Without a doubt they will be better.
But will that improvement be enough?
This year’s Flyers team, which opens play at Vancouver on Friday night, figures to have a better roster than any of those which missed the playoffs the past four years.
Yet even with the additions of teenaged rookies Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko, the Flyers know the quest for a postseason berth in the Eastern Conference will not be an easy one.
In their own backyard, the Metropolitan Division, the Flyers will have to contend with last year’s Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers, the perennial powerhouse Carolina Hurricanes plus a much improved New Jersey Devils squad.
Up the road in the Atlantic Division, there’s defending Stanley Cup champion Florida, the pesky Boston Bruins and offensive juggernaut Toronto to make the task even more difficult.
The Flyers nearly made it last season but ran out of gas approaching the finish line. They suffered through an eight-game (0-6-2) winless streak in the final weeks and came up just a few points short after holding down a playoff spot for 124 days.
General manager Daniel Briere would like to see the Flyers end a four-year playoff drought but he’s still sticking to his plan to rebuild from the bottom up.
“Slowly, the (locker) room is starting to hold each other accountable more and more,” Briere said on Monday at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J. “For me, that’s the exciting part. We’re still a very young team but already we’re seeing more and more of the young guys take on a bigger leadership role in the room.
“We expect this year to be a tough year once again but we want to see improvement. We want to see guys take another step, especially from the younger generation.”
Michkov, the 19-year-old Russian whiz kid, figures prominently in the Flyers’ plans, as does Luchanko, who, at 18, will become the youngest player ever to compete in an orange, black and white uniform.
After several experiments on different lines, Michkov figures to start the season at left wing on a line with captain Sean Couturier at center and team leading scorer Travis Konecny on the right.
In recent practices, Luchanko centered a third line with Joel Farabee on the left side and Bobby Brink on the right.
On second line, look for Morgan Frost to center Owen Tippett on left wing and Tyson Foerster on the right. Fourth line could be comprised of either Scott Laughton or Ryan Poehling at center, with one of those two on the left side and Garnet Hathaway on the right.
That alignment would leave Noah Cates as the extra forward.
It’s no secret the Flyers could use some needed production from Luchanko at center. Couturier’s numbers have tailed off partly because he’s had several surgeries the past couple years. It’s not certain if Frost has gained the complete trust of coach John Tortorella. Frost was benched on three different occasions last season.
“The center position is a tough one,” explained Briere. “When you look at it, you’re basically supporting all your teammates out there. The offensive zone, the neutral zone, defensive zone. . .you’re always the guy who’s heavily involved in all facets.
“It takes a mature person to play that position. That’s why they’re so tough to find, also. It’s a tough position for young players to really come into the league and make an impact. That’s another thing we’re going to be watching for. He (Luchanko) has shown us in training camp he can hold his own already at his age.”
Couturier could be an “X” factor. The Flyers would love to have a semblance of the player who won the Frank J. Selke Trophy back in 2020.
“First of all, he showed up in great shape,” Briere said. “He was able to navigate ‘Torts’ camp which was extremely difficult as far as the volume of skating that he had. I thought he was just OK in the games.”
As for defense, the health status of Nick Seeler could determine the positioning of several players.
Seeler has suffered the aftereffects of a shot off his leg in a recent preseason game. He’s been experiencing some nerve numbness and was held out of practice on Monday and Tuesday but did make the trip, which will have three more stops in Calgary, Edmonton and Seattle.
The top defense pairing figures to be Travis Sanheim and Cam York. Jamie Drysdale has recovered from offseason sports hernia surgery and could be paired with Rasmus Ristolainen, again depending on Seeler’s status. That leaves Egor Zamula and Erik Johnson as a possible third unit.
In goal, the picture looks somewhat brighter than last season. The Carter Hart situation is officially over, as the former Philadelphia netminder’s contract was not renewed due to his legal woes. So Samuel Ersson is now the official No. 1, with the towering Russian (6-foot-7) Ivan Fedotov serving as backup.
