Happy Matvei Michkov day!
With the Philadelphia Flyers’ prized rookie set to make his public on-ice debut on Thursday morning in the first practice session of rookie camp, let’s bang out one more offseason mailbag before the fun gets underway. (Some questions have been lightly edited for style and clarity.)
What do you envision as the floor and ceiling of this year’s team? Are they more likely to make a run at one of the final playoff spots or draft in the top five? How will the Flyers escape this purgatory? — Andrew D.
It really does feel like there’s a wide range of outcomes for the Flyers this season. Obviously, they are not a Stanley Cup contender at this point. But there’s also far too much skill on this team for it to be among the worst in the league, particularly as some of the younger players that took steps last season should, in theory, continue to progress.
That said, I tend to think they’re going to take a slight step backward this season. Even if the power play is a bit better, the goaltending is still much too uncertain for me to think they’re going to hang in the playoff race for as long they did last season. Remember, Carter Hart was arguably their team MVP around the Christmas break last year. His departure was the single biggest reason the team frittered away a playoff spot.
Consequently, I could see GM Daniel Briere being a much more aggressive seller at this year’s deadline than he was last season. Joel Farabee’s name could remain in trade rumors, while Scott Laughton is still probably someone who playoff teams could value. Morgan Frost, too, is going into the last year of his deal, and his long-term future with the Flyers is hazy. Briere could get a decent haul in return.
To answer that last part of your question, here’s what I believe, in a broader sense: team brass realized last season that there is a solid foundation of young players here, and with the right moves they can compete sooner than they anticipated when they took over in the summer of 2023. This season isn’t that time. But if Briere can continue to stockpile assets and free up some salary cap space between now and next summer, I could see them they and make some bold moves headed into 2025-26.
What’s the real reason Alexei Kolosov is fighting coming to play in the AHL? Rumors abound. We don’t know if we should sympathize or condemn the kid. (Pete R.)
The only thing I’ve been told, from one source close to Kolosov, is that he feels he will better develop in the KHL rather than the AHL. I do agree that we don’t know how much to criticize Kolosov or the Flyers organization, considering the lack of information and access to the player himself.
What I do believe is that Kolosov is passing up a great opportunity if he wants to be an NHL goaltender at some point in his career. We already know that Cal Petersen isn’t in the Flyers’ long-term plans, and after his struggles last season in spot duty, he’s probably not in their short-term plans either. If Kolosov got settled in with the Phantoms this season, there’s a decent chance he would be the guy they’d recall if they needed a goaltender. If he decides he wants to come over next year instead, well, Petersen will be gone and Kolosov will likely be paired with well-regarded prospect and 2023 second-round pick Carson Bjarnason in the AHL, and the two would have an internal battle for playing time.
Hopefully, we’ll get a little more insight soon as to just what’s going on here.
Who gets his contract extension first: Cam York or Tyson Foerster? — Jacob J.
That will probably be determined by how each of the pending restricted free agents plays over the course of the first few months, if not the entire season. That said, I think York, who’s a bit older and the more experienced of the two, will probably earn a contract extension at some point before the season is over — much like Owen Tippett did last season, when he signed an extension in January. But if Foerster gets off to a hot start and is a guy who John Tortorella continues to rely on for big minutes and strong two-way play, I could see an extension for him at some point midway through the season, too.
I know there were some calls from some fans that Briere should have locked both of them up this summer, before they are due to become restricted free agents next season. But I just don’t see why they’d be in a rush to do that. I like the idea of those two coming into this season thinking they have a little more to prove before they earn their respective paydays. And, let’s face it — as good as they both looked over the second half of last season, there’s a good chance that management wants to see a little more before they commit to them long term, too.
Does Joel Farabee still have room to grow on this team, or is he too far in the doghouse at this point? — Eric F.
I don’t like the phrase “in the doghouse” before training camp even starts. No one is in the doghouse on Day 1 of camp. It’s a fresh start for everyone. The players who finished strong have to show that it wasn’t a fluke, and then there are the players who struggled down the stretch, such Farabee — who has earned the right to show he can be a more consistent, aggressive player based on his experience and how he handles himself as a professional.
Now, that all said, it does feel as though Farabee is going to be in the spotlight early on. I don’t have him penciled into the top six at the moment — Travis Konecny, Michkov, Foerster and Tippett would be the four wingers I have on the top two lines — but maybe Tortorella sees it differently and wants to start Foerster, Tippett and/or Michkov lower in the lineup. We’ll see how things shake out during training camp, but if the Flyers are trying to free up money for next offseason, Farabee and his $5 million through 2027-28 could end up on the trading block.
Has Sam Ersson been anointed the starter, or will there be a goalie competition? — John G.
I don’t think there’s any question that Ersson will be in net on opening night in Vancouver on Oct. 11, unless he has just a miserable training camp and looks terrible in the preseason. The organization, and Tortorella in particular, love Ersson and his mental makeup.
