Ivan Fedotov – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 19:25:35 +0000

ELMONT, NY - JANUARY 16: Philadelphia Flyers Right Wing Travis Konecny (11) controls the puck during the first period of the National Hockey League game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders on January 16, 2025, at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

The Flyers missed the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season in 2024-2025, managing 76 points (33-39-10). They fired head coach John Tortorella late in the season, replacing him with Brad Shaw on an interim basis. The Flyers ranked 26th with a 47.3 Corsi percentage though they fared better when it came to shot quality, capturing 51.5 percent of expected goals during five-on-five play, ranking 11th. Philadelphia’s power play was largely ineffective, generating 4.63 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-four play, which ranked 30th. They ranked 13th with 6.88 goals against per 60 minutes of four-on-five play, so penalty killing was at least solid. Goaltending was a huge problem for the Flyers, with the trio of Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov combining for a save percentage of .879.

What’s Changed?

The Flyers dipped into their past and hired former Flyers winger Rick Tocchet to be their head coach. Tocchet had a .608 points percentage in three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, but he has coached a total of 22 playoff games in his career, so he is an experienced coach without a lot of postseason success. The Flyers made a big trade to acquire Trevor Zegras, a highly skilled forward who had fallen out of favor in Anaheim but has highlight-reel puck skills and he could be a big hit in Philadelphia if he and Tocchet can connect. The Flyers also signed veteran centre Christian Dvorak to add stability down the middle, defenceman Noah Juulsen who played for Tocchet in Vancouver, and goaltender Dan Vladar, who has a chance to earn a big role between the pipes.

What would success look like?

It’s a big ask for the Flyers to get to the playoffs, since it would take a 15-to-20-point improvement, but it’s a worthy objective, especially if the Flyers can sort out their goaltending issues. The moves they made this offseason were for a team that intends to get better now, and after five years of missing the playoffs, it’s understandable that they want to get back to the postseason. On the other hand, if the Flyers don’t make the playoffs, losing enough to secure a high lottery pick would be success, too. They could always use more high-end skill players, so a finish that would help in that regard could be deemed successful, too.

What could go wrong?

The worst-case scenario for the Flyers is that they end up stuck in the middle, not quite good enough to reach the playoffs and not bad enough to secure a valuable draft pick. The Flyers certainly have incentive to push hard for a playoff spot, with a veteran-laden team and a coach who will push them to get there, but if the team falls off the pace, then it’s important that Philadelphia stock up on future assets. That includes moving veterans for picks and, ideally, landing a high first-round pick in the 2026 Draft. Just missing the playoffs and landing a pick in the teens is not where this team should want to be when the season ends.

Top Breakout Candidate

There are a few other promising young players on the Flyers, but Matvei Michkov is the most likely player to become a star. The seventh pick in the 2023 Draft, Michkov finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting after tallying 63 points in 80 games. He had an outstanding finish to the season, putting up 16 points (6 G, 10 A), and 40 shots on goal in his last 12 games, and if he remains committed to generating shots like that, his point production could take off.

FORWARDS

Travis Konecny

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	27	45	72	0.91

The only player who resembled some form of consistency for the Flyers, Konecny is in it for the long-haul as he starts the first year of an eight-year contract. He is the longest tenured Flyer behind Couturier and has maintained a high level of play despite all the chaos and instability from the organization. The simplicity of his game helps matters, as Konecny’s a straight-line player who loves to shoot and is excellent at picking corners even when he’s forced to take quicker shots off the rush. While most forwards begin to plateau when they hit their late 20’s, Konecny has posted career highs in points each of the last three seasons, bringing an elite combination of speed, tenacity and stickhandling to the table. He showed some versatility last season as a playmaker, having to pass to create most of his scoring chances and getting the results with 52 assists. This should be exciting news for Michkov, as the two could form a potentially lethal combination if they get regular minutes together, as they did down the stretch last year. The Flyers didn’t like playing this line too much because it was feast-or-famine with the chances they gave up, but the rate the two were converting at was hard to ignore. The question with him is how long he can keep this up because the Flyers have played him regularly in the 20–21-minute range the last three years. They’ll look to do that again as he remains one of the team’s only reliable forward options on the roster.

Matvei Michkov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	30	46	76	0.94

It’s only a matter of time before Michkov is the Flyers best player. He already made a strong case for that title with the torrid pace he scored at down the stretch. A point-per-game player after the Four Nations break, Michkov gave the coaching staff no choice but to give him all the leeway he needed. If there was an opportunity to create offence, Michkov was going to milk every ounce of his shift length to get it. He spent a lot of his time in the defensive zone playing above the puck, looking for loose plays and turnovers so he could strike the other way. He had the skill to capitalize on them too as he didn’t just lead the Flyers in shots off the rush, he was one of the best players in the entire league. Up there with the likes of Martin Necas, Jack Hughes and Nikita Kucherov. His game is still a work in progress when he’s on the cycle in the offensive zone. He was always looking to make plays and trying to fit pucks through traffic. He trusts his skill level to a dangerous degree because while it led to some beautiful goals, it also led to turnovers and chances the other way. This is something that doesn’t necessarily need to be reined in but controlled to a degree because you still want him to do what got him drafted so high and look for the high-percentage play. He should get better at this with more experience, as he got a lot of it last year, and had an excellent season despite some growing pains. He’s shown game-breaking ability early and it should excite the Flyers about what’s to come.

Sean Couturier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	17	31	48	0.69

The Flyers captain can only hope for more stability with the coaching change. The longtime 1C of the Flyers started last season as the fourth line left wing and even after regaining his usual spot, his ice-time was limited in the middle of the season, being taken off both power play and penalty kill units for almost a month. While the days of Couturier producing like a first line center are likely over, the last two seasons should probably come with an asterisk, as he was returning from a two-year absence the first year and last season was marred by strange deployment to say the least. Couturier also had the worst two seasons of his career in terms of finishing chances and while the volume of chances he created last year also decreased, he’s always been an above-average shooter so there is hope for a bounce-back season. His ability to drive play, however, was very strong as he kept the Flyers defensive game in check whenever he was out there. How much he can drive the offence now is a fair question, but he should get some help if he continues to develop chemistry with the emerging star Matvei Michkov. Barring a major breakout from Trevor Zegras, Couturier is still the team’s best option at center, so he will have plenty of opportunities to put the last two years behind him.

Owen Tippett

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	27	25	52	0.66

It’s not often that a player scores eight fewer goals while shooting at a higher percentage than he did the previous year, but that was the case with Owen Tippett. The speedy forward is in the second year of an eight-year deal he earned after a breakout season and last year was a hard fall from grace after looking like a blossoming star for a couple years. His skillset is easy to notice to the naked eye because he’s very quick, gets a lot of puck touches per game and loves to shoot. His flaws are also easy to notice for the same reason because while the goals and his quick-strike offence will impress some, others might notice how often he misses the net or that he could use his linemates better rather than playing a one-man game all the time. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, as even in a down year Tippett will still get you solid secondary scoring and his ability to enter the zone frequently and get chances is still going to be something that other teams have to prepare for. The way he started and ended the year is concerning, though. He scored only one goal in 11 games in October and finished the season with only two goals in 22 games after February. Goal-scorers are streaky by nature and with Tippett being such a volume shooter, stretches like this get noticed more and why last year left such a sour note in Flyers fans mouths.

Trevor Zegras

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	16	37	53	0.72

Zegras spent more of the last two seasons either on injured reserve or in trade rumors than he did on the highlight reels. It was a steep decline from a player some saw as one of the future faces of the league. Some of that is valuing flash over substance with his knack for making ridiculous looking plays. Still, Zegras was someone who, at worst, was a lower-end first line player during his first couple years with the Ducks. He soon became someone they wanted to move on from and the Flyers made a good low-risk gamble to get him. There’s still a lot up in the air about the type of player he is. He’s been yo-yoed back and forth between center and wing, but the Flyers are likely to give him a run in the middle with the hole they have there. The one thing that’s stayed constant is that Zegras is an excellent playmaker. He reads plays from behind the net better than most and he’s excellent at getting the puck off the wall when playing on the cycle. The Flyers have the talent who can complement him well, with Michkov as an emerging star and a few wingers who love to shoot the puck in Tippett and Konecny. His defensive game has also come a long way from where it once was, so maintaining that while seeing if they can reignite what made him special in his rookie season will be a key factor for the Flyers this season. The question is whether that ability is still there or if Zegras is just a highly skilled middle six guy at his peak.

Christian Dvorak

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	16	25	41	0.51

Dvorak appears to be a stopgap to get the Flyers through the season, albeit an expensive one at $5.4 million. There was a premium on veteran centers in the market, so it’s understandable. He is now reunited with Rick Tocchet from his Arizona days where he played his best hockey and Dvorak always got the best results when paired with a puck-hog like a Taylor Hall or Conor Garland. The Flyers have a few players who fit that mold, but maybe not in the same role that Dvorak is slotted to play. If Zegras doesn’t work out at center, Dvorak's not a bad option in that spot to shore things up. He can do a lot of the little things like win faceoffs and kill penalties so the more skilled guy doesn’t have to absorb all the defensive minutes. His offensive production will hinge on who he plays with, although he did fairly well for his standards last year with 12 goals in a checking line role alongside Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson. He has great hands and can get to the net but needs someone to help him get the puck there, although the ship has likely sailed on him being a high-impact offensive player. He might be able to sneak on the Flyers second power play unit out of camp.

Tyson Foerster

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	23	20	43	0.52

One of the players sticking around from the Flyers ex-prospect core, Foerster found a niche for himself as an excellent two-way forward. He was a dark horse Calder pick his rookie year and could continue to get Selke votes as he progresses. He’s a big, powerful skater at 215 pounds and has great hands around the net. One of the few Flyers forwards who could create offence when the rush game wasn’t open, Foerster did an excellent job of working the cycle game in the offensive zone, knowing when to go to the front of the net and when to read off his teammates to keep the play going on. Watching him is a great way to learn how good defensive play can start in the offensive zone, as Foerster does an excellent job of staying above the puck at all times, making the right play and covering for pinching defencemen. He was someone the Flyers could count on to settle the play down when they needed to and provide some extra offence in their middle six. It earned him somewhat of an elevated role, playing more than your typical third liner. His playmaking could still improve, but he is set to be a mainstay on the Flyers roster for the time being.

Bobby Brink

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	14	31	45	0.57

This is somewhat of a “prove it” year for Brink with his RFA deal expiring and right now he’s somewhat in the middle of convincing the Flyers that he can be an impact player. A injury-riddled rookie season was followed up with a solid 41 points with Brink showing flashes of being a great playmaker. He’s smaller, but controls the perimeter game well, making great touch passes from the wall into traffic and excelling in the give-and-go game off the rush. He’s willing to go to the net but gets boxed out easily by bigger defencemen. An elite player in college, Brink has yet to show he can do the same in the NHL. The type of game he plays requires high-level linemates or a finisher to get the most out of hm, but you have to earn your way to those roles in the NHL and he’s on his way to at least getting a shot if he can progress. Being a dog on the forecheck, as he has shown he is willing to do, also helps. The two things working against him is the Flyers acquiring a similar player in Zegras, who could make Brink redundant if he moves to the wing (and takes his power play time) and Brink undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum, his second hip surgery in three years. Still, he showed enough in his sophomore season to make you believe.

Noah Cates

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	14	25	39	0.48

Cates emerged as an intriguing player a few years ago, receiving some Calder and Selke love from those who follow advanced stats, and it caught some people off-guard. Mostly because if you don’t watch the Flyers you have probably never heard of him before. While he didn’t follow it up in his sophomore season, he had saw a nice return to form last year and formed an excellent defensive line with Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink. Cates starts virtually every shift in the defensive zone, so adding Brink added a nice wrinkle to this line as someone who could spark the transition game. This isn’t Cates specialty, but he does a good job of complementing it with good positioning and helping start the rush from his own zone. He had the highest successful exit percentage on the Flyers and was their best forward at not turning the puck over on breakouts. It’s made him a go-to option for their penalty kill and he should be a favourite of the new coaching staff for that alone. The offence is gravy with him but having a third liner who can get you close to 40 points is always going to be valuable. Cates’ good hands and knack for deflecting pucks also helps with that, as this line feeds the point for a lot of their offence.

DEFENCE

Travis Sanheim

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	10	30	40	0.49

It took a while for Sanheim to really blossom as a top-tier defenceman. He was always someone who could play the big minutes and hold his own, but the dynamic playmaking ability didn’t start to show until a couple years ago. Having somewhat of a trial by fire introduction to the NHL paved the way for him, as he had to build his game from the defensive zone out, learning when to make safe plays and when to be aggressive. He always had the skillset in him but was never in the right situation to show it. That has changed the last couple of years, as he is one of the most active defenders in the league at leading zone entries and he’s been able to use his high-level passing ability for playmaking rather than moving the play forward. The area where it’s helped the most is when he can patrol the offensive zone to look for a deflection or go cross-ice. You might not expect him to be one of the league leaders in that category, but the stats back that up. As the Flyers forward corps continues to improve, he should see more of a reward for it on the scoresheet. Even without the offence, Sanheim has the raw skills of a top-pair defenceman. He skates laterally incredibly well, can keep up with top forwards and his rush defending has gotten better with age. The new wrinkle in his game could help propel him to the next level, although some of that might depend on if he gets power play time too.

Cam York

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
48	4	17	21	0.27

York’s profile and college stats suggest that he’s an offensive, puck-moving defenceman but if you watched him last year you might think he’s a shutdown defenceman. He didn’t get to play with the puck much and spent most of his shifts chasing forwards around the defensive zone. A product of a rough environment on a struggling Philly team but even when you consider that, York did an admirable job in this role. Defencemen who can skate are how the modern shutdown game is played, and York does a lot of the little things that mesh with it. He has an annoying presence in the defensive zone with how he stays with forwards or gets a stick on a puck to deflect it out of the way. Also not afraid to use his body to defend and kill the cycle even if he’s not the biggest guy. The common problem was that a lot of these positive plays from him went to waste often because the forwards couldn’t get the puck out after that. He still formed a solid pair with Sanheim, but there is more on the bone with York that the Flyers can unlock. It’s uncertain if the offence is still part of the package for him, as they’re likely giving the power play minutes to Drysdale and York has been transitioned to more of a heavy penalty killing duty. Finding your niche is what the NHL is all about and York seems to have done this well.

Jamie Drysdale

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	8	21	29	0.37

In the final year of his contract, this is likely Drysdale’s last chance to prove that he can be a long-term piece for the Flyers. Last year wasn’t exactly encouraging because they fed him top power play minutes only to be rewarded with two goals and seven points with the man advantage. Not exactly what you want to see when you’re known for quarterbacking a power play, especially when you have the reputation as a defensive liability on top of that. There was a grace period with evaluating Drysdale, as he dealt with major injuries for two years, but he was injury free last year and didn’t do much to set himself apart from the rest of the Flyers. There was also a level of diminishing returns when looking at what he provided while others like Sanheim got less power play time and roster hopefuls like Emil Andrae had to wait their turn to play after impressing in their initial NHL stints. There’s still some hope for Drysdale, as this year brings a fresh start (with an old teammate in Zegras) and he has shown he can be an impactful offensive player in the NHL before, albeit all the way back in 2022. He has the raw skills, is an excellent skater and can walk the blue line better than most but translating it to anything outside of overtime was a challenge.

Rasmus Ristolainen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	3	16	19	0.29

One of the few players who has gotten better in a rough period of Flyers hockey, Ristolainen’s made the transition from being overplayed and unreliable to a solid middle-of-the-roster player. This started a few years ago when they had Ristolainen focus more on killing plays in the defensive zone through being less physical, acting more as a disrupter and getting pucks out instead of trying to go coast-to-coast. He adapted well, but he also saw his minutes cut back to 17-18 minutes a game while playing on the third pair. Last year, he got back into the 20–21-minute range and posted similar results which were solid, albeit nothing mind blowing. He also saw a return to being more involved in the play offensively, rating average in scoring chance creation for a defenceman and it led to him being used on the power play again, granted with only three assists to show for it. Much of the credit for his resurgence has been given to former Flyers assistant Brad Shaw, who has a reputation of getting the best results out of defencemen everywhere he’s coached. With him departing to New Jersey’s bench, it will be interesting to see if Ristolainen’s play holds up.

Goal

Samuel Ersson

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
49	19	22	5	3	.900	2.98

The Philadelphia Flyers were dealt a miserable hand in net when starter Carter Hart saw his contract terminated by the team during a highly publicized sexual assault trial and prospect Ivan Fedotov saw his arrival in North America delayed by a detainment by the Russian military. Although Fedotov finally made his way to North America last season, he and fellow tandem partner Samuel Ersson held the distinction of making up the league's worst pairing statistically. Among starters, only Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alexandar Georgiev had worse years than Ersson, and Fedotov couldn't seem to find his footing well enough to stem the bleeding; he fared better than Ersson, but not by much.

The pair might get some help this upcoming season in the form of former Calgary Flames backup Dan Vladar, who left after losing the starting gig in Calgary to wunderkind Dustin Wolf. Vladar's lanky stature and smooth, speedy skating make him great for last-second desperation saves and extra reach on a defensive breakdown, something that both Fedotov and Ersson mightily struggled with last season. But from a numbers standpoint, Vladar is as much a reclamation project as he is a form of reinforcement for the other two Philadelphia could ice next season. The Flyers seem to be struggling to attract free agents to fill their goaltending depth chart, and that could make for a painful few years until they can figure out their long-term plans and develop some new options to offer.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Dustin Wolf makes strong case for the Calder Trophy – Teams and Players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 21:57:59 +0000

Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (32) (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire)

Two months ago, I took a look at the Calder Trophy race, highlighting Macklin Celebrini, Lane Hutson and Dustin Wolf as the favorites, but I also didn’t go into depth about the Flames goaltender because netminders typically don’t do well in Calder Trophy voting. As noted, Steve Mason was the last goaltender to win it back in 2008-09, and he was so good that campaign -- 33-20-7 record, 2.29 GAA and .916 save percentage -- that he finished in Vezina Trophy voting in addition to winning the Calder Trophy. So, the bar Wolf would have to reach to finish ahead of Celebrini and Hutson, who have been impressive in their own right, is high.

