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  • Flyers 2024-25 Season Preview: Bottom 6 Forwards – Philadelphia Sports Nation

    Flyers 2024-25 Season Preview: Bottom 6 Forwards – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    PHILADELPHIA, PA – MARCH 31: Scott Laughton #21 of the Philadelphia Flyers warms up against the New York Rangers on March 31, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)

    With only a few weeks remaining before regular season hockey, let’s take a look at the Flyers, likely bottom 6 forwards to start , in no particular order.

    Matvei Michkov

    Let’s start with the biggest story of the Flyers offseason.  The Flyers were about to ice likely the same roster from last year, then word began to circulate that Michkov would be released from his KHL contract in order to come to the NHL.  Michkov was selected # 7 overall by the Flyers in the 2023 draft, with perhaps some teams shying away simply with the uncertainty of his ability to be allowed to play in North America.   We recently reviewed the challenges his countryman, Ivan Fedotov, had to endure to make it to the Flyers.

    Last year, Michkov posted 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points in 47 games. During the 2023-24 season, Michkov flirted with breaking the KHL record for points by a teenaged rookie.

    Despite his youth, Expectations will be high for the talented young player; with possible early Calder talk.

    Brent Flahr, Flyers assistant GM, had this to say at the timing of his signing:

    “Matvei’s been a world class player since he came on the scene a number of years ago. He wants to be the best. We are excited for him to be a Flyer”

    The big question is not how talented, rather, how will the Flyers use him.  Torts is well known to be a disciplinarian that historically has some difficulties with young players, or any players for that matter, i.e. Sean Courtier.  Talented players need ice time and opportunities.   I included Michkov on the bottom 6 list as it seemed unfair to immediately rank him above some of the experienced and talented veterans.   It would not be surprising to see the Michkov get significant power play and top 6 minutes this year.

    Who knows, Michkov could be so impactful he forces the Flyers to start a young top line of Foerster, Frost and Michkov.  All we do know is we should be in for a few more flashy thrills compared with the team the Flyers iced last year.

    Nic Deslauriers

    (Last Season: 60GP   1G   3A   4P   89PIM   -7 +/-   8:09TOI)

    At the Michkov press conference announcing Michkov, Flyers GM Briere joked:

    “On that, we also showed him the video of the fight of Nic in the Rangers game last year,” Brière quipped. “We told him he’s his [Michkov’s] new best friend.”

    Toughness and being a good teammate are never things that are questioned with Delauriers game.  Last year, Delauriers played in 60 games for the Flyers putting up 1 goal and 3 assists to go along with 89 PIMs.  Delauriers could find it a bit harder to crack the lineup once Michkov gets going.  With the Flyers icing essentially the same team with the addition of Michkov and younger players needing time, will we see Delaurier crack 60 games again in a season for the Flyers?  Deslauriers has 2 years remaining on this deal with a $1.75MM cap hit.

    Garnet Hathaway

    (Last Season: 82GP   7G   10A   17PTS   132PIM   -7 +/-   12:29TOI)

    Garnet Hathaway, along with Delauriers, will be vital in helping Michkov learn the locker room and with learning how to be a pro in the NHL.

    Hathaway played all 82 games for the Flyers last year notching 7 goals and 10 assists to go along with 132 PIMs.  Like Delauriers, Hathaway is a guy who might get squeezed for ice time as the season rolls along, especially if some of the Flyers youth starts pushing for ice time with the big club.  Hathaway in on the last year of his deal carrying a $2.4MM cap hit.

    Ryan Poehling

    (Last Season: 77GP   11G   17A   28P   6PIM   -11 +/-   15:00 TOI)

    Poehling signed a two-year extension with the Flyers in January 2024 which kicks in this season pays him $1.9MM AAV, a 500k pay increase from his one-year $1.4MM contract he signed in July 2023.

    At the time of his extension signing, Briere said

    “Torts has really enjoyed him, likes that he can use him on the PK, for faceoffs. His speed and size combination helps us because of having a few smaller-sized wingers.

    Poehling’s 28 points was a slight increase in his points per game average from earlier in his career.  The 25-year-old will look to build upon last year and continue to grow and thrive with the Flyers.

    Noah Cates

    (Last Season:  59GP   6G   12A   18P   0PIM   -8 +/-   13:48 TOI)

    Frankly, it was impressive to see Cates play 59 games averaging 13:48 TOI and he took zero penalties.  I needed to double check that stat, and it was correct, and I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I for one find that impressive.   I mean, not once do you misplace your stick and a guy accidentally trips over it.  Kudos to Cates.  Looking deeper, Cates has only 16 PIM in 157 games with the Flyers, contributing 65 points in his parts of 3 years with the Flyers.   That might be a particular skill on a team with Delauriers and Hathaway.

