RSS Flyers Team Notes

[Philadelphia Flyers]

What Flyers’ next 5 games will (and won’t) tell us before NHL trade deadline

The Flyers started their 26-game gauntlet to wrap up the season Wednesday night against the Capitals. It’ was a four-point divisional game against a club who, like Philadelphia, are on the outside looking in regarding a playoff spot. And despite the fact the Flyers have three games in hand on Washington, the team has a batch of clubs they have catch if they want to get a wildcard spot. Or even back in the conversation. Perhaps the one saving grace is that Philadelphia might have a better but narrower road to earning the third spot in the Metropolitan Division.

Heading into Wednesday’s slate, the Flyers found themselves eight points back of the Islanders and had two games in hand on them. The optimist would see that as Philadelphia only being four points back on a club that doesn’t really strike fear into the hearts of many in the Eastern Conference. As well, news on Sidney Crosby’s injury should probably send the Penguins crashing back to earth in a hurry, not taking the Penguins completely out of the loop but putting a huge nail in their coffin.

However, the pessimist and possible realist would understand the Flyers are going to have to play north of .750 to be knocking on the door. That’s basically winning 18 to 20 of their remaining games. And a batch of them needing to be won in 60 minutes. It’s not quite impossible, but when you have to begin scoreboard watching in late February and not in early to mid-April, then you know you have one hell of a road to travel to get to the post-season. Simply put, there’s a chance. But it’s not a very high percentage chance. The tragic number is far more in play than the magic number right now.

So, having said all that, will the next five games before the March trade deadline tell us really anything about the Flyers that the first 57 games didn’t tell a person? It might. We take a look at a few things that might move the needle the next few games and some that are pretty much set in stone.

Ristolainen trade stock? Absolutely​

When the Olympics began, many anticipated Finnish defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen would be doing good to simply conclude the international competition in one piece. A few probably believed he would be injured by a gust of wind given his prior history of recurring injuries. However, Ristolainen was one of Team Finland’s surprising bright spots. And that high level of play has certainly raised his trade stock heading into next week. Speculation has run rampant about who is coveting the big blueliner, with Western Conference teams reportedly kicking the tires on Ristolainen. It has been almost a dream come true for Flyers general manager Danny Briere, especially considering how low in the trade deadline pecking order he was after Christmas.

The Flyers most likely won’t rush into any trade package if there’s a few suitors for him. The goal is to get the most from a team possible, whether it’s a draft pick, a prospect, or possibly both. What makes it one of the few question marks remaining in the season is that his trade value has never been higher. But if the deal or trade doesn’t make sense right now, Briere could hold off if his asking price isn’t met. It’s not impossible to see Ristolainen and his last year of his contract traded in the summer. It just makes the idea of seeing what looked like a huge anchor for another season now in the rearview mirror so damn tempting. Regardless of what the Flyers do in these next six games, it should be completely irrelevant when it comes to shipping the defenseman out of town.

All would be happy if Ristolainen plays playoff hockey in April, regardless of the team he’s with.

Special teams improvement? Not a chance!​

The Flyers power play is broken. No time off or no thousands of reps will fix what is a huge issue. It has been for a few seasons. It hasn’t really improved at all these season. Initially a goal might have been simply getting into the top 20 of the league rankings. But heading into Wednesday’s game, Philadelphia was 28th in pure power play effectiveness. And 31st when you use the net power play percentage. Only Colorado was worse. Unless Philadelphia went on an insane hot streak where they’re clicking at 40 to 45 per cent for a third of the season, the Flyers are going to need to address the power play in the off season by bringing in more talent. Or figuratively beating out of the players the low percentage plays and ridiculously deliberate thought processes many of the Flyers have used the last few seasons with a man advantage.

What’s probably even more concerning is the penalty kill. What looked so strong in the early part of the season disappeared in recent months. They sit roughly in the middle of the league in penalty killing and net penalty killing (17th and 16th, respectively). That’s not utterly terrible like that power play. Yet when you’re good at something, you want to be good at it from start to finish (and beyond game 82). Clearly, the Flyers brass are going to have to take a look at both special teams and see what can be done to get both playing far more consistently than they have been thus far. That’s not something that’s going to get rectified in the next 15 periods of hockey.

Contract extensions? No​

Aside from Rodrigo Abols, Nic Deslauriers, Carl Grundstrom, and Noah Juulsen who are all unrestricted free agents at season’s end, the Flyers have a lot of pieces locked in. However, a few deals on restricted free agents like Bobby Brink, Nikita Grebenkin, Emil Andrae, Jamie Drysdale, and Trevor Zegras will be on Briere’s to-do list. A few will get qualifying offers to retain their rights. A few more — especially Drysdale and Zegras — could be looking at getting locked up for a while. And each on a team-friendlier cap hit. What shouldn’t be a factor in any of these negotiations is what this quintet of players does or does not do in the homestretch and over the next week to 10 days.

Longer deals usually aren’t negotiated in a few days or over a few phone calls. Both the team and the player (and their agent) usually avoid the distraction of numbers and terms so the player can simply focus on the game in front of them. It’s not the rule, particularly considering Nick Seeler was signed to a four-year contract near the trade deadline within hours of Sean Walker shipped off to Colorado. It would be highly unlikely, particularly for players whose rights are still owned by the Flyers.

It appears that some of these five players are in line for more money in their wallets. But no general manager not named Paul Holmgren would see a player not named Andrew MacDonald and sign him based on a few weeks of play. Those days are over, even for those who still remain pissed off at the Christian Dvorak extension. The only thing Briere should be concerned about between now and the deadline is moving out some pieces for the future, not trying to negotiate contracts that can wait until the offseason.

A silver lining for the Mad Russian? Perhaps​

Perhaps the biggest storyline the rest of the way will be how Matvei Michkov could possibly turn his rather poor season thus far around. Much has been written and discussed about the previous months. And not as much has been said since Briere cleared the air for everyone involved. Michkov had a great start last season after the 4 Nations Face-Off. And there’s nothing to suggest he’s incapable of doing the same damn thing. If he put a handful of multi-point games together, or even scored a crucial game-winning goal late in the game or in overtime, it might be enough to have him relax a lot more and look like the Michkov most fell in love with in year one.

Nobody sees the last 26 games as a measuring stick for where he’s at in his career trajectory. Predicting a youngster’s third professional season in the National Hockey League on five or 25 games would be insane. However, it could be enough of a boost to have Michkov pining for October and year three to get started. Having him feeling good about his game regardless of what the team does certainly can’t hurt.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...l-and-wont-tell-us-before-nhl-trade-deadline/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers @ Rangers: How to watch, lineups, and gamethread

The Philadelphia Flyers are back, again! After restarting their season in Washington Wednesday night (and losing) the Flyers are now in New York City to face a Rangers team with an actually worse record. It’s going to be a, well, a game.

Puck drop: 8:00 p.m.
How to watch/listen:
: ESPN
: 93.3 WMMR

Pregame reading​

• The Flyers have five games to play before the NHL trade deadline next Friday. What will those games tell us as to how general manager Danny Briere could approach any transactions? [BSH]
• In case you missed Wednesday’s game, we have you covered with all the important takeaways as the Flyers returned to action from the Olympic break. [BSH]

Pregame watching​

By the numbers​

Philadelphia Flyers – 25-20-11 (6th in Metro)

Goals: Travis Konecny (23)
Assists: Travis Konecny (32)
Points: Travis Konecny (54)

New York Rangers– 22-26-6 (8th in Metro)

Goals: Mika Zibanejad (23)
Assists: Artemi Panarin (38)
Points: Artemi Panarin (57)

Projected lineups​

Philadelphia Flyers

Trevor Zegras — Christian Dvorak — Travis Konecny
Denver Barkey — Sean Couturier — Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov — Noah Cates — Bobby Brink
Nikita Grebenkin — Carl Grundstrom — Garnet Hathaway

Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler — Noah Juulsen

Sam

New York Rangers

Gabe Perreault — Mika Zibanejad — J.T. Miller
Will Cuylle — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafreniere
Conor Sheary — Noah Laba — Taylor Raddysh
Adam Edstrom — Sam Carrick — Brennan Othmann

Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox
Braden Schneider — Will Borgen
Matthew Robertson — Vincent Iorio

Igor Shesterkin
(Jonathan Quick)

Storylines to watch​

How will the Flyers bounce back?

