The Philadelphia Flyers fell to 1-3-1 in their home opener, blanked 3-0 by the Vancouver Canucks to close out their season series. What were some takeaways for the Orange and Black?
Are the Flyers… Bad?
Personally, I had some expectations for the Flyers this season. I was more inclined to believe that they could channel the version of themselves that was on pace for around 100 points through the middle of last January than the version that lost nine of its last 11 games. Clearly, it has been the latter so far.
The Flyers haven’t felt this helpless to start a season in a very long time. They were technically the better team in terms of expected goal share (3.01 to 1.59 advantage), but it didn’t feel that way. Prime scoring chances were sent wide of the net on countless occasions, giving the Canucks a rather easy victory. The hope was that the Flyers might’ve just been sluggish on a long road trip, but they looked completely lost at home, too—as a collective, there haven’t been many redeeming qualities about this club.
Based on their offseason approach, it’s not clear exactly what the Flyers are going for. If they were rebuilding, why did they extend Travis Konecny to an eight-year contract, a player who turns 28 when the deal begins? As soon as he was eligible for a new contract, general manager (GM) Daniel Brière had no hesitations about this decision. Most players tend to tail off by their early 30s, and that especially applies to a player who relies on his legs to create scoring chances like Konecny—it seems like a win-now move. Even if it’s not, it’s worth mentioning the hastiness of the negotiations, almost as if the Flyers were a contender.
On the contrary, Philadelphia has six selections in the first two rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft. With two teenagers on the current roster, it makes sense how they might be called a rebuilder. The Flyers seem like a team that doesn’t know what they are—they have extended their veteran roster players at the frequency of a contender, yet are young and struggling like a rebuilder.
It may be too early to tell if the Flyers are going to be bad this season, but the signs have been worrying. They don’t look like the same team as they were in their previous campaign, and the numbers back it up. Over the last 10 seasons, only 28 of the 100 teams to have a bottom-10 record in terms of points percentage during the first month of the season have made the playoffs….
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