Flyers Insight from Instagram here. You may know me for the gameday graphics I frequently post or from my broadcast channel where me and my friends report and react to Flyers news and games live. Today, however, as the Flyers are up 1-0 on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Battle of Pennsylvania and enter arguably their best contention window since the Broad Street bullies, I wanted to rewind and understand how we got here. Specifically, I want to look at two offseasons in 2023 and 2025 that brought in arguably their three best players (Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, and Trevor Zegras) now and moving forward (along with Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey, two of the Flyers’ most promising prospects).
2023 offseason context: I was really down at this point and I would imagine a majority of the fanbase would share that sentiment. I was too young to truly enjoy the success Philadelphia enjoyed in the first half of the 2010s and the front office had been making questionable move after questionable move (see: drafting Cam York, a fine defenseman today, over Cole Caufield, trading a first round pick for Rasmus Ristolainen) and even the seemingly correct moves like drafting Nolan Patrick second overall in 2017 had blown up in the Flyers’ faces when the three players drafted right after him (Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar, and Elias Pettersson) were all entering the primes of their careers with many expecting them to contend for Norris and Art Ross trophies while Patrick dealt with concussions. This offseason, the Flyers had the seventh overall pick and I feared that Philadelphia would not get a true franchise savior this draft.
2023 NHL Draft: 7th overall pick: Flyers select Matvei Michkov:
WOW was my reaction to this pick. I was stunned that Michkov had fallen. I truly believed, like many others, that Michkov to Montreal was a lock once the Sharks took Will Smith. And even when the Canadiens selected David Reinbacher (who we now know the Flyers coveted and tried to trade Cutter Gauthier for), I figured there was no way the then-Arizona Coyotes would pass on a generational sniper once hyped as the next Alex Ovechkin. To this day, the only explanation I can truly accept is that the Coyotes needed someone more instant to drive revenue (a constant issue before they relocated to Utah) while Michkov still had three season left on his KHL contract. My shock was impalpable when this gift landed to the Flyers, even knowing the wait would be three seasons. On compassionate grounds, the KHL released him from his contract after his draft+1 season, allowing him to step in for the 2024-25 season. In his two seasons, he has not disappointed me one bit: our leading goal scorer with 26 goals and 63 points as a rookie, 51 points this season. Remember, he is producing this with frequent benchings from both head coaches he’s played for (John Tortorella as a rookie, Rick Tocchet this season), along with the mess Danny Briere created by commenting on his weight. Porter Martone has rightfully captured the fanbase’s attention leading many to call him the franchise player, but I would assert that Michkov and Martone are the Flyers’ franchise duo similar to how Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk serve as a pair for the Florida Panthers.
2023 NHL Draft: 22nd overall pick: Flyers select Oliver Bonk:
Admittedly, Bonk has been the least impactful of the five players I will discuss, but he has the potential to be a truly solid top-four right-shooting defenseman, arguably the hardest role player to find in the NHL. The Flyers drafted him with the first round pick they acquired for dealing Ivan Provorov (who just signed a ridiculous contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets this past offseason; I’m grateful for his time here but respectfully we are fortunate not to have that contract on our books today). Since his drafting, Bonk has won back to back OHL championships with the London Knights, as well as a memorial cup last season. He also made team Canada’s World Junior Championship squad both years. This season, he has played 46 AHL games, tallying 19 points. He also made his NHL debut this season in our last game against the Canadiens and scored his first goal and an assist in a 4-2 win.
2023 NHL Draft: 95th overall pick: Flyers select Denver Barkey:
The Flyers acquired this pick as part of the Claude Giroux trade package at the 2021-22 trade deadline. I’m glad the Flyers have been smart enough to draft out of the London Knights pipeline and drafted Bonk’s teammate (hopefully they will continue to dominate in the NHL once Bonk is called up like they did in London). He started this season in the AHL but was called up for the back half of Philadelphia’s season, where he has produced 17 points in 43 games, as well as an assist in game 1 against the Penguins (hopefully he’ll add to that tonight). I see him as a hard-working bottom six player who will be an unsung and underrated hero should the Flyers ever win big.
2025 NHL Draft: 6th overall pick: Flyers select Porter Martone:
This has been by far the most popular move so far. Optimism in the 2025 offseason was more or less at an all time low since we (Flyers fans) began wondering if we were headed towards the mushy middle. Similar to Michkov, I was not expecting to get this gift at the Flyers’ draft slot. However, we were fortunate enough to have the Utah Mammoth (again) and Nashville Predators make some questionable selections (Caleb Desnoyers and Brady Martin). I was already jumping for joy once the Mammoth made their selection as it guaranteed Philadelphia the opportunity to select either James Hagens or Porter Martone.
