on the delayed penalty didn’t materialize in anything. The only bizarre aspect was three players looking for the puck around Vladar as Konecny scooted up ice with it. A second power play minutes later was far more promising and probably pleased head coach Rick Tocchet. They used the bumper, albeit briefly, but had movement and a decent chance. The second half was spent primarily in the Flyers zone and went belly up.

Meanwhile on the other side of things, the Flyers penalty killing unit was called upon after a rather foolish minor from Nikita Grebenkin who bopped the Carolina defenseman in the mouth. It was an important kill as Philadelphia wanted to avoid a 2-0 deficit late in the first. That didn’t happen. Taylor Hall deflected an Alexander Nikishin blast from the point between Vladar’s legs, giving Carolina the two-goal lead while the Flyers sought shot number three.

With under four to go in the second period, Garnet Hathaway drew another minor penalty which put Philadelphia again on the power play. A good keep by Drysdale caused some havoc seconds later with Zegras and Bobby Brink having grand chances to tie the game. Drysdale took a tripping penalty with 48 seconds left in the power play, resulting in more four-on-four hockey prior to a Carolina shortened man advantage.

PS: one more power play

After a slashing call early in period three, the Flyers once again tried to solve Carolina’s penalty kill. Zegras, acting as the quarterback, tried to make some magic. Noah Cates had a great chance to tie it but missed. Cates, who got filled in just after the chance, ended up taking a minor which once again negated a power play. It’s bad enough the Flyers are finding it difficult scoring with two minutes, they can’t shoot themselves in the foot halving their man advantage with penalties of their own. Philadelphia had some chances four-on-four, including Hathaway, Tippett, Abols, and Christian Dvorak all almost tying things up. All came up empty-handed.

Seriously, wtf?

The Flyers were initially four-on-four after Emil Andrae and a Canes player got into a tussle. However, the duo of Couturier and Owen Tippett looked beyond lost in their coverages and trying to make a simple clear. Both had a few occasions to do so, but couldn’t execute when needed. Even when the captain slowly crawled over the center line to make a change, he simply rifled the puck into the boards near the Flyers bench. The bounce caused a three-on-one for Carolina. Vladar was able to keep the gaffes from costing Philadelphia on the scoreboard. But just one brain cramp after another.

Shootout foibles

Although the Flyers couldn’t score to continue the shootout, perhaps the biggest question was the status of Vladar. The goalie took a knee to the side of the head after Jackson Blake’s attempt and was holding his head afterwards. Hopefully it’s nothing that could keep him out of the lineup.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...nce-again-lose-in-a-shootout-to-carolina-3-2/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers’ 3 Stars of the Week: Trevor Zegras continues to shine

The Philadelphia Flyers walked through the quicksands of increasingly tough opponents last week and proceeded to do everything that they are known to do this season. Nothing major was figured out — there were no breakthroughs or discoveries that have us all giddy at the thought of going through more of this campaign. It was the Flyers trying to play Rick Tocchet-style low-event hockey against some of the NHL’s best teams and getting some loser points out of their efforts.

A nice and tidy 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks was a nice little establishing note — to recognize that despite some improvement, that team is still below them in terms of overall talent and ability — but then with three games against the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes to wrap up the week, it was staring down the barrel that could send us tumbling down some real pessimism.

Well, an overtime loss to Vegas and then back-to-back shootout losses to the intradivisional Hurricanes gave the Flyers three points in the standings and three performances that were neither comfortable or concerning. There were no signature games woven in the week but instead we got some Flyers examples of withstanding and pushing through .

Four points in those four games is just about what we kind of expected.

Anyways, let’s look at some players who did some stuff.

3. Carl Grundstrom​

2 goals, 3 points, not scored against while on the fourth line

Carl Grundstrom is my third star for just being able to come up in a bad situation. The Flyers’ fourth line was a complete disaster and while fourth lines are not really consequential in the grand scheme of things, to have zero goals scored while that bottom-tier trio was on the ice for this team, was just overall bad.

So, in walks Grundstrom to take over for Nikita Grebenkin as he tries to do a Tyson Foerster impression for the time being, and almost instantly he makes an impact. Grundstrom scored in the Flyers’ win over the Sharks for the first goal from the fourth line of the season.

Not a bad way to greet your former team! #SJSvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/0jWvEe5k4G

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 10, 2025​

Thankfully, he wasn’t done there. The 28-year-old winger managed to score again with an absolute snipe off the rush, to tie the first game against the Hurricanes and eventually force the extra period.

For doing this, he has more than earned a regular spot in the lineup (while there is one). Pushing the Flyers’ fourth line into not being a complete disaster offensively felt like a Herculean task and Grundstrom was able to have a very good week to at least temporarily calm down that pressing need to change something up with that trio.

2. Christian Dvorak​

1 goal, 5 points, 9 shots, and looked good

Dvorak has done everything asked of him and then some and last week was a great example of that. His line basically drove the Flyers offensively and while there’s nothing flashy coming off the stick of the veteran center, he was just there a whole lot and that is why he managed to score five points in the four games against some tough opponents last week.

It is truly hard to really expand on Christian Dvorak of all players when the reason he got a whole lot of those points, that led him to being the second star of the week, is the first star of the week.

1. Trevor Zegras​

3 goals, 3 primary assists, 6 points, and was clearly the Flyers’ best player in most games

It certainly feels like Trevor Zegras is just driving this whole thing right now. Sure, some players are chipping in but this week was really just Zegras trying to control a whole lot for the Flyers and converting a solid amount of his chances.

ZEGRAS TIES IT WITH LESS THAN 2 MINUTES LEFT pic.twitter.com/7oLgaDKC9x

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 15, 2025​

And right now, the puck is ending up in the back of the net when Zegras is out there. And with three goals and all three of his assists being primary, when those goals happen it is because of things that Zegras specifically does. He’s not just skating by and managing to pick up some points — Zegras is the focal point of the offense when he is on the ice and this past week a whole lot of goals happened when he was out there.

Simply for that, Zegras more than earns the first star of the week in what ended up being a mildly interesting week for the Flyers.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/flyers-3-stars-of-the-week-trevor-zegras-continues-to-shine/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Tuesday Morning Fly By: Allons-y

*The boys are back at it tonight in Montreal looking to get off the schnide. Finishing a game in 60 minutes, that’d be a nice change too. Anyhoo, yesterday we learned the Flyers will be having a special “Fourth Wing” game in March. Does this mean anything to you? If so, do you like this? [Flyers]

*That Trevor Zegras, he’s so hot right now. Seriously though, kid’s having a career year. It’s been very fun to watch. [Inquirer]

*Related, you’ll never guess who’s headlining this week’s 3 Stars. [BSH]

*Alright so if you had to pick which Flyers’ prospect is the one rising fastest through the farm-system ranks, who ya got? Discuss amongst yourselves. Then see what these people think. [The Athletic]

*Looking around the league, the Sabres are trying to fix things, presumably. Kicking it off by firing the GM, as one does. [TSN]

*And finally… anyone else already full in Holiday Mode? Zero motivaton over here. Anyway, we’ve got the Flyers version of the 12 Days of Christmas. Very important content. We suggest you read it. [BSH]

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/tuesday-morning-fly-by-allons-y/