The Philadelphia Flyers are in the midst of the toughest stretch of hockey in franchise history.
The team has missed the playoffs in five straight seasons – matching a team record – and has just one playoff series win in the last 13 seasons.
Entering his second season as general manager of the Flyers, general manager Daniel Briere is hoping that the team’s return to relevancy can begin in earnest this season.
“The goal is to build a team that’s going to become a contender for years to come,” Briere said Tuesday. “The goal is not just to make the playoffs one year, get knocked out, disappear for two years … it’s about building a team that eventually will have a shot at winning some rounds and winning a Stanley Cup for years to come and be there year after year.”
Last season, when the Flyers finished worst in the Metropolitan Division at 33-39-10, four of the team’s top five goal scorers were aged 25 or lower.
Three of them were playing in their third NHL season or earlier – with rookie 20-year-old phenom Matvei Michkov the leading scorer with 26 goals.
“Obviously we’re all excited about what [Michkov showed] last year and what he can become, but the biggest thing for him is to keep improving on that [consistency] and to keep showing that game after game,” Briere said.
The Flyers selected Michkov with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and while the talent was evident in his first year, mistakes were made just as often. It led to clashes with since-fired head coach John Tortorella, and Michkov was benched on multiple occasions.
“I remember as a player that one of the toughest things is … instead of having those big waves, is having those little bumps along the way,” Briere said. “And that comes with experience. It comes with time. And that’s what I want to see from him, is those downs, maybe they’re not as dramatic and those bad games are not as bad. After a while it becomes, instead of one bad game, it becomes one bad period, and then eventually it’s just one bad shift. That takes time.”
Another potential boost to the Flyers’ offence comes in the form of Trevor Zegras, who was acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks over the off-season.
The 24-year-old electrified the league as a rookie in the 2021-22 season, scoring 23 goals and finishing second in Calder Trophy voting, but failed to improve upon his promising start in Anaheim.
After scoring 46 goals in 156 games across his first two full seasons in the NHL, Zegras has scored just 18 in 88 games in the two seasons since.
“We’re all kind of wondering where are things going to develop for him,” Briere said. “He was a tremendous player for his first two years in Anaheim, and then he got hit into some injuries. Can he (regain) that form that he had a couple years ago?”
Unfortunately, goal scoring was not the only issue that plagued the Flyers a season ago. The team finished fifth-worst in goals allowed (286), thanks in large part to a regression from lead netminder Samuel Ersson, and a lack of depth behind him.
Ersson registered a .883 save percentage last year, which ranked second-lowest amongst goaltenders to play in at least 40 games.
The Flyers signed former Calgary Flames netminder Dan Vladar on July 1 to support Ersson this season. The 27-year-old had a save percentage of .898 in 30 games as a backup a season ago.
“I expect the goaltending to be better, no doubt about it,” Briere said. “I think Vladar will come in and probably be a little bit more support for Sam. But we do believe in Sam still; he’s had some flashes.
I think with Sam, having a guy there to protect him and not expecting him to play three games a week should probably help Sam in the long run.”
The Flyers were one of the youngest squads in the NHL a year ago, and with more young talent coming up the pipeline – including this year’s No. 6 draft pick, Porter Martone – Briere is hoping the foundation has been established for long-term success in Philadelphia.
“Nobody can be comfortable or happy with what they’ve done in the past; they’ve got to keep getting better and better, and that includes all our veterans, because our young guys are starting to push, and they want more, and they’re hungry for more.”