On the 3/31 edition of the PhHN Daily, we have plenty of Philadelphia Flyers news to talk about, including Porter Martone and some extension rumors!
Martone has officially joined the Flyers. Now, there is an official date for his NHL debut. The team also has a handful of pending RFAs for the summer. One NHL insider believes that the Flyers have begun negotiating an extension with one of their top players.
Around the league, one team fired its GM as its mess of a season continues. A new era for a team out west starts off with a win, and could an Eastern Conference GM be the next one to go?
Get it all and more on the 3/31 edition of the PhHN Daily.
Philadelphia Flyers
Philly Hockey Now: It’s Porter Martone debut day! The Flyers have officially announced their prized prospect will be in the lineup for Tuesday’s game!
Martone addressed the media for the first time on Monday as an official member of the Philadelphia Flyers. He talked about joining the team amidst this push and his excitement to be an NHLer. But Martone spent most of his time talking about his experience in college hockey and how attending Michigan State was the “best decision of his life.”
Again, he’ll make his debut on Tuesday vs. the Washington Capitals. Here is everything you need to know before the game.
It was not all Martone news from Monday. On the most recent edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Elliotte Friedman reported something many could have assumed: the Flyers and Trevor Zegras are talking about an extension.
The Flyers’ playoff push
The playoff push is alive and well. Tuesday is a pretty big day regarding the Flyers’ hunt for some postseason hockey. Let’s take a look at the standings as of Tuesday, before the games.
The Flyers are right there in the fight, just two points shy of a playoff position, and in the three-team tie for the first team out. Now, it is worth mentioning that regulation wins (RW) are the first tiebreaker for the playoffs. The Flyers (23) likely won’t even catch Columbus (27) in that category. So, to make the playoffs, they simply need to have more points than the first team out. They can’t bank on tie breakers.
Philly has at least one game in hand against every team currently in a “reachable” playoff spot. They have the same number of games played as the Red Wings and Ottawa, but play both teams before the season ends. The Flyers still play Detroit twice.
Every game moving forward is a must-win. Just because the Flyers are in the fight does not mean one loss won’t hurt. 9 games are still enough to make up the three-point ground, but every game matters.
Let’s look at the schedule today.
Playoff battle schedule for Tuesday, 3/30
The bolded team represents who the Flyers need to win in the best-case scenario.
Stars @ Bruins (WC2, 92) – 7:00 pm EST
Islanders (M3, 89) @ Sabres (A2, 98) – 7:00 pm EST
Senators (WC3, 86) @ Panthers – 7:00 pm EST
Red Wings (WC4, 86) @ Penguins (M2, 90) – 7:00 pm EST (End in Regulation)
Flyers (WC5, 86) @ Capitals (WC6, 83) – 7:00 pm EST
Hurricanes (M1, 98) @ Blue Jackets (WC2, 88) – 7:30 pm EST
NHL rumors & news
Sportsnet: It happened. The Toronto Maple Leafs have moved on from GM Bred Treliving, making the official firing on Monday. Toronto is all but eliminated for the 2025-26 postseason and could be facing a rebuild or retool in the coming years. Because of Treliving’s deals, they could be doing so without their next two first-round picks (Bruins own 2026, Flyers own 2027, both conditionally). If this year’s pick is protected, they’ll be doing it without two of their next three.
In a Sportsnet video, Elliotte Friedman breaks down how the Maple Leafs got to this point, leading to Treliving’s firing.
Speaking of the mess in Toronto, Radko Gudas ended their captain, Auston Matthews’ season, and there was little on-ice reaction. Gudas, who wanted to play on Monday vs. the Leafs despite his injury, to “own up to his mistakes”, dropped the gloves with Max Domi off the opening draw.
I don’t think he ever planned on throwing a punch.
NHL.com: The John Tortorella era in Vegas is underway. In his Golden Knights coaching debut, Tortorella and his team picked up the 4-2 win vs. the basement-dwelling Vancouver Canucks on Monday. If the sight of his coaching and Vegas could not feel any weirder, Tortorella wore a suit behind the bench.
New Jersey Hockey Now: Toronto made the big change. Could New Jersey be next? James Nichols ponders if Tom Fitzgerald could be the next GM out the door after the Devils’ struggles in 2025-26.
San Jose Hockey Now: The kid is good. Macklin Celebrini, the San Jose Sharks’ 19-year-old superstar, can now say he is a 100-point scorer. He is the 6th teenager to ever do so.
Read More: PhHN Daily: Flyers Game Day; NCAA Tournament Update; New Look at the Playoff Picture