The Philadelphia Flyers are free-falling. They’ve dropped 11 of their past 13 games, putting themselves well outside the playoff picture for now. In this edition of Flyers News & Rumors, we’ll look at how general manager Daniel Brière is playing with fire, revisit the Christian Dvorak extension, and break down prospect Porter Martone’s impressive play.
Brière Is Playing with Fire by Backing Tocchet
Amid the Flyers’ disastrous skid, head coach Rick Tocchet has become quite the unpopular figure. It’s gotten to the point where some people are looking upstairs at the general manager, wondering if the rebuild plan can succeed.
Philadelphia Flyers News & Rumors (The Hockey Writers)
Hunter Brody of 94.1 WIP, the top sports radio player in Philadelphia, went on a rant about the current and future state of the team. Take a listen below:
I AM DONE WITH THE #FLYERS!!@SportsRadioWIP #RestartTheRebuild pic.twitter.com/IP5lCysfYX
— Hunter Brody (@Brodes81) January 31, 2026
Admittedly, Brody was more critical of the front office than Tocchet. This wasn’t a “the coach is doing such a bad job that whoever hired him needs to go” kind of argument. But he didn’t absolve the bench boss of anything, either.
“You know who are in the worst two positions in the NHL right now? (The Vancouver Canucks) and the Flyers. Do you know the last two teams Rick Tocchet coached? Vancouver and the Flyers,” Brody stated.
The overarching point was that the Flyers may have to start the rebuild all over again because the team still lacks key pieces like a top-line center and a No. 1 defenseman. It was a gloomy, but fair, assessment of the Orange and Black.
Changing direction a bit, it’s quite obvious that Tocchet is not a fan of Matvei Michkov. The two simply can’t coexist, and that was reinforced by the coach’s comments on Feb. 1 at this year’s Flyers Charities Carnival. Tocchet “went down swinging,” in his words.
Rick Tocchet comments on Matvei Michkov’s season low 10:21 TOI 👇 pic.twitter.com/u58CSTNNaw
— PHLY Flyers (@PHLY_Flyers) February 1, 2026
Training camp was five months ago, yet the “out of shape” bit is still Tocchet’s go-to for why Michkov isn’t getting ice time. That wasn’t the only critique from the interview, but it was the first one.
Two years ago, the Canucks were faced with a one-or-the-other dilemma between winger Andrei Kuzmenko and Tocchet. They picked the latter, and doing so contributed to the downfall of their franchise.
The Flyers have the very same ultimatum: Michkov or Tocchet. They have to pick one and let the other go, or else the team is going nowhere in the meantime.
This is where Brière comes in. Tocchet is becoming wildly unpopular, and by backing him, the tables are turning. Some folks are starting to look at “Mr. Playoffs” in a negative light.
Keep in mind, Brière had near-unanimous support at one point. After trading defenseman Ivan Provorov for futures and selecting Michkov with the seventh pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the first-year general manager was on top of the world. It bought him a lot of good grace.
Now, that’s starting to fade. As long as the tiring—but very real—Michkov–Tocchet drama persists, Brière is playing with fire.
Dvorak Extension Is Aging Terribly
Even though the Flyers were actually winning at the time, Dvorak’s five-year, $25.75 million extension wasn’t perceived well by fans. The reasoning behind the discontent was straightforward—you can’t count on a 30-year-old middle-six center to play that way even next season. Father Time stops for no one.
Related: Flyers Floundering in Familiar Second-Half Skid
Now that the team is losing, the extension looks worse. Since he signed the deal, the Flyers have totally collapsed, going 3–8–3 and posting a minus-22 goal differential.
This isn’t a commentary on Dvorak himself, who hasn’t necessarily regressed during this stretch. It’s a commentary on the Flyers for being too impatient. Had they held off for just one more month, we could’ve been talking about a trade at this very moment.
Martone’s “Big” Week
Closing with a positive, Martone devastated Penn State University with back-to-back three-point efforts. He recorded a goal and two assists in an indoor contest on Jan. 30, then notched three helpers outdoors at Beaver Stadium on Jan. 31.
Michigan State University moved to 21–5–0 on the campaign thanks to Martone’s heroics. The freshman winger now has 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 24 games this season. He’s fourth in NCAA points per game at 1.42, narrowly behind Quinnipiac winger Ethan Wyttenbach’s first-place 1.46.
This week was about as big (pun intended) as it gets for the regular season. Martone’s six points vs. rival Penn State inspire confidence that he’s made for prime time.
Some fans are really unhappy with the Flyers right now, and rightfully so. Could that change next week?