The Philadelphia Flyers experienced a whole lot of misery on their return to the ice Wednesday night. Now less than 24 hours later and after a trip up to The Big Apple, they have to face a similarly positioned team in the Rangers. It’s an opportunity to maybe get some more offensive juice going — but they will need to rebound quickly and after taking more than two weeks off of hockey, that’s probably a tough ask.

Meanwhile, the Rangers are playing their first game back from the break so they will be full of piss and vinegar as they attempt to save their season.

Who will do some scoring?

Not to harp on this team too much, but, like, in the first game after taking some time off, and not even having important Olympians on your team, you are able to score just one goal? And it comes from Noah Cates? Where were the players who are actually on the team to score goals? Matvei Michkov led all forwards in shots last night, and with just two.

Against the Rangers, hopefully there is some sign of offensive life. Maybe. Or, maybe they’ll just tank the rest of the season for a better outcome.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/flyers-rangers-how-to-watch-lineups-and-gamethread-2/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Elliotte Friedman says Flyers could struggle to trade Rasmus Ristolainen

The Philadelphia Flyers are approaching this trade deadline from a unique angle. While most other teams who are several points out of a playoff spot, are gearing up to sell off their pending free agents or possibly move on from some core pieces, the Flyers don’t really have much of that. No bounty of veterans who they can get a heaping pile of draft picks for to help their rebuild, it’s just going to largely be status quo.

That is except one specific player.

Rasmus Ristolainen is the one player that the Flyers have who they can sell off for a difference-making level of value — that is at least what we hope. The 31-year-old defenseman has been named on countless trade boards, is heavily involved in the rumor mill, and is generally just a player that makes total sense to move on from for a rebuilding team. Despite him being under contract for one more season, it certainly feels more likely than not that the Flyers will be trading Ristolainen before the deadline next Friday.

Well, that is unless they hit a major challenge in being able to actually move the player.

Why the Flyers could face challenge trading Rasmus Ristolainen at deadline​

On Friday morning’s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman narrowed in on the situation in Philadelphia. While there has been major speculation on what the Flyers are looking for in return for Ristolainen and what teams could be interested, Friedman mentioned something that no one has really brought up: The Flyers could struggle to find the right fit because there are just so many defensemen available.

“Philly, they’re a seller. Ristolainen, another guy who, like Trocheck, did nothing at the Olympics to hurt his stature. Played very well — hit McDavid a couple of times. The thing that someone said to me though is, there’s a lot of [defensemen] out there, a lot. And it’s not that people don’t like this player, who’s also got a reputation as an excellent teammate, by the way. It’s just that the challenge for the Flyers will be is, there’s a lot of [defensemen] out there,” Friedman said.

“So, if you don’t like the price on him, unless you’ve really got your heart set on him, there’s other players you can move to. That’s the challenge for Philly.”

That’s not great!

It’s true that Ristolainen’s stock has not been higher in a very long time. His performance for Finland at the Olympics showed that he can bring it when the game is the toughest (and stay healthy while doing it). And while we were dreaming of maybe a team actually coughing up a first-round pick to acquire him, the reality that there are just a boatload of similar players on the market, might prevent that from happening.

Whether it’s Tyler Myers, Justin Faulk, Dougie Hamilton, Logan Stanley, Luke Schenn, Brandon Carlo, Connor Murphy, Mackenzie Weegar, Mario Ferraro, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Zach Whitecloud, or [takes deep breath] John Klingberg — there is just a lot of experienced blueliners that could be moved in the next week. A playoff team who wants to find some help on their back end can just go window shopping, strolling down the boulevard as the rugged defensemen plead to get out from their loser teams and experience some meaningful hockey.

The one advantage that the Flyers do actually have over the other teams moving players like this, is that Ristolainen does not have any trade protection whatsoever. Outside of Schenn, Stanley, Whitecloud, and Ferraro, all the other blueliners named above have some level of no-trade clause and could prevent their team from moving them to certain destinations. Now, we don’t doubt that it would be hard to convince the likes of Dougie Hamilton to leave the Devils and go to a more favorable destination, but it can still be a hurdle the teams have to leap over.

But, it’s just so much and there aren’t that many spots available.

That’s why it’s not difficult to imagine the Flyers are going to have problems before the trade deadline. We know that they hold onto their own valuations for their players extremely tight — they weren’t going to trade Scott Laughton until they got that first-round pick; they weren’t going to move pending free agent Sean Walker unless they got that first-round pick (which they had to take on Ryan Johansen for). It’s a stubbornness that has worked out for them very well.

But, with so many similar players available, a team can just go ahead and pay the second-round pick for Whitecloud instead. Or, go get the younger Mario Ferraro and re-sign him to a cheaper deal, while also possibly paying less than a first-rounder for him.

For right now, it seems like the Flyers either need to be more flexible with what they want in return for their player, or pray that a playoff team really narrows in on Ristolainen and thinks he’s so much better than the other available defensemen.

We’ll see how it all plays out in the next seven days.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...s-could-struggle-to-trade-rasmus-ristolainen/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Could Flyers land Elias Pettersson after Olympic chat with Rick Tocchet?

With the trade deadline looming, and all the rampant speculation that emerges in the days leading up to it, may we present another little interesting tidbit. Perhaps it’s nothing more than a coach and a player he coached last season catching up on life and family, but according to Vancouver Canucks insider and sports radio host Rick Dhaliwal, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet and Canucks center Elias Pettersson had a rather lengthy discussion during the Olympics.

Tocchet, who was one of Team Canada’s assistant coaches, and Pettersson, who was playing for Sweden, reportedly got together but nothing was specifically revealed in terms of what the two spoke about.

“Someone told me earlier this week that in Italy at the Olympics they saw Rick Tocchet and Elias Pettersson having a long conversation at the (Olympic) village,” Dhaliwal told Halford and Brough In the Morning on Friday morning. “I did get that verified, I can’t just get it and then just relay it to you, but I did get it verified. These two guys could’ve walked by each other in the village and not said, ‘Boo.’ But they didn’t, they had a lengthy talk. Those that think that Tocchet hated Pettersson, that’s not accurate. Just like every coach in the world, he needed to see more from his star player. He needed more effort, more intensity, more compete, better habits. And he needed the care level to go up. The same things that (current Vancouver coach) Adam Foote is looking from Elias Pettersson this year.

“Good on Tocchet for taking the time to talk with Pettersson in Italy. It shows you the player/coach relationship doesn’t need to end at the rink. Deep down Tocchet did care about Pettersson regardless of how things ended.” Dhaliwal added the duo had a “very good long talk” about “family and everything under the sun” and it was “very cool” for the two to have a chat.

Of course, two people having a conversation at an international competition isn’t a guarantee Pettersson is heading from Vancouver directly to the Flyers. A lot of things would have to be aligned for that to be possible. But seeing both conversing can’t help but be a plus should Philadelphia start kicking the tires on the center.

Pettersson, 27, was part of a whirlwind of controversy last season when he and former Canucks forward JT Miller didn’t quite see eye to eye most of the time. The result was Miller being sent off to the Rangers for a 2025 first-round pick, Victor Mancini, and Filip Chytl on Feb. 1, 2025. Meanwhile Pettersson has had a rather trying last two seasons. After amassing 102 points in 2022-23, and then 89 points the following season, the forward had just 46 points in 64 games in 2024-25. This season hasn’t been much better frankly, as he has just 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points in 50 games. Needless to say, he, much like the Canucks, have hit the skids in a big way.

But could the Flyers put together an offer this coming week to land Pettersson and finally give the club a sorely needed top-line center they haven’t had since Claude Giroux was in his prime? Well, that is easier said than done perhaps.

“A lot of these Canucks veterans are easier to move at the NHL Draft or the summer” Dhaliwal said Friday morning on Vancouver radio station 650 AM. “DeBrusk, Garland, Boeser, Pettersson, they’re all underachieving, they’ve all got massive money and massive term left on their deals.” He added that it’s basically next to impossible for any contender this season to take on any of those contracts at the trade deadline, noting how close so many are to the salary cap ceiling. The result is that the Canucks may have to look to lesser teams, those hoping to turn the corner or those who are a few years away from becoming contenders themselves.

