Dec 14, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) comes off the ice after the warmups before the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
This past weekend, the Flyers went toe-to-toe with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and took them to a shootout in both games.
Usually a Flyers strength, Carolina came out on top both times. Still, getting to that point is a positive sign for the Flyers. They can play with the Conference's best. They've reached at least overtime in all three games with them this season, and despite the fact that the 'Canes have won each, the Flyers are showing resilience and resolve.
But those are only moral victories. And moral victories are fine, in the moment, but in the grand scheme of things, moral victories turn out to be excuses for not being good enough.
The Flyers know where they are. They know where they want to be. They know there are steps in the process and one of those steps is graduating from lottery team to playoff team.
They feel like they can do it this season. The Conference is incredibly competitive, but after 31 games, the Flyers are sitting in a playoff spot.
Yes, 62% of the season lies ahead of them, and some things are going to have to be fixed, or rectified before that percentage dwindles down to zero if they are to meet that goal.
They were on full display this weekend against Carolina. Here are some things the Flyers should identify, if they haven't already, and consider:
I know. Easier said than done. The Flyers have tried four of their current defensemen up there this season, and none seem to be sticking as great options.
Flyers' power play is 5 for 40 over last 18 games.
Cam York looked good for awhile, but then he stopped playing with Trevor Zegras for a bit, and the power play fell off. York came back Sunday after missing a few games with an injury, but even when he was having success there, he's not the prototypical point guy that playoff teams have on the blue line with the man advantage.
Jamie Drysdale was supposed to be that guy, but can't seem to stick. His all-around improvement this season has to be considered an overwhelming positive for the Flyers, it just hasn't translated as well on the power play.
Travis Sanheim is much better on offense in transition than he is once set up in the zone. He's fine for the second unit guy who's getting 45 seconds of power play time, but not as the main guy.
Besides, he's already logging huge minutes in games. Giving him a respite would be helpful.
Emil Andrae has taken a step back in his last few games, but even he has been in a bit of a different role on the power play, playing some in the bumper role rather than on the point.
So, where do you find this quarterback?
It's likely going to have to come via trade, although guys like this aren't readily available.
Where could the Flyers turn?
(Note: The following names and ones later in this post are mere suggestions, and not information provided to me by anyone as having been discussed by the Flyers).
Calgary's Rasmus Andersson's name seems to come up in trade talk every year, but with the Flames going into rebuild mode, this could make sense. He's a unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and three years ago he had 20 assists on the power play for the Flames. He does have a six-team no trade clause. Not sure if the Flyers are on it.
Buffalo fired GM Kevyn Adams on Monday and replaced him with former Columbus GM, Jarmo Kekalainen. Kekalainen will look to stockpile assets to turn the Sabres around in their seemingly perennial rebuild.
One guy that could make sense is a name the Flyers have been linked to in the past in Bowen Byram.
Byram signed a two-year bridge deal worth an AAV of $6.25 million with Buffalo last summer, and those types of deals are usually "prove it" deals. It hasn't started well for Byram, who has 13 points in 32 games and is a minus-10. You'd be taking a flier on untapped potential with Byram, who has not had success on the power play in the NHL, either when he was with Colorado or with Buffalo, but there are a lot of people who still believe in the 4th overall pick in the 2019 draft.
Finally, there's veteran Justin Faulk in St. Louis. He'd be a luxury rental as he is signed through next season, but he's still posting some numbers on the power play - as seven of his 16 points this season have come with the man advantage. Yes, he turns 34 in March, so he doesn't quite fit the Flyers age timeline, and he's also got a 15-team no trade clause, meaning there's a decent chance the Flyers are on it and he'd have to waive it, but it could be worth exploring.
This is the hardest conversation for the team to have, but Sean Couturier needs to play a somewhat different role than he's being used in currently.
Frankly, he's playing too much, and the more he's being used, the more he struggles later in games.
Rick Tocchet used him almost the entirety of the overtime period Sunday. Yes, he had a lot of key faceoff draws. Yes, the Flyers had to kill a penalty in overtime. These are understandable uses for him.
That said, Couturier leading all forwards with 29 shifts and 22:10 of ice time in the second game of back-to-backs is too much.
Couturier didn't win a ton of those overtime faceoffs and couldn't get off the ice. It was a tough watch, although, to the Flyers credit, they withstood the Carolina storm.
Looking forward to hearing about him being a liability . Maybe he didnt come into camp in shape? https://t.co/pyI9DUsZ8O
Unlike most of the the denizens of Flyers Twitter (see above), I recognize there is still great value to keeping Couturier playing decent minutes and taking key faceoffs for you without emptying his tank.
The addition of Carl Grundstrom to the fourth line has given it some much-needed life. The fourth line has been a sore spot for Rick Tocchet for some time. But the overall problem is still not solved.