    Cates, who will turn 26 in February, is on year 2 of his bridge deal carrying a $2.7MM cap hit.  Unfortunately, Cates will have to turn around his slumping points-per-game average which currently sits at 0.3 points per game compared to his 0.5 points per game average in his first 98 games with the Orange & Black.  This would be the right year for Cates to get back on track if he wants to be in the Flyers long-term future or if he wants to secure a nice deal in free agency.

    Scott Laughton

    (Last Season:  82GP   13G    26A    39P     69PIM   -9 +/-     15:39 TOI)

    Laughton was a likely trade candidate last year and not much is expected to change, as Laughton should remain a top trade target this year.

    Laughton, now entering, parts of his 11th NHL season, all with the Flyers.  in 2012-13 he played 5 games and in 2016-17 he played 2 games.  In his career to date, Laughton has 95 goals and 143 points in 601 games.

    As a veteran leader who can play up and down the line-up and offer secondary scoring to go along with a modest $3MM cap hit, he’s a valuable player for the Flyers or a number of other teams.  As we saw last season, it will likely take the right offer for the Flyers to move on, especially with two years remaining on this deal.

    Tyson Foerster

    (Last Season: 77 GP   20G   13A   33P   32PIM   0 +/-   17:16 TOI)

    Foerster set new career highs in goals (20), assists (13) and points (33) last year.  Now, his goal will be to build off his breakout year in 2024-25. 

    Foerster’s a guy who, like Michkov could end up playing top 6 minutes.  In addition to having already eclipsed the famed NHL 20-goal mark, Foerster’s got a wicked shot and surprisingly put up 102 hits last year, showing he can handle the physicality of the NHL, a concern as a prospect.    With Foerster on year 3 of his ELC, the Flyers are going to want to figure out if he is complimentary to their long-term plans and Foerster will want to perform to get paid on his next deal.

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    JR Martin

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  • Five thoughts: Flyers thrash Jets, are remembering ‘how good they can be’

    Five thoughts: Flyers thrash Jets, are remembering ‘how good they can be’

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    Yeah, the Flyers really needed the All-Star break. 

    Following up Tuesday night’s big win over the Florida Panthers and making the return home, Philadelphia took off from the word go and had the visiting Winnipeg Jets out of time and out of options by Thursday night’s halfway point. 

    Tyson Foerster notched the opening tally, Travis Konecny registered a Gordie Howe hat trick, and Ryan Poehling sniped yet another shorthanded goal as the Flyers thrashed the Jets, 4-1, for their second straight victory and a season sweep of a pretty fierce Western Conference opponent.

    They’re 27-19-6 now, still third in the Metro division with 60 points, and appear back to playing some solid hockey. Well, for the most part. 

    Here are five thoughts from Thursday night’s effort…

    How good they can be

    Coming back from an All-Star break that they had already ridden a five-game losing streak into, the Flyers returned to the ice against Florida Tuesday night and looked completely flat. 

    They were passive and skating cautious. “Safe” was the word head coach John Tortorella would go on to use, but then they came out for the second period and it was like a switch flipped. They got aggressive, they controlled the puck, they committed to their checking away from it, and shut a good Panthers team down the rest of the way. 

    They looked like the team that absolutely dismantled the Dallas Stars a few weeks ago, and the team that for much of this season, has caught everyone off guard and put themselves into a playoff spot two-thirds of the way through.

    Then they kept it going right from puck drop Thursday night back at home against the Jets. 

    Poehling and Foerster flew down the ice to complete a one-time play just shy of four minutes in for the 1-0 lead – Foerster’s 10th goal of the season – checks got thrown by orange sweaters with purpose, and Winnipeg in general just spent the bulk of the opening frame pinned down in their own zone until Konecny and Morgan Frost broke the wall down themselves to make it 3-0. 

    The Flyers floored it on the gas. And the Jets, like the Panthers a couple of nights before, didn’t know what to do. 

    “I think for our athletes we need to get some sort of swagger back, some confidence, and they should feel really good about it,” Tortorella said after Tuesday night’s 2-1 win down in Florida. “I went in there after the second period and I said ‘Are you s****in’ me? That’s how we play! Do you understand how good we can be when we play that way?’ Hopefully they gained some confidence and just be consistent. The key for us is to try – in games, within the game and then game to game – is to sustain our personality. 

    “That’s our battle. It’s gonna be our battle all through here. We’re gonna keep working at it.”

    So far so good after Thursday night, though it’s worth noting too that Tortorella had markedly shorter answers in his postgame press conference following the Jets win and that Konecny noted that the last two periods – when the Flyers arguably let up a bit – needed to be improved on.

    “We made a point of coming at them right away and trying to get a lead,” Konecny said from the locker room. “I think we really need to – not even look back on the first period. We need to assess the last two and really make sure we stay on top of things.”

    Pionk poked the bear

    Or the beehive. Either way, Konecny made sure he regretted it. 

    Right after Foerster’s opening goal, Konecny had the puck in the offensive zone and chipped it away with the Jets’ Neal Pionk right in front of him and nowhere else to go. Pionk moved in for the check and threw his hands up high, catching Konecny’s face. 