Could the Flyers land Elias Pettersson?​

Enter the Flyers? Dhaliwal said teams are calling and inquiring about Pettersson, but thought it was doubtful teams could take on the rather hefty cap hit of $11.6 million completely, especially considering the center’s contract is for another six years after the 2025-26 season. However, knowing the Flyers could acquire that top line center with no contract extension discussion for six more seasons might be a huge advantage, particularly if Pettersson could rediscover his playmaking touch. With the rising cap ceiling, the fact the Flyers have some contracts coming off the books in terms of buyouts and retained contracts, and that there is no real huge contract extension outside of Trevor Zegras to contemplate, it could certainly be doable if both clubs entertained such a trade.

It’s highly doubtful the Flyers could swing a deal to land Pettersson before the trade deadline, but having even a rather superficial discussion between a star player and his former coach certainly couldn’t hurt. It possible Flyers general manager Danny Briere takes a hard look at what needs to be done to acquire a center still in his prime in terms of age but having had some setbacks of late. If Briere’s acquisition of Trevor Zegras has shown anything, it’s that a player who has had a few bad seasons on a bad club can have a breakout or comeback season in a new city and with a change of scenery.

What would it take?​

If the Flyers swallowed the entire contract and left Vancouver holding not a penny in retention, then Philadelphia would certainly have to sweeten the pot. Most likely it would be a multi-piece deal that would include some young prime prospects and/or one or possibly two first-round draft picks down the road. It would be foolish to toss out names as to who the Canucks might desire, but Briere’s “has to make sense” mantra most likely wouldn’t result in the Flyers parting with the likes of Matvei Michkov, Zegras, or Porter Martone for starters.

However, those discussions are for another day. What we know now is that both the former coach of the Canucks and the current top-line center had a nice chat a week or two ago, caught up on some things and left without coming to blows. It’s a very low bar for sure, but if it ended up being a baby step that leads to discussions about Pettersson heading to Philadelphia, then who says no?

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...tersson-after-olympic-chat-with-rick-tocchet/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Do the Flyers’ top forwards have untapped scoring potential?

Hockey is a uniquely cruel sport in its variance. Of the four major North American sports, it is far and away the least removed from process-based outcomes. With an 82-game marathon regular season, good process often wins out in the long run. But with short playoff series preventing small sample sizes, it’s borderline impossible to wait out regressing to the mean.

For the Philadelphia Flyers who sit in 6th place of the Metropolitan Division after Thursday night’s overtime win against the New York Rangers, the stretch run doesn’t have a traditional goal. While Travis Konecny is eager to return to postseason play, the Flyers current point pace of 89 leaves them 10 points or so back of the last wild card spot.

That means for all intents and purposes, the Flyers should be looking at this final 24 game window as a launching pad for next year. In evaluating the Flyers this year, the team’s woes are pretty straight forward, the team’s 166 goals are 23rd in the NHL, and the 182 goals conceded is 20th. This is a slightly below average team, peeling back those results presents an interesting question: are the Flyers getting the most out of the players it’s dressing?

While hockey is the highest variance sport, sometimes it just isn’t a given player’s year. There are all types of environmental factors that can influence production where even if the process is good, the puck still doesn’t go into the back of the net. In understanding the Flyers’ challenges this year, there are a few indicator tests that can serve as a litmus test.

The relationship between expected goals and winning at the high end is pretty strong, the three teams with the highest share of expected goals this season, the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning sit in first, second and third in the entire league respectively.

For the Flyers, their team offense is worth further investigation. On a team level, the Flyers have been credited with 114.92 expected goals this season and scored 112 actual goals on 10.01 shooting percentage. Briefly, expected goals are a means of quantifying the value of a given scoring chance. They’re scaled from 0 to 1, the more likely a chance is to result in a goal, the closer the value is to 1. The likelihood of a shot resulting in a goal is calculated based on historical shot tracking data.

With a small gap between expected goals and actual goals, it’s worth investigating where exactly there might be meat on the bone.

Travis Konecny​

The Flyers most heavily used forward, Konecny is in the prime of his career at 28 years old. The London, Ont. native is the team’s unquestioned heart and soul and growing tired of losing. As to be expected, the forward ranks highly across the board on an individual basis for most shot metric categories.

Konecny is 5th on the team in scoring chances, 7th in high danger chances and 5th in expected goals. It’s a modest disappointment with such a heavy workload, especially at even strength Konecny isn’t closer to first line level ranking in those categories but it speaks to the type of workrate and effort type player he is. It’s not just offense that makes Konecny valuable, but offense is what decides winners and losers in today’s NHL.

At even strength, Konecny has been credited with 9.18 individual expected goals and registered 16 actual goals. That output comes on a 17.20 shooting percentage at even strength which is almost double the league average in that game state. Meaning that while Konecny isn’t necessarily the most efficient player in the offensive zone, his shooting talent makes up for the lack of dangerous chance creation.

This is the gift of a quality hockey player. Someone like Konecny that doesn’t need ideal game states to produce is an outlier, it shows a player good enough to impact the game with less direct influence. It’s effectively outshooting the problem with Konecny’s individual talent. That won’t necessarily drive play and raise the tide for all boats in the way a play driving forward would, but Konecny is undoubtedly the Flyers’ best forward.

Where Konecny could stand to improve his output is on the power play. Improbable as it sounds, in 156:10 of power play time, Konecny has managed a single goal on 4.6 expected goals.

It’s especially surprising because the forward is getting chances from quality areas of the ice. On the shot map above, grey and blue markers represent scoring chance attempts that the goalie saved or misses. With such a high concentration of Konecny’s chances coming from the slot, he needs to convert at a higher rate.

Trevor Zegras​

The Flyers took a calculated gamble on the former 9th overall pick of the Anaheim Ducks last summer. The forward has rewarded them to the tune of 50 points in 58 games and a real puncher’s chance of reaching his career high in points of 65 over the team’s final 24 games. It’s crucial to note that Zegras is in the final year of a three year contract and soon to be 25 years old.

That means for Zegras, he’s two years away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career. While the Flyers absolutely will keep Zegras in the fold beyond this year, it’ll be fascinating to see if the organization stakes a flag in the direction of the team and commits to Zegras with term as opposed to a bridge deal which would take him to unrestricted free agency in two or three years.

Of Flyer players, Zegras ranks fourth in individual expected goals, scoring chances and 5th in high danger chances. The forward is the team’s second most used forward, trailing only Konecny, in playing 18:45 per game, 14:43 of which comes at even strength. This season is within five seconds of his career high in average of 18:50 per game which naturally came when the forward set a career high in points.

Zegras, like Konecny, has outshot his underlying metrics on an individual level. The forward’s been credited with 9.74 expected goals and registered 12 actual goals. At 14.63 shooting percentage, Zegras is about 5 percent over league average in even strength shooting and makes him an intriguing piece.

A plus shot will always play, and unlike Konecny, on the power play, Zegras also outshoots his metrics.

Zegras has the most scoring chances of any Flyer on the power play this season, registering 75 and shooting 22 percent on the 36 shots that have registered on goal. For context, former Hart Trophy winner and power play specialist Leon Draisaitl converts at 23.5 percent.

Sean Couturier​

The maligned Flyer captain is no longer the dominant two-way force he once was. At 33 years old and with 931 regular season games under his belt, the American isn’t quite at the end of the line, but he’s probably best suited for a defense first role in the bottom six if not on the fourth line.

In spite of Couturier’s lack of counting stat production, 5 goals in 57 games, the center has consistently been the Flyers’ fourth most used forward this year. While his 13:44 at even strength is in line with a middle six role, the penalty kill juices his overall time on ice.

When it comes to evaluating Couturier’s season, there are two simultaneous truths. First, he’s not the player he was when he signed his eight year, $7,750,00 per year contract and has dramatically altered his game to stay in the league. Second, the Flyers absolutely need more out of a player with that cap hit in the offensive end of the ice.