Even if he doesn’t end up getting the Calder, though, Wolf deserves recognition for what he’s doing because it’s not an exaggeration to say that the 23-year-old rookie is the single biggest reason Calgary has a legitimate shot of making the playoffs. Wolf has a 22-12-5 record, 2.53 GAA and .915 save percentage in 39 starts this campaign. He might not be a Vezina Trophy contender like Mason was in his rookie campaign, but Wolf is in a four-way tie for fifth in save percentage (min. 20 games played), so he’s certainly one of the league’s top netminders.

His numbers look even better when you consider that Calgary is tied for 20th in xGA/60 (3.11), per Moneypuck, which suggests that the defense in front of him has been average at best. That’s also reflected in his Goals Saved Above Expected, which stands at 16.5, the sixth best in the league. That puts him just behind Andrei Vasilevskiy (17.1), which is good company to be in.

Meanwhile, the Flames have done nothing to help him offensively. The Flames rank last in goals per game with 2.56. Among teams that have averaged 2.60 goals per game or fewer dating back to 2020-21, Calgary at 30-23-11 is the only team with a points percentage above .500 (.555). The next best is the 2021-22 Sharks, who finished at 32-37-13 for a .470 points percentage. What about finishing last in scoring but still managing a points percentage above .500? The last team to do that were the 2015-16 Devils, who finished 38-36-8 on the strength of Cory Schneider (2.15 GAA, .924 save percentage). Even then, those Devils didn’t come close to making the playoffs, so Calgary might one-up them in that metric.

It’s fair to say what Wolf’s doing is rare: taking a team with a mediocre defense and a rock-bottom offense and guiding the squad toward a potential playoff berth. Is that enough to win the Calder? It’s tough to say because it’s so subjective. Lane Hutson is a rookie defenseman who has already breached the 50-point mark and might reach 60 before the season is over. That almost never happens. Chris Chelios had 64 points back in 1984-85 and would have secured the Calder if that wasn’t also the rookie season of Mario Lemieux (43 goals, 100 points). Meanwhile, Macklin Celebrini’s production isn’t quite as rare if we’re judging him against past rookie forwards, but it’s still worth emphasizing that he’s reached the 20-goal mark despite injury and isn’t too far below a point per game. Comparing them is difficult because they serve completely different roles.

Whatever the case, though, Calgary without Wolf would have been a far different and likely substantially worse team this campaign.

Boston Bruins (Mon vs BUF, Thu @ VGK, Sat @ SJS, Sun @ LAK)

Boston isn’t out of the playoff race yet, but after going 3-7-2 from Feb. 5-March 13, the Bruins’ chances of making the postseason seem increasingly bleak. They need a strong week, and the Bruins will be facing two non-playoff teams in Buffalo, who they host Monday, and San Jose, who they have a road matchup against Saturday. However, the Bruins will also have two difficult road clashes in Vegas on Thursday and Los Angeles on Sunday, so there will be challenges for them to overcome.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Boston has won two of its past three games since the trade deadline, despite its longer-term struggles and being a deadline day seller. It helps that one of the few NHL-ready assets the Bruins did get back, Casey Mittelstadt, has kicked off his Boston career with a three-game scoring streak (one goal, two assists). He’s centering the second line, which isn’t a glamorous assignment given the state of the Bruins’ depth, but he is on the first power-play unit, which has already led to him collecting an assist on David Pastrnak’s goal Tuesday.

Speaking of, the dismantling of his supporting cast and the team edging toward rebuild mode doesn’t seem to have demoralized David Pastrnak. He has two goals and two assists in Boston’s three games post-deadline, extending his overall scoring streak to five games (two goals, five assists). He also ranks fifth among all players with 82 points and is tied for fourth in goals with 34. If Boston manages to squeak into the playoffs, he’ll be a big part of the reason why.

Maybe Jeremy Swayman can play a role in guiding them down the stretch too, but that’s hard to count on. Although his early campaigns were great, his 2024-25 GAA and save percentage of 2.98 and .897, respectively, are unimpressive, and a big part of that is inconsistency. For example, he earned two straight wins from March 8-11 while saving 51 of 53 shots (.962 save percentage), but he followed that up with a stinker against Ottawa in which he surrendered four goals in the first period, leading to the yank.

Ottawa is a division rival, and the holder of a wild-card spot, which makes the loss all the more painful. Boston is now seven points back of Ottawa. The Bruins are a mere two points behind Columbus, which holds the second wild-card spot, though Boston has played in two more games and is also contending for that spot with the Rangers, Montreal and Detroit -- combine with Boston and Columbus, all five teams are within a two-point range through Thursday’s action.

Chicago Blackhawks (Tue vs SEA, Thu vs LAK, Sat @ STL, Sun vs PHI)

Staring down the barrel of a possible rebuild, what Boston likely fears is going down the path of Chicago. Sure, the Blackhawks have picked up some remarkable young talent along the way, but Chicago is on course to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year and seventh time in eight seasons. Technically it’s even worse than that, because the lone time Chicago made the playoffs in that span in 2019-20 when the COVID lockdown led to the league expanding the postseason system, causing Chicago to participate despite a 32-30-8 record and last-place finish in the Central Division.

Either way, Chicago isn’t just looking at another season without playoff action, the Blackhawks seem no where near being competitive. After losing a third straight game Thursday, Chicago is 20-37-9. Maybe they’ll be able to finish on a high note? Chicago has a busy week ahead of it, mostly against teams that aren’t presently in a playoff spot. The Blackhawks will host Seattle on Tuesday and the Kings on Thursday. They’ll then take to the road to play in St. Louis on Saturday before returning home to host Philadelphia on Sunday.

If you’re looking for good news, it’s that Spencer Knight has looked decent since being acquired from Florida as part of the Seth Jones trade. He’s 2-2-0 with a 2.24 GAA and a .928 save percentage in four starts with Chicago. That’s a small sample size, but he also held his own with Florida this campaign -- he had a 12-8-1 record, 2.40 GAA and .907 save percentage in 23 outings pre-trade -- and his potential has been known for a while. Still just 23 years old, Chicago might have found its long-term answer in net. Chicago dealt Petr Mrazek to Detroit, so Knight is likely to see most of the starts for the rest of the season.

Unfortunately, other parts of the Blackhawks’ young core have been unimpressive recently. Lukas Reichel, 22, hasn’t recorded a point in his past five games and remains at 19 points (six goals) across 57 appearances. Although there have been high expectations put on the No. 17 overall pick from the 2020 NHL Draft, he hasn’t been able to consistently perform offensively at the NHL level despite collecting 42 goals and 116 points across 121 career regular-season AHL games.

More importantly, Connor Bedard has struggled to make any progress in his sophomore season, and he’s been especially cold recently, supplying just a goal and three points over his past 11 appearances. That gives him 17 goals and 52 points in 66 outings in 2024-25, which is great stuff for a 19-year-old but puts him behind the 22 goals and 61 points in 68 appearances he recorded as a rookie. Ultimately, growing pains as a sophomore is nothing to panic over, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he still manages to end the season on a positive note.

In the meantime, it’s the veterans who are getting the job done for Chicago. The 28-year-old Ryan Donato has been incredible lately with eight goals and 20 points across his past 15 appearances, while the 30-year-old Teuvo Teravainen has four goals and 17 points in 14 outings. Please note that Donato is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, so even if the Blackhawks have no hope of making the playoffs, he is playing for his next contract, which should help keep him going as we enter the final stretch of the campaign.

Los Angeles Kings (Mon @ MIN, Thu @ CHI, Sat vs CAR, Sun vs BOS)

The Kings won their fourth straight game when they shutdown the Capitals 3-0 on Thursday. That streak has elevated them into the second seed in the Pacific Division, though they have just a one-point edge over Edmonton, albeit with a game in hand, so the Kings need to maintain their momentum in order to secure the home-ice advantage in the first round. They’ll start the week on the road with contests in Minnesota on Monday and Chicago on Thursday. The Kings will then host the Hurricanes and the Bruins on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Shutting out the Capitals is no small feat, so Darcy Kuemper, who made 21 saves, deserves recognition for pulling that off against his former team. The goaltender is on a roll, stopping 101 of 105 shots (.962 save percentage) across his past four starts (3-0-1). He’s also been an important part of the Kings’ success overall with a 21-8-7 record, 2.23 GAA and .916 save percentage in 37 outings. What a comeback he’s had after a disastrous 2023-24 campaign with Washington (13-14-3 record, 3.31 GAA, .890 save percentage). It provides a little silver lining to the whole Pierre-Luc Dubois saga, though it has to be said that Dubois has done well in Washington (17 goals, 57 points), so the Kuemper-Dubois swap has ultimately worked out for both sides.

For those who aren’t aware, there was a brief time when Dubois was seen as a possible successor up the middle for the aging Anze Kopitar. That didn’t go as the Kings had hoped, but fortunately Anze Kopitar hasn’t needed a replacement just yet. The 37-year-old has three goals and seven points in his past seven outings, giving him 16 goals and 53 points in 64 appearances in 2024-25. It looks like he’ll finish just below the 70-point mark, but he should still hit 60 for the seventh time in eight seasons.

The 22-year-old Quinton Byfield is also giving the Kings reason for optimism about the future of their center group. Although he’ll likely finish below the 55-points he provided in 2023-24, Byfield has shown flashes of what he’s capable of this campaign, including his active five-game goal-scoring streak. He’s up to 16 markers and 39 points in 64 outings this season.

Nashville Predators (Tue vs STL, Thu vs ANA, Sat vs TOR, Sun @ STL)

The chances of Nashville making the playoffs are near zero, but the Predators would like to at least finish the campaign on a high note. To that end, Nashville has won four straight going into Friday’s action. The Predators will attempt to extend that run of strong play next week, starting with home games against St. Louis on Tuesday, Anaheim on Thursday and Toronto on Saturday. The Predators will finish the week on the road against St. Louis.

Steven Stamkos has been a huge part of the Predators’ recent success, providing five goals and nine points across that four-game winning streak. His 22 goals and 42 points in 64 outings is still disappointing when measured against his 80-plus points in each of his previous three campaigns, but the 35-year-old clearly still has something left in the tank. Don’t dismiss the possibility of 2025-26 being a comeback season for him -- he might provide great value for those who select him in 2025 fantasy drafts.

I’m less confident about Juuse Saros bouncing back. Even while winning his past three starts, Saros hasn’t looked special, stopping just 65 of 73 shots (.890 save percentage). His goals saved above expected is minus-4.1 this season, suggesting that he’s been below average even if you factor out the Predators’ defense, and he was a similarly underwhelming minus-3.0 last season. He’s still just 29 (30 on April 19), so it’s not like a comeback is impossible. You look at a guy like Sergei Bobrovsky, and you can see how a goaltender can be inconsistent on yearly basis but still average out to be a phenomenal netminder. Even still, I’m at the point where I need to see results from Saros before I’ll start to believe in him again. As it stands, I’d be somewhat worried if I was the Predators’ GM given that his eight-year, $61.92 million contract doesn’t even start until next season.

I’m also not big on the idea that Jonathan Marchessault will do better next season. He has 19 goals and 48 points in 64 appearances this campaign, down from 42 goals and 69 points in 82 appearances with Vegas in 2023-24. The issue is that last season was an outlier from him in terms of goal scoring -- other than that, he’s never done better than 30 markers. He accomplished that feat thanks to his 15.8 shooting percentage, well above his career average of 11.5, so his showing in 2024-25 represents a regression toward the norm. It is noteworthy that he’s managed just 9.4 shots per 60 minutes this season -- he recorded between 10.8-12.4 in each campaign from 2017-18 through 2023-24 -- so perhaps he’ll be somewhat more aggressive next season, leading to a handful of additional goals, but that’s about the most you can hope for.

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon @ PHI, Thu @ WAS, Sat @ DAL, Sun @ CHI)

The Flyers earned a 4-3 shootout win over Tampa Bay on Thursday to end their five-game losing streak, but at 28-31-8, Philadelphia’s chances of making the playoffs seem remote. The task won’t be made any easier next week. The Flyers will be on the road, playing in Tampa Bay on Monday, Washington on Thursday, Dallas on Saturday and Chicago on Sunday.

No Flyers player is particularly hot offensively at the moment, and that includes 20-year-old Matvei Michkov. To be fair, he recorded an impressive six goals and 13 points in nine games from Feb. 6-March 8, but he’s been held off the scoresheet for Philadelphia’s past three outings. The rookie’s talent is without question, but he’s been extremely streaky this season, so be prepared for this cold stretch to potentially last another week or two.

Maybe Bobby Brink is at the beginning of a hot streak, though. He was amazing versus Tampa Bay on Thursday, supplying two goals and an assist. That’s just his fourth multi-point game of the campaign, but don’t get too excited: The previous three times he had a multi-point showing, it didn’t lead to a notable stretch of offensive success. He also has a meh 10 goals and 32 points in 64 appearances overall.

There’s nothing much to jump on in goal either. Ivan Fedotov did have a nice stretch from March 1-9, stopping 75 of 80 shots (.938 save percentage) in three appearances, but even then, the Flyers provided him with just one win in that stretch, and that good run ended Tuesday anyway when he allowed four goals on 23 shots to Ottawa.

If you’re looking for fantasy value, there just isn't much to be found here at this time. However, while I’m pessimistic about Michkov in the short term, the flip side of his streaky nature is that he should rebound eventually -- and likely in a big way.

St. Louis Blues (Tue @ NAS, Thu vs VAN, Sat vs CHI, Sun vs NAS)

St. Louis will start next with in Nashville, capping off an exhausting stretch in which the Blues played seven of eight games from March 2-18 on the road. After that, they’ll get to sleep in their own beds for a while. The Blues will host the Canucks on Thursday, the Blackhawks on Saturday and the Predators on Sunday.

The Blues are 31-28-7 and sit just two points out of a playoff position through Thursday’s action. There’s plenty of competition for that second wild-card spot, but it is fair to say that St. Louis is still playing for something with roughly a month left in the regular-season schedule.

This would certainly be a good time for Jordan Binnington to get hot again. He’s had his moments, especially during the 4 Nations Face-Off, but he’s struggled recently with a 2-2-0 record, 3.49 GAA and .846 save percentage across his past four appearances. Unfortunately, he’s just been too inconsistent to count on, but he’s still appeared in seven of St. Louis’ past nine games, so it seems safe to say the Blues will lean on him over Joel Hofer in the final weeks of the season.

Maybe Binnington will get sufficient goal support to make his occasional struggles moot. Dylan Holloway is certainly doing his best, supplying five goals and eight points across his past nine games. He’s up to 21 goals, 48 points and 138 hits in 66 appearances in 2024-25. This is with the benefit of hindsight, but Edmonton has to be asking itself if declining to match the Blues’ two-year, $4.58 million offer sheet was really the right move, even after factoring in the Oilers’ tricky cap situation.

Zachary Bolduc is another young forward leading the Blues’ push for a playoff spot. The 21-year-old has six goals and seven points across his past eight games, elevating him to 12 goals and 25 points in 56 outings overall. I’m not confident Bolduc will continue to be productive over the final month of the season, but Bolduc is a former No. 17 overall pick (2021 draft), so this kind of offensive outburst isn’t coming out of nowhere.

The veteran Brayden Schenn had been doing his part too, supplying three goals and 10 points in nine games from Feb. 8-March 7. However, he was held off the scoresheet in each of St. Louis’ past two games, so that hot streak might be at its end. The 33-year-old has 14 goals and 40 points in 66 appearances in 2024-25.

Tampa Bay Lightning (Mon vs PHI, Thu @ DAL, Sat @ UTA, Sun @ VGK)

Tampa Bay enjoyed a run of 10 wins in 11 games from Feb. 4-March 6, but the Lightning have stumbled recently, dropping their last three (0-2-1). The Lightning will try to shake that off next week, starting with a home game against Philadelphia. The Lightning will then play in Dallas on Thursday, in Utah on Saturday and in Vegas on Sunday.

Tampa Bay has a 37-23-5 record, which puts the squad two points behind Toronto and six away from the division-leading Panthers. Reaching Florida is unlikely at this point, but the Lightning could still earn home-ice advantage in a probable first-round matchup against Toronto if Tampa Bay finishes the season strong.

A lot of the Lightning’s potential success will be contingent on their main three forwards of Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. That’s typically a good trio to bet on, but Guentzel and Point have each been held off the scoresheet for all of Tampa Bay’s last three games. Kucherov was scoreless in two of those contests and missed the third due to illness. Kucherov did rejoin the Lightning for Friday’s practice, but rather than skate alongside Guentzel and Point, he shared the ice with Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli, while Yanni Gourde skated on the top unit.

That’s nothing earthshattering. Kucherov has spent 18.5 percent of his even-strength minutes alongside Cirelli and Hagel this season, so while that combination isn’t common, it’s not unheard of. Besides, Cirelli (20 goals, 45 points) and Hagel (30 goals, 72 points) are great forwards in their own right, so they’re good players for the star to work with and might help spark Kucherov.

This is also a good opportunity for Gourde, who has six goals and 19 points between St. Louis and Tampa Bay this season. He has two assists since being acquired by Tampa Bay, but if he shows some chemistry with Guentzel and Point, perhaps Tampa Bay will consider using this combination more regularly, which would likely boost Gourde’s offensive production.

Toronto Maple Leafs (Mon vs CGY, Wed vs COL, Thu @ NYR, Sat @ NAS)

Toronto’s been struggling recently, dropping four of its last five (1-3-1) and failing to win any of those games in regulation or overtime. That’s dropped the Leafs’ record to 39-23-3, which presents them with an uphill battle if they want to overtake the 41-22-3 Panthers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Toronto will look for better results next week, starting with home games against Calgary and Colorado on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. The Leafs will then hit the road, playing against the Rangers on Thursday and Nashville on Saturday.

Goaltending has been part of the Leafs’ recent issues. Anthony Stolarz has a record of 0-2-1 along with a 3.18 GAA and an .876 save percentage across his past four appearances, and Joseph Woll has allowed at least three goals over each of his past three outings -- though he is 2-1-0 over that stretch. Overall, the Maple Leafs’ goaltenders have still been fine this season with Stolarz being particularly good, posting a 2.37 GAA and a .920 save percentage in 25 games, so I don’t think those issues are a source of panic right now.

On the offensive side of things, Auston Matthews is continuing his interesting season. His 11.5 shooting percentage of 2024-25 is the worst of his career, and he might finish with under 30 goals for the first time -- just one season removed from 69 markers. However, he’s managed to adjust by serving as more of a playmaker, resulting in him collecting 56 points (23 goals) in 50 appearances. He has missed time due to upper body issues this campaign, and perhaps he’s still not 100 percent, which would explain his mortal levels of goal scoring, but as long as he’s finding other ways to contribute, Toronto will be fine.

