Flyers Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Travis Konecny logs best season of career

Travis Konecny had a career year and established himself as the soul of the Flyers in 2022-23.

The Flyers' lack of high-end talent has been well-documented. Since the departure of Claude Giroux, no player on the club's roster has managed to fill the void of the former longtime captain, and the club has floundered (particularly in the offensive zone) ever since the trade that sent Giroux to the Florida Panthers.

But in 2022-23, Travis Konecny did his absolute best to fill Giroux's old role as the Flyers' de facto star forward. And for the most part, he played that role quite well as he put together perhaps his best season as a pro.

The Flyers' team MVP award went to Carter Hart at the end of the season, but one can rationally argue Konecny was just as deserving of the honor — if not more deserving.

Prior to the season, many questioned how Konecny would mesh with head coach John Tortorella. Offense-first players like Konecny have often struggled to adapt in Tortorella-coached clubs in the past, so it would not have been shocking if Konecny suffered the same fate.

Instead, he played some of the best hockey of his life, leading the team with 31 goals and 61 total points.

For the first time in his career, Konecny was given extended ice time as a penalty killer, and he wasted no time showing the world what he was capable of in shorthanded situations. He and Scott Laughton formed a dynamic penalty killing duo as the pair combined for 13 shorthanded points (including three shorthanded goal apiece) on the season. And at times, the Konecny and Laughton-led penalty kill even appeared more dangerous than the Flyers' own power play.

Not that it's much of an accomplishment to outplay the 32nd-ranked power play.

"I really enjoy the PK," Konecny said in January. "I feel like in certain ways if I'm not necessarily in at 5-on-5 or my legs may not feel like they're there in a game, I feel like the PK gets me more involved and it's an opportunity to maybe get my feet going or maybe get a block or feel like you're kind of in the game, part of the game. I feel like it just keeps me more involved and I really enjoy it so far."

Konecny's sudden blossoming as a penalty killer isn't what his season will be remembered for, though. It'll be remembered for his outstanding play in the offensive zone — particularly in the first half of the season.

From the season opener to January 11, Konecny posted a team-leading 24 goals and 46 points in 36 games despite missing half a dozen contests with an upper-body injury. During that span, he ranked 19th out of 836 skaters in the NHL with 3.79 total points per 60.

Not bad.

Of course, Konecny's season didn't come without some rough patches. He was held without a goal for 13 straight games over the span of nearly a month from January 14 to February 12, and early in the season, he was benched for the entire third period in a game against the San Jose Sharks, leading some to believe he and Tortorella weren't seeing eye to eye.

If that was the case, they certainly do now.

"I trust him. I'm always looking for him," Tortorella said of Konecny in January.

"He's a bundle of energy, and I love that about him. With a bundle of energy, there's going to be some crazy stuff that happens. I don't want to overcoach him, but when we get to being a team that is competing in big games, playoffs and all that, when we get there as a team, hopefully at that time he'll lead the way as far as situational play. He's still a pretty young man in this game. I'm hoping he leads the way as far as understanding some of those things when you're in those key type of situations."

It's kind of a big deal whenever a player scores a hat trick, and now Konecny has done it twice in his career.

Against the Washington Capitals on January 11, Konecny scored three goals, including a shorthanded marker, to help guide the Flyers to a 5-3 win at Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers were playing some of the best hockey of the season at the time, and the stellar play of Konecny had a whole lot to do with their short spurt of success.

Aside from maybe Carter Hart, Konecny is the best player currently on the Flyers' roster. He's been a fan favorite ever since he was selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, and now he's taking on the role of a true leader, both on and off the ice.

As good as Konecny is, he's probably not good enough to turn the Flyers around on his own. But for right now, it's encouraging to see him making the most of his opportunities.

Verdict:

Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and NHL.com.