It’s not for a lack of trying either, Couturier has played more than 50 percent of his ice time this year with a combination of Owen Tippett, Denver Barkey, Bobby Brink, Matvei Michkov or Travis Konecny. With Couturier as the pivot for offensively inclined wingers, he should’ve by accident stumbled his way into some chances.

This year, Couturier registered 7.8 individual expected goals and converted 5. That’s not a huge discrepancy, but it is potentially part of a larger trend line.

Couturier has underperformed his individual expected goals four of his last five seasons in the NHL and his shooting percentage in that window is below league average at 7.59 at five-on-five. At this point, it’s pretty apparent the old Couturier isn’t coming back. In becoming more of a jam player where Couturier’s value stems from non chance creation game situations, he’s no longer efficient in the offensive zone.

Owen Tippett​

Similarly to Konecny, Owen Tippett is in the prime of his NHL career. At 27 years old and two years into a fairly priced eight year deal, he’s largely played a second line winger’s workload. The former 10th overall pick has proven himself to be a pretty solid, shoot-first winger that has some occasional flash.

Tippet’s 16:25 per game is a minute less than his career high of a few years ago, but his production has taken a modest dip. Tippett has the most individual scoring chances of any player on the team with 212, which is 38 more than the team’s next closest player. On those 212 chances, Tippett produced 10.2 expected goals and potted 15 actual goals.

There are levels to being a shoot first finger and amongst forwards who’ve played at least 600 even strength minutes, Tippett has the 33rd most scoring chances in the entire league.

Notably, Tippett is also 54th amongst all players in the league in high danger chances. Players close include Mikko Rantanen with 56 and Mika Zibanejad with 55. So in the case of Tippett, the metrics are pretty kind. This looks like an upper echelon shooter, the problem becomes putting him in a situation to get the most out of his traits.

Once again, it comes on the power play where a Flyers’ forward stands to get more juice from the squeeze. Tippett doesn’t get nearly the volume of scoring chance opportunities that Zegras does but still has 16 high danger chances on the man advantage this year.

This is an area for the Flyers team wide to improve and something that Tippett in particular would benefit from. A good power play is worth another 10-15 points per season for the players on the unit. That doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but it’s the difference between the 51 point season Tippett is on pace for right now and a 66 point season he could have with a top ten power play.

Matvei Michkov​

Rick Tocchet’s favorite player. The chosen one brought to restore balance to the Flyers. The former 7th overall pick that finished 4th in Calder Trophy voting last year after recording a 63 point season. The right or left winger, depending on the day of the week, is not having as smooth a sophomore campaign.

Purely distilling the down to the on ice work, Michkov is playing 2:05 fewer per game. That in of itself is naturally going to hit a player’s production. The strongest path to counting stat production is ice time, the more minutes you play, the better the chance you have of putting up offense.

Yet, even in a reduced role, Michkov produced the 3rd most shots and scoring chances, second most high danger chances and 3rd most individual expected goals of any player on the team. Michkov’s 9.74 individual expected goals yielded eight actual goals on 8.79 percent shooting. While that shooting percentage at 5-on-5 is a smidge lower than league average, it’s perfectly within the bounds of last year where he shot 10.95 percent.

That modest percentage decline with two fewer minutes per game of ice time is worth quite a few points. Throw in the fact that Michkov is at the lower end of the team’s first power play usage with 118:01 TOI, there is no player in the lineup the Flyers are leaving more meat on the bone with.

The underlying numbers aren’t the most efficient, but Michkov is shooting the puck a ton at even strength and taking those shots from dangerous areas on the ice. There are still 24 regular season games remaining and with the future of the team more important that individual game results, it’s worth seeing what Michkov can do.

Even if he’s not converting at as high of a rate on even strength shot attempts, he’s creating dangerous offense. In the long run, that should yield some better results. While confidence and momentum aren’t measurable, the difference between a player feeling their game and one struggling is obvious. The Flyers need to put Michkov in a situation to get the most out of him, which means maximizing his offense.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/do-the-flyers-top-forwards-have-untapped-scoring-potential/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Report: Flyers hire performance expert from NBA team

A lot has been made of how this current Philadelphia Flyers team might be lacking some conditioning. Youngster Matvei Michkov has been at the center of all of it, of course, but with the likes of Sean Couturier slowing down and more veterans taking a step back, it’s become an underdiscussed and underlying theme to this season.

Well, the team seems to be addressing that issue.

According to New Orleans Pelicans reporter Shamit Dua, the NBA team’s director of performance and sports science Daniel Bove, has been hired by the Flyers.

New Orleans Pelicans Director of Performance and Sports Science Daniel Bove has accepted a position with the Philadelphia Flyers, multiple league sources tell me.

Bove is someone Zion Williamson has routinely credited with his physical improvement and rehab.

— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) February 28, 2026​

There has been no official announcement from Bove or the Flyers, and therefore his role with the Flyers has not been clarified, but it is almost certainly in a similar role as to what he was doing for the Pelicans and for other teams in the NBA for several years.

Flyers reportedly bring in top-level performance expert from the NBA​

Bove has been a mainstay on NBA coaching staffs for the last decade, working in the realm of getting the most out of current players as a sports scientist after graduating from the University of South Florida with a Master of Science in exercise science. In 2016, Bove got his start with the Atlanta Hawks as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for two years before getting hired by the Phoenix Suns as their Director of Performance, where he also worked for two years. In 2020, he was then hired by the Pelicans as their Director of Sports Science and Performance and in 2024 was promoted to their Vice President of High Performance, the position he has been in until now.

So, it’s safe to say that the Flyers might be creating a new role as a director of some sort of sports science division. In addition to their trainers, the Flyers have two performance coach positions — Brandon Wickett is a performance coach, and DeRick O’Connell is the Reconditioning Coordinator and Assistant Performance Coach. Not the most honed in department like those in the NBA who have several staff members focused on bringing the best out of their star players.

To put a cherry on top of this, Bove is a local and is coming back home to Philadelphia for this new position.

To get more information, since we’re not all up to date on what’s going on within NBA coaching staffs, Broad Street Hockey reached out to someone that knows the Pelicans and Bove’s impact on that team. According to this source, Bove is highly respected in his field and seen as one of the top performance coaches in the sport. He uses a lot of data and technology to do his work, and performance analytics would help him do what he needs to do.

It was described as a massive loss for the Pelicans and a great addition for the Flyers.

There will be more information when the hire is made official by the Flyers, but it will be interesting what the focus is behind the scenes and if Michkov’s lack of conditioning to start the season played a role into this hire (our guess is, yes it did).

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/report-flyers-hire-performance-expert-from-nba-team/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Dan Vladar rises again as difference maker for Flyers in win over Bruins

The Flyers came into yesterday afternoon’s game riding high. They had closed out their road back-to-back, which marked their return from the Olympic break, with a massive overtime win over the Rangers on Thursday, and after a difficult run before the break, there was, doubtless, a feeling that their fortunes might be shifting, and this could be the win that helped springboard them into a more successful run down the stretch.

But even in that simmering optimism was a knowledge that yesterday’s matchup against the Bruins would be a much more difficult one — after all, the Rangers had already all but called their season over, and the Bruins, in contrast, are the team the Flyers are chasing for the a spot in the playoff picture. This game was require a bit more from them, and it was going to be important to rise to that challenge, and do it quickly.

But what played out for them yesterday on home ice was, in some ways, a difficult game. The Flyers were slow to get their own offense going, and while both sides had an equally quite quiet first period, the Bruins were really able to pick up steam in the second period, pouring on 16 shots to the Flyers’ three. This was a game that had plenty of opportunities to break open in the wrong way on the Flyers, and while ultimately it was them that were able to take advantage of a couple of good bounces and pull away on the scoresheet, it was goaltender Dan Vladar’s locked-in play that kept them above water in the meantime, and allowed them to get to that point in the first place.

Vladar’s performance was, in short, absolutely critical to the Flyers coming away with this win. It was both a solid and at times quite flashy showing, as he just narrowly missed recording a shutout, but still managed a very respectable 26 saves on 27 shots faced, on the way to his 18th win of the season. It was a huge effort for his team, and certainly one of his best outings of the season, to date.