Meanwhile, the Leafs’ pending UFAs, John Tavares and Mitch Marner, continue to make big contributions. Tavares has seven goals and 14 points in 14 appearances this season, giving him 27 goals and 56 points in 58 outings overall, and Marner has five goals and nine points in his last eight games, bringing him up to 21 goals and 80 points in 64 appearances. It will be extremely interesting to see how Toronto navigates those contract situations over the summer. Letting them walk would be immensely painful, but the silver lining is that roughly $22 million would be coming off the books between the two of them.

Ultimately, what happens in the playoffs might be a determining factor. If the Maple Leafs have a deep run, then Toronto might want to stick with what they have, and it might also serve as extra motivation for Marner to bet on the Leafs long term. However, if Toronto ends up with another first-round exit, then the front office might decide its finally time to close the books on the Marner/Matthews/Tavares/William Nylander experiment that, to this point, has resulted in just one playoff series win.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Nashville Resurgence, Rantanen traded to Carolina, plus much more – Favourable schedules and players to target

McKeen's Hockey — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 15:16:30 +0000

NASHVILLE, TN - JANUARY 16: Nashville Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault (81) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks, held on January 16, 2025, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire)

The best stories in sports are the comebacks that happen after a team has been written off. Two examples that spring to mind from recent history are the 2014-15 Ottawa Senators, who were 22-23-10 after a loss Feb. 16, putting them 10 points behind in the playoff race, only to go 21-3-3 the rest of the way to narrowly secure a postseason berth. Another is the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues, who were 16-19-4 on Jan. 5, which placed them last in the Western Conference, before going 29-9-5 the rest of the way to not only make the playoffs but win the Stanley Cup.

Is it possible we’ll have another one of those stories this year? Those stories are memorable because they’re rare, and you only need to look at the absurd records they needed down the stretch to illustrate why. Due in no small part to the consolation point for overtime/shootout losses, the standings tend to look closer than they truly are because closing even a small point gap is difficult.

That said, I can’t help but look at the Nashville Predators and wonder if there is still some hope. It’s probably a foolish thing to think and a take that will age like milk, but after a 7-16-6 start, Nashville began to stabilize and now the team seems to have hit its stride with its current five-game winning streak. The Predators are still just 18-22-7, so they’d have basically have to go the rest of the season without any more noteworthy slumps, but part of the reason that such a feat even seems remotely possible is because the veteran leadership that seemed lost in the early part of the season has settled in.

Steven Stamkos has 10 goals and 19 points across his past 19 appearances while Jonathan Marchessault has 10 goals and 26 points over the same 19-game span. They were signed over the summer to provide that kind of offense but were initially written off as poor decisions by GM Barry Trotz due to their extremely poor start to the campaign. Now it seems they were judged too harshly.

When you couple their success with Filip Forsberg (18 goals, 47 points), elite defenseman Roman Josi (nine goals, 35 points) and veteran center Ryan O'Reilly (13 goals, 27 points), you have a fairly strong offense, especially if any of Gustav Nyquist, Tommy Novak or Luke Evangelista (lower body) start to hit their stride. As it is, Nashville has ranked second in goals per game (3.47) dating back to Dec. 10. That’s in stark contrast to the Predators’ first 28 games where they were last in the league in that scoring category (2.18).

You could call this just a hot streak for the offense, and there’s probably an element of that, but given that we’re talking about players of this caliber, it might be something at least somewhat sustainable.

It’s not all rosy, though. The X-Factor is surprisingly goaltending. Ottawa’s run involved journeyman goaltender Andrew Hammond standing on his head, and the Blues got a similar story out of rookie Jordan Binnington.

Nashville shouldn’t need someone to come out of nowhere to shut down the opposing offense. The Predators already have Juuse Saros, who not that long ago was seen as one of the best goaltenders of this generation. This campaign, though, he’s struggled with an 11-18-6 record, 2.81 GAA and .901 save percentage in 36 appearances. Unlike the offense, Saros hasn’t stepped up -- he's 2-2-0 with a 3.42 GAA and an .860 save percentage across his past five outings.

That’s led to Justus Annunen starting a bit more often lately, but while the backup netminder has won his past four starts, he’s been inconsistent, allowing 10 goals on 105 shots (.905 save percentage) over that span.

Let’s assume Nashville needs a 95-point season to make the playoffs. That wouldn’t have been good enough last year, but for the sake of argument, let’s just pretend that’s what’s needed. Nashville would need another 52 points across its final 35 games, so for example, 26-9-0, or say, 23-6-6. Even a top-tier offense is unlikely to get them that kind of record down the stretch. Some of that’s going to have to come from the goalies stealing games, so until Saros or Annunen start heating up, it’s hard to imagine the comeback happening.

That said, if Stamkos and Marchessault could find their way back from unflattering starts, perhaps Saros can too?

Calgary Flames (Tue vs WAS, Thu vs ANA, Sat vs DET, Sun @ SEA)

Calgary wasn’t seen as a major contender going into the campaign. In fact, there was an argument to be made that the Flames would regress from their 38-39-5 record last season after trading away goaltender Jacob Markstrom over the summer. However, we’re clear past the halfway point of 2024-25 now, and the Flames are very much in the playoff race. The weakness for the Flames is they’ve struggled on the road (8-10-4), but they won’t have to concern themselves with that in the upcoming week. They’ll host the Capitals, Ducks, Red Wings and Kraken on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

A big part of the reason why the Flames’ rebuild is ahead of schedule is 23-year-old goaltender Dustin Wolf. He got a taste of the NHL last year and was mixed at best, posting a 7-7-1 record, 3.16 GAA and .893 save percentage in 17 games. However, he’s filled the void left by Markstrom and then some in 2024-25 with his 17-7-2 record, 2.49 GAA and .918 save percentage in 26 starts. To put that into context, Wolf has already saved 13.3 goals above expected this season, per Moneypuck, which has almost caught up to the 13.7 goals saved above expected Markstrom provided for the Flames last campaign. Wolf also ranks eighth among goaltenders in that metric this season.

Wolf’s contributions are extra important because the rest of the team has underwhelmed. Calgary ranks 29th in goals per game (2.65) and 21st in xGA/60 (3.09). So, the team’s not generating much offense and the defense hasn’t been responsible enough to make an average goaltender look good -- just ask backup Dan Vladar, who is only slightly below average at minus-2.8 goals saved above expected, but due to the Flames’ defense has some rather unflattering numbers: a 3.03 GAA and an .889 save percentage.

Still, even if Wolf is the team’s clear MVP, it would be inaccurate to suggest that he’s the only player of value in Calgary. Jonathan Huberdeau might not be living up to his contract, but his 19 goals and 35 points through 46 outings make him the team’s offensive leader. Since a quiet stretch from Oct. 19-Nov. 29 in which Huberdeau had four goals and six points in 20 outings, the 31-year-old has been tremendous, supplying 12 goals and 23 points across 22 outings. If he can maintain anything close to that down the stretch, then there’s a decent chance he’ll be playing playoff hockey this year.

The 23-year-old Jakob Pelletier is also hot with three goals and six points across his past five appearances. It took him a while to get going -- he recorded a goal and five points over his first 15 games with Calgary this season -- but we’re getting a flash of what he’s capable of. He was selected with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and has been dominant offensively at the AHL level, including three goals and 19 points in 20 contests this season.

Maybe Rory Kerins will also help them down the stretch. He’s 23 as well and has provided an incredible 21 goals and 34 points in 34 AHL games in 2024-25. Unlike Pelletier, Kerins was a late-round pick and even logged 38 games with ECHL Rapid City back in 2022-23. Kerins has risen, making his NHL debut Jan. 13 and recording four assists in five outings with the Flames so far. That said, he’s averaging just 12:14 of ice time, including a mere 6:57 on Thursday, so his role with Calgary is far from secure despite those early results. Monitor him, but don’t get too excited yet.

Colorado Avalanche (Tue @ NYI, Fri vs STL, Sun vs PHI)

The Avalanche has a solid 28-19-2 record, but they’ve merely treaded water lately, going 5-4-1 across their past 10 games. They’ll see if they can do better next week with a favorable schedule. The Avalanche will visit the Islanders on Tuesday before returning home to host St. Louis on Friday and Philadelphia on Sunday. Those adversaries are well behind the Avalanche in terms of points percentage.

I wrote this whole thing about Colorado’s situation with regard to Mikko Rantanen’s contract, and then the Avalanche traded him to Carolina in a three-team deal that also involved Chicago, which was shocking, to say the least. To be fair, there is logic to be found here. My now outdated discussion of the topic still serves as a decent overview of the challenge the Avalanche were facing pre-trade, so I’ll show it here for that purpose:

“Like Edmonton with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, Colorado also has the luxury of an elite one-two punch up front. The Avalanche version is headlined by Nathan MacKinnon, and the other half of the Avalanche’s duo is Mikko Rantanen, who has 25 goals and 64 points through 49 outings in 2024-25. Colorado has an issue that Edmonton recently went through, though: Rantanen is on the final season of his six-year, $55.5 million contract and can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Rantanen has a real shot of reaching the 40-goal and 100-point milestones for the third consecutive year, so to say he’s due a big payday would be an understatement.

Finding a comparable is a little difficult. Draisaitl won the Hart Trophy in 2019-20, has collected at least 50 goals on three occasions and has also gotten at least 110 points three times, but Rantanen has never been a Hart finalist, has reached the 50-goal mark just once and he’s career high in points is 105, so it’s clear which one of them has a better resume. Still, if Draisaitl could ink an eight-year, $112 million ($14 million cap hit) contract back in September, perhaps Rantanen is thinking at least $12 million annually? Maybe even more? It might be awkward to give Rantanen something at or above Nathan MacKinnon’s eight-year, $100.8 million ($12.6 million cap hit) contract, but MacKinnon inked that back in 2022, and with the cap going up, so too will the payouts for top talent.”

So, you can see why the Avalanche might have opted to move Rantanen rather than lock him up, and there might even be more to this story that we’re not yet aware of. Perhaps the Avalanche presented Rantanen with a competitive offer, and he rejected that. To be clear, that’s purely just hypothetical, and I have no inside knowledge of the situation, so please take my wild speculation as fact, but in that scenario, this trade would make more sense from the Avalanche’s perspective.

That said, I don’t love the return from the Avalanche’s perspective. Colorado is getting Martin Necas and Jack Drury from the Avalanche, as well as some picks. Necas has never reached the 30-goal or 80-point marks, so he doesn’t have the same kind of resume as Rantanen, but Necas is younger at 26 and has done well this campaign with 16 goals and 55 points in 49 appearances. He’ll look good alongside Nathan MacKinnon. My problem with Necas as the return is his two-year, $13 million contract expires in 2026, and then Necas will be eligible for unrestricted free agency. So, if he performs over the next year and a half as the Avalanche hope, then to some extent they just kicked the problem down the road by a year. Granted, Necas probably won’t command what Rantanen did…but that’s only because he’s a downgrade. No offense to Necas -- 99.9 percent of the league is a downgrade to Rantanen -- but the Avalanche are in a win-now mode, so unless retaining Rantanen was completely off the table, this trade feels a little weird to me.

Perhaps I’m undervaluing Jack Drury, though. He has just nine points (three goals) in 39 appearances in 2024-25, but the 24-year-old probably has upside left in him, and the Avalanche will certainly benefit from the center depth. It would not be surprising to see Drury tried out on the third line behind MacKinnon and Casey Mittelstadt.

The Avalanche also got two picks out of the trade. Not a first-rounder, but maybe in five years or so, we’ll look at one of those draft picks as an underrated benefit of this deal.

Carolina Hurricanes (Tue @ NYR, Thu vs CHI, Sat vs. LAK)

The teams I highlight are based on a combination of how busy their schedule is for the upcoming week and how favorable those matchups are. Additionally, I will typically present the teams I’ve included in alphabetical order. I’m breaking both of those to include the Hurricanes. I think it’s worth discussing the fallout of the Rantanen trade from the Hurricanes’ perceptive, and it’s better to have that discussion after outlining what this deal means for Colorado. A little bit of housekeeping before we get into the trade talks: The Hurricanes will start next week with a road tilt against the Rangers on Tuesday before hosting the Blackhawks on Thursday and the Kings on Saturday. It’s not a bad schedule, it’s just not special either.

Now to the trade: In addition to Rantanen, the Hurricanes also acquired Taylor Hall from Chicago for the cost of Necas, Drury and draft picks. There was also retained salary in the deal to make the cap situation work.

It’ll be really interesting to see how this plays out for Carolina. Rantanen has never really been “the guy” before. He’s spent basically his entire NHL career to this point in MacKinnon’s shadow, but now Rantanen will be expected to drive the offense in Carolina. Not that he’ll have to do it alone. In fact, Rantanen is likely to get some great linemates in Sebastian Aho (15 goals, 49 points) and Andrei Svechnikov (15 goals, 34 points). There’s every reason to believe that trio will mesh together.

There’s also reason to be optimistic about Carolina retaining Rantanen beyond this campaign. Sure, the Hurricanes’ attempt to lock down Jake Guentzel after acquiring him from Pittsburgh during the 2023-24 campaign ultimately failed, leading to Guentzel instead signing with Tampa Bay over the summer, but Carolina is set to be in a fantastic cap position for 2025-26. Dmitry Orlov ($7.75 million cap hit) and Brent Burns ($5.28 million) are both set to come off the books. Orlov will likely take a big pay cut if he stays at all. It’s not clear if Burns will play beyond this season, but if he does, it’ll likely be at a reduced salary too.

Carolina also doesn’t have any expiring players due for big paydays beyond Rantanen himself. Meanwhile, Puck Pedia is projecting them with $31.2 million in cap space for next season, albeit with just 13 roster spots filled. There is reason to believe the Hurricanes can meet Rantanen’s demands, even if he’s eyeing something close to what Draisaitl got.

What happens with Rantanen will go a long way towards defining how this trade is viewed, but adding Hall as well in the trade is interesting. He’s been middling this campaign with nine goals and 24 points in 46 appearances with the Blackhawks while averaging a modest 14:59 of ice time. It’s a far cry from what the 33-year-old did in his prime, but he might do better now that he’s on a contender. Hall will probably end up serving on the second line alongside some combination of Seth Jarvis (18 goals, 38 points), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (10 goals, 23 points) and Jackson Blake (11 goals, 16 points).

The Hurricanes’ overall offense has been good -- they rank fifth with 3.37 goals per game – but their scoring depth does leave something to be desired, especially if Carolina does go with that stacked top line of Svechnikov-Aho-Rantanen, so even a decent showing out of Hall would be a big boost.

Carolina likely doesn’t have any room left to make anymore notable additions before the trade deadline, but as it is, the Hurricanes do look like serious contenders.

New York Islanders (Tue vs COL, Thu @ PHI, Sat @ TBL, Sun @ FLA)

It might be premature to assume that the Islanders will miss the playoffs in 2024-25 for just the second time in seven years, but the team certainly has a hole to dig out of. They’ll attempt to better their situation next week, which will start with a home game against the Avalanche on Tuesday. The Islanders will then hit the road to play in Philadelphia on Thursday, Tampa Bay on Saturday and Florida on Sunday. It’s a tough schedule to be sure, but the Islanders are running out of margin for error, so they need to find a way to win difficult matches.

The Islanders inked Tony DeAngelo to a one-year contract Friday, which is…a choice. He’s been bought out twice at the NHL level, which led to him joining the KHL, but DeAngelo only served in 34 games with St. Petersburg SKA before his contract was mutually terminated. He’s questionable in his own end and seems to be a lightning rod for controversy. Still, for as much as there’s a reason why teams keep souring on him, there is also a cause for the infinite number of “second” chances he’s gotten.

DeAngelo, under the right circumstances, can be very effective when the puck is on his stick. He has surpassed the 40-point mark three times at the NHL level and had six goals and 32 points in 34 KHL outings before parting ways with SKA. So, for all the negatives he comes with, at least the 29-year-old has that going for him.

A team in a good spot probably wouldn’t bother with DeAngelo given the baggage, but the Islanders are 28th in goals per game with 2.66 and have lost Noah Dobson to a lower-body injury. Dobson is week-to-week after sustaining the injury Monday. He’s a vital part of the Islanders, and while DeAngelo isn’t a good enough blueliner to fully replace Dobson, one part of that void that DeAngelo likely can fill is the offensive loss. DeAngelo might only serve on the third pairing, but he will likely feature on the top power-play unit and could have fantasy value if that’s his role. His fantasy value will be even higher in leagues that include PIM as a category because he tends to end up in the sin bin a fair amount.

Under ideal circumstances, DeAngelo’s inclusion might even offer a boost to Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal, who will presumably share the ice with him on the power play. The Islanders are dead last in power-play conversions at just 12.2 percent, which has been a drag on the overall offensive output of the Islanders’ top forwards. If DeAngelo can help make the Islanders’ power play even remotely close to average, then that would add up meaningfully for all involved.

Of course, all this is assuming a favorable outcome, which is always a risky thing to believe in when it comes to DeAngelo. At the time of writing, his inclusion on the Islanders isn’t guaranteed. Though the contract has been signed, he needs to clear waivers before he can play for the Islanders. I wouldn’t bet on another team claiming him, but then again, I didn’t anticipate this move from New York, and yet, here we are.

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon vs NJD, Wed @ NJD, Thu vs NYI, Sun @ COL)

The Flyers missed out on the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, but at least they managed to stay in contention for most of the campaign. They’d like to do one better this year and secure a Wild Card spot, but there’s a lot of competition for those two seeds, so every game is that much more important. The Flyers will start the week with a home-and-away series against the Devils on Monday and Wednesday before hosting the Islanders on Thursday. Philadelphia will conclude its weekly schedule in Colorado on Sunday.

Goaltending has been a recurring issue for Philadelphia this season. Samuel Ersson is just too inconsistent, leading to a 14-8-2 record, 2.80 GAA and .891 save percentage in 26 appearances. Ivan Fedotov is no better, though, at 4-6-3 with a 3.25 GAA and an .880 save percentage in 14 starts.

The tragedy is that the Flyers are actually a really good defensive team, locked in a four-way tie for sixth in xGA/60 (2.85). The problem is purely the goaltenders. Ersson ranks 83rd among all netminders in goals allowed above expected at minus-8.8, per Moneypuck. The only netminders worse in that category with at least 20 games played are Petr Mrazek, Tristan Jarry, Alexandar Georgiev and Philipp Grubauer. One of those (Jarry) was sent to the minors due to his play while Mrazek and Georgiev are playing for rebuilding squads in Chicago and San Jose. In other words, it’s unflattering company for Ersson.

