Most exciting about Flyers’ playoff berth: the youth got them there
Six years. That’s how long it took the Philadelphia Flyers to return to the NHL postseason. If we’re talking about playoff hockey actually returning to the city of Brotherly Love, you have to go back eight years – coincidentally versus the Pittsburgh Penguins – given the 2020 playoffs took place inside the COVID bubble.
GM Danny Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones came on the scene three years ago, inheriting a rapidly sinking ship that was captained by past managers Chuck Fletcher and Ron Hextall. Former head coach John Tortorella had already begun the culture change during the 2022-23 season, but the duo of Briere and Jones were the first regime to openly accept – and vocalize – the word “rebuild,” embracing the roster’s need of an overhaul and injection of youth along with sustainability.
It took awhile. The path didn’t – and still doesn’t – come without criticism. But after punching their ticket to the playoffs in game 81 (with their 10th shootout win of the season), the future is officially now in Philadelphia.
Speaking with a source yesterday, it was vocalized that this doesn’t mean the climb to building a Stanley Cup contender is anywhere close to over for the Flyers. This is still a work in progress towards getting this team to where it needs to be to ultimately fulfill the vision of the current regime.
But unlike in 2020 when the team was anchored by aging veterans like Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek, along with (also not exactly youthful) additions over the preceding 10 months such as Justin Braun, Derek Grant, Kevin Hayes, Matt Niskanen and Nate Thompson, the current group is one that is a look into the future. The Flyers have the NHL’s sixth-youngest team by average age; among the 16 playoff teams for 2025-26, only the Montreal Canadiens skew younger.
Looking at the top-nine forwards, Christian Dvorak is the only 30-year-old that skated versus the Carolina Hurricanes in the playoff-clinching victory Monday evening. Among the nine, five of them (Denver Barkey, Tyson Foerster, Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras) are 25 years of age or younger.
On the back end, only Rasmus Ristolainen and Nick Seeler are 30 or older. Emil Andrae, Jamie Drysdale and Cam York are all 25 or younger.
Case in point: this isn’t like your typical Flyers group – this is a team built for sustainability.
Again, this doesn’t mean the work is over for Briere and Jones. For all we know, the party could be cut short in a little over a week’s time if Sidney Crosby and the boys decide to stick a fork in the Flyers and make this thing a short series. A singular playoff berth after more than a half a decade is not the end all, be all to complete a rebuild. After all, the Flyers’ outlook down the middle of the ice is still not the most impressive one, especially matching up against an all-time great like Crosby.
But what it does give Philadelphia management the chance to do is, for the first time, evaluate their pieces in high-pressure situations and in prominent roles. Getting in playoff games is integral to player development; Columbus Blue Jackets director of player personnel Rick Nash alluded to this during a sitdown interview with Daily Faceoff earlier this season.
There will be several questions that can be answered for the Flyers about some of their guys in a playoff setting.
Can Zegras hang at center? Are Travis Sanheim and Ristolainen (set to play in his first playoff game) capable top-pairing defensemen? Is Dan Vladar (also 28 years old) a true No. 1 goaltender when the chips are down? Can Drysdale and York be a competent second pair even though they are undersized? Can Noah Cates be a top-tier shut down center against the best competition? How close are Martone and Michkov to being game changers under the brightest lights? Can head coach Rick Tocchet’s suffocating defensive system maintain the same level in the playoffs?
Maybe not all these questions will be answered in just one (or multiple?) playoff series, but they will at the very least paint a clearer picture for Briere and Jones. A lot of changes going forward could very well be based on what happens between now and June; what players step up and what holes become even more glaring when the stakes are the highest.
But above all else, one thing is for certain: the future is now in Philadelphia. With nearly half the roster under the age of 26, it is a golden opportunity for this group to grow together.
_____
POST SPONSORED BY bet365
_____
Recently by Anthony Di Marco
- NHL Mailbag: Which big name(s) might be traded this summer?
- How the Flyers’ stretch-run surge could change their offseason plans
- Who’s in line to become the next Leafs GM?
- Which teams on the bubble need a playoff berth the most?
- The Red Wings aren’t all-in enough, and it could cost them a playoff spot