Team Outlook
The Flyers continue to operate in a gray area between retooling and rebuilding, showing little appetite for a true bottom-out approach. Under coaches like John Tortorella and, more recently, Rick Tocchet, the organization has squeezed strong structure and effort out of its roster, keeping the team competitive enough to avoid the league’s basement but limiting access to elite draft capital. While Philadelphia does feature several intriguing young pieces, the overall roster still lacks high-end star power and remains thin at key positions, leaving long-term upside somewhat capped. For dynasty managers, this creates a complex evaluation environment, development opportunities exist because of strong coaching and defined roles, but the team context may also suppress offensive ceilings unless certain prospects clearly separate themselves from the pack.
Buy Candidates
Porter Martone, RW
Why Buy?
Martone continues to look like one of the most complete offensive talents in the Flyers system, blending high-end skill with size, pace, and a willingness to attack inside ice. His transition from the OHL to the NCAA has been impressive, producing well over a point per game for Michigan State, a team currently sitting atop the national rankings. He drives offense through strong puck protection, confident handling in traffic, and the ability to create chances both off the rush and during extended zone time. While his Under 20 World Junior Championship with Canada was solid rather than dominant, it still reinforced the overall consistency in his game against strong competition.
What makes Martone particularly appealing is how well his style fits Philadelphia’s organizational identity. He competes, tracks back defensively, and remains engaged even when offense is not coming easily, traits that should help him earn trust quickly at higher levels. His strong NCAA transition has allowed his star potential to remain steady at 58% in the Hockey Prospecting model while pushing his NHLer probability even higher, reflecting a player whose floor continues to rise alongside legitimate top-line upside.
Yegor Zavragin, G
Why Buy?
Zavragin has quietly emerged as one of the more intriguing long-term bets in Philadelphia’s system, especially for dynasty managers searching for goaltending upside before the market catches up. The Flyers have been chasing stability in net for years, cycling through options like Cal Petersen, Ivan Fedotov, Aleksei Kolosov, Sam Ersson, and more recently Dan Vladar, yet none project as clear long-term solutions. That organizational uncertainty creates a meaningful opportunity window for a prospect like Zavragin to climb the depth chart if his development continues on its current trajectory.
His profile is built on positional efficiency, calm tracking, and controlled rebound management rather than highlight-driven athleticism, traits that historically translate well as competition increases. Strong KHL results have pushed his projection upward, with Hockey Prospecting now giving him roughly an eighty-five percent chance of becoming an NHL regular, with stylistic comparables ranging from Nikolai Khabibulin to Sergei Bobrovsky and Ilya Samsonov. Goaltender development remains unpredictable, but Zavragin’s trend line suggests rising NHL viability rather than stagnation, making him a worthwhile speculative buy in deeper dynasty formats before his role becomes more clearly defined.
Carson Bjarnason, G
Why Buy?
Bjarnason brings a different profile to the Flyers’ goaltending depth chart, leaning more heavily on size and athleticism. He covers the net well, challenges shooters aggressively, and has shown flashes of game-stealing potential when locked in. While his transition to the AHL has been uneven by the raw numbers, his expected goals per goal conceded remains positive, suggesting his underlying play has been better than the surface results indicate. His technical consistency is still developing, but the physical foundation and compete level remain clear strengths.
From a projection standpoint, Hockey Prospecting currently gives Bjarnason roughly a 27 percent chance of becoming an NHL regular, lower than Zavragin but still a meaningful development trajectory. One of his higher-end comparables is Ryan Miller, which highlights the upside that can emerge if his reads and structure continue to improve. In a Flyers system searching for long-term stability in net, Bjarnason represents a longer-term upside bet, a goaltender whose dynasty value is tied less to immediate results and more to whether his technical growth eventually catches up to his athletic toolkit.
Sell Candidates
Jett Luchanko, C
Why Sell?
Luchanko is a smart, competitive center whose game is built on pace, responsibility, and strong off-puck habits. Coaches tend to trust players with his processing speed and work ethic, and that has already led to brief NHL looks, including four games in each of the past two seasons, an unexpected opportunity so soon after being selected thirteenth overall in the 2024 draft. However, his offensive profile has not separated the way many expected. Rather than driving play through dynamic creation, much of his production comes from effort, timing, and structure, which can limit long-term fantasy upside if scoring growth stalls.
The bigger concern is the recent trend line. His OHL scoring has declined over the past two seasons, and even after moving to a powerhouse Brantford Bulldogs lineup, he is currently producing below a point-per-game pace. That drop is reflected in his pNHLe, which has fallen from a peak above 75 to closer to 40, signaling a shift in projected offensive ceiling. If another manager still views Luchanko as a future top-line option, this may be an ideal window to sell before perception fully adjusts to the underlying trajectory.
Jack Nesbit, C
Why Sell?
Nesbit’s size, physical engagement, and willingness to play through contact continue to attract attention, and those traits give him a clear pathway toward NHL usage. He protects pucks well, competes along the boards, and can wear down defenders over the course of a game, qualities that often translate into real-life value even when fantasy production lags behind. However, many viewed his selection at 12th overall by Philadelphia as a reach, with his draft stock boosted in part by the possibility that he could remain at center long term. That positional projection can still carry weight in dynasty markets, making this a window to capitalize on perceived upside.
From a fantasy perspective, the concerns lie in offensive ceiling and sustainability. Nesbit has yet to consistently demonstrate the play-driving or finishing ability required to project beyond a complementary bottom-six role, and without a defined power-play pathway his production may remain situational rather than repeatable. Data from AdvancedHockeyStats.com reflects that uncertainty, projecting roughly a two percent chance of becoming a star and about a 20% chance of establishing himself as an NHL regular. If another manager is still valuing him based on frame and draft pedigree, moving him now could be a prudent long-term decision before expectations recalibrate.
Denver Barkey, LW
Why Sell?
Barkey remains a highly intelligent and creative player whose vision and puck skills continue to stand out, but his development path this season has begun to shift expectations. Splitting time between the NHL and AHL, he has leaned more into a reliable, defense-first profile than a pure offensive driver. According to Evolving Hockey, he already grades in the top 20percentile among NHL forwards defensively, showing strong awareness, positioning, and play disruption, while his offensive impacts currently sit closer to the bottom 20 percentile. That contrast suggests his long-term role may center more on reliability than production.
The risk lies in projection versus deployment. Barkey will likely need consistent offensive usage to unlock meaningful value, and it is not yet clear that he will receive that opportunity at higher levels. If another manager is still valuing him primarily for junior scoring and perceived offensive upside, this may be an ideal window to sell before his role solidifies as a strong real-life contributor with a more limited fantasy ceiling.
Summary
| Player | Role | Key Insight |
| Porter Martone | Buy | High-end winger with size, skill, and top-line fantasy upside |
| Yegor Zavragin | Buy | Calm, technically sound goalie trending toward being an NHL starter |
| Carson Bjarnason | Buy | Athletic goalie with upside if technical consistency improves |
| Jett Luchanko | Sell | Reliable center whose fantasy ceiling may be capped |
| Jack Nesbit | Sell | Physical forward with limited offensive projection |
| Denver Barkey | Sell | Defensive winger who has limited long-term fantasy value |