The Flyers offense isn’t great, but it’s decent. Travis Konecny (21 goals, 56 points) is doing his best to push the team into contention. He’s also been particularly productive recently, supplying five goals and 15 points across his past 13 appearances.

Owen Tippett is benefiting from playing alongside Konecny. The 25-year-old Tippett has three goals and six points over his last eight games, giving him 14 goals and 30 points in 50 outings overall. That duo doesn’t combine to create a top line that will turn heads, but it does the job well enough.

The Flyers are hoping that Matvei Michkov might eventually headline a unit of his own, but the rookie has been streaky. That’s pretty common for a young forward. You just need to keep an eye out and bench him during the down patches. We might be entering one right now -- he has been held off the scoresheet in each of his past two games after supplying two goals and five points across six outings from Jan. 11-21.

Pittsburgh Penguins (Mon @ SJS, Wed @ UTA, Sat vs NSH)

Like the Islanders and Flyers, Pittsburgh is on the outside looking in on the Wild Card race but is still in the running. The Penguins will play in San Jose on Monday and Utah on Wednesday before returning home to host the Predators on Saturday. The Sharks and Predators own two of the worst records in the league, so Pittsburgh needs to pick up points during that stretch if the Penguins are going to convince GM Kyle Dubas that this team can make a serious playoff push this year.

And make no mistake: Dubas likely needs some convincing. RG.org claims to have a source that Pittsburgh is willing to trade anyone other than Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Philip Tomasino and Owen Pickering. The source was also asked about Kris Letang, and they weren’t sure about him.

Erik Karlsson stands out as the biggest player not ruled out. The Penguins would likely need to retain salary -- his cap hit is $11.5 million annually through 2026-27, but the Sharks are already retaining $1.5 million, bringing the current hit to Pittsburgh down to $10 million -- but as long as Pittsburgh is willing to do that, the return could be fairly nice. Although he’s 34 years old, he’s been effective this campaign with four goals and 32 points in 50 outings.

One potential sticking point is that he has a no-movement clause. He already waived it once to move from San Jose to Pittsburgh, but presumably, there would only be certain teams he’d be willing to play for. The fun destination from a fan perspective would be a return to the Senators, but that would be difficult to make work from a cap perspective. Maybe Calgary or Columbus? The Flames and Blue Jackets are teams trending in the right direction who also have plenty of cap space. Perhaps they’d value his veteran leadership in addition to what he brings to the table on the ice. Columbus’ defense already looks fairly solid and is led by a phenomenal offensive defenseman in Zach Werenski, so I don’t know that the Blue Jackets are a great fit. Karlsson would likely provide a meaningful boost to the Flames, though.

Of course, if you're Crosby or Malkin, you’re still going to be clinging onto the hope of making the playoffs this year, so these upcoming games are extremely high stakes for them. Rust is dealing with a lower-body injury, which does complicate things, but if Rust ends up missing time, then you’ll probably see Anthony Beauvillier play with one of those highly motivated superstars.

Seattle Kraken (Mon @ EDM, Tue vs ANA, Thu vs SJS, Sun vs CGY)

Seattle will begin its weekly schedule with what’s likely to be a difficult matchup in Edmonton on Monday. However, the Kraken will then return home to host Anaheim on Tuesday, San Jose on Thursday and Calgary on Sunday. The Ducks and Sharks have struggled this campaign, so those are favorable matchups for the Kraken.

I briefly touched on Philip Grubauer above in the context of how bad he’s been this campaign -- and really for a while now. He has a 3.09 GAA and an .890 save percentage in 150 games since joining Seattle. His six-year, $35.4 million deal, which started in 2021-22, has been such a waste for the Kraken.

On the plus side, the Kraken have Joey Daccord, who has a 16-11-2 record, 2.47 GAA and .915 save percentage in 31 appearances in 2024-25. He could certainly use more offensive support, though.

Jared McCann leads the Kraken with 14 goals and 36 points in 49 appearances this season. That puts him outside of the NHL’s top 75 in the scoring race. Seattle also doesn’t employ any of the 32 players who have reached the 20-goal milestone. Jaden Schwartz is the closest at 16. A lack of big-name talent up front is really hurting this team.

Maybe Matty Beniers will still fill that void, but he’s been a mixed bag. He was Seattle’s first-ever draft pick -- the No. 2 overall selection in 2021 -- and he seemed to be on the fast track after supplying three goals and nine points in 10 NHL outings in 2021-22 followed by 24 goals and 57 points in 80 appearances last season. However, he took a big step back last year, dipping to 37 points, and he hasn’t rebounded much this campaign with 10 goals and 26 points in 49 appearances. He’s still just 22 years old, so there’s plenty of time for him to find his way, but it’s looking less and less likely that this year will be a positive for him.

Another former No. 2 pick seems to have found his way with Seattle, though. Since being acquired from the Rangers on Feb. 18, Kaapo Kakko has four goals and 13 points in 16 outings, giving the Kraken some of that offensive prowess they’ve desperately needed. He’s been averaging 16:50 of ice time in Seattle, which is up from 13:17 with the Rangers -- he had four goals and 14 points in 30 contests before the trade -- which goes a long way toward explaining his production jump.

There never seemed to be much of a role for Kakko in New York, so this change of scenery is probably exactly what he needed. Although his scoring pace might dip somewhat, he should continue to do well with Seattle.

Vancouver Canucks (Mon @ STL, Wed @ NSH, Fri @ DAL, Sun @ DET)

The Canucks have been a mess on and off the ice lately. Will things get any better for them or will the descent continue next week? They’ll start on the road with games in St. Louis on Monday, Nashville on Wednesday and Dallas on Friday. Vancouver will then host the Red Wings on Sunday.

There’s been plenty of speculation about the Canucks potentially moving one of Elias Pettersson or J.T. Miller for off-ice reasons. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Hurricanes were considering acquiring one of those star forwards before opting to instead get Rantanen from Colorado, per Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650. Carolina is likely out as a destination now, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Vancouver still trade one of Miller or Pettersson. The Rangers have been brought up before as a potential destination, so maybe there’s still something to be had there.

Perhaps because this has been distracting them, Vancouver has been in free fall, going 6-10-6 since Dec. 8. Miller had a five-game scoring drought from Jan. 8-16, but he’s otherwise remained effective, collecting eight goals and 33 points in 37 outings this campaign. It’s still far behind his regular-season production from 2023-24 (37 goals, 103 points), but at least he’s providing close to a point-per-game.

Pettersson hasn’t given anything close to that lately. He has just three goals and four points across his past 14 appearances. That slump has undermined a strong start to the campaign, leaving him with 11 goals and 30 points in 41 outings overall. He’ll probably bounce back eventually, but his slump is certainly part of the reason for the Canucks’ decline.

Thatcher Demko isn’t helping either, though. Since making his season debut Dec. 10 after returning from a knee injury, he has a 3-5-3 record, 3.47 GAA and .867 save percentage in 12 games. Some rust is to be expected after missing the opening months of the season, but he’s showing no signs of improvement, going 1-3-0 with a 4.03 GAA and an .833 save percentage across his past four outings. Kevin Lankinen is far from a sure thing either, but he’s been the better option with his 16-8-6 record, 2.63 GAA and .903 save percentage in 30 appearances.

It's unfortunate because Demko has shown in the past that he can be an elite netminder, and Vancouver could certainly use the help right now. As it is, though, about the only positive in Vancouver is that Quinn Hughes is still Quinn Hughes with 12 goals and 52 points in 43 appearances, including four goals and 10 points across his past nine outings.

Hughes just needs other stars to go back to living up to their names as well.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Wolf making Calder case, Johnson rebounding and much more

Scott Cullen — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 19:02:34 +0000

_{VANCOUVER, BC - SEPTEMBER 25: Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (32) in net during their preseason NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on September 25, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire)}

Each week, I’ll dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Dustin Wolf is howling in Calgary’s net, Mason Marchment is delivering for Dallas, Kent Johnson returns to the Blue Jackets lineup and much more!

#1 When the Calgary Flames made room for goaltender Dustin Wolf last season, after he had been dominant in the American Hockey League, Wolf had a .893 save percentage in 17 games, which did not exactly bust down the door to his NHL career. The Flames then traded Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey in the offseason, giving Wolf the opportunity to share the crease with Daniel Vladar. Wolf has stopped 112 of 116 shots (.966 save percentage) while winning his past four starts, giving him a .926 save percentage in 11 games this season. He is gaining the edge on Vladar in Calgary’s crease competition and has a case to make for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.

#2 Dallas Stars power forward Mason Marchment has been thriving on a line with veterans Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin. In the past five games, Marchment has produced 10 points (4 G, 6 A) with 14 shots on goal. He also leads the Stars with 31 hits in 17 games, so the 6-foot-5 winger brings broad fantasy appeal. Marchment does have an on-ice shooting percentage of 13.0 percent, which is likely due for some regression, but it’s not unreasonable to expect him to keep producing offensively while skating with Duchene and Seguin.

#3 Last season was such a washout for Kent Johnson, the Columbus Blue Jackets winger who was the fifth pick in the 2021 Draft. Johnson has 16 points (4 G, 12 A) in 42 games and was demoted to the American Hockey League, which was a major disappointment for a player of his considerable gifts. With a new coach, Dean Evason, on the Blue Jackets bench, Johnson got a fresh start this season and is making the most of it. He missed more than a month with a shoulder injury, but Johnson returned to action Thursday and scored a pair of goals against Tampa Bay, giving him seven points (4 G, 3 A) in five games.

#4 When veteran centre Sean Monahan signed with Columbus as a free agent in the offseason, he was surely looking forward to the chance to play with Johnny Gaudreau. When tragedy struck, Monahan stepped up to be a leader on his new team, and after a four-point night against Tampa Bay on Thursday, he has 19 points (7 G, 12 A) with 57 shots on goal in 19 games. It would be the first season of his career in which he has averaged at least three shots on goal per game.

#5 While the San Jose Sharks endured a miserable 2023-2024 season, William Eklund did contribute 45 points (16 G, 29 A) in his first full NHL season. He has built on that this season, with his average time on ice climbing over 20 minutes per game. Eklund has 16 points (4 G, 12 A) in 21 games. His shot rate could use some improvement, but Eklund is skating on a line with Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund while getting first unit power play time, so there is reason to expect his production to continue.

#6 When the Sharks acquired defenceman Jake Walman from Detroit, it seemed like a good deal at a reasonable price, but he just had a career-high 21 points (9 G, 12 A) in 63 games, so it’s not like he came to San Jose with huge offensive expectations. Nevertheless, he is proving that he can chip in offensively, including 10 points (2 G, 8 A) with 25 shots on goal in the past eight games. He is playing a career-high 22:41 per game and thriving in that role.

#7 Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Travis Sanheim had a career-high 44 points (10 G, 34 A) last season and is being pushed into an even bigger role this season. He is playing 25:33 per game, surpassing 30 minutes in three of his past six games. In those six games, Sanheim has six points (2 G, 4 A) with 19 shots on goal and with Cam York and Jamie Drysdale injured, there is time for Sanheim on the Flyers’ top power play, too.

#8 Colorado Avalanche winger Artturi Lehkonen got a late start to the season as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, but the ever-reliable forward has found his place in the Avalanche lineup. In eight games since rejoining the active roster, Lehkonen has six points (3 G, 3 A) with 21 shots on goal while playing a career-high average of 22:51 per game. The only forward in the league with a higher average time on ice is Nathan MacKinnon (23:16) and Lehkonen is skating on a line with MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, a spot that ought to allow for continued offensive production.

#9 With an uncomfortable history of shoulder injuries, Ottawa Senators centre Josh Norris has managed to stay healthy and relatively productive to start this season. In his past six games, he has five points (4 G, 1 A) and 13 shots on goal. He is one of five Sens (Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Tim Stutzle, and Adam Gaudette are the others) with eight or more goals this season and Norris does hold a spot on Ottawa’s top power play unit.

#10 An injury to Brayden Point opened the door for Anthony Cirelli to get a shot at centering the first line for the Tampa Bay Lightning and it worked well for him. In his past six games, Cirelli has averaged 21:54 of ice time per game, while contributing seven points (4 G, 3 A) with 10 shots on goal. He had a career-high 45 points (20 G, 25 A) last season but if he is going to keep getting time with Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov, Cirelli should be able to fly past that point total.

#11 Dallas Stars rookie right winger Logan Stankoven is tied with the Flyers’ Matvei Michkov for the rookie scoring lead, as both have 15 points. Stankoven has five points (3 G, 2 A) in his past seven games but, more impressively, has 26 shots on goal while playing 15:25 per game. That kind of shot production in that ice time is a very encouraging sign. In the past two weeks, Stankoven has 14.26 shots on goal per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, which ranks fifth (minimum 60 minutes) behind Brady Tkachuk, Jesse Puljujarvi, Bobby McMann, and Zach Aston-Reese.

#12 Last season, when he was playing for the Los Angeles Kings, Pierre-Luc Dubois saw his reputation take a serious hit as he finished with 40 points (16 G, 24 A) in 82 games and had his effort frequently and very publicly questioned. He has six points (1 G, 5 A) in his past six games and while his shot rate is still way down, the Capitals are enjoying success with Dubois on the ice, outscoring the opposition 18-10 during five-on-five play, as he is making the most of his opportunity to play with Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson. With Alex Ovechkin out for the next 4-6 weeks with a broken fibula, the Capitals will need Dubois, McMichael and Wilson to help fill the offensive void. Andrew Mangiapane is getting the first opportunity to fill Ovechkin’s spot on the line with Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas.

#13 Blue Jackets winger Dmitri Voronkov started the season slowly but is starting to find his groove on the top line with Monahan and Kirill Marchenko. In the past four games, Voronkov has five points (3 G, 2 A) with 12 shots on goal. Considering his production last season, when he had 34 points (18 G, 16 A) in 75 games as a rookie, Voronkov might be a decent buy-low option on a Blue Jackets team that is possibly more competitive than they were expected to be coming into the season.

#14 With Auston Matthews still out of the lineup, the Toronto Maple Leafs have seen that Bobby McMann can play a strong complementary role alongside John Tavares and Mitch Marner on the Leafs’ top line. In his past four games, McMann has scored goals while launching 20 shots on goal and playing more than 17 minutes per game. He only has one assist in 19 games, so he is not filling every category, but McMann also has 31 hits in 19 games, so he can contribute in that way as well, making him a useful option in deeper leagues, even if it’s in a short-term role.

#15 Hard driving New York Rangers left winger Will Cuylle is growing into a more significant presence in his second NHL season. He had 21 points (13 G, 8 A) and 249 hits in 81 games last season, but now has six points (3 G, 3 A) in his past five games, lifting him to 15 points (7 G, 8 A) in 18 games. On top of that, he has 75 hits, ranking third among forwards with 4.17 hits per game. That makes Cuylle a very valuable piece for fantasy managers.

#16 Veteran Seattle Kraken left winger Jaden Schwartz has enjoyed a long career of providing solid secondary scoring and he is continuing in that role for the Kraken. In his past five games, he has taken on a more prominent role with greater production, including four points (1 G, 3 A) and 17 shots on goal, while playing an average of 19:19 per game. Schwartz is playing with Chandler Stephenson and Daniel Sprong at even strength and the trio is all part of Seattle’s top power play unit.

#17 While his production has not taken off yet, Anaheim Ducks winger Frank Vatrano is showing positive signs. Last season, he set career highs with 37 goals and 60 points while playing a career-high 18:21 per game. Through 17 games this season, he has just two goals and seven points, but he has 26 shots on goal (with 18:26 ATOI) in his past six games, as he skates with veteran Ryan Strome and Troy Terry at evens and holds a spot on the Ducks’ top power play. Vatrano has been a consistent shot generator throughout his career, it’s a matter of him getting enough opportunities to turn those shots into production.

#18 Injuries have also provided a bigger role for Ducks right winger Brett Leason, a 6-foot-5 forward who had a career-high 22 points (11 G, 11 A) last season. In his past five games, Leason has seven points (2 G, 5 A) while averaging more than 14 minutes of ice time per game. This is a small sample, of course, but if he can continue to make offensive contributions, Leason could force his way into the Ducks’ top nine.

#19 With Samuel Ersson injured, Ivan Fedotov is getting more of an opportunity in the Philadelphia Flyers’ net. The 27-year-old netminder struggled early in the season, but in four starts in November, he has three wins and a .910 save percentage. That might not be enough to trust your fantasy goaltending situation to him, but if you’re in desperate shape, he just might be able to solve the issue in the short term. If not Fedotov, consider Utah’s Karel Vejmelka, who has just one win in eight appearances, but his .922 save percentage suggests that he deserves better.

#20 Another deep league goaltending consideration could be Montreal Canadiens netminder Sam Montembeault, who appears to be emerging from a bit of a rough patch. He has a .906 save percentage in XX games, but that has decidedly improved over the past three starts when he stopped 80 of 83 shots for a .964 save percentage. Montembeault also has the likelihood of playing more games since Cayden Primeau is struggling, with a .845 save percentage in seven games. If Primeau doesn’t get significantly better, then there is no reason for Montreal to run their goaltending in a tandem style rather than a clear No. 1 and clear No. 2 between the pipes.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (November 11th to 18th, 2024) – Winnipeg and Florida dominate

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 09 Nov 2024 18:45:55 +0000

OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 10: Florida Panthers Right Wing Sam Reinhart (13) before a face-off during third period National Hockey League action between the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators on October 10, 2024, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire)

The Colorado Avalanche have problems, as I’ve discussed in previous articles, but going into Thursday’s action those issues hadn’t extended to their core players. In fact, defenseman Cale Makar opened the campaign with a 13-game scoring streak in which he provided five goals and 23 points, and after an injury scare, he was available for Thursday’s tilt against Winnipeg and ended up logging an impressive 25:16 of ice time.

Against every other team, Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, who took his own 13-game scoring streak into Thursday’s action, would have done some damage even if they hadn’t come away with the win. Winnipeg has been in a league of its own, though, especially with Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes. The goaltender shrugged off the Avalanche’s 35 shots to earn his second consecutive shutout, bringing him up to a 10-1-0 record, 1.91 GAA and .932 save percentage through 11 starts.

