2024-25 Preview: Philadelphia Flyers PHILADELPHIA FLYERS 38-33-11, 87 Pts. 6th Metro, 21st Overall 2.82 GF/GP (27th), 3.15 GA/GP (19th), 12.2 PP% (32nd), 83.4 PK% (4th) Top scorer: Travis Konecny. 76 GP. 33-35-68, 67 PIM, 6 SHG, 244 Shots, 19:50 TOI/GP 2024-25 BetMGM Stanley Cup Odds: Opening: +5000 Current: +5000 (as of August 22, 2024) Ticket: 0.8%. Handle: 0.4% (as of August 22, 2024) 2023-24 FANTASY RECAP Without a bona fide scorer, the Flyers were a bit of an afterthought in fantasy. They provided some good options, including Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett in banger leagues for goals, shots and hits, but no fantasy leagues were won or lost because of the Flyers. (Well, maybe if you had their goaltending...) This was a lineup with a lot of promise, and unlike their fantasy options, at least they were entertaining to watch. John Tortorella gets a bad rap for killing offense, but that's not quite true; what's true is that he can squeeze more out of a roster than any other coach, and sometimes he can kill offenses because he's not afraid to bench the best player. That being said, few players don't draw the ire of Tortorella, and as a result, the Flyers had a smattering of mid-level forwards that were difficult to stream. Morgan Frost looked like a playmaking pivot ready to break out following a 46-point 2022-23 season, but he ended up averaging less ice time in 2023-24. Joel Farabee improved his production, scoring a career-high 22 goals and 50 points but he, too, saw his ice time dip. Tyson Foerster scored 20 goals, but ironically averaged more ice time in the final month even though he scored zero goals. Sean Couturier, coming off two injury-riddled seasons and named captain not too long ago, was even a healthy scratch. The defense was a similar story; some solid players including Travis Sanheim, Cam York, and Jamie Drysdale, but none stood out. Look no further than their struggling power play, the sixth-worst in the cap era yet still had enough bodies to populate two units. And the goaltending? Samuel Ersson showed some promise but looked absolutely spent by March, Cal Petersen is no longer an NHL-caliber goalie, third-string Felix Sandstrom struggled with a .823 SP (not even the worst on the team) and the towering Ivan Fedotov had three games to adjust to North America after a solid season in the KHL, and ended up finishing with a .811 SP. Travis Konecny [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA5MzY0MzkwNTYwOTMzMDMz/usatsi_23002815.jpg] Travis Konecny 2024-25 FANTASY OUTLOOK The Flyers enter the 2024-25 season with a lot more interest in fantasy due to one player: Matvei Michkov. Considered one of the world's top talents after getting drafted seventh overall in 2023, Michkov arrives in Philadelphia much earlier than expected, wrangling himself out of his KHL contract. His game-breaking talent could unlock the rest of the roster's potential. There's a case to be made for Michkov to be the first Flyer off the board because he possesses so much offensive upside, but as noted above, there are no guarantees with Tortorella behind the bench. While he holds no loyalty to any player, rookie or veteran, it's always tough to gauge who exactly will lead this offense on a nightly basis. Konecny and Tippett will be good choices in leagues that value shot volume and hits, but throw Foerster, Farabee and Brink into the mix if you're looking for goals. The most intriguing player to me is Frost; the Flyers don't have a center with better playmaking than him, and the gap is pretty wide. If Frost and Michkov can connect, and if Tortorella trusts Frost enough, he should be the default 1C in the offensive zone at even strength and on PP1. Speaking of the power play, with so such a solid group of young players but no standouts (other than Michkov), expect the Flyers to run two power play units again, with York and Drysdale as your most obvious QB's. Last season, only one player (Konecny) skated in more than 50 percent of the Flyers' total PP minutes. For the Flyers to increase the fantasy value of their players, they really, really need to improve their power play. Perhaps having some consistency with a healthy roster along with Michkov's elite talent can change that. Goaltending is a true wild card. Ersson will need to improve his durability to be a worthwhile streamer in fantasy all season, while the jury's out on Fedotov. I've seen plenty of lists where Fedotov is ranked higher than Ersson, as he is below on Yahoo's pre-season rankings, but I'm not convinced. I think Ersson still gets the opening night start and plays more games by the end of the season. Fedotov is huge but he had little time to adjust and this will be his true rookie season. How many rookie goalies can be trusted in fantasy? 