PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Last season: 38-33-11; missed playoffs for fourth straight season.
COACH: John Torortella (742-612-37-156 over 23 seasons with five teams, 1 Stanley Cup title; 69-71-4 over two seasons with Flyers)
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 11 at Vancouver.
DEPARTURES: G Carter Hart, RW Cam Atkinson, D Marc Staal, D Ryan Johansen, G Felix Sandstrom.
ADDITIONS: RW Matvei Michkov, LW Anthony Richard.
GOALIES: Samuel Errson (23-19-7, 2.82 goals-against average, 0.89 save percentage), Ivan Fedotov (0-1-1, 4.95, .811).
BetMGM STANLEY CUP ODDS: 66-1.
What to expect
The Flyers’ acceleration from expected painful rebuild to the cusp of the playoffs was faster than expected. The Flyers had a playoff berth in hand until an eight-game losing streak that bridged March and April. Philadelphia was left out of the postseason for the fourth straight year after its fate was decided in Game 82. The Flyers have preached patience over playoffs, staying true to the long-term blueprint written up since Danny Briere took over as general manager. This season is more about finding which of the young core are worth developing as the team grows into a Eastern Conference contender.
Strengths and weaknesses
The good: Yes, the Flyers insist they are not quite yet out of their rebuild just yet but they have a young, talented group and showed enough flashes of promise last season that a playoff berth isn't out of the picture. In his second season on the bench, Tortorella squeezed every ounce of talent and summoned all the grit he could out of his players to thrust them into a playoff race. Perhaps they take a step forward.
The not-so-good: The franchise will mark 50 years since they last won a Stanley Cup championship. Philadelphia lost in the Stanley Cup finals in 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997 and 2010. Most of the last 15 years have been a loss — both in wasted seasons and in a generation of Flyers fans who don't really know how great the team was.. Attendance has waned through the year as coaches were cycled through and the Wells Fargo Center mostly sat empty each postseason.
Players to watch
All eyes are on Michkov. His talent has drawn comparisons to Eric Lindros. His slick playmaking had scouts projecting Michkov might have been drafted right behind Chicago’s Connor Bedard in 2023 had he not been tangled in a long-term deal with his team in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.
The Flyers preached patience when they selected Michkov with the seventh pick in the 2023 draft, knowing he had three years left on his KHL contract. They instead only had to wait a year and now Michkov just might expedite the Flyers’ rebuild.
The 19-year-old Russian has drawn raves already in the preseason and Flyers fans are lining up to buy his No. 39 jersey. The Flyers hope Michkov Mania can lead them into the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
The Associated Press