Hellebuyck being an amazing goaltender is old news. There’s a reason why Winnipeg inked him to a seven-year, $59.5 million contract that began this season -- a contract that’s looking increasingly good, especially with the way the goaltender market is heading. However, the Jets under new bench boss Scott Arniel are giving him more defensive support than he’s accustomed to. The Jets have an xGA/60 of 2.49, per Moneypuck, the second-best in the league. By contrast, Winnipeg ranked 10th last year with a 2.93 xGA/60. That suggests the quality of the shots making their way to Hellebuyck has gotten significantly lower, making it easier for the netminder to do his job. That might also be why Winnipeg is also 3-0-0 on the nights that journeyman goaltender Eric Comrie has started instead.

Winnipeg’s dominance doesn’t end there, though. The Jets rank first in goals per game with 4.50, which is a feat they’ve accomplished in part through depth. Kyle Connor (nine goals, 19 points), Mark Scheifele (seven goals, 18 points) and Gabriel Vilardi (six goals, 12 points) can compromise an amazing top line, and that still leaves you with the luxury of putting Nikolaj Ehlers (eight goals, 17 points) on the second line and a red-hot Nino Niederreiter (seven goals, 12 points) on the third unit to exhaust the enemy’s defense. It is worth noting that Moneypuck ranks Winnipeg 21st in xG/60 with 2.99, so there’s an argument to be made that the Jets have enjoyed good puck luck, and they haven’t endured anything close to the same kind of injury issues that a team like Colorado has.

It's also worth remembering the cautionary tale of the 2007-08 Ottawa Senators, who started 13-1-0 but faltered after that, finishing 43-31-8 and being swept in the first round of the playoffs. That said, there isn’t a lot of sample size when it comes to 13-1-0 starts. Ottawa showed that even a start as hot as this doesn’t guarantee success, but that doesn’t mean a fall from grace is inevitable either. And sure, maybe the Jets’ offense won’t continue to perform at this level, but if the defense stays effective and Hellebuyck remains healthy, then Winnipeg won’t necessarily need that much goal production. This is a strong team, potentially far stronger than analysts rated the Jets to be going into the campaign, and they’ll certainly be one to watch going forward.

While some might still view the Jets as a team with something to prove even after starting 13-1-0, not many would question Florida’s 10-3-1 start. Back-to-back trips to the finals, including a Stanley Cup championship, affords you a great deal of faith. That’s not to say every player on the team receives that level of belief, though. Sam Reinhart is probably raising some eyebrows after scoring 11 goals and 22 points through 14 games. Sure, he had 57 goals and 94 points in 82 appearances in 2023-24, but his 24.5 shooting percentage was insanely high, so it must have been a fluke, right?

Those who read my articles from last year would know I pushed back against the assumption that his high shooting percentage was unsustainable.

More specifically, this is what I said about Reinhart back in January: “His shooting percentage of 27.5 is by far the highest of any player with at least 100 shots -- next is Brock Boeser at 23.3 -- and more than double his 2022-23 finish of 13.7. Digging a little deeper, Reinhart is selective with when he shoots, firing 40.4 percent in high-danger areas. By contrast, Nikita Kucherov has nearly the same number of goals (28) while firing nearly double the shots (amounting to a 15.4 shooting percentage), but just 18.1 percent of his shots are in high-danger locations, so by that measure, Reinhart’s higher shooting percentage makes some sense.”

This year tells a somewhat similar story. Of his 39 shots, 13 (33.3 percent) have been in high-danger areas while another 12 (30.8 percent) have been mid-range. By contrast, Nikita Kucherov, who has 11 goals on 54 shots has fired 12 (22.2 percent) in high-danger areas and 16 (29.6) at mid-range. In other words, while someone like Kucherov fires more shots than Reinhart, they end up with a similar number of high-quality shots, so there’s logic behind Reinhart’s high shooting percentage, making it less of a warning sign than it would be for some other players.

Carolina Hurricanes (Mon @ VGK, Wed @ UTA, Sat vs OTT, Sun vs STL)

The Hurricanes have done nearly as well as the Jets, posting a 10-2-0 record after Thursday’s 5-1 victory over Pittsburgh. Carolina will open the week with a challenging road match versus Vegas, but the schedule gets more manageable after that with a road game against Utah on Wednesday followed by home contests versus Ottawa and St. Louis on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Carolina is still without Frederik Andersen (lower body), and there’s no guarantee he’ll be an option next week, so Spencer Martin might make his season debut. The 29-year-old is far from an ideal choice, but Carolina is one of the most goaltender-friendly teams in the league, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Martin walk away with the win if he faces the Senators or Blues.

That’ll be especially true if Martin Necas remains hot. He’s on an eight-game scoring streak in which he’s provided six goals and 18 points. Necas took a step back last season with a 53-point showing, but he’s a good bet to rebound with the second 70-plus point campaign of his career. Just don’t count on him maintaining anything close to his current point-per-game pace, which stands at 1.75 (21 points in 12 outings). Necas has been impressive, but he’s unlikely to finish 2024-25 among the league’s scoring leaders. To give you some perspective, he had seven goals and 17 points through 11 appearances in 2022-23 and finished that campaign outside the top-50 in the scoring race despite logging the full 82 games.

Moving from the Hurricanes’ top offensive performer to a physical defenseman, Riley Stillman (lower body) will likely make his Hurricanes debut soon. He had a goal, eight points, 81 hits and 44 blocks in 50 outings between Vancouver and Buffalo in 2023-24. His presence won’t dramatically alter Carolina’s blue line, but we might see Sean Walker be an infrequent healthy scratch after dressing in all of the team’s first 12 games. Maybe Jalen Chatfield will end up being a scratch at some point too if everyone is healthy, though I suspect Walker’s position in the lineup is less secure.

Nashville Predators (Mon @ COL, Thu @ EDM, Fri @ CGY, Sun @ VAN)

Not secure describes the Predators pretty well. Nashville GM Barry Trotz even recently floated the idea of beginning the team’s rebuild plan if the team doesn’t start turning around -- a move that would be awkward after signing veterans Steven Stamkos to a four-year, $32 million contract and Jonathan Marchessault to a five-year, $27.5 million deal over the summer.

All the same, you can hardly blame Trotz for thinking that way after the club’s 4-9-1 start. Perhaps next week will offer more hope, though it would have to come on the road. The Predators will play in Colorado on Monday, Edmonton on Thursday, Calgary on Friday and Vancouver on Sunday.

Stamkos is finally showing life, providing three goals and six points across his past six games after being limited to one point (a goal) over his opening eight appearances. The problem is no other Predators player has stepped up recently -- outside of Stamkos, every Nashville skater has recorded three or fewer points over the team’s past six games.

Then there’s Juuse Saros, who is leaving plenty to be desired with a 3-7-1 record, 2.85 GAA and .904 save percentage in 11 outings. You might be wondering if his mediocre numbers are a reflection of struggles on his end or just a byproduct of poor play in front of him. Nashville ranks 24th in xGA/60 at 3.27 while Saros’ goals saved above expected is plus-3.9, which suggests Saros has been doing fine, but the Predators have been letting him down. If there’s any silver lining to be had there, it suggests that if Nashville can start tightening up defensively, then Saros will reward his teammates by putting up the kind of elite numbers we know he’s capable of. Imagining that scenario, though, might just be an exercise in wishful thinking.

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon vs SJS, Thu @ OTT, Sat vs BUF)

The Flyers haven’t been much better than Nashville, though Philadelphia doesn’t have the same burden of expectations. Either way, the 5-8-1 Flyers have a favorable set of adversaries ahead of them. They’ll host the Sharks on Monday, play in Ottawa on Thursday and conclude the week with a home game versus the Sabres on Saturday.

Samuel Ersson (lower body) and Aleksei Kolosov (lower body) weren’t able to play Thursday, which left Ivan Fedotov, who had a 5.35 GAA and an .821 save percentage through his first three starts, to get the nod against Tampa Bay while Kyle Konin signed an amateur tryout to be the emergency backup. Despite those challenging circumstances, Philadelphia earned a 2-1 shootout victory over the Lightning, but I wouldn’t count on seeing continued success out of Fedotov if Ersson and Kolosov remain on the sidelines. Not that I have much confidence in any of the Flyers’ current goaltenders.

To be fair, the Flyers’ netminders get sparse goal support even when they manage to put forth a strong showing. Philadelphia ranks 27th offensively with 2.50 goals per game. Matvei Michkov has been one of the Flyers’ few scoring threats with four goals and 10 points in 13 outings, but coach John Tortorella hasn’t been thrilled with the 19-year-old forward’s five-on-five play -- note that Michkov is minus-8 and only three of his points have come at even strength -- which led to him being a healthy scratch Thursday. It’s also worth noting that his production has slowed recently, resulting in him registering just an assist over his past five outings.

Michkov is still young, so some growing pains are expected, and with Tortorella certainly not being afraid to mix some tough love into his teaching regime, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the occasional healthy scratch sprinkled in there as the campaign progresses. Taking a step back, a reasonable project for Michkov’s rookie season would be about 50 points.

Pittsburgh Penguins (Mon vs DAL, Wed vs DET, Fri @ CBJ, Sat vs SJS)

Sidney Crosby is continuing to defy his age, but it hasn’t been enough. Pittsburgh is 5-8-2, putting more pressure on the squad to start to right the ship. The Penguins are set to host Dallas and Detroit on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. They’ll then play in Columbus on Friday and round out the week by hosting the Sharks on Saturday.

Cody Glass (upper body) was put on injured reserve Friday while Bryan Rust (lower body) was activated, enabling him to return to the lineup after a five-game absence.

As I already alluded to, Crosby has continued to dominate in Rust’s absence -- Crosby has six goals and 15 points through 15 appearances in 2024-25 -- but Rust is nevertheless likely to rejoin the top line. That would probably result in Evgeni Malkin moving off the top unit to his more standard position headlining the second line. For what it’s worth, Malkin and Crosby have shown up on the scoresheet together for just two even-strength goals this season, and Malkin has been quiet lately with a goal and two points across his past five games. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has lost its last two games, along with six of its past eight, so it’s not like there are circumstances on a team level or a line level that would compel head coach Mike Sullivan to keep Malkin and Crosby together in five-on-five play at this time.

At the other end of the ice, the goaltending situation continues to be a question mark. Alex Nedeljkovic gave the Penguins hope with strong starts against the lowly Ducks and Canadiens, but he’s faded quickly, allowing eight goals on 44 shots (.818 save percentage) over his past two losses to the Islanders and Hurricanes. Meanwhile, Tristan Jarry has been rebuilding his confidence in the minors, posting a 1.69 GAA and a .946 save percentage across four games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Perhaps Jarry will get recalled soon and get another shot? Just as the Crosby-Malkin duo hasn’t done anything to force Sullivan to keep them together, Nedeljkovic’s play isn’t great enough to secure the No. 1 job, so the possibility of a Jarry comeback remains.

Seattle Kraken (Tue vs CBJ, Thu vs CHI, Sat vs NYI, Sun vs NYR)

The Kraken will stay at home next week, hosting the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, the Blackhawks on Thursday, the Islanders on Saturday and finally the Rangers on Sunday. We’ll see if that homestand will right the ship for Seattle, which has lost four straight games and seven of its last eight contests, dropping to 5-8-1.

Seattle has managed just 2.25 goals per game across its last eight matches, but interestingly, there have been some standout performers over that stretch. Jared McCann and Matty Beniers have each managed three goals and eight points during Seattle’s slump while defenseman Brandon Montour has contributed three goals and six points in that span.

The problem is other players you’d expect to do well have fallen short. Oliver Bjorkstrand is the most notable example of that. He set a career high with 59 points last season but has just three goals and five points through 13 appearances in 2024-25 and is heading in the wrong direction with a goal and an assist across his past eight outings. Those struggles reached a possible crescendo when he was scratched Tuesday, so it will be interesting to see if he uses that time in the press box to reset.

Jordan Eberle and Eeli Tolvanen need to rebound too. They have managed just two and three points, respectively, over Seattle’s past eight games. Neither is a major offensive threat, but they are important secondary scorers for the Kraken and lately, they have failed to fulfill that role.

Some of those cold stretches would have been swept under the rug if Shane Wright was adapting to the NHL, but the No. 4 overall pick from the 2022 NHL Draft has been disappointing thus far, providing just a goal and two points through 14 games in 2024-25. I wonder if he might benefit from a stint in the press box of his own. Either way, it’s impossible to recommend him at this time in standard leagues, but I will at least say the potential remains there, so he’s worth keeping an eye on. If you want a silver lining, you could say that the Kraken’s overall offensive struggles do open the door to Wright landing a top six spot if only he could start producing.

St. Louis Blues (Tue vs BOS, Thu @ BUF, Fri @ BOS, Sun @ CAR)

The Blues have a busy week ahead of them, but the competition isn’t the easiest. They’ll host the Bruins on Tuesday before heading on the road to play in Buffalo on Thursday, Boston on Saturday and Carolina on Sunday.

We could all breathe a sigh of relief after Dylan Holloway avoided serious injury after a scary incident Tuesday when he was hit by a high puck and taken away on a stretcher. He even managed to play in St. Louis’ very next game. His former Oilers teammate who came with him to St. Louis, though, will be out for a while.

Philip Broberg suffered a lower-body injury Saturday and is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks. Broberg had been making the most of the increased role the Blues gave him, providing two goals and nine points through 12 appearances while averaging 19:34 of ice time. St. Louis is also missing Torey Krug (ankle) for the 2024-25 campaign and Nick Leddy (lower body), though at least in Leddy’s case, he might be back in the not-too-distant future.

Absences have likely contributed to Ryan Suter playing a bigger role than initially envisioned. Although he an insanely big minutes eater in his prime, Suter dipped below 20 minutes per game in 2023-24 for the first time since his rookie campaign, averaging 18:56 of ice time with Dallas. The 39-year-old initially looked like he would have a strictly supporting role with St. Louis in 2024-25, averaging just 16:02 across the Blues’ opening four games. Then Leddy got hurt, and Suter has averaged 23:53 since. Don’t be surprised if Suter’s ice time takes a notable hit once Leddy is back, though until Broberg is healthy too, Suter will probably still see at least decent minutes.

Leddy’s eventual return might also make things a little easier on Blues goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. Neither netminder has gotten off to a good start, though Binnington has been encouraging recently. He’s still just 4-5-0 with a 2.78 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 10 outings overall, but he’s saved 75 of 81 shots (.926 save percentage) across his past three games. Going into the season, it looked like Hofer might challenge Binnington for the starting gig, but that hasn’t happened yet to any major extent, and Binnington’s recent success helps put more distance between the two.

Vancouver Canucks (Tue vs CGY, Thu vs NYI, Sat vs CHI, Sun vs NSH)

Vancouver is on a three-game winning streak, bringing the Canucks up to 7-2-3. They’ll look to continue that success next week with home games against Calgary on Tuesday, the Islanders on Thursday, Chicago on Saturday and Nashville on Sunday.

While things are going well for the Canucks overall, the same can’t be said for Elias Pettersson. He has two goals and five points across 12 appearances in 2024-25. He did discuss his slump last week, and unfortunately, not much has changed since with Pettersson providing one point (a goal) over his past three games despite Vancouver combining for a solid 12 goals during that stretch.

One thing I didn’t bring up then is Pettersson’s shot total, which is concerning low at 22, which translates to 5.7 shots per 60 minutes, a drop from 7.7 last year. That’s despite having one six-shot game in 2024-25 -- he also has been held to a single shot on seven occasions. He also has just 52 shot attempts, which is 4.3 per game, down from 4.9 in 2023-24.

I went to dig a bit deeper, and one thing that stood out to me is that his skating metrics are down from last year, and the same can be said about his shot speed. In terms of shot location, 60 of his 207 in 2023-24 were high danger, translating to roughly 29 percent while he has nine of 22 (40.9 percent) in high-danger locations this campaign, so at least when he is shooting the location is generally good, but still, some of those other metrics are concerning.

Pettersson is still just 25, so unless he’s playing hurt, I don’t think it’s fair to believe there isn’t a physical reason for his drop in play. Instead, it’s likely to be mental, which is a theory that gains credibility when you consider former Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau’s analysis of the situation, per the Vancouver Province. Boudreau noted that Pettersson “doesn’t look excited when he plays and gets frustrated very easily.” Perhaps the pressure of his eight-year, $92.8 million contract, which he’s in the first season of, is getting to the star forward.

Whatever the case, other members of the Canucks have been picking up the slack. Not much was expected of Conor Garland going into the campaign, but he’s been great, providing four goals and 11 points through 12 appearances. That probably won’t last, but he isn’t showing signs of slowing down yet after recording at least a point in each of his past three games. Defenseman Quinn Hughes is also red hot, supplying a goal and five points over his last two outings, bringing him up to three goals and 14 points in 12 appearances this season.

Vegas Golden Knights (Mon vs CAR, Wed @ ANA, Fri @ UTA, Sun vs WSH)

The Golden Knights will start the upcoming week by hosting the Hurricanes, but after that, they’ll have to take to the road. Vegas will play in Anaheim on Wednesday, Utah on Friday and Washington on Sunday.

The Golden Knights have won six of their past seven games, elevating their record to 9-3-1. The top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev continues to be a major part of that with Stone leading the way with six goals and 21 points in 13 outings. The 32-year-old Stone is on a seven-game scoring streak (four goals,12 points) and has been held off the scoresheet just once in 2024-25.

It also helps to have a player of Tomas Hertl’s caliber on the second unit, who has four goals and 12 points through 13 outings. Meanwhile, Noah Hanifin is red hot from the blue line with three goals and eight points across his past two games.

Those two really highlight the amazing sticking power Vegas has managed thanks to its aggressive trade strategy. Those are two veterans who were added during the 2023-24 campaign and are locked up to 2027-28. Other teams add rental pieces leading up to a Cup run, but the Golden Knights tend to take a longer view when making trades, so even when a postseason run doesn’t work out, as was the case in 2024, the additions they made are still around to help them moving forward.

Eventually, the bottom might fall out of this strategy. In the cap era, we haven’t seen a team that has been able to sustain itself indefinitely on trades alone without going through a rebuild. But when you look at the team’s core of Eichel, Stone, Hertl, Barbashev, William Karlsson, Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Hanifin and Shea Theodore, you’re seeing a group that’s still largely in its prime and positioned to potentially be competitive for years to come.