Martone has shown constant improvement year over year and had 98 points in 57 games in his draft year with the Brampton Steelheads. As well, he made Canada’s World Junior team and had a clutch goal against Czechia to tie the game late in the third period (though it of course was not enough to advance). This season, he elected to take advantage of the new NCAA-CHL agreement and join the Michigan State Spartans. Playing college hockey is a clear step up from junior hockey, and is not very easy for freshmen who do not play for the Michigan Wolverines or Boston University Terriers. He has taken a step up not just on the ice, but off of it, reportedly gaining 12 pounds and losing three percent of his body fat at MSU. The Spartans would have a very successful season, finishing atop the Big Ten and as a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament. In the tournament, Martone again showed clutch prowess, scoring the game-winner late in the third against the UConn Huskies to avoid a narrow upset, and contributing an assist on a 3-1 goal against the Wisconsin Badgers that should have sent the Spartans to the Frozen Four had a late collapse not occurred, resulting in a 4-3 overtime loss. The moment I knew Martone was the real deal was when he scored at #1 BU to give MSU a 2-0 lead.
After Michigan State’s upset, Martone immediately signed with the Flyers. Philadelphia was right in a playoff push and I was glad to see our mega prospect join our cause with 10 games left. His overtime winner against the Bruins (2-1 game at Wells Fargo) was the most hyped this fanbase has been in a VERY long time. He has been a revelation for the Flyers so far with 10 points in 9 games as well as the game winner in game 1 against the Penguins. Very excited to see what he turns into in the future!
June 23, 2025: Flyers trade 40th overall pick and Ryan Poehling to the Anaheim Ducks for Trevor Zegras:
Initially, when the Flyers made this move, I had both doubts and optimism for how Zegras would fit in Philadelphia. Thankfully, Tortorella was gone by this time or who knows how toxic that locker room could have become. I was worried that Zegras’s flashy style would drive fans mad and we all know what happens when Philadelphia fans get rowdy (shattered confidence). I was concerned that Tocchet would not be different enough from Tortorella and would try to make Zegras play in a way that would be un-Zegras-like. Thankfully, I was wrong. The part I was optimistic about, Zegras’s craving for a passionate and enthused fanbase as well as his clutch ability to perform under pressure bringing the best out of him, has turned out to be relatively true. He has recorded career highs with 26 goals and 67 points while missing just one game (rest). Like Barkey, he also recorded an assist in his playoff debut. He has played both wing and center but I would love if he could become the franchise center we have been missing since Eric Lindros.
Today, the Flyers are in a much healthier spot for these moves, along with bringing in Rick Tocchet from Vancouver this past offseason. Admittedly, I had some doubts around the trade deadline about the direction of the franchise; I thought we were headed back to the mushy middle again just like 2023-24 but wow this team has amazed me. The game 1 upset of the Penguins is one my favorite Flyers memories so far and I’m hoping we can make more of them this spring, starting with game 2 tonight. Regarding future needs and draft picks, the Flyers have all their future first round picks as well as Toronto’s next year. I would still like a number one defensemen to put it all together, however. Either way, I’m very excited to see where this franchise heads moving forward!
See below for an interactive timeline of the Flyers turnaround:
2023 offseason: the Flyers are dead in the water coming off a 31-38-13 season and their third consecutive playoff miss. The then-core, Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, and Owen Tippett, appeared to have all hit their peaks and first-year coach John Tortorella seems to be a misfit. As we now know, it would only get worse as the Flyers' top prospect, Cutter Gauthier, demanded a trade this offseason due to the Flyers not signing him a few months earlier in April to allow him to burn a year off his ELC.
2023 NHL Draft: 7th overall pick: Flyers select Matvei Michkov.
2023 NHL Draft: 22nd overall pick: Flyers select Oliver Bonk.
2023 NHL Draft: 95th overall pick: Flyers select Denver Barkey.
2025 NHL Draft: 6th overall pick: Flyers select Porter Martone.
June 23, 2025: Flyers trade 40th overall pick and Ryan Poehling to the Anaheim Ducks for Trevor Zegras.
April 18, 2026: Flyers vs Penguins game 1: the Flyers infusion of young talent from the two drafts mixed with remaining veterans such as Konecny, Couturier, Tippett, Cam York, and Travis Sanheim is coming together perfectly in a game one upset of the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. Martone and Sanheim celebrate Martone's game-winning goal in the third period.
While GM Danny Briere's shrewd drafting can be attributed as the main cause of the Flyers' revival, the coaching should be credited as well. The Flyers were caught in the mushy middle in the 2023-24 season just barely missing the playoffs in a way that prevented them from adding another top draft pick in the 2024 draft. A regression to the bottom of the barrel in the 2025 season left the Flyers in an even more hopeless situation than the 2023 offseason. Then, Briere made his biggest gamble yet: firing Tortorella and replacing him with established coach Rick Tocchet. Tocchet led a similar turnaround for the Vancouver Canucks in the 2024 season, resulting in a close seven game series with the Oilers in the second round. Will the Flyers make it that far this postseason? It's certainly possible, but either way, the future is bright in Broad Street. (Of course, having a vezina calibre goalie like Dan Vladar is a massive get too!)
Thank you for rewinding with me. You can find my instagram @flyers_insight and I would encourage you to join my Instagram broadcast channel with my wonderful moderators including flyers.central._ and flyers.updated if you want to know everything going on with the Flyers, along with our reactions!