“Yeah 100 percent,” Jamie Drysdale agreed in his postgame comments. “I mean you guys saw the saves he made throughout that game. You know, the shots were pretty low in the first two periods, but I think pretty much every one of their shots is a grade-A. So, you know, he’s been kicking great and big reason why why we came up with the win.”

It was certainly a huge showing for them in how he was able to put out some fires for them early on and really keep them in this game while the skaters worked to ramp up in front of him, and those skaters recognize that effort, but also how much he does outside of that to help boost his team.

“He’s the loudest guy in the room,” Drysdale said. “Yeah, majorly. You know, he does so much for us off the ice as well. In the locker room in between periods, he’s always talking, you know, just saying whatever’s on his mind and usually it’s awesome stuff coming out of his mouth. So, a real positive guy and he’s been real good for us.”

Vladar has been often lauded for his leadership abilities as this season has gone on and he’s continued to get comfortable with his new team, and just as much as he’s stepping up as a more tangible grounding piece for the team, he’s doing everything in his power to drag them into the fight with him. Some of that comes from his work to rally them in words, but it also comes from him playing so well that the team feels a particular motivation to raise their game to a high level in front of him, to battle for him as well as he’s battling for them.

“I mean, I think every game moving forward,” Drysdale concluded, “the mindset is that’s the most important game. We have to get, everyone knows, we have to get red hot and, you know, with him back kicking there and [Ersson] last game, two big performances and, you know, it’s just our job to play [well] in front of him at that point.”

Vladar’s been doing everything he can to get this team in a better position, and it’s hard to work to rally around that. He’s been doing it all season, and it’s been a tremendous boost to them. Head coach Rick Tocchet recognizes this as well.

“He’s just had a great year for us” he said after the game. “Another outstanding effort from him.”

In some ways, what more is there to say? Vladar’s been so largely steady for this team that another good performance is beginning to feel routine. There’s a lot that the team, players and coach alike, can take from this game as a positive, but Vladar’s performance was foundational to any and all else.

As for his own assessment of his game, the impressiveness of this showing, Vladar in his postgame comments was somewhat expectedly reserved.

“Yeah, I feel good.”

Not one to wax poetic about his own accomplishments, Vladar had more to say about his team’s efforts and their abilities to get themselves rolling again, in hopes of salvaging something more out of this season.

“Yeah, like, we are confident group,” he went on, “like we know we have it in us. We had it at the beginning of year and it kind of, you know, slipped away, but you know we just got to find uh back the swagger, because we have it here.”

And Vladar’s confidence in the group is weighty. It’s still a pretty significant hill to climb to get themselves back into that playoff mix — they’ve closed in a bit on the Bruins in that last wildcard spot, but it’s still six standings points needed to pass them, and there are three other teams they need to pass to that as well — but the margins are thin for everyone around here, and with a few good games under their belt, the task isn’t looking so completely impossible.

Confidence can beget confidence, and if Vladar’s belief and solid play is enough to help this team find another level of play, at the very least, these last couple months of the season could get very interesting indeed.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...fference-maker-for-flyers-in-win-over-bruins/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers acquire Boris Katchouk from Wild

The Philadelphia Flyers made a trade Sunday night. It didn’t move the needle much, but hey, a trade is a trade. The deal sent defenseman Roman Schmidt, who had been playing with Lehigh Valley, to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for left winger Boris Katchouk.

TRADE ALERT: We’ve acquired forward Boris Katchouk from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenseman Roman Schmidt. Katchouk will report to the @LVPhantoms (AHL). https://t.co/gR5The0rWn

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 2, 2026

Katchouk, 27, has been tossed around a bit this season in terms of trades. After spending most of last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the American Hockey League, Katchouk became a free agent and signed with Tampa Bay last July. He played three games with Tampa this year but spent 21 games with Syracuse, scoring four goals and adding six assists for 10 points. In December, just after the Christmas break, Katchouk was traded to Minnesota in exchange for Michael Milne.

The winger brings size (6’2″, 212 lbs) but has been up and down throughout his career. A second-round draft pick of Tampa Bay back in 2016, Katchouk spent most of his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, playing 117 of his 179 games in the National Hockey League for Chicago. He’s also had a brief stint with Ottawa before his second stint with Tampa Bay earlier this season. As shown above, Katchouk is heading to Lehigh Valley to help the Phantoms and most likely won’t be making his debut with the Flyers anytime soon barring a rash of injuries. In his NHL career Katchouk has 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points.

As for Schmidt, 23, it appears that the glut of defenseman in the pipeline might have been the reason why he was dealt. Schmidt played 16 games for the Phantoms and had no goals and no assists in that time. Earlier in the year Schmidt played for the Syracuse Crunch and was known far more for his rather imposing size than anything else. At 6’5″ and 225 pounds, Schmidt wasn’t exactly mistaken for a speed demon. However, his size could be something a team like Minnesota sees as a reclamation project, particularly give how he is still rather young in his hockey career.

Again, it’s not a huge deal but it might be a forerunner of what’s to come in the coming days before the NHL trade deadline concludes on Friday afternoon. It did involve a defenseman moving out of the Flyers organization, just probably not the one a lot are anticipating.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...uk-from-the-minnesota-wild-for-roman-schmidt/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Monday Morning Fly By: On the move

*It was a reasonably quiet weekend for the Flyers as far as games on the schedule goes, but it was still an exciting one. They returned to home ice on Saturday and picked up a huge win over the Bruins in their matinee. [BSH]

*Charlie has his own takeaways from that win herein. [PHLY]

*Dan Vladar came up with a huge performance for the Flyers in that win. [NBCSP]

*And there’s been a lot to like about what he’s been doing for his team, both on and off the ice, this season. [BSH]

*It’s also starting to beg the question: could he be carving out a case for himself as a longer term solution for this Flyers squad? [The Athletic]

*They put up a good performance in front of him last night, which was nice to see, because it’s been kind of a shame to see how poorly things have been going for the Flyers while he’s largely been playing really well. [BSH]

*Sean Couturier scored the empty netter for the Flyers last night, and here’s hoping that this goal (in whatever form it came) can help springboard him into a stronger finish to the season. [BSH]

*Anyway, let’s talk trade deadline. Could this finally be the year we see Rasmus Ristolainen moved? [Inquirer]

*Some insiders are suggesting that it might be a difficult task, considering the market and the surplus of defenders available. [BSH]

*But it certainly doesn’t mean teams aren’t kicking the tires! [BSH]

*Ristolainen’s name also isn’t the only one coming up in trade rumors. [BSH]

*At the end of the day, though, the Flyers are kind of in the murky middle heading into the deadline, and this will make it particularly interesting to see how they approach it. [BSH]

*We’re going to step away from the Flyers for a hot second and take a little Phantoms detour. They had a tough showing on Wednesday but had a pretty clear blueprint of what they needed to work on heading into the weekend. [BSH]

*And even in a tough shootout loss on Saturday, they made some progress in those areas (and, spoiler, positioned themselves well to take the next step forward on Sunday). [BSH]

*Okay, back to the Flyers. Is there more that they could be getting out of their scoring game? [BSH]

*The word on the street is that Rick Tocchet and Elias Pettersson spent some time chatting at the Olympics, and we’re not going to put words in anybody’s mouths or jump to too many conclusions, but all we’ll say is this — a coach mending a relationship with a very good player who is known to be on his way out with his current team is… interesting! [BSH]

*And finally, news! Or, almost news, for starters: the report is that the Flyers are making a very interesting addition to the team on the staff side. [BSH]

*Also, Adam Ginning is back with the Flyers for this very quick road trip. Which could mean nothing. [BSH]

*Finally, we have our very first trade of deadline week! It’s an AHL trade, in fairness, but it’s still a trade! [BSH]

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/monday-morning-fly-by-on-the-move/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers’ trade options for Rasmus Ristolainen take major hit after latest deal

It feels more likely than ever that the Philadelphia Flyers are going to be trading veteran defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. The stars are aligning before the March 6 trade deadline for this team to cash in on the hulking rearguard and move on while also opening up a roster spot for a younger player. A classic rebuilding move.