The one thing that the group is missing is a star goaltender. Adin Hill can be solid, but he also has his rough patches, and the 2024-25 campaign has been more miss than hit for him so far, leaving Hill with a 3.01 GAA and an .882 save percentage through eight outings. On the plus side, he’s allowed just five goals on 64 shots (.922 save percentage) across his past three starts, and the Golden Knights are strong enough offensively to put him in a position to win even when he doesn’t have a great night, so there’s still plenty of value to be had here.

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – Team Preview

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 16:00:56 +0000

_{MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 09: Owen Tippett (74) of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on during the third period of the NHL game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Montreal Canadiens on April 9, 2024, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire)}

The Flyers were surprisingly competitive for the first two-thirds of the season, compiling a 29-19-7 record through 55 games. They faded down the stretch, going 9-14-4, leaving them with 87 points (38-33-11), four points behind the Washington Capitals for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. While expectations may not have been high entering the season, the Flyers deserve credit for playing a competitive game. They ranked 14th with a Corsi of 51.3% and ninth with an expected goals percentage of 52.3%. Those five-on-five numbers look solid, so what happened? The Flyers had the worst power play in the league, scoring 4.35 goals per 60 minutes. On the other hand, Philadelphia ranked fourth in penalty killing with 5.99 goals against per 60 minutes. That neutralized the special teams battle somewhat, so the determining factor was that the Flyers had a .884 save percentage, which ranked last in the league. With Carter Hart removed from the team due to legal issues, goaltender Samuel Ersson was pressed into the starter’s role, and he ended up playing in 51 games, which was a big jump in his workload. Head coach John Tortorella was still in the middle of controversy from time to time, notably when he made captain Sean Couturier a healthy scratch for several games.

WHAT’S CHANGED? The most exciting addition for the Flyers is 2023 first-round pick Matvei Michkov, who had 19 goals and 41 points in 47 KHL games last season. He is a dynamic offensive talent that the Flyers desperately need. Michkov effectively takes the place of veteran right winger Cam Atkinson, who signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent. Otherwise, there were not a lot of big moves. They kept defenceman Erik Johnson, who was added at the trade deadline last season. Russian goaltender Ivan Fedotov appeared in three games late last season but will figure to have the backup job behind Ersson.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? Considering the Flyers did not make any big splash moves in the offseason, there might be some indication that they think internal improvement can be enough to get them over the hump. Just coming up with a league-average power play would make a huge difference, but it looks like the Flyers are aiming for the playoffs, and if they are going to get there, they will need a lot of young players to continue to develop. Beyond Michkov, that includes Morgan Frost, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, and Joel Farabee up front, and defencemen Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, and Egor Zamula. If those players develop properly then the season is a success. If they also find their way to the playoffs, even better.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? It seems that there is always the risk of Tortorella pushing the wrong button and having his team go south on him. The Couturier situation last season sure didn’t seem to help a team that was sinking out of playoff contention, and it would surprise exactly no one if something like that happened again this season, and it doesn’t have to be Couturier. If the main point of the season is to see progress from their young players, then the sign that the season is going wrong is if Tortorella is making young players healthy scratches to make a point rather than to help the player.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: The Flyers have a bunch of young forwards who could be candidates for breakout seasons, but defenceman Cam York is an interesting option, too. He had 30 points last season, with only six on the power play, and it appears that York has a chance to play on the Flyers’ top power play unit this season. They have to be better than they were on the power play last season and if York is the one quarterbacking the power play, he should see continued growth in his point totals.

FORWARD

Owen Tippett

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	32	27	59	0.72

Even though he’s already broken out with back-to-back 20+ goal seasons, it still feels like Owen Tippett has only scratched the surface of what he can do. Stuck in prospect purgatory with the Panthers, the trade to Philly was perfect for him because they had nothing to lose and a lot of roster spots to fill. Thus, they could feed him prime offensive minutes and his career has taken off since then. He is one of the best in the league at creating off the rush, both in terms of scoring chances and goals, and his speed can be a nightmare to deal with at times. His all-around offensive game has also started to turn the corner, improving as a playmaker and using his linemates more instead of always trying to be a one-man show. There is still a lot he can improve at; he still hasn’t quite figured out how to be a power play guy and his playing style is almost too north-south with how dependent it is off the rush. He is also an inconsistent play-driver despite how great he is at generating offence, although the Flyers volatile lineup played a role in that. The Flyers are banking on him breaking into that next level, making him part of their core going forward after signing him to a long-term extension.

Sean Couturier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	13	33	46	0.59

The Flyers will often go as far as Sean Couturier takes them, which includes the nearly two full seasons he missed. Just getting him back on the ice was a feel-good story for the Flyers and it went beyond that as his play in the first half of the season was excellent. He returned to being the workhorse, tough minute centermen that he was for most of his career and being the catalyst of the team. Always in the right spot in the defensive zone and a menace on the forecheck, it’s easy for his teammates to feed off him and it makes life so much easier for the rest of the team. It’s a reason why he was named captain in the middle of the season, a no-brainer decision. Once the All-Star Break hit, things got sour. The Flyers couldn’t keep the puck out of their own net when Couturier’s lines were on the ice and his offensive production stagnated with two goals in his last 40 games. This culminated with him being a controversial healthy scratch for a game in mid-March. Couturier proved that there is still a good player in him after all the injuries, but his second half showed that there might be limitations on what to expect from him going forward. Perhaps he isn’t the 19-20 minute a night, all-situations player he was in his prime anymore.

Travis Konecny

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	32	42	74	0.96

Watching Travis Konecny and looking at the high volume of chances he creates, it might come as a surprise that his 33 goals and 68 points last year was a career high. Part of that is him missing 10-20 games a year to injury at various points and the other is the Flyers general inability to score on the power play. At even strength, he is breaking into the league’s elite and is in some pretty good company over the last two seasons in terms of goal-scoring, outscoring names such as Nikita Kucherov and Matthew Tkachuk at five-on-five. The Flyers shift to focus more on rush offence has served him well, as this has been his bread and butter for most of his career. His speed and ability to weave through traffic in the neutral zone is something a lot of players don’t have, and his playmaking has come a long way from his earlier days in the league. He was also a menace on the Flyers aggressive penalty kill, scoring more goals shorthanded than he did on the power play. An easy player to plug anywhere in the lineup because of the skill he brings combined with the high motor he plays with. He can also score while shouldering the burden of playing heavy matchups, producing with Scott Laughton centering his line early in the year before moving to Sean Couturier’s wing. Now a centerpiece for the Flyers next stage of their rebuild, signing a seven-year contract extension over the summer. 35 goals and 70 points is a safe bet but he can blow past those numbers if the power play comes to life.

Joel Farabee

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	18	24	42	0.51

Like most of the Flyers, Farabee started the season red hot and had a rough finish. He was flirting with a point-per-game pace around January, he scored only nine points in his last 32 which included a goal-scoring slump that lasted an entire month. When looking at the overall stats, he still had a pretty good year, setting career highs in most categories and he was on the positive side of things when it came to driving play despite no real consistent linemates. Slumps are expected with a player like Farabee who scores so many of his goals by capitalizing on great passes and poaching for breakaway opportunities. He’s improved when it comes to creating his opportunities and is a good passer, but he excels more as the finisher of his line rather than someone who drives the bus. Always the second one on pucks and the high forward on the forecheck, Farabee’s game is better when he’s paired with a good forecheck or elite passer, something the Flyers had in spurts but not consistently. Farabee’s strengths with generating controlled entries at a high rate give him some play-driving ability but even those usually come from him jumping on a turnover or a loose puck rather than creating from 200 feet. Still, a very useful player to have in the middle six.

Tyson Foerster

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	21	24	45	0.58

One of the hidden gems of the Flyers new wave of forward prospects. Foerster is a big body and made a name for himself as a dark horse Calder candidate. Finishing third in rookie scoring will do that, but what caught some folks’ attention was his defensive impact. The Flyers were excellent at preventing scoring chances while he was on the ice and while it’s debatable how much of a winger can influence that, he does a lot of things that helped the cause. His forechecking prowess being the main one. He was often the first player into the zone when the Flyers had to play dump-and-chase and it’s difficult to get the puck away from him when he gets it below the goal-line. He also caught teams off-guard with how good he can be off the rush. He’s got a great shot with a heavy release and showed off some slick puck-handling moves when getting a one-on-one matchup with defenders. He also wasn’t a one-trick pony when it came to goal-scoring, scoring in a variety of ways by getting to the net, following the play off the rush and getting himself open for one-timers. This earned him a spot on the top line for most of the year, although he did get lost in the shuffle late in the season when the Flyers were struggling. He could return back to his home with Konecny and Couturier at the start of the year, depending on where rookie Matvei Michkov slots. He figures to start in the top six and can build on his 20-goal season.

Noah Cates

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	9	18	27	0.35

Receiving votes for both the Calder and the Selke in his rookie season, most of the hype fell off this year for the young center. Not that there was anything wrong with his play, he is still one of the Flyers most reliable defensive forwards and took the brunt of tough draws in the second half of the year. He just missed a good chunk of the season and didn’t get the same minutes or linemates he did his rookie year. Couturier’s return was a big reason for that, as that’s where most of his tough, defensive minutes went. Cates also got a lot of minutes with Konecny the year before and going from that to Garnet Hathaway and Ryan Poehling is a bit of a downgrade in terms of scoring upside. Offence has also never been a major part of Cates game in the NHL, although he is very good at getting to the net and is one of the few Flyers forwards who creates most of his offence on the forecheck, which is part of the reason why he is such a strong play-driver even if he doesn’t have the high-end skillset. He was used on the Flyers second power play unit for his net front ability but was removed from the rotation after returning from injury and will have to fight for those minutes this year. Although will be more of a regular fixture on their penalty kill.

Morgan Frost

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	16	38	54	0.69

Every team has a “he will be special if he ever puts it together” guy. That is Morgan Frost on the Flyers. It’s been seven years since he was drafted, and he’s had only two full seasons on the team due to injuries and spending time in the AHL. What they’ve gotten out of him so far has been okay with a pair of 40+ point seasons while showing flashes of greatness in both. There’s obvious talent when watching him play. He is arguably the team’s best player at zone entries and one of the few potential weapons they have on the power play because of that. The Flyers have a few players who are strong on entries, but it’s heavily skewed on the wings with Frost being the one center who excels there. He is very shifty and deceptive with his skating in the neutral zone, which allows the likes of Tippett and Konecny to open themselves up for more shooting opportunities. Frost is also a very good passer, although sometimes he’s a little too patient when he has the puck and scoring opportunities go to waste when he waits too long for the perfect play. Still an effective player when it comes to setting the table for his linemates. This is somewhat of a “make or break” year for him even if he’s proven himself to be a solid NHL player. The Flyers just have to decide if he is part of their future or not.

Bobby Brink

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
68	14	18	32	0.47

One of the Flyers high-upside prospects, Brink had somewhat of a rocky first season in the NHL. He showed some of the offensive talent that he was drafted for, ranking among the Flyers best players in terms of setting up shots and scoring chances at even strength. He was also the subject of some fairly blunt comments from his coach about his play when he was a healthy scratch for a game in his home state and also spent some time in the AHL before returning. Brink’s offence is hard to replace, but the rest of his game is still a work in progress. Like a lot of rookies, when the game was easy and plays were open, he could capitalize. When games got tougher and he had to hold onto pucks longer, he struggled a little. The Flyers rush-focused attack made it a little easier for him to get his feet wet and show his game-breaking skillset but struggled when the game slowed down. Similarly, he showed the ability to create his own chances individually and set up teammates. It was a different story when it came to getting himself open for shots and being a passing option on breakouts. It will take some time for him to get used to the NHL pace but showed enough promise last year to be hopeful about his future.

Scott Laughton

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	15	24	39	0.51

Scott Laughton has been with the Flyers through a multitude of general managers and coaches. The former first round pick has carved out a nice career for himself as a middle-of-the-roster player where you know what you’re getting from him every night. Last year was a strange one for him, though. He was a permanent fixture in the lineup but didn’t have the same set of wingers for more than five games and had a very concerning season when it came to driving play, giving up a lot on the defensive end. On the other hand, he remained one of the Flyers top penalty killers and was a cornerstone of their “power kill” approach where they’re always looking to poach shorthanded. Laughton didn’t just become a terrible defensive player at even strength overnight, so his drop-off there could just be a fluke rather than a sign of things to come. The only concern that it might be is that Laughton’s never showed much high-end ability or be the guy who can drive a line on his own. He’s average to above average in just about every skill but has a tremendous motor and work ethic to make up for it and that is what makes him such a coveted player among the Flyers coaching staff. With the rest of the roster not changing much, it will be interesting to see if he rebounds at five-on-five next year.

DEFENCE

Travis Sanheim

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	10	30	40	0.49

This was Sanheim’s first season as “The Guy” on the Flyers blue line. He’s always logged a lot of minutes, but this was the first time he was undisputed in the number one role with Ivan Provorov now in Columbus. He took the ball and ran with it some aspects, having a career season in terms of boxcar stats and looking more active with the puck than he has ever been. Some of that was from necessity, as the Flyers needed someone who could handle the burden on breakouts and also control the play at the blue line. This has never been Sanheim’s forte, who is normally more of a support guy, but he had to take on more of a burden here this year. Results were mixed. Sanheim could handle the increase in puck touches and ice time. He’s a smooth-skating defenceman with great acceleration, so the puck-moving role suits him well. He even saw some major improvements with his own work on breakouts, always being more of a “glass and out” guy before last year when he started to make more plays out of the zone. The Flyers shift to more of a team that attacks in transition also plays to his strengths, as he can be very effective as the support guy joining the rush or even leading it. Sanheim could handle the extra minutes and responsibility, the burden of being the only proven veteran top four guy on the Flyers blue line is what eventually caught up to him by the end of the year. Cam York and Jamie Drysdale were given most of the power play time by the end of the season. That will keep a cap on his offensive upside.

Cam York

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	10	31	41	0.50

The Flyers wanted their young defenceman to sink or swim in what was essentially his first full season in the NHL. It made sense because they had high hopes for York and needed someone who could play alongside Sanheim on the top pair. York showed he had the endurance to do so and while they got off to a rough start, they eventually became a decent, stabilizing top-pair for the Flyers. York had his share of highlight reel plays, always looking to pinch down from that left wall to look for a seam pass or jump up in the play to start a give-and-go. He’s an effortless skater and a great complement for Sanheim on the as someone who can wheel the puck out of trouble. The offence hasn’t quite come around to where he’s a high-end player, but it’s enough to make him a threat whenever he is up in the play. His best asset on the top pair is how good he is at turning pucks over and killing other team’s rushes. It negates some of the defensive burden his pair has to take on and makes it easier for him to play his own game. He was given a very demanding, high-minute role and gave the Flyers passable results while showing signs that there is another level to his game. A role on the first power play is his to lose, and there is competition, but should be able to reach 40 points as his next step.

Rasmus Ristolainen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	2	10	12	0.17

Brad Shaw is known as one of the league’s better assistant coaches and the work he did with Ristolainen might have been his biggest accomplishment. For his entire career, Ristolainen was a player with all the tools but no toolbox. A big, powerful skating defenceman who could put up points on the power play, deliver big hits but be a liability at five-on-five. He would chase hits, play too aggressively, make careless mistakes in coverage and turned the puck over countless times. Since Tortorella’s staff arrived in Philly, Ristolainen’s game has been cleaned up. He has a more defined role in the defensive zone, and they’ve modeled his game to be someone who takes hits to make plays in the defensive zone. Sometimes that means simply clearing the puck out, but the Flyers breakouts have a lot of support for him to make a quick play without having to think much. The other big thing was reducing his minutes from the low 20’s to the 17–18-minute range, which is where he is more properly slotted. It helped Ristolainen’s game, but it has also created a hole in the Flyers top-four that they have yet to fill.

Jamie Drysdale

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
72	7	27	34	0.47

The young defenceman is still a work in progress, if only because he’s only played one full season with the other three being interrupted by major injuries. The young man has already had two shoulder surgeries and suffered another injury there shortly after getting traded to the Flyers in January. He is an exciting player to watch when he is on. A dynamic skating defenceman who loves to rush the puck up the ice and walk the tight rope along the blue line to create his chances. It hasn’t resulted in anything tangible just yet, but it’s hard to make a judgment on him right now with so much of his career spent rehabbing injuries. However, that also means he doesn’t have a lot of game reps. He has an unorthodox style of defending the rush where he prefers to attack the puck carrier from an angle rather than squaring up and it’s been somewhat of a detriment to his overall game. He’s not strong enough on his stick to disrupt rushes against NHL forwards and sometimes it takes real game reps to figure out what works at this level. With spots 3-6 being an open competition for the Flyers, Drysdale should get a chance to prove he can stick provided he stays healthy, which has been his problem more than anything else.

GOAL

Samuel Ersson

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
44	18	22	4	2	0.901	2.92

Ivan Fedotov

Fewer teams have been dealt worse hands in net than the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s why there’s a well-above-average level of hope being placed upon the shoulders of newcomer Ivan Fedotov; in the wake of former starter Carter Hart’s departure from the team, the Flyers have suffered from a gaping void of consistency in net for a team that desperately needs even league-average numbers.

Fedotov looked technically elite during his tenure in Russia, but a delayed arrival in North America - complete with a stint in detainment by the Russian government for alleged military evasion - left his North American debut looking a little lackluster this past spring. He’ll aim to regain his structure and positioning behind a Flyers lineup that has been scrambling to finally hit their stride again. It’s not exactly a pressure-free environment for the newcomer, and things might be even more strained for fellow tandem partner Samuel Ersson. Ersson’s surprise promotion to team starter last season went about as poorly as it could have; the Swedish netminder struggled to recover from bad bounces and seemed to lag on reads during cross-ice movement by his opponents, leaving exploitable holes and a fairly abysmal stat line to end the year. The good news is that things can only go up for him - but if they don’t, the Flyers might need to seek additional help outside the organization to shore up their crease moving forward.