Garnet Hathaway still doesn't have a point. Rodrigo Abols is just a guy. I like him. He gives you a solid effort, but he's dime-a-dozen.
If you can convince Couturier to play on the fourth line and give them a more regular shift, have him kill penalties and take all the important faceoffs, you can have a much more fresh Couturier playing 14 minutes a night and being productive.
But in order to do that, you need a replacement higher up the lineup. Is there another center who could shake free from another team that can allow for that switch to be made?
You likely aren't getting top of the line guys, but could a guy like Erik Haula in Nashville or the currently injured Teddy Bluegar in Vancouver fit that bill as rental options?
If you want something that isn't a rental, but on the younger side, does Peyton Krebs in Buffalo make sense?
Again, these are just names that are ideas, but the point is, you can make the team infinitely more competitive shifting Couturier's role and adding a middle six center.
Fans don't want to hear anything negative about Matvei Michkov, but there needs to be an acceptance that he has been a vast disappointment this season - because of his own offseason negligence.
Not because of his coach. Not because of his teammates. Not because management hasn't given him players to play with.
It's on him.
Now, he's just turned 21. This is a hard lesson to learn, but one that should make him much better in the future, which is why the Flyers should stay the course with him.
They are handling him as best they can.
All hail to the almighty God Matvei Michkov, who can do no wrong in the eyes of Flyer fans 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
And no, they aren't stunting his growth. The narrative that he's not playing enough is befuddling.
The complaint has been that his ice time is too low. His 14:42 per game averages ninth most among Flyers forwards this year.
Looking at that, you get the sense that, yeah, he needs to play more.
But he's taking 20 shifts per game. The top forward is Travis Konecny at 24 per game. Know what Konency does that Michkov doesn't? Kill penalties.
The Flyers average being shorthanded 3.2 times per game. That means three of those four more shifts Konency is taking are on the penalty kill.
Why it seems like Michkov is getting so much less ice time is because his shifts are short. Part of that is a good thing. You want all your guys to think shorter shifts and not get caught out on the ice too long.
But part of it is he's still behind the eight ball conditioning-wise, so 45 second shifts are all he can give you his best effort at right now.
The Flyers will continue to utilize him in this manner - trying to put him in the most advantageous situations - up until the league breaks for the Olympics.
But while most non-participating players will be on vacation somewhere watching Olympic Hockey from some island destination, Michkov needs to be in the gym and doing power skating on the ice.
He needs to use those 17 days to play catch up. If he does his part, there's a good chance you'll see a different version of him - one that was more akin to his rookie season - come March.
If not, well then the Flyers need to have another conversation with themselves about how to manage him into 2026-27 and beyond.
There are a few players who are too inconsistent for the Flyers liking.
I know culture is important - and I agree with them to an extent on this. Having a strong locker room culture matters more in sports than most people realize.
But just because certain guys are great for that culture, doesn't mean that you should handcuff yourself to them.
Sure, you give them a longer leash - and some more than others - but if your expectation is to be a playoff team, sometime in the next seven weeks are the time these guys have to figure it out or else there's no reason to take the playoff conversation seriously if you continue to stick with them beyond that and they aren't executing.
We already talked about the fourth line, but one has to think there's someone else, like Grundstrom, who can fill the void on the other wing if Hathaway doesn't start looking better.
He's been fine killing penalties. Beyond that, he looks like he's lost a step from previous seasons.
For old school Flyer fans, Miss Hathaway has as many points as Garnet this season. pic.twitter.com/eAdfU3OG94
Andrae needs to get back to the way he was playing right after he was recalled. There's a little too much fluctuation to his game right now.
Maybe it's a learning curve, but again, if playoffs are the goal, that learning curve shouldn't be happening at the NHL level.
He'll get a little more time, but it sounds like Rasmus Ristolainen will be back this week - maybe as soon as Buffalo on Thursday. That will knock Ty Muchison back to the Phantoms (he had a rough game against the speedy Hurricanes on Saturday), and Noah Juulsen into the No. 7 spot on the depth chart, but if Andrae doesn't show an upturn, one has to wonder if he's not better off playing big minutes in the AHL again, or if he could be a trade candidate.
Owen Tippett needs to produce. Especially without Tyson Foerster in the lineup - and he just hasn't done it.
He's got just one goal and one assist in his last seven games. Compounding that, he has just three shots on goal in his last five games - one each in three different games and two games without a shot.
That can't happen.
He's such a good skater and he needs to provide offense. If he's not even shooting the puck, what value is he bringing?
He seems to prefer playing out on the flanks and not getting to the middle of the ice. I'm not sure if that meshes with the style of play a Rick Tocchet team is looking for.
At some point, G.M. Danny Briere has to begin to wonder if what he does well is a fit elsewhere and can bring a player in return who would slot better into Tocchet's offense.