But, unfortunately to make a trade you also need a second team to agree to it, and the Flyers just lost one potential option that was reportedly interested in Ristolainen.

According to multiple reports, the Edmonton Oilers were picking up the phone and dialing Flyers general manager Danny Briere to see what it would take to acquire the 6-foot-4 Finnish defender. The ask from Philadelphia’s side was a first-round pick or a young player or prospect that holds equal value — that has been repeated ad nauseum when any discussion regarding a potential Ristolainen trade has come up.

With all of that information, and knowing that Ristolainen’s contract is through the end of next season, the Oilers decided to opt for a different 6-foot-4 right-handed defenseman.

Flyers lose potential trade partner for Rasmus Ristolainen​

Instead of going and trying to make the money work, or navigate the trade negotiation with Briere, Oilers general manager Stan Bowman decided to instead go and get the Chicago Blackhawks’ most veteran defenseman.

Trade call is not expected to be formally completed until later tonight, but EDM and CHI have agreed upon:

To #LetsGoOilers:
D Connor Murphy (50% retained)

To #Blackhawks:
2028 EDM 2nd Round Pick

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 2, 2026​

Connor Murphy, a 32-year-old right-handed defenseman that has been eating loads of minutes on the rebuild Chicago Blackhawks and has been very solid defensively while doing it, has been traded to the Oilers for a 2028 second-round pick. Half of his salary will be retained by Chicago.

The trade is not official yet, but according to other reports, the deal will be cemented Monday night due to some cap fenagling.

That’s generally bad news for the Flyers and what it means for the Ristolainen trade and possible return.

The Oilers are a little tight on cap space, so sure, they had to waive winger Andrew Mangiapane and defenseman Alec Regula, saving a couple million bucks as they’re down in the AHL to then add the $2.2 million for Murphy. Even before the trade, they were in the tens of thousands in available cap space — so we’re not even sure how they’re going to do it but that’s a problem for Oilers management.

Ristolainen’s $5.1-million AAV for the next two seasons could have been plenty too rich for Edmonton, especially if the Flyers were a little hesitant, or asking for a whole lot more in the trade return, to retain on his salary. But that doesn’t even really matter anymore since Edmonton got their guy — this could spell out disaster for those fans (and Briere) who wants the Flyers to get the most possible in return for Ristolainen.

Basically, the Oilers got a very similar defenseman — Murphy might not be as physical or hold the same reputation as Ristolainen around the league but is just as, if not more, impactful on the ice — for a future second-round pick and got the other team to retain salary. This spells out that either Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson was tired of waiting around to trade away his rental blueliner, or the market is just so inflated with so many similar defensemen that this is truly the price of someone who is very comfortable on a second pairing.

That’s not what anyone wants to hear. It’s hard to imagine the Flyers caving and trading Ristolainen for anything less than a first-round pick right now. They still have him under contract through next season and could very well keep on trying for a trade, knowing that the worst-case scenario is that they get a future second-round pick for him as a rental this time next year (unless he is injured).

The trade deadline is still days away. The Flyers have until 3:00 p.m. on Friday to make any potential Ristolainen deal, but all signs are pointing to them potentially keeping him just because they couldn’t get the trade package they want.

Or, maybe a team has fallen in love with Ristolainen’s performance at the Olympics and will give the Flyers what they want. Let’s hope.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...ristolainen-take-major-hit-after-latest-deal/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Ranking the trade probabilities for every player on the Flyers roster

The NHL’s trade deadline is now only three days away, and Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere has some serious decisions to make. Which players should he move? Should he make any trades at all? How would a potential trade impact morale in the locker room? There are a lot of moving parts to consider, and Briere will surely be taking countless scenarios into consideration over the next 72 hours.

Not every player on the Flyers’ roster is up for grabs, of course. Some are more likely to be moved than others, and to help break things down, a tier list categorized by trade probabilities may help during this hectic period of the NHL season.

Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Strong Possibility​

Rasmus Ristolainen: If the Flyers move one player at the trade deadline, it’ll probably be Ristolainen. The 31-year-old blueliner has garnered significant interest from contending teams around the league thanks to his strong play at the Olympics, and despite once being known league-wide as a defensive liability, Ristolainen has completely rewritten his NHL story in recent seasons. He’s established himself as a truly viable right-shot defenseman with a nose for physicality — something teams salivate for in the playoffs. He has one year remaining on his contract beyond this season, and at a reasonable $5.1 million cap hit, he’ll be more than just a short-term rental for any team that seriously attempts to acquire him at the deadline. The Flyers have been playing well since the Olympic break, and Ristolainen has stood out in a very positive way. Briere could theoretically opt to retain Ristolainen with hopes of making a late playoff push, but the Flyers’ postseason odds are slim enough that keeping the hulking rearguard around wouldn’t make a ton of sense. A Ristolainen deal isn’t an absolute guarantee, but he’s far and away the likeliest Flyer to be on the move by 3 p.m. ET on Friday.

Slight Possibility​

Bobby Brink: Brink has developed into a legitimately good player for the Flyers since they drafted him in the second round of the 2019 draft. He’s skilled, he’s tenacious, and he adds a nice scoring touch to the middle six. Unfortunately, he’s also part of the Flyers’ logjam at wing. Travis Konecny, Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, and Trevor Zegras are all primarily wingers, and that’s not including the injured Tyson Foerster or blue-chip prospect Porter Martone, who could join the Flyers as early as this season when he closes out his freshman year at Michigan State. The Flyers will need to move at least one, maybe two wingers at some point to open spots for Foerster and Martone, and it would be hardly shocking if Brink ultimately ends up being on the outside looking in.

Carl Grundstrom: The Flyers acquired Grundstrom for basically nothing at the start of the season, and he’s turned out to be a nice addition for them. He’s only appeared in 31 games, but he’s logged eight goals and 10 points in those outings — not bad for a fourth-liner. Grundstrom is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, making him an easy piece to move should a postseason contender approach the Flyers about adding some forward depth.

Noah Juulsen: Juulsen is similar to Grundstrom in that he is an impending unrestricted free agent and could offer some depth to a competitive team hoping to bolster the bottom of its lineup. The Flyers would probably only get a mid-to-late-round draft pick for him, but that’s better than letting him walk in free agency for nothing. It wouldn’t be crazy if they got some calls about him.

Owen Tippett: Unlike Brink, Grundstrom, and Juulsen, Tippett is locked up to a long-term deal that runs through the 2031-32 season. And that contract is exactly what makes him such an interesting trade option. With an AAV of $6.2 million, the 27-year-old brings pretty good value to the table as a speedy top-six winger with a ripper of a shot. Teams are reportedly showing considerable interest in Tippett, and while the Flyers may not be frothing at the mouth to trade him, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a team hoping to bolster its firepower for the playoffs could blow the Flyers away with an offer they cannot refuse. Don’t count on Tippett being dealt, but don’t completely rule it out.

Unlikely​

Emil Andrae: Andrae is far from untouchable, but it would make more sense for the Flyers to move him as part of an offseason hockey trade rather than swap him for a draft pick at the trade deadline. Plus, the Flyers still seem intrigued by Andrae’s potential on the back end. He could be traded, but he probably won’t.

Denver Barkey: Barkey has done nothing but impress since being called up to the Flyers in December. Sure, he may not possess the frame of a prototypical Flyer, but it’s hard to imagine the club parting ways with him while he’s playing so well at such a young age.

Noah Cates: The Flyers love Cates. He’s not flashy, but he plays a strong two-way game at a position the Flyers can’t exactly allow to weaken further. Plus, he’s signed through the 2028-29 season at a very reasonable AAV of $4 million. He’s a good player on a good contract, and the Flyers don’t seem even slightly interested in letting that go.

Nic Deslauriers: Deslauriers will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and doesn’t have any clauses in his contract that would complicate including him in a trade. That said, it’s hard to imagine any team coughing up an asset for an enforcer who only plays eight minutes per night — if he even dresses.

Jamie Drysdale: Teams may be inquiring about Drysdale, but Briere probably won’t have any interest in striking a deal unless the return is significant. Drysdale is playing the best hockey of his career, and while he is due for a pay raise in the offseason, it won’t be unmanageable. Drysdale’s staying.