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – Top 20 Prospects

Contributors – Brock Otten, Ethan Hetu, Zack Szweras, — Sun, 18 Sep 2022 20:35:33 +0000

1 - Cutter Gauthier LW

Cutter Gauthier, the fifth-overall pick at the 2022 NHL draft, was a bit of a divisive prospect in his draft cycle. His first-round merits weren’t up for debate — pretty much everyone agreed on his chops as a top-half-of-the-first-round talent — but it was his status among the draft’s very best prospects that garnered the most debate. Sources within the game, such as Bob McKenzie of TSN’s rankings based on polls of NHL scouts, ranked him as a prospect deserving of top-five consideration, and the Flyers seemed to agree, while rankings from the media held his game in less of a high regard, ranking him more around the back of the top-ten or the early teens. The split in opinion on Gauthier can be largely explained by his on-ice profile. The merits of Gauthier’s game, the best aspects of his profile, read off like a coach’s wishlist for things he or she wants in a skater. Gauthier is fearless, always looking to create chances in any way he can, even in the dirty areas of the ice. He has a high work ethic, finding ways to remain active and close to the play on every shift. He’s physical, and he regularly engages in and wins board battles. Perhaps most importantly for his pro projection, Gauthier is a disciplined prospect, always working within the structure and system his coach provides for him. Some players want to excel in the game on their own terms, while Gauthier instead looks like a player keenly interested in maximizing his effectiveness within his coach’s vision rather than his own. That’s not to say he’s without high-end tools, his shot, for example, is among the very best in his class, but that is to say that his overall profile emphasizes the high likelihood of him being an impactful NHL-er rather than him having a chance at becoming a game-breaking star. - EH

2 - Cam York D

It was a pretty solid first full pro season for York, as he split time between Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley before a foot fracture ended his season early. In Philadelphia, he was quarterbacking the top powerplay unit, a role that he is definitely being groomed for. York is a terrific distributor because of his vision and mobility. He remains composed at all times working the point because he has confidence in his ability to elude checks and consistently makes quick decisions under pressure. His composure translates to the defensive end too, where he is a breakout machine. Again, he rarely panics in the face of pressure and can either carry out or make a successful exit pass to clear the defensive zone. The highest scoring defender in the history of the U.S. NTDP, York’s offensive potential at the NHL level remains sky high. Defensively, his progression will be tied to his ability to add strength to help him win puck battles and positional battles more consistently. His positioning and reads are sound, but he was overwhelmed at times as a rookie playing on a struggling team. Even with the acquisition of Anthony DeAngelo, York figures to play the entire upcoming season with Philadelphia. DeAngelo will definitely cut into his powerplay time, but York should still play a consistent role, likely paired with a veteran such as Justin Braun, on the third pairing. Eventually, he should slide into a top four role and take over top powerplay responsibilities as one of the Flyers’ key young cornerstones. - BO

3 - Bobby Brink RW

Bobby Brink was the most productive scorer in the NCAA last season, and his success at the University of Denver is what led him to sign his NHL contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. An early second-round pick at the 2019 draft, Brink’s offensive talent was never in doubt. Brink’s puck skills, his stickhandling, passing, and control of the flow of play with the puck on his stick is extremely good. He has this shiftiness to him that makes him a difficult task to handle for opposing defenders, and it’s impossible to guess what Brink will do next with the puck on his stick in the offensive zone. There are few players in college hockey who create offense the way Brink does, and by the end of his brilliant junior campaign he looked like he’d mastered the art of creating offense against college defenses. The issue with Brink, and the reason he didn’t go in the first round in 2019, largely lies in the way he creates offense and his most talked-about tool: his skating. To address the first point, Brink creates offense from the outside, and rarely is one to use the more difficult areas of the ice to create his chances. For many players, they can survive doing so because of their ability to separate from defenders. Brink’s skating, while more developed than it was in his draft year, is still far from being sufficient enough to give him a separation gear, and he’ll struggle to play the same style of offense against NHL defenses. If Brink can improve his skating significantly, then he can be a similar player as an NHLer to who he was in college, but massive improvements in his skating are unlikely, what’s more likely is Brink either makes the necessary stylistic and habitual adjustments to survive as a scorer in the NHL or wholly fails to live up to the hype he generated as a college star. - EH

4 - Tyson Foerster C

The last two seasons have not been kind to Foerster, the Flyers’ 23rd overall selection in 2020. Two years ago, with the OHL on a pandemic related hiatus, Foerster suffered a leg fracture that limited his playing time with Lehigh Valley in the AHL. Last year, the injury bug bit again as a shoulder injury kept him out for the majority of the season until the Flyers returned Foerster back to the OHL to help Barrie with their playoff run. In reality, he should have been returned to the OHL at the very beginning of the season to help his development. On a positive note, he looked fully healthy at the summer World Juniors playing for Canada, where he had a strong tournament. Drafted with the potential of playing center, Foerster appears locked in as a winger now. It is there that he can take advantage of his outstanding shot, especially from a stand still. He also plays a competitive game without the puck, working hard to win battles, forecheck, and force turnovers defensively. The weak spot of his game, Foerster’s explosiveness and top speed, have improved since being drafted, however it will need to continue to improve over the next few years for him to become a top six forward for the Flyers. He projects as a middle six goal scorer who can be a weapon on the powerplay. This coming season, Foerster will likely spend the full season in Lehigh Valley, hoping to finally have a healthy campaign at the AHL level. - BO

5 - Egor Zamula D

Now fully healthy following back surgery in 2020, the former free agent signing out of Calgary (WHL) is coming off of a strong year in the AHL with Lehigh Valley, where Zamula was one of the team’s best defenders. He even earned a small cup of coffee with the Flyers; a reward for his strong play in the AHL. He is a strong and mobile two-way defender with the upside to be a difference maker at both ends. An excellent athlete, he is terrific at defending pace and closing off lanes in transition. He is aggressive with his gaps, and he uses his long reach to be disruptive. He can also have a positive impact on the transition game offensively as his long strides allow him to chew up space quickly and lead the attack through the neutral zone. He is not the most naturally skilled player with the puck, but he protects it well and sees the ice well enough to make quick decisions. The key for him is to continue to add strength and bulk to his wiry frame so that he can apply physical pressure more consistently and effectively at the NHL level. This coming season, he is likely ticketed for another AHL year, although he should also be one of the top injury call-ups for the Flyers. In a year or two, he should be ready for a third pairing role with the opportunity to work higher in the lineup down the road. - BO

6 - Ronnie Attard D

A third-round pick at the 2019 draft, Ronne Attard enjoyed an extremely successful career at Western Michigan University, and by the time he was a senior he had grown into being an all-situations top-of-the-lineup force for first-year coach Pat Ferschweiler. Attard’s time in college led him to make an immediate jump to the NHL with the Flyers, and Attard’s 15-game stretch as an NHL newbie was uneven. There were moments of promise, and Attard was even given looks on both of the Flyers’ special teams units. There were also moments where Attard looked like he badly needed additional development time in the AHL, times when the extremely talented and deceptive playmakers of the NHL were able to expose Attard’s inexperience to create offense. At times, Attard looked like he could weather the storm in the NHL, but those moments were too infrequent for him to comfortably project as an NHL defenseman immediately next season. If Attard can get some time as a top defenseman at AHL Lehigh Valley, he’ll learn to grow more comfortable with the professional game in a lower pressure setting. Attard is a big defenseman who moves well and can theoretically provide value at both ends of the ice. He showed enough as a college defenseman to reasonably have AHL number-one defenseman upside, and if he can stick as an NHLer and develop a bit more he could possibly anchor a bottom-pairing as a two-way defenseman who contributes on the secondary units of both special teams’ groups. - EH

7 - Noah Cates LW

Noah Cates’ four-year progression at the University of Minnesota-Duluth might look a bit puzzling to onlookers, as he never truly became a game-breaking offensive player after his point-per-game sophomore season. But in the absence of high-end offensive development, Cates has polished his game and become a true two-way force. The 23-year-old forward was a fifth-round pick at the 2017 draft and has an inside track to remain with the Flyers’ NHL club next season after scoring five goals and nine points in his first 16 NHL games. Cates, a six-foot-one left wing, is the kind of two-way player that NHL coaches will have a difficult time leaving out of their lineup. Despite his inexperience, Cates got time on the Flyers’ penalty kill and figures to have a future in that role in the NHL. Cates is a smart player, and he often puts himself in the right place at the right time. Some might attribute players who do that often as them simply being lucky, but Cates’ offensive game is largely based on opportunism. Cates creates his own luck, always reading the play and finding ways to be in the exact places his teammates want a linemate to be in. His raw tools won’t overwhelm, and his upside as an offensive generator in the NHL is limited, but if he finds ways to remain reasonably productive at the NHL level despite not having a ton of plainly visible offensive talent, that shouldn’t surprise anybody. As a potential penalty killer who gives his team sporadic bursts of scoring, Cates can forge a solid NHL career. He doesn’t have the most upside of any Flyers prospect, but he’s a decent bet to make an NHL impact and be someone coaches always find a way to fit in their lineup. - EH

8 - Wade Allison RW

Is there a player in professional hockey with worse luck than Wade Allison the last few seasons? He was penciled into the Flyers’ lineup this past season before suffering an ankle injury. Then upon returning he suffered an MCL sprain. Just when you thought he was healthy, boom…he acquired a serious arm laceration from a skate. When healthy, Allison is a middle six NHL forward. He has proven that at the NHL level already. His combination of size, skill, and power skating is impressive, and he can be a load to handle for even NHL defenders as he drives the net. Allison has looked particularly impressive on the powerplay at the NHL level, playing as the bumper or net front presence. That said, have all these injuries stunted his development? The coming season is a huge one for him. The Flyers, once again, have some openings in their middle six that he could grab hold of. Additionally, one of his top competitors for those spots, Bobby Brink, has been lost to injury. Allison needs to come to camp healthy and stay healthy. If he does, he should be a full time NHL player this season and a likely productive one. As the Flyers continue their rebuild, there is definitely a spot for a power scorer like Allison, so long as his body can hold up. - BO

9 - Elliot Desnoyers LW

Desnoyers was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers for his simple, off-puck, defensive brand of hockey. He was a high energy, depth player for Moncton in his draft year. However, after his draft season, Desnoyers completely transformed into a whole different player following a deal to Halifax. Captain of the Mooseheads, Elliot is now a confident puck mover that excels in transition and dictates the pace of the play. His skating is excellent, and he can blow past defenders with ease. Desnoyers also played for Team Canada in the most recent 2022 World Juniors and despite not playing a lot of minutes, he was an important piece for them as they won the gold medal. The only thing holding back Desnoyers is his size and the lack of an elite shot, but given his versatility, it is easy to see him eventually finding a role at the NHL level. That could be as more of a fourth line forechecker and penalty killer, or it could be as a high-energy, playmaking middle six forward. Desnoyers will start his pro journey this season in the AHL, and it seems likely that he will start lower in the lineup to build up confidence in his offensive game while playing against men. After a few years, look for him to be knocking on the door of the Flyers. - EB

10 - Emil Andrae D

The 54^th overall selection in the 2020 NHL draft by the Phillidelphia Flyers, Andrae is an undersized defenceman who exudes confidence on both sides of the ice. He plays with a ton of tenacity, never takes a shift off, and is committed to winning puck battles. Andrae has good four-way mobility, generating speed with strong crossovers and detailed footwork. He is quite gifted in the offensive zone, has a strong ability to scan the ice for open passing/shooting lanes to exploit. While undersized, he has a stocky frame, which allows him to be physical and results in him rarely losing his balance in battles. Since being drafted, Andrae has split the past few seasons between the SHL and Sweden’s second league Allsvenskan. Last season, his HV71 squad competed in the Allsvenskan, where Andrae elevated his game finishing with 33 points in 41 games. He also helped lead HV71 to the Allsvenskan championship with 11 points in 10 playoff games, helping them win promotion back to the SHL. Andrae has also had a ton of success internationally, being named Captain of both the January and August Swedish World Junior teams. At the recent tournament, he led his team in points with 8 in 7 games on his way to helping Sweden capture gold. Andrae also finished 2^nd in points out of all defencemen and was named to the Media All-Star team. He is poised for another strong season for HV71 and will look to dominate the SHL as he did the Allsvenskan last season. - ZS

11 - Samu Tuomaala

A strong skating sniper, Tuomaala’s development wasn’t handled in the best way this past season. The Flyers tried to start the 18/19-year-old at the AHL level but that failed, so they loaned him back to Finland where he also played sparingly. He will try to prove that he is worthy of a larger role in Liiga this season, starting the year with Jukurit from the very beginning.

12 - Jay O'Brien

Everyone’s favourite controversial first round pick, O’Brien’s development path has been a unique one. However, he’s finally found a home at Boston University and has been trending back upwards. The Flyers will be looking for O’Brien to become one of the NCAA’s best offensive players this season.

13 - Ivan Fedotov

Unfortunately, a black cloud is hanging over Fedotov because of his arrest and detainment in Russia after signing with Philadelphia. The promising netminder could have been Philadelphia’s backup this year but his career now hangs in jeopardy. On talent alone, he probably deserves to be higher in these rankings, but the circumstances dictate him being lower.

14 - Alexei Kolosov

A highly athletic Belarussian netminder, Kolosov will need to continue to refine his technical skills while playing in the KHL. He is a longer-term project but one with great potential.

15 - Ethan Samson

One of the WHL’s breakout stars last year, Samson emerged as a two-way threat on a rebuilding Prince George team. The big defender was drafted as more of a physical shutdown type, but his confidence and abilities with the puck have improved tenfold.

16 - Owen McLaughlin

McLaughlin showed significant growth playing in the USHL last season. He helped Sioux City capture a Clark Cup and was a consistent offensive force. The talented and intelligent playmaker will have to continue to upgrade his skating to be an impactful freshman with UND this season.

17 - Zayde Wisdom

After a breakout season at the pro level during the height of the pandemic, Wisdom really raised some eyebrows. However, a shoulder injury and the rehab of it definitely negatively impacted his development as he returned to the OHL last year with mixed results. Wisdom is a hard worker with skill, but hopefully he focused on getting back his speed and quickness this offseason.

18 - Devin Kaplan

An intelligent power winger, Kaplan is the prototypical third line player for today’s NHL. He just needs to focus on improving his quickness while attending Boston University.

19 - Isaac Ratcliffe

The upcoming season will be a huge one for the big winger (no pun intended). He has struggled to adapt to the pace of play in his first three pro seasons. If he does not become a consistent offensive force at the AHL level this season, he may not be qualified by the Flyers next offseason.

20 - Alex Bump

Very much a project pick that Philadelphia will have to be patient with. Bump is a power winger with a scorer’s touch. He needs to improve his quickness and overall skating ability (a trend in Philadelphia’s system). He will likely play with Omaha (USHL) this year before going to Vermont the following season. He could be one of the better players in the USHL this year.

MCKEEN’S 2020 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – ORGANIZATIONAL RANK: 15

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 14:30:50 +0000

Philadelphia Flyers

Chuck Fletcher was hired as the new GM of the Philadelphia Flyers on December 3, 2018 after spending nearly nine years as GM of the Minnesota Wild. The Flyers had a low-key great season in the abbreviated 2019-20, and much of that is due to the roster built by Fletcher’s predecessor, Ron Hextall, but I think it is reasonable to look at the players – particularly younger players – who have entered the system in the Fletcher era to get an idea of the impact he and his staff have made. Not that signing cornerstones like Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny to extensions wasn’t important, but as you all know, we are here to talk about prospects.

First off, considering that Hextall left him with one of the deepest organizations in the league, Fletcher did not have to go treasure hunting in the free agent market. To this point, the Fletcher-Flyers have not signed a single undrafted free agent out of the NCAA or CHL ranks. In fact, the only young, free talent the franchise has folded in was Linus Sandin, older brother to Toronto blueline wunderkind Rasmus Sandin. Sandin did not make this list, but if we had gone to 20 (we will after the draft), he would have made it. There isn’t much we can learn about how Fletcher will finish building the Flyers based on the Sandin signing. This was a player who had just finished his third year of SHL hockey. He has solid offensive tools and has solid bottom six potential, but there isn’t anything there that raises the eyebrows.

Other than Sandin, the only other “prospect” to enter the system outside of the draft has been Nathan Noel, who was acquired from Chicago in exchange for AHL veteran TJ Brennan. Brennan is an AHL All Star, but didn’t have a role in Philadelphia, whereas he might have in an injury-riddled Chicago blueline. Noel was a former fourth round pick who has not yet shown that he belongs in the AHL after three professional seasons. This was clearly the type of trade made to appease a veteran to give him a chance. Noel was merely a contract that had to be acquired in the exchange to keep Chicago roster compliant. Noel finished the year in the ECHL and, with his ELC now expired, is not expected to be re-signed by the Flyers.

So, we are left with the draft. With only one draft class so far, that isn’t a lot to go by. And Fletcher has not been opposed to trading away picks for current help, although to his credit, even with the Flyers surging, hasn’t surrendered anything weightier than a third rounder…so far.

What we can say about the Flyers 2019 draft class is that so far, there haven’t been too many players who have pushed their way to the front of the depth chart. First rounder Cam York is the top prospect in the system, which is to be expected of a top half of the first-round guy, and three others find placement in the top 15 here. The other three were OK at best. If there are any notable trends from the seven players selected by the Flyers, it is that Fletcher has followed Hextall (so far, at least) down the collegiate path, as four of their seven selections were taking that developmental route, including their top three picks.

It may also be worth pointing out the case of Wyatt Kalynuk, drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round in 2017. After three outstanding seasons at Wisconsin, he decided to turn pro. Rumor has it that the Flyers tried to sign him, but he demurred, and signed as a free agent with Chicago instead. There is likely more to the story, but there is surely some downside in turning over the faces of the franchise when trying to recruit talent. The men who scouted him and had relationships with him may have no longer been his conduits to the organization, making it easy for him to lose any sense of loyalty he once may have felt. I don’t know if that was the case, but it is certainly worth thinking about.

EAST MEADOW, NY - SEPTEMBER 12: Philadelphia Flyers forward Morgan Frost (68) plays the puck in a pre-season rookie matchup vs the New York Islanders on September 12, 2018, at the Northwell Health Ice Center. (Photo by John McCreary/Icon Sportswire)

Cam York, D (14^th overall, 2019. Pre-season: 2)

York’s first season of NCAA hockey had its ups and downs. On the one hand, he was the top scoring freshman defender in the Big 10 and tied for the team lead from the blueline as well, while making the American WJC squad as an 18-year-old. Both very impressive markers.

On the other hand, as an offensive defenseman, his numbers were moderate at best, barely cresting the point every-other-game mark, and his role on Team USA was as the seventh defenseman, getting only a handful of minutes per game and the occasional power play shift. Compared to fellow USNTDP grad Henry Thrun, York provided less offense as a freshman, even though he had more of a role on the power play.

Back to the positive, York was able to show more competence away from the puck than may have been expected originally. Even if he needed to keep both hands on the stick with greater consistency, he defended well against opposing rushes, and showed an understanding of how to position himself when facing down an odd-man rush. He played a regular PK shift as well, illustrating the faith placed in him by the Michigan coaching staff.

