The Philadelphia Flyers didn't make too many additions to the roster this offseason, but they did enough to shake up the organizational depth chart for the time being.
And with that, the team's pace should change at least a little bit this season.
New head coach Rick Tocchet will get to iterate his own version of these Flyers, and the newcomers will breathe some life into a stagnant roster that saw very little turnover from 2023-24 to 2024-25.
The most notable offseason departures in 2024 were those of veterans Cam Atkinson and Marc Staal, as well as reserve goalie Felix Sandstrom
By adding Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak, the Flyers hope to address and smooth over the holes left by Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, who went to the Calgary Flames in a January trade earlier this year.
Note that the following depth chart is not necessarily how I see or believe the lines will play out, but more where I think players fall in terms of ice time based on their roles, pecking order in the event of injury, etc.
Additionally, we will assume that Tyson Foerster, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Noah Juulsen are all healthy.
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Forwards
Tyson Foerster - Trevor Zegras - Matvei Michkov
Owen Tippett - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Alex Bump - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink
Nikita Grebenkin - Christian Dvorak - Garnet Hathaway
Extras:
Nick Deslauriers - Rodrigo Abols - Porter Martone
Karsen Dorwart - Jett Luchanko - Anthony Richard
Denver Barkey - Jacob Gaucher - Lane Pederson
Massimo Rizzo - J.R. Avon - Devin Kaplan
Rationale
Tyson Foerster, when healthy, is going to play a ton of 5-on-5 minutes, and his role should expand on the penalty kill, too.
I don't know where the caution came from with Trevor Zegras, but he is definitely an NHL center, and a talented one. The biggest question is going to be how far his defense can come, because the playmaking, scoring, and invariable power play boost will keep him on the ice regardless.
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A small note on Owen Tippett: his speed and long reach would be dangerous assets to have on the penalty kill a la Travis Konecny. Can Tocchet and the Flyers make him into something more than a high-priced, volume-shooting power forward?
I don't believe Alex Bump, who's a favorite to make the roster out of camp, will play on a checking line with Noah Cates, but 14-15 minutes a night to start him off in the NHL would be ideal.
As for Nikita Grebenkin, if he makes the roster, I'd expect 12 or so minutes a night with potential for PP2 ice time.
Diving into the extras, where Jett Luchanko falls depends a lot on his training camp, but if the Flyers suffer a rash of injuries, I could see him being re-called from the OHL in the event of an emergency over a bit part AHL player.
Ditto for Denver Barkey and Devin Kaplan, who may not be the first line of defense but could still see NHL ice under certain circumstances.
At this point in the rebuild, I don't see how it would benefit the Flyers to play veterans and journeymen over some of the prospects who are now turning pro.
Defense
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Where Did These Former Flyers End Up in NHL Free Agency?Between their additions and subtractions, the Philadelphia Flyers have been well-represented in NHL free agency this year.
Cam York - Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler - Noah Juulsen
Egor Zamula - Helge Grans
Emil Andrae - Oliver Bonk
Hunter McDonald - Ethan Samson
Dennis Gilbert - Adam Ginning
Ty Murchison
Rationale
Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Cam York are all going to play the bulk of the even strength and penalty kill minutes, and Nick Seeler and Noah Juulsen will each factor in on the man disadvantage, too.
The biggest question will be who plays the power play.
Jamie Drysdale was the Flyers' No. 1 option by a comfortable margin on the power play last year and was on the ice for 15 goals for. Ristolainen, Sanheim, Emil Andrae, and Egor Zamula were on the ice for a combined 17 goals for, for reference.
Sanheim and Andrae, who each played 50 minutes on the man advantage, out-scored opponents by a combined 10-1, with the two leading all Flyers defensemen in goals for percentage on the power play, per Natural Stat Trick.
The issue is that Andrae might not make the roster, which opens the door for someone like York to take on more responsibility and actually showcase all his talents.
York ranked sixth amongst Flyers defensemen in power play ice time last season, playing just 9:36 in 66 games.
I expect Helge Grans to challenge for a roster spot for as long as Ristolainen is out after making his NHL debut last season. In the event of further injury, Andrae and prospect Oliver Bonk should top the list of re-call options.
Goalies
Sam Ersson
Flyers' Porter Martone Sets Sights on Early NHL DebutJust one day into on-ice activities at development camp, the hype around top Philadelphia Flyers prospect Porter Martone is already growing.
Ivan Fedotov
Carson Bjarnason
Rationale
No surprises here. Top free agency addition Dan Vladar will be tasked with keeping Sam Ersson fresh, which has proven challenging over the last two seasons.
There's no reason for Aleksei Kolosov to not return given the situation with Dinamo Minsk, and he has more long-term upside than Ivan Fedotov if he can show the Flyers some consistency at the AHL and/or NHL levels.
Carson Bjarnason, who is just now turning pro, is the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option. I think the Flyers would trade for a stopgap before throwing him to the wolves.