Flyers Thoughts: Preparing For An Offseason of Expectations

The Flyers blogs on Hockey Hot Stove are powered by Phans of Philly, Lights On Electric, Liberty Valuation Group,  New Balance of Mount Laurel,The Mens and Boys Store and Carl’s Cards and Collectibles. Welcome aboard our new playoff sponsor, Team Toyota.

The Philadelphia Flyers closed out their season-ending media availability this past week with genuine feelings of optimism. But as general manager Daniel Briere prepares for the upcoming offseason, he is faced with dual purposes.

One is considering how to continue building the team’s structure for long-term success. The other is determining how to capitalize on their remarkable run to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

If you take Briere at his word, his plan will not alter in the slightest . However, there are heightened expectations following their first round series victory. The temptation will be there for accelerate the Flyers window for championship contention.

It’s understandable. For the first time this decade, the Flyers are “back on the map,” as head coach Rick Tocchet stated after the team’s final playoff game. Tune into Philadelphia sports radio and you’ll hear: “The Flyers have to make big moves this summer!”

And from a public relations standpoint, it certainly makes sense. Big, splashly moves grab attention and headlines, especially when competing in a city with a passionate fan base like Philadelphia.

However, that could ignore the reality of the Flyers situation. This is a team that is in a better spot than they were a year ago. But they still have fundamental flaws. They don’t have a legitimate scoring line center and they don’t have a defenseman who can handle the point for the league’s worst power-play.

Hard Earned Experience With Room To Improvement

The most important currency the Flyers gained in the past few months is their young players’ experience. There is no substitute for the pressure of a playoff race, especially when you are in the hunter’s role. The additions of Porter Martone, Alex Bump, and Denver Barkey were critical in the team’s late season push.

However, once they moved themselves into position with five games remaining, they were able to handle being the hunted. By winning critical matchups down the stretch against teams with postseason history, they secured their first playoff berth in five seasons.

At the same time, it’s important to recognize how things closed out. As strong as they looked when they were rolling, their flaws showed themselves in the heat of playoff battle. While they started the postseason with three consecutive wins (and