2024-25 PROJECTED LINEUP (updated Oct. 7, 2024) Even Strength Matvei Michkov - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Tyson Foerster Joel Farabee - Scott Laughton - Bobby Brink Noah Cates - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway Cam York - Travis Sanheim Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale Yegor Zamula - Rasmus Ristolainen Samuel Ersson - Ivan Fedotov ex: Nicolas Deslauriers, Jeff Luchanko, Erik Johnson LTIR: Ryan Ellis (back) Power Play Michkov - Frost - Tippett - Konecny - Drysdale Brink - Couturier - Foerster - Farabee - York Jamie Drysdale (6) and Morgan Frost (48) [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA5MzY0NDEyMzA0MjA0OTY5/usatsi_22921823.jpg] Jamie Drysdale (6) and Morgan Frost (48) SLEEPER: MORGAN FROST, C Someone has to get Michkov the puck, right? I thought Frost made strides last season and Tortorella recognized it, too, starting Frost in the offensive zone 71 percent of the time at 5-on-5, per naturalstattrick.com. His IPP in the 70's also suggests Frost can carry a line, and while I don't think Frost will be a top-tier first-line center just yet, I think there's a good chance he can get to 60 points this season. Despite being a smaller player and not known for his physical play, Frost also comes with a modest number of blocks and hits to provide some additional value. BREAKOUT: MATVEI MICHKOV, RW This is probably the section you're most interested in, and I'm happy to report that Michkov seems to have no trouble at all adjusting so far in rookie camp. He has tons of value in keeper leagues, though until we see him in preseason action, it's still tough to gauge his fantasy value in redraft leagues. In the league below, I mentioned that scouts and projections have Michkov on track to be similar to the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Kirill Kaprizov, Nikita Kucherov and Alex Ovechkin. It's too early to say if Michkov will be that good, but those are really encouraging signs. I would caution against reaching for Michkov, but if managers are looking for higher risk, higher upside options in the middle rounds rather than going with the tried, tested and true, Michkov is a good gamble. He's a Calder candidate and I think he can get 20 goals and around 50 points. BOUNCE-BACK: JAMIE DRYSDALE, D Drysdale played just 24 games with the Flyers following a trade from the Ducks, and scored just five points with a minus-18 rating. At first glance, those numbers can induce illness, but he also fills a need for a right-shot defender who can generate some offense. There are too few samples to really parse through to uncover any hidden value, but it is worth noting Drysdale had extremely poor puck luck (.894 PDO) and started in the offensive zone most of the time. I think playing a full season should get him back on track; he's played just 42 games over the past two seasons following a 32-point sophomore season with the Ducks where he had 12 power-play helpers. It's a bummer Drysdale will likely split the power play duties with another defenseman with two balanced units, but it's a good bet Drysdale will quarterback at least one of them. BUST: TRAVIS SANHEIM, D I think Sanehim is a great all-round defender but I'm not quite sure he can match last season's 44 points. I don't have Sanheim projected to quarterback either PP1 or PP2 — those jobs belong to Drysdale and York — and Sanheim doesn't really block enough shots or hit enough to be worth drafting any higher than the late rounds. He's the highest ranked defender on Yahoo's pre-season rankings but I'm not convinced the gap between him and York or Drysdale is very big. GOALIES This is the least interesting part of the Flyers' fantasy options because we still know so little about Ersson and Fedotov. Even for zero-G enthusiasts, both goalies are true wild cards, and the Flyers, even when they were surprisingly in playoff contention all season, are unlikely to win enough games to keep them on your fantasy roster. I think they can be good streaming options if the Flyers are playing well, but overall I suspect they will finish with GAA's close to 3.00 and save percentages hovering around .900. JASON'S TOP 5 POINT PROJECTIONS (based on 82 games) Owen Tippett, LW/RW - 29-32-61 Travis Konecny, LW/RW - 26-34-60 Joel Farabee, LW - 24-35-59 Morgan Frost, C - 19-38-57 Matvei Michkov, RW - 21-33-52 YAHOO PRE-SEASON RANKINGS 57. Travis Konecny, LW/RW 63. Owen Tippett, LW/RW 157. Matvei Michkov, RW 202. Travis Sanheim, D 209. Joel Farabee, LW/RW 260. Ivan Fedotov, G 286. Scott Laughton, C/LW 294. Morgan Frost, C 318. Samuel Ersson, G 425. Tyson Foerster, C/RW 479. Sean Couturier, C 519. Cam York, D 640. Bobby Brink, RW 694. Rasmus Ristolainen, D 816. Jamie Drysdale, D Related: Click the image below to receive your free issue of the 2024-25 THN Poolbook. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA5MjYwNjQwNzk0MDYwNjQ0/subscribe2024-front-banner.jpg]
