When Sean Couturier was asked about Danny Briere’s offseason not featuring a huge addition, the Flyers’ captain smiled and gave his general manager credit.<\/p>\n
“I think he definitely tried, I would say, to make a big move,” Couturier said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Briere certainly took a swing. He made headlines the day before the Fourth of July by sending a five-year, $90 million offer sheet to Leo Carlsson<\/a>. Six days later, the Ducks matched the offer to keep their franchise center<\/a>, but they had to do it at a hefty price. Briere’s attempt said a lot about the Flyers’ timeline coming into focus<\/a>.<\/p>\n But in the present, even without that splash, the Flyers like their team and their chances of taking another step following last season’s surge to the second round of the playoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We’ve had confidence in our group, even last year,”<\/a> Couturier said. “Young group, but we believe in our group, we’re growing as a group. Every year, guys are getting better, getting older and maturing physically, getting more established in the league. We like our group, I think we’ve added some smart additions. We’ll see how it goes. We’ve just got to keep building on what we started last year and keep moving forward.”<\/p>\n Briere addressed the Flyers’ backup goaltending position by acquiring Joseph Woll in a trade with the Maple Leafs<\/a>. In free agency, the club signed Noel Acciari, a hard-to-play-against forward who can win faceoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Flyers, though, didn’t want to block their kids up front. Briere cautioned about young players sometimes having setbacks, but the Flyers are high on Porter Martone, Denver Barkey and Alex Bump. All three contributed to the Flyers’ playoff run<\/a> and are poised for their first full season.<\/p>\n “We see those three young guys as a big part of our future,” Briere said Tuesday. “The players are going to tell us when they’re ready and that’s what they said last year, so we’re going to give them a good look.”<\/p>\n Martone, the 2025 sixth overall pick, is expected to play a significant role<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I think the sky’s the limit for Marty, he’s a guy that came in and made an impact right away,” Travis Konecny said Thursday. “There’s so much potential there and we’ll see where it goes. I think it’s going to be very positive. He seems to just have a knack for being around the net. Not a lot of people have that and he seems to have it.”<\/p>\n The Flyers also view a healthy Tyson Foerster as a major factor. They made that clear with an eight-year, $56.8 million contract extension this summer<\/a>. The Flyers were without him for four months last season because of an injury to his arm<\/a>. Prior to the injury, the 24-year-old winger was on pace to score over 30 goals.<\/p>\n “A difference-maker,” Konecny said. “Someone when you’re needing a goal, maybe it’s a dead play and a guy can score from range. You’re missing, from last season, 20, 30 goals. That goes a long way on a team.”<\/p>\n The Flyers seem to be on guard for any possible hangover from their first playoff run since 2020.<\/p>\n “The part that keeps me up at night is having some of your players feel complacent, feel like they’ve made it,” Briere said. “Let’s face it, we’re still a young team.”<\/p>\n Rick Tocchet also warned against it when the topic came up.<\/p>\n “This summer I talked to some players, they were worried about it, too,” the Flyers’ head coach said. “Like, hey, we can’t pat ourselves on the back type of thing. That’s my job and the leadership to make sure that we don’t.”<\/p>\n The players sound like they have extra fuel from their taste of the postseason.<\/p>\n “Last year was such a different experience for all the guys on the team, and going through that, I’ve noticed it coming back, we’re still talking about it,” Konecny said. “So it tells me that guys kept that in the back of their heads all summer, stayed hungry, want more of it. It’s a really good thing.”<\/p>\n