The Philadelphia Flyers have, somewhat unexpectedly, flourished out of the gate in this 2025-26 season. In 17 games this year, the Flyers have a 9-6-3 record, and they currently sit just a couple of points out of a wild card position in the Eastern Conference. 

It’s clear the Flyers have changed a few things to make their team better. For one thing, virtually all the off-season additions Philadelphia GM Daniel Briere has made are paying off positively.

Star forward Trevor Zegras, whom the Flyers acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in the summer? He’s leading the team in offense, with 19 points in 18 games. Center Christian Dvorak, who was signed as a UFA? He’s got 13 points in 18 games. 

But the biggest difference-maker is veteran goaltender Dan Vladar, who also signed as a free agent; Vladar has a 6-4-1 record, a .909 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average this season. Goaltending was a key reason for last season’s collapse in Philadelphia, so Vladar's providing strong netminding is a great thing.

Considering that Philly had the NHL’s fifth-worst goaltending last season at an average of 3.45 goals-against per game, Vladar’s performance this year may not be sustainable, but he’s giving his team a shot to win every game. That’s a major step forward for this team.

Finally, you have the stats that bear out the impact of first-year Flyers coach Rick Tocchet. For instance, the Flyers allowed an average of 27 shots per game last season – the eighth-best total in that department in the league. But this year, Philadelphia is averaging 25.2 shots against per game. That surely helps all Flyers goalies, and if Vladar continues his strong play, he’ll have the highest save percentage by a Philadelphia goalie since Carter Hart in 2019-20.

And that’s a good harbinger of what’s to come for the Flyers the rest of the way this year.

That said, we still don’t see the Flyers as a playoff team. There’s so much parity in the league, and the Flyers have so many young players, we suspect the Flyers will be a mushy middle team, finishing near a playoff spot, but ultimately coming short. But that’s OK. Briere has a long-term focus for his team, and that means he can suffer the soft stretches of young player development.

At the very least, the Flyers are playing meaningful hockey, and they look like they’re going to be playing meaningful hockey consistently. That hasn’t been the case for a while now in Philly, so Flyers fans should be stoked about the future – and maybe, the present as well.

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