Tyson Foerster: For starters, Foerster is out for the remainder of the season with an arm injury, so teams won’t exactly be salivating to acquire him. Plus, Foerster is one of the key members of the Flyers’ core — it’s probably not a coincidence that the club began plummeting down the standings soon after Foerster suffered his season-ending injury on December 1. If Foerster were healthy, teams would be calling about him, but Briere would likely hang up the phone immediately.

Nikita Grebenkin: At 22 years old, Grebenkin is young, cheap, and has shown some encouraging flashes since the Flyers acquired him at last season’s trade deadline in the Scott Laughton deal. Grebenkin has shown enough promise that the Flyers shouldn’t be in a rush to trade him elsewhere.

Garnet Hathaway: Hathaway has registered just two points in 51 games this season, which is decidedly bad. A year ago, a team probably would have traded an asset to the Flyers if it meant adding Hathaway’s nastiness to the roster ahead of the postseason. This year, though, Hathaway just doesn’t look like the same player. A move involving Hathaway would be very surprising.

Nick Seeler: Seeler’s contract includes a no-trade clause, and there’s no indication that he’d be interested in waiving it. He’s not going anywhere. The last two years of his contract do not include the no-trade clause, however, so perhaps he’ll be someone to keep an eye on this time next season.

Dan Vladar: Given how well Vladar has played this season, the Flyers could probably get a solid return for the 28-year-old goaltender. But will they actually trade him? Absolutely not. After the horrors the Flyers have experienced in net the last few seasons, they’re just happy to have a competent backstop guarding the cage.

Cam York: York is a solid, no-doubt-about-it second-pair defenseman. Signed through the 2029-30 season, it’s certainly possible York will one day be moved, but that won’t be happening now.

Trevor Zegras: If the Flyers moved Zegras at the trade deadline, the fan base may actually set Xfinity Mobile Arena on fire and then topple over the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. As an impending restricted free agent at a very manageable cap hit, the Flyers could easily trade Zegras. But unless they’re landing a bona fide superstar in return, they won’t.

No Chance​

Rodrigo Abols: Two months ago, Abols, an impending unrestricted free agent, may have been a candidate to be shipped elsewhere at the trade deadline. However, after suffering a fractured right ankle in January, it’s hard to imagine any team coughing up assets for an injured fringe NHLer.

Sean Couturier: Couturier has become a shell of the player he once was, and even if the Flyers wanted to trade him, they likely wouldn’t be able to. Couturier has four years remaining on his whale of a contract, which comes with an AAV of $7.75 million along with a full no-movement clause. Unless the Flyers gain Couturier’s approval to trade him elsewhere, they’re pretty much stuck with him until his contract expires in 2030 (barring a buyout, of course).

Christian Dvorak: Rightly or wrongly, the Flyers just signed Dvorak to a five-year, $25.75 million contract extension in January. The Flyers clearly value what Dvorak brings to the table, and considering their lack of depth in the middle of the ice, it would be utterly shocking for Briere to ship out one of the few competent centers on the roster.

Travis Konecny: Despite Konecny’s clear frustration with the Flyers’ lengthy run of mediocrity, the soon-to-be 29-year-old isn’t going anywhere — at least for the time being. He is in the first year of an eight-year, $70 million contract extension signed in 2024, which carries a full no-movement clause. If the Flyers really wanted to trade Konecny, he would need to give his approval of the move beforehand. There does exist a world in which Konecny could waive his no-movement clause in order to facilitate a trade to a more competitive team, but the odds of that happening in the immediate future seem nonexistent.

Matvei Michkov: Michkov is the centerpiece of the Flyers’ rebuild. He’s not being traded. Next.

Travis Sanheim: Sanheim was a Torey Krug no-trade clause away from being shipped to the St. Louis Blues in 2023. Since then, he has become a workhorse for the Flyers as their unquestioned No. 1 defenseman. With five years remaining on his contract, which carries a pretty reasonable cap hit of $6.25 million per season, trading Sanheim away while he’s playing the best hockey of his career simply wouldn’t make sense unless it somehow landed the Flyers a bona fide superstar. Plus, Sanheim’s contract includes a no-trade clause, so that pretty much squashes any possibility of him being moved.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...lities-for-every-player-on-the-flyers-roster/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Dallas Stars emerge as strong trade suitor for Flyers’ Rasmus Ristolainen

The NHL trade deadline is fast approaching and in less than 72 hours we’re going to find out whether or not the Philadelphia Flyers were involved in the action or not. Whether general manager Danny Briere made a couple of moves with a focus on the future, or stood pat because the team is suddenly within striking distance of the playoffs and the idea of an eighth consecutive year without postseason hockey in Philadelphia drives him crazy.

The biggest move that could be on the table for the Flyers is moving out defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. He’s signed through next season at a fairly reasonable $5.1-million AAV cap hit and could bring a large body to any playoff team’s blue line and be a positive add on the ice.

But it takes two to make a trade, and lately there has been growing buzz around one specific team being the one to acquire Ristolainen before Friday’s trade deadline.

Dallas Stars eyeing Rasmus Ristolainen before trade deadline​

The Dallas Stars have increasingly been linked more and more to being on the receiving end of a Ristolainen trade. On Tuesday night, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta wrote specifically that the Stars are targeting the Flyers blueliner — and while he went on to name several teams like the Bruins, Red Wings, and Sabres, he mentioned that the Stars are at the front of the group in pursuit for Ristolainen.

And it makes perfect sense. For the last few years, the Stars have been on the hunt to stabilize the right side of their blue line and for good reason. While the left side features the likes of Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell, the right has Miro Heiskanen playing on his off side, along with Nils Lundkvist and Ilya Lyubushkin — that’s a heck of a difference comparing the two sides of the ice.

While the hypothetical acquisition makes sense on the ice, does it work off of it?

Well, thanks to the Stars placing Tyler Seguin on season-ending LTIR, it does. By ending the former second-overall pick’s season, every single dollar of his $9.85-million AAV cap hit can be used. Dallas has already dipped into it, as they have just over $7.4 million in deadline cap space and are above the annual projected cap space by just over $1.5 million, according to PuckPedia.

Of course, there is a slight hiccup.

According to Elliotte Friedman, the Stars are extremely hesitant to acquire any player with term due to star winger Jason Robertson needing a new contract as a restricted free agent this summer. With being so close to the ceiling — they are projected to have just over $16.4 million in cap space this summer to re-sign Robertson, Mavrik Bourque, Lundkvist, and fill the remainder of their roster — Dallas does not want to financially prevent them from being able to possibly retain Robertson.

But that is just one small hurdle. Something as simple as the Flyers taking back a contract the Stars don’t particularly enjoy having on their books for next season, such as the aforementioned Lyubushkin who is signed through next season at a $3.25-million AAV, could make this move work for both seasons on Ristolainen’s deal.

What do the Stars have to offer?​

The Flyers have held extremely firm to their ask for Ristolainen’s services. According to TSN’s Pierre Lebrun, the Flyers want a first-round pick and a prospect in return for the 31-year-old defenseman. While the Stars do not have a treasure chest full of draft picks to hand out, they do have at least something remaining.

Dallas does not have their first-round pick this year or in 2028, but they do have their 2027 pick and that is something the Flyers would most certainly be interested in. It would be tough to go four consecutive years without selecting in the first round, but that’s the price of being a contender for the Stanley Cup.

As for prospects, the Stars do have some interesting names but it’s difficult to see them parting ways with former first-rounder Emil Hemming in addition to the high pick. That leaves space for their mid-tier prospects like center Atte Joki or defenseman Tristan Bertucci, for example. Basically, if the price is met it would be a prospect most normal people have never heard of.

But the pick appears to be the most important thing for the Flyers. While there have been reports that the Flyers would be fine with a player or prospect with similar value, the Stars really only have Hemming as a player who could be of decent value and potential.

Ristolainen trade waiting for the first defenseman domino​

So, what’s the wait? It seems like this trade could happen anytime now.

Well, unfortunately we’re all just waiting around for something else to happen. Vancouver Canucks veteran defenseman Tyler Myers is also on the trade block and with a no-move clause and full control of where he gets traded to. There was a deal that was going to send him to the Red Wings, but the no-move clause caused issues and the deal stagnated.

