From Oct. 11 to Oct. 17, the Philadelphia Flyers completed a challenging four-game road trip in which they went 1-2-1. Late-night bouts with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Seattle Kraken had mixed results, as the team was outscored 18-13 but had some good moments. What are the biggest positives and negatives from the seven-day stretch?
Positive One: Jett Luchanko
The first positive of this season’s action has to be Jett Luchanko. His efforts haven’t paid off in the plus/minus department (minus-3), but an on-ice save percentage of .826 combined with a 6.3 on-ice shooting percentage isn’t doing him any favors. The reality here is that, while he hasn’t been perfect, he is more or less indistinguishable from a regular NHLer. Just 18, he may be a key center for the Orange and Black in 2024-25.
Head coach John Tortorella has raved about Luchanko’s game this season. As the youngster gets more comfortable with what the NHL demands out of its players, he should become more balanced. He has elite speed, has shown some chemistry with fellow teenager Matvei Michkov, and is capable of handling various situations. Right now, it seems as though his spot is safe on the team.
Negative One: Ivan Fedotov
After a rocky three-game stint in 2023-24, the hope was that recently extended Ivan Fedotov could improve in 2024-25. With a $3.275 million average annual value (AAV) over two seasons, expectations were high. He had some impressive campaigns in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) but next to zero NHL experience, so this was a boom-or-bust move. So far, it has been the latter.
In his season debut versus the Flames, he allowed five goals on 31 shots and did not look comfortable in the net. Given an opportunity at redemption versus the Kraken, it was reasonable to think that he had nowhere to go but up—he had the worst game of his career. Sacrificing five goals on 24 shots and pulled at the end of the second period, a rest day for starter Sam Ersson became his 35th appearance in the Flyers’ last 42 games.
Though I recently argued Fedotov should have a decent-sized leash, I also didn’t expect him to get worse following an uninspiring first four NHL games. The whole point of putting him in the net is to see what he can provide and get Ersson rest, but that last part didn’t happen. Fedotov maybe has one final chance to prove his…
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