Yes, he struggled in March and April when he was overplayed. But that was an much of an organizational failure in that the Flyers didn’t have a reliable backup when Ersson was clearly struggling, as it was the fault of the young goaltender. Remember, there was some discussion that the Flyers might try to add a cheap, backup rental goalie at last season’s trade deadline. They didn’t, and it probably cost them a playoff spot.
How can the Flyers continue to have a top-five payroll year over year and have the worst power play in the league? — Sean D.
Well, we know why they have a high payroll — there’s lots of dead money on the cap for the next two seasons. Keith Jones made no secret of that in his end-of-season presser.
As for the power play, obviously that will be under the microscope from opening night. It’s been three straight seasons of the Flyers having the worst power play in the NHL, two of which have been overseen by assistant coach Rocky Thompson. If they are a bottom-five power play again this season, there’s going to have to be some sort of coaching shakeup next summer.
If you’re looking for a reason or two for hope that the power play will be better this season, there are two: Michkov and Jamie Drysdale. Michkov, of course, could give the power play a jolt with his ability to score and make plays, while Drysdale should be fully mobile after his offseason surgery for a sports hernia.
On the other hand, I thought the biggest issue with the Flyers’ power play last season was their lack of a net-front presence, and it still doesn’t look like they have someone on the roster who can play that role. A power play can’t simply rely on a mobile quarterback and snipers on the wing — there needs to be someone in front potting a dirty goal from time to time.
Who, aside from Michkov, has the best chance of any youngster to make the team out of training camp? — Matthew S.
I’d be surprised if there were any rookies on the roster on opening night other than Michkov. Briere has already said he expects prospects such as Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey to return to juniors next season, and it would be asinine to rush Jett Luchenko to the NHL even if he does have a strong camp. As for players on the Phantoms last season, Briere mentioned that guys such as forward Samu Tuomaala and defenseman Emil Andrae both probably need more seasoning before they try and make the jump.
If I had to pick one, I suppose I’d go with Tuomaala, But he’d have to really shine in camp in order for that to happen — like, along the lines of significantly outplaying a guy like Bobby Brink.
Other guys to monitor who could have an outside chance (emphasis on outside) to make the roster include Oskir Eklund, who signed a one-year contract out of the Swedish league (and who, at 26, probably doesn’t qualify as a youngster); Hunter McDonald, a big, left-shot defenseman that opened some eyes at development camp; and Massimo Rizzo, who, at 23, is the oldest NHL-signed player taking part in this week’s rookie camp and who just wrapped up a three-year career at the University of Denver.
It feels like Briere has gotten a pass on: 1) Cutter Gauthier, given that he was assistant GM prior to mid-March 2023; 2) not drafting Zeev Buium over Jett Luchanko; 3) Kolosov. That’s a lot of big mistakes in a year and a half. — Anthony P.
I don’t dispute that Kolosov potentially not showing up for the start of NHL training camp next week, on the heels of what happened with Gauthier, isn’t a great look for the organization. That said, there’s been such a lack of information about both players’ situations that it’s difficult to come to any broad conclusions (trust me, I’ve tried, as I’m sure many other hockey journalists have as well). I’m certainly not ready to point at Briere and say that it’s all his fault.
As for the Luchanko over Buium debate, that’s just silly to have at this point, and strikes me as one of those talking points that some fans need in the summer to pass the time before the games start again. Is Buium the higher-rated prospect at this point? Yes, it seems like it. Does that mean he’s going to develop into a future NHL star and he’ll be worlds better than Luchanko? Give me a break. No one knows that — just like no one knew that Cale Makar, Miro Heiskanen and Elias Pettersson would end up as, uh, slightly better selections than Nolan Patrick in 2017.
It’s also just nitpicking. There’s far more that’s gone right with the Flyers in the year-plus that Briere has been in charge than has gone wrong. Maybe some of what you mentioned will in fact end up biting the organization in butt in the future, but it’s much too early to determine whether that will be the case.
Obviously, Ryan Johansen was acquired in the Sean Walker trade as an Avalanche salary dump in order for the Flyers to obtain Colorado’s 2025 first-round pick. However, isn’t Colorado culpable for trading either a) an injured player or b) one who won’t report to his new team? Philadelphia never got the “asset” it acquired in a valid NHL trade. Should Philadelphia receive any compensation from Colorado? — Brandon P.
The Flyers aren’t going to want to fight that sort of fight. As you said, they had to take on Johansen and $4 million of his salary in order to extract a first-round pick out of the Avalanche. Their issue here is clearly with Johansen, who only informed the organization he was injured after they attempted to reassign him to the Phantoms. It wouldn’t be logical, or good business, to pick a fight with Joe Sakic and the Avalanche. Colorado doesn’t want Johansen, and the Flyers value that first-round pick. And, I expect there to be some sort of resolution with Johansen at some point over the next few weeks.
(Photo of Samuel Ersson: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