Of course, the Flyers did not draft York looking for as a two-way defender, but as a dynamic bringing of offense. Those flashes were still apparent. He was an upper echelon skater at the collegiate level and still showed the ability to carry the puck up the ice with pace, wiggling through multiple layers of the defense to enter the offensive zone. He also doesn’t play a static role once the zone is gained, regularly jumping up from the blueline to give the defense something else to think about in deep. York started off solid, but there is more in him to give and we expect we will see more next season. - RW

Morgan Frost, C/LW (27^th overall, 2017. Pre-season: 3)

Frost is constantly developing and undoubtedly fits into every team he is part of but due to the competition level between the forwards in the Flyers organization, he has struggled to earn a more permanent role with the NHL club.

With Joel Farabee making quicker adjustments to the professional game, he was the first choice to lead the Flyers as the rookie forward this season with Frost right behind him. Frost, despite being a smaller, more compact forward, plays an aggressive forechecking game and has a good defensive game enabling him to deliver as a good two-way player. With his development continuing, it will be good to see him start the season with Lehigh Valley in the AHL especially after the long break in order for him to get his confidence up and his footing back with the faster game since his rookie season was cut short.

He has great potential in the Philadelphia system playing a power forward style, capable of getting to the net on his own and supplying strong passes to enable breakouts and scoring opportunities. Frost is a pretty consistent player that offers a good effort every time he is on the ice, however he sometimes struggles to find open ice and gets closed out too easily from getting to the net so he will have to battle harder to get to the net next season.

After finishing second in points with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Frost has time on his side and a good track record with Philadelphia so far leading to a bright future ahead. - SC

VOORHEES, NJ - JUNE 24: Yegor Zamula of the Philadelphia Flyers (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)

Egor Zamula, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Sep. 20, 2018. Pre-season: UR)

Zamula has grown leaps and bounds since coming to North America in his draft year. While it didn’t help him get drafted, he was able to sign an ELC with the Flyers after attending development camp. Since returning from that camp the most noticeable improvements in his game have been his puck handling and confidence with the puck. He is showing a willingness to carry the puck in from the blueline where he is a threat both to pass or shoot. He has fakes and can shift his weight but also with his wingspan he is able to protect the puck and change the passing angle to get by defenders.

He has always had good speed and had the size and a strong foundation but once he started to put some of his pucks skills to effective use he showed a dynamic quality, such as in the 2020 WJC, where he played top pairing minutes and had five points in seven games. He is a solid defender, using his size to keep defenders wide, block lanes and jump on loose puck, and he can finish his checks with the opponent pinned or off balance. He has good range and can close his gap at the blueline or jump a play as they cross the blueline to force an offside.

Zamula can physically punish his opponents by stepping up in the neutral zone or making hard physical plays along the wall. He makes his defensive partner better by setting up plays with crisp tape to tape passes. His first pass consistently starts the rush, but he is comfortable carrying the puck through the neutral zone should that be the best read. He has a cannon of a shot from the point and uses it appropriately to the situation. - VG

Tanner Laczynski, C (169^th overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 10)

A lasting gift from the Hextall regime, Laczynski finished his four-year career at THE Ohio State having finished 5^th, 1^st, 2^nd, and 1^st in team scoring. All told, he finished 23^rd all-time in OSU scoring, behind only currently Islanders’ farm hand Mason Jobst among 21^st century players. He was already 19 when the Flyers used a sixth round pick on him, and he made such a splash in his first season with the Buckeyes that he was a member of the Gold Medal winning Team USA at the 2017 WJC.

he has not matched his incredible 47 point campaign as a sophomore, Laczynski’s college play was defined by his excellent playmaking abilities and his knack for always being in the right place at the right place for maximum impact, on both sides of the puck. In fact, as his college career progressed, his defensive game only grew, and he was a regular on the OSU PK as a senior.

In addition to his playmaking, Laczynski is also an ace stickhandler, which helps him overcome his lack of high-end skating ability. Not that he is a bad skater, in fact his skating has improved quite a bit since landing on campus, but it is still not a strength of his game and he isn’t a player you want to see racing to beat out an icing call. In addition to improving his stride in college, he also completed his physical maturity, packing on close to 30 pounds over the four seasons in Columbus, making himself harder to play against.

Between his brains and his puck skills, Laczynski could find himself playing in a middle six NHL role in the near future. - RW

Wade Allison, RW (52^nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 12)

Like Laczynski, Allison was a four-year collegian. Whereas Laczynski is an intellectual player, succeeding through his mind more than his physical gifts, Allison is just the opposite. When he has been physically right at Western Michigan, he was devastating, as was saw most clearly in his 30 points in 22 games sophomore campaign. A torn ACL ended that season too early and he struggled to find his rhythm when he returned as a junior.

His senior season was again hampered by an injury, this time a balky shoulder, which kept him off the ice for much of December. By the end of the season, peak Allison was back, as he finished his season – and his collegiate career – with six points in his last five games, after a 13 points in a 6-game stretch in late January/early-February. Allison has lost maybe a third of a step since his pre-draft days, but he still skates well, with a great start up getting him quickly to his top speed. His motor is always at full throttle and when he gets the jump, he can still blow past defenders.

His style of game is mostly that of a power forward, but he has touch as well, with soft hands helping him create from in tight. His lower body strength also makes him hard to dislodge from the net front, especially on the power play. His missed time has certainly set him back, without which he could have turned pro at least one year ago but continued return to full strength could make him a valuable weapon up and down the lineup in the coming seasons. - RW

Bobby Brink, RW (34^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 5)

Stylistically, there is a lot to compare Brink with Tanner Laczynski above. Both forwards rack up points like nobody’s business yet lack the foot speed we often look for in the so-called “modern game.” Brink, too, seems to have gained a step since moving from the USHL to college, but is still only around average or so. The two main differences between the players are that Brink is quite small, while Laczynski has an average frame, and that the OSU grad is a playmaker while the Denver freshman is a triggerman.

Brink makes up for his middling skating speed through solid agility and a preternatural knack for showing up in the right place at exactly the right time to catch the defense flat-footed. He won’t be the one to generate the zone entry, but he is the one you look for to finish off the play. More than half of his freshman offense was compiled on the power play and Brink still needs to prove he can produce at a high level at even strength to strengthen his claim on a top six spot in the future. - RW

German Rubtsov, C (22^nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 7)

After a shaky second season in the American Hockey League, Rubtsov remains a skilled skater and a prospect with a lot to offer for Lehigh Valley. It will be a test of time to see if he has what it takes to offer the Philadelphia Flyers anything at the next level.

Rubtsov plays a well-positioned defensive game and continues to be a good passer and playmaker both at even strength and power play situations. He will have to continue to work on the physical aspects of his game some more and work on moving the puck a little quicker at times but overall, there is nothing of grave concern heading into next season skills-wise.

Being a first rounder there is extra pressure to perform now for Rubtsov who will need to find an extra gear heading into next season in order to maintain his Flyer system status and earn another call up as a bottom six for now. - SC

Isaac Ratcliffe, LW (35^th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 4)

For a big body, Ratcliffe skates well although he does not have the most finesse and isn’t the prettiest to watch but he gets the job done and protects the puck well. He was a very strong major junior captain with the Guelph Storm of the OHL but the move to the pros in the AHL has not been nearly as kind to him. He will need to clean up his play in the neutral zone and lessen the number of turnovers he gives up in order to even be considered for a call up to the Flyers.

Ratcliffe uses his size well, however this past season has been more a testament of frustration and overcompensation which has led to many unnecessary penalties and too many minutes spent in the box. He will need to be more disciplined next season in order to show more of the skill that got him drafted, and not just the size that got him noticed if he wants to crack a bottom six role in the Philadelphia lineup. - SC

Ronnie Attard, D (72^nd overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 9)

A classic late-bloomer, Attard exploded offensively in his third year of draft eligibility, winning the USHL Player of the Year award on the back of a 30-goal season, one of the best marks ever for a defenseman in the league. While his first collegiate campaign was good enough to be named to the NCHC All-Rookie team, there were also signs that his incredible age 19 season with Tri-City was a fluke.

On the positive side, he has great size and his feet work quite well. Attard likes to jump off the blueline and pinch deep. He has a very hard shot (you saw those goal totals, right?) and can beat good NCAA goalies from the point – even with a backhand. He can pass the puck around nicely, as well. Where he struggled most last year was in his own end. The game seemed to come at him too fast at times, catching him flatfooted and/or out-of-position.

The tools are all strong and make him worth gambling on and tracking. But without improving his reads and instincts, bust potential is still there. - RW

Mark Friedman, D (86^th overall, 2014. 2019 Rank: 11)

At the end of his prospect eligibility age-wise, Friedman has finished with a better season under his belt despite having to cut his time with Lehigh short at the break. He continues to play a thought-provoking methodical game, allowing for strong passes and well put-together plays when it comes to breakouts and regroups.

However, Friedman still needs to find ways to be a more present offensive defenseman and contribute with shot opportunities from the point. He needs to carry the puck and rush it in order to not only start the plays behind his own net but also to learn to quarterback from the hash marks and higher when exiting the zone.

Friedman needs to give next season all he has in order to get what seems likely to be his last chance at a call up with the Philadelphia Flyers and a bottom four role and a chance at cracking the power play rotation. - SC

Jay O’Brien, C (19^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 16)

O’Brien’s game is defined by his skating. He is very smooth with a great top speed and incredible edge work. He is not just quick skater, but he plays the game with an up-tempo style, engaging in 50/50 battles for the puck all over the ice.

He is a shoot first player although his style of play has expanded with a bit more of a playmaking side this year in Victoria. His puck handling is very good as he can weave in and out of traffic with the puck and looks very comfortable playing with the puck on his forehand and backhand. He has a full array of shot types (back hand, in tight, distance wrist shot, and one timer) that are effective, each with good accuracy with decent velocity.

His offense is not lacking although other than his skating there isn’t any skill that really stands out in a dynamic sense. O’Brien is going to a school in Boston University where he will be able to challenge for a top six spot right away but will need a few years of college to round out his overall game after his aborted year in Providence. - VG

Jack St. Ivany, D (112^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 17)

At 6-3”, St. Ivany is a towering defenseman. Drafted in the fourth round by the Flyers, he has shown improvement over the past few years. He played near his hometown in Los Angeles before a two year stint in the USHL. As a freshman, the defender was a quick contributor for Yale while taking time out to help the US win a silver medal at the World Junior Championship.

There is not a lot of weight on his frame as he has room to fill out. He is an offensive defenseman who can move quite well and is balanced for his size. He was Yale’s highest-scoring defender this season. His laser-focused passes make him an asset on breakouts. He is capable of joining the rush, but at times this puts him out of defensive position, and he can then struggle on the backcheck. He played on both the penalty kill and power play as well. St. Ivany has an active defensive stick and causes turnovers.

As a sophomore there was still room to improve, and his speed will be a primary factor in what level St. Ivany ends up next. - JS

Ivan Fedotov, G (188^th overall, 2015. 2019 Rank: UR)

Under the leadership of Ron Hextall, the Philadelphia Flyers drafted six netminders in five years. We are all familiar with budding superstar Carter Hart, but the other five have mostly failed to live up to expectations (thus far). Of that latter group though, Fedotov is the one closest to looking like he might still have impact potential at the highest level.

He may be a late bloomer, but at 6-8”, at least a couple of inches taller than he was when he was drafted, he has certainly bloomed. Last year Fedotov finally earned a full time KHL role, after spending the bulk of the previous three seasons in the VHL (Russia’s second highest league), and he put up top ten numbers leaguewide.

He moves pretty well for his size, and competes for every puck, an area when his size works to his obvious advantage. His ability to get down on a shot is remarkable at his size and he didn’t show any particular weak spot as a KHL rookie. He recently signed a two-year extension with Traktor Chelyabinsk, so Flyers fans will have to continue waiting to see if Fedotov can one day back up Hart in Philadelphia. - RW

Mason Millman, D (103^rdoverall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

One player who really improved over the course of this past OHL season was Millman. It seemed like with each passing month, his game and confidence reached a new level. By season’s end, he had established himself as one of the better offensive defenders in the OHL.

He impacts the game from an offensive standpoint because of how well he skates and how well he distributes. A breakout machine, he has that explosiveness to really turn around possession. Heading into next season, the expectations on him will be even higher as he looks to become a more well-rounded defender, and one of the best overall blueliners in the Ontario Hockey League.

At this point, a projection is difficult because Millman’s game is still growing and improving. At worst, he looks like a potential mobile third pairing defender who can see time on the powerplay. And at best, he could be an all situations second pairing defender. This is a prospect trending upwards. - BO

Noah Cates, LW (137^th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 18)

After an NCAA championship and WJC Silver Medal as a freshman, and a near point-per-game performance as a sophomore, Cates will enter his junior season with Minnesota-Duluth as the team captain. A skinny player when drafted, he has filled out very nicely over two seasons on campus and is now very tough to play against physically, a trait that pairs well with his high hockey IQ.

Cates is reliable in all three zones, and has an impactful presence, even if his offensive skills are closer to average than to elite. With world class point man Scott Perunovich having turned pro with St. Louis, there is some question as to how much Cates will be able to produce going forward, especially on the power play, but his NHL future is more tied to his two-way play anyway.

If he can maintain some semblance of his offensive rates on a team that is expected to be weaker next year, Cates will be a lot closer to confirming his future as a fourth line energy winger to can chip in 8-12 goals per year as well. - RW

Ivan Fedotov – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

FORWARDS

DEFENCE

Goal

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Dustin Wolf makes strong case for the Calder Trophy – Teams and Players to target

Boston Bruins (Mon vs BUF, Thu @ VGK, Sat @ SJS, Sun @ LAK)

Chicago Blackhawks (Tue vs SEA, Thu vs LAK, Sat @ STL, Sun vs PHI)

Los Angeles Kings (Mon @ MIN, Thu @ CHI, Sat vs CAR, Sun vs BOS)

Nashville Predators (Tue vs STL, Thu vs ANA, Sat vs TOR, Sun @ STL)

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon @ PHI, Thu @ WAS, Sat @ DAL, Sun @ CHI)

St. Louis Blues (Tue @ NAS, Thu vs VAN, Sat vs CHI, Sun vs NAS)

Tampa Bay Lightning (Mon vs PHI, Thu @ DAL, Sat @ UTA, Sun @ VGK)

Toronto Maple Leafs (Mon vs CGY, Wed vs COL, Thu @ NYR, Sat @ NAS)

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Nashville Resurgence, Rantanen traded to Carolina, plus much more – Favourable schedules and players to target

Calgary Flames (Tue vs WAS, Thu vs ANA, Sat vs DET, Sun @ SEA)

Colorado Avalanche (Tue @ NYI, Fri vs STL, Sun vs PHI)

Carolina Hurricanes (Tue @ NYR, Thu vs CHI, Sat vs. LAK)

New York Islanders (Tue vs COL, Thu @ PHI, Sat @ TBL, Sun @ FLA)

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon vs NJD, Wed @ NJD, Thu vs NYI, Sun @ COL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (Mon @ SJS, Wed @ UTA, Sat vs NSH)

Seattle Kraken (Mon @ EDM, Tue vs ANA, Thu vs SJS, Sun vs CGY)

Vancouver Canucks (Mon @ STL, Wed @ NSH, Fri @ DAL, Sun @ DET)

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Wolf making Calder case, Johnson rebounding and much more

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (November 11th to 18th, 2024) – Winnipeg and Florida dominate

Carolina Hurricanes (Mon @ VGK, Wed @ UTA, Sat vs OTT, Sun vs STL)

Nashville Predators (Mon @ COL, Thu @ EDM, Fri @ CGY, Sun @ VAN)

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon vs SJS, Thu @ OTT, Sat vs BUF)

Pittsburgh Penguins (Mon vs DAL, Wed vs DET, Fri @ CBJ, Sat vs SJS)

Seattle Kraken (Tue vs CBJ, Thu vs CHI, Sat vs NYI, Sun vs NYR)

St. Louis Blues (Tue vs BOS, Thu @ BUF, Fri @ BOS, Sun @ CAR)

Vancouver Canucks (Tue vs CGY, Thu vs NYI, Sat vs CHI, Sun vs NSH)

Vegas Golden Knights (Mon vs CAR, Wed @ ANA, Fri @ UTA, Sun vs WSH)

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – Team Preview

FORWARD

DEFENCE

GOAL

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – Top 20 Prospects

MCKEEN’S 2020 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – ORGANIZATIONAL RANK: 15

Philadelphia Flyers

Cam York, D (14th overall, 2019. Pre-season: 2)

Morgan Frost, C/LW (27th overall, 2017. Pre-season: 3)

Egor Zamula, D (Undrafted Free Agent, signed Sep. 20, 2018. Pre-season: UR)

Tanner Laczynski, C (169th overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 10)

Wade Allison, RW (52nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 12)

Bobby Brink, RW (34th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 5)

German Rubtsov, C (22nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 7)

Isaac Ratcliffe, LW (35th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 4)

Ronnie Attard, D (72nd overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 9)

Mark Friedman, D (86th overall, 2014. 2019 Rank: 11)

Jay O’Brien, C (19th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 16)

Jack St. Ivany, D (112th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 17)

Ivan Fedotov, G (188th overall, 2015. 2019 Rank: UR)

Mason Millman, D (103rd overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

Noah Cates, LW (137th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 18)

Cam York, D (14^th overall, 2019. Pre-season: 2)

Morgan Frost, C/LW (27^th overall, 2017. Pre-season: 3)

Tanner Laczynski, C (169^th overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 10)

Wade Allison, RW (52^nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 12)

Bobby Brink, RW (34^th overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 5)

German Rubtsov, C (22^nd overall, 2016. 2019 Rank: 7)

Isaac Ratcliffe, LW (35^th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 4)

Ronnie Attard, D (72^nd overall, 2019. 2019 Rank: 9)

Mark Friedman, D (86^th overall, 2014. 2019 Rank: 11)

Jay O’Brien, C (19^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 16)

Jack St. Ivany, D (112^th overall, 2018. 2019 Rank: 17)

Ivan Fedotov, G (188^th overall, 2015. 2019 Rank: UR)

Mason Millman, D (103^rdoverall, 2019. 2019 Rank: UR)

Noah Cates, LW (137^th overall, 2017. 2019 Rank: 18)