    Konecny took exception, shoves were exchanged, and then the gloves flew off.

    Now, Konecny and Pionk don’t particularly stand out as fighters – as much of an agitator as Konecny can be – but they’ve been in a few before. Konecny had the edge in this one with a takedown that had the crowd roaring. 

    Then he really poured salt in the wound late in the period when he shot a loose puck off Pionk in front of the net and in. 

    “Just get it to the net,” Konecny said of what he was looking for in the sequence. “It was kinda rolling, I wanted to one-touch it to the far side. Lucky bounce.”

    To top it off: an assist on Frost’s goal from another scramble in front to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick before the first was even over. 

    An angry Travis Konecny is a dangerous Travis Konecny, and with the way this season has been going for him – he’s now up to 24 goals and 45 points for the year – he will make you pay. 

    Pionk found out quick.

    “I wasn’t trying to fight for any reason, it just kinda happened,” Konecny said. “I mean it is what it is. Maybe it sparked us, I’m not sure.”

    Another shorty

    Konecny got called for a hook early into the second period, and so came an opportunity for the Jets to try and get themselves back into this. 

    Then Ryan Poehling got the puck thanks to a major Winnpeg miscue off the defensive zone draw and it was off to the races. 

    Beautiful shot, the Flyers’ 11th shorthanded goal on the season – tying them for the league lead – and Poehling’s second for himself on the year. 

    The power play is still in the basement – 31st in the league entering Thursday night at 13.2 percent – but the Flyers’ penalty kill? The NHL’s second-best unit at an 85.4 percent success rate, and one that can and will punish you. 

    They did it again to the Jets Thursday night, which almost begs the question of who the man advantage is really for.

    Ersson’s net

    Samuel Ersson is the No. 1 goalie now. 

    Carter Hart has been effectively wiped from the team now that he’s confirmed to be facing a sexual assault charge tied to the 2018 Hockey Canada scandal. Officially, he’s still on his indefinite leave of absence, but his locker stall is gone at the Flyers’ training center in Voorhees, PHLY’s Charlie O’Connor noted earlier Thursday, and so is his nameplate within the locker room at the Wells Fargo Center. He has also been cut out of the team’s home intro video. 

    The matter is serious, highly sensitive, and one that hockey has to be a far secondary to.

    But the Flyers still have to go out and play, and they’re going to be counting on Ersson from here on out to take the bulk of the starts.

    He was stellar after the first goal allowed Tuesday night in Florida, and was big again Thursday night against Winnipeg with some major saves throughout – 28 in total – aside from Kyle Connor’s goal late.

    “Thank goodness we had him tonight,” Konecny said postgame. “I’m not sure if it was the lead that early that kind of shut us down, but if it wasn’t for him, I think they claw back in it there. We gotta fix that.”

    At this point, it seems pretty clear that the Flyers needed the All-Star break badly, but Ersson just as much.

    He’s looked much sharper compared to a couple of weeks ago when the gauntlet of the schedule the team had looked like it was catching up with everyone, and like a netminder now braced for carrying the workload the rest of the way. 

    “I think everybody maybe needed a little bit of a mental break from hockey,” Ersson said.

    There’s still a lot of season left, sure, and Cal Petersen is going to have to take a few starts down the stretch eventually. But hopefully, Ersson is back to the level of play that had earned him a 50-50 share of the starts by January, and that he can sustain it.

    “We knew how important this part of the season is,” Ersson added. “Everything steps up another notch. We have to do it as well if we want to be a part of the playoff picture.”

    Cates’ case

    Noah Cates had the secondary assist on Foerster’s opening goal with a quick touch pass along the defensive half boards that sprung Foerster and Poehling up the ice.

    It was a solid play that followed up his game-winning goal Tuesday night against the Panthers, and hopefully, it’s something that is building toward a much better home stretch for the two-way forward who has struggled with inconsistency this season. 

    Cates established himself as a regular NHLer last season thanks to being a dependable middle-bottom six center in the faceoff circle and relentless commitment to checking that eventually contributed to a good bit of offensive production too. 

    But this season, the results haven’t been the same. He wasn’t as effective on draws, he could only manage a single goal that came in late October, and a broken foot robbed him of some significant time, including all the time it took to get his feet fully back under him. 

    But coming back from the break, he has looked solid taking the wing on the third line with Poehling and Foerster, and just missed on a juicy scoring chance midway through the third to pile on Thursday night. 

    After Tuesday’s win against Florida, Cates acknowledged that he needed time and a bit of a mental reset from the All-Star break to wipe the slate clean. 

    Now the games are in playoff mode as he described it, and he wants to factor into the Flyers seeing this last push through.

    “I want to be a part of that,” Cates said. “I want to be a part of helping this team.” 

    Flyers prospects: Oliver Bonk, Denver Barkey are surging for London

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    Nick Tricome

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