And according to Pierre Lebrun, the Ristolainen trade might not happen until the Myers deal gets done and we’re expecting that to happen fairly soon.

“I also think that the Tyler Myers situation has an impact here,” Lebrun said of the potential Ristolainen trade. “Another right-handed defenceman, but the Myers situation might finally be resolved come the end of Wednesday.

“So whether he accepts a trade to Detroit, or Dallas makes an offer, we’ll see, but once Myers’ situation is done then perhaps we’ll get more clarity on where Ristolainen ends up.”

Myers not being traded yet is essentially causing a giant logjam for defenseman deals around the league, and the sooner the Canucks blueliner is dealt, the sooner we could see more action and Ristolainen potentially moved thanks to so many right-handed veteran defensemen being available.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...g-trade-suitor-for-flyers-rasmus-ristolainen/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

The Philadelphia Flyers’ scoring woes are front and center

The Philadelphia Flyers have three centers signed to the roster beyond this season: Sean Couturier, Christian Dvorak, and Noah Cates. It’s been pretty obvious that the offensive ceiling for this current group is low, but are they making up for it in other ways? Are they getting unlucky, or just unable to create anything at all? Are there depth options waiting for an opportunity? Starting with the top of the lineup, we’ll see who’s pulling their weight– and who needs to be better.

Christian Dvorak – 13 G, 24 A, 37 Pts​

Dvorak was the main beneficiary of the 40 game Trevor Zegras heater culminating in a hotly debated five year contract extension. It seemed premature at best, even when Dvorak was providing better offense than he has been. This past summer’s free-agent center signing was brought in to be a stabilizing force for the biggest position of need in Philadelphia, and he’s done a really nice job of that to this point. While not flashy, his experience at the center position was allowing Zegras to play freely on the wing and provide offensive punch, while also gathering some free assists for his sacrifice. He’ll be the first Flyers center not named Sean Couturier to reach 40 points since Morgan Frost in 2023-24.

Dvorak has averaged 18:12 of ice time this season, most among centers, and has spent nearly all of that time with Zegras on one wing. The other wing has been primarily Travis Konecny or Owen Tippett, the former taking the lion’s share of the time. Having the two top scorers on the team has helped Dvorak’s offense reach new heights; his career high of 38 points will be broken within reach of the trade deadline. He’s enjoyed playing with good wingers, setting another career high with 18 primary assists.

The Flyers, with Dvorak on the ice, take 46 percent of the shot attempts, per Moneypuck. He’s got an Expected Goals percentage of right about 45 percent. But, looking at the results of the Zegras-Dvorak-Konecny line as a group, they sit at 53.3 percent Expected Goals For. This suggests the quality of wingers is driving Dvorak’s play higher than he would be otherwise, but he’s done a good job facilitating primary assists and cleaning up.

Danny Briere gave Dvorak a five year, $25.75 million contract extension on the fifth day that he was eligible to sign and a full seven months before they would have had to compete for his services again. Even in the most optimistic of outcomes, Dvorak is a 45 to 50 point center. It seems like he’ll be around for a while, but hopefully not in a role like the one he’s being asked to play now. Since signing the extension, Dvorak has four goals and eight assists in 20 games– a 49 point pace. He’s earning his checks, but probably won’t provide much surplus value over the length of the deal.

Sean Couturier – 6 G, 22 A, 28 Pts​

It was looking like the captain would never score again until Couturier iced the Bruins with an empty-net goal on Saturday night. It broke a 31 game curse. He’s been the focal point of most of the online vitriol, even before the scoring drought. At a certain point, the puck has to go in the net. The goaltenders don’t care how many Expected Goals are generated on a particular day. Hopefully, Couturier seeing a puck cross the goal line for a legal hockey goal– goaltender or not– can get the monkey off his back for the remainder of a season to forget.

The drought looks baffling looking at Couturier’s analytics. It’s almost impossible that he went so long without a goal. His shot attempt share (48 percent) and Expected Goal share (49.4 percent) have cratered the last two seasons to his lowest in over a decade, but those are still break-even numbers. His shooting percentage has been below NHL average since 2021, but the difference this season: he’s simply missing the net at a career high 33.6 percent. That’s one third of his shot attempts having no chance of scoring save for a lucky deflection. According to MoneyPuck’s heatmap, his average shot distance is over 28 feet– about ten feet further per shot than Christian Dvorak.

This is a major reason he’s been in the scoring slump, compounded by the fact that it’s just plain hard to score on NHL goaltenders when you do actually hit the net. To reach last year’s 25 percent miss rate, Couturier would have to hit the net with his next 48 consecutive unblocked shot attempts (188 unblocked shot attempts with 47 misses). Not pictured in the table is the difference in High Danger shot attempts– just seven this season, compared to 31 and 20 the last two years. He’s not even getting the opportunities he was last season, and it’s not like he lit the world on fire then, either, with just 15 goals on a 9.7 shooting percentage. This seems like the most plausible explanation for a six goal season thus far.

On the brighter side, it does feel like he’s getting unlucky with on-ice results from a team perspective. Despite his personal shooting numbers the way they are, Couturier centers some of the most effective lines the Flyers have thrown out there this season. The Zegras-Dvorak-Konecny line may score more goals, but the Denver Barkey and Owen Tippett combination with Couturier is an analytical dream. This line, the fourth most used forward combination this season for Philadelphia, has a team-high 64.5 percent Expected Goals share. In fact, with lines that have 60 minutes of ice time together or more, two of the three most successful Expected Goal share lines for the Flyers are centered by Couturier with Tippett.

It’s hard to believe that Couturier is getting that much of a prop from Tippett and Barkey, though Barkey’s numbers in particular are outstanding in his limited time with the NHL club. He’s doing things right out there, but he’s not capitalizing on anything either. Compared to last year, Couturier is starting over twice as much in the defensive zone as he was then, with by far his lowest offensive zone deployment rate since 2015. He’s a big eye test versus numbers guy, this season especially, and while the individual numbers are slipping, it’s hard to say he’s bringing the team down.

Noah Cates – 12 G, 19 A, 31 Pts​

Maybe the second most disappointing part of Tyson Foerster being out for the season is Noah Cates’s offense disappearing with Foerster. Or, at least, that’s what it seemed like up to the Olympic break in February. Cates, in the four games since the resuming of the NHL season, has two goals and three assists. After zero goals in the month of January, we might be seeing a bit of a progression to the mean here. He’ll never be a big scorer, but he’s almost keeping pace with Dvorak’s numbers despite only 16:25 of ice time per game.

Cates’s analytics look good, actually. He’s playing primarily now with Bobby Brink and Matvei Michkov. This isn’t everyone’s favorite line stylistically, but it’s been effective of late to a 54.2 percent Expected Goals share– over four percent better than the results with Foerster, Cates, and Brink together. Michkov looks rejuvenated as well, and it’s paying dividends for Cates. While his faceoff numbers will probably always be dreadful in comparison to the other centers here, his physicality helps win puck battles to regain possession.

While it could be a product of his wingers, as is designed by the team full of wingers, Cates is absolutely putting himself in positions to score and capitalize on his teammates’ effectiveness. He has a career-best 56.3 percent Expected Goals share and 25 unblocked High Danger shot attempts– already matching last season’s 25. He misses the net a fair amount, but unlike Couturier, he has kept blasting away from high danger areas and been rewarded for it recently. Cates’s 15 primary assists are already a career high, and hopefully, he can ride a Michkov hot streak or two and clear the 40 point mark for the first time.

Cates is in the first year of a four year contract extension. His versatility and all-around game give him good value anywhere in the lineup. This makes him an attractive trade option if the Flyers felt like they could make a deal with him involved, but there’s not been much talk about that anywhere. There’s also no immediate replacement waiting for an opportunity– Jett Luchanko is still in juniors, and Rick Tocchet doesn’t seem thrilled with the idea of Trevor Zegras having the responsibility. Cates is a massive success in development as a fifth-round pick, and while he might be at his theoretical ceiling, he’s going to be a really nice contributor in the bottom-six for years to come.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/the-philadelphia-flyers-scoring-woes-are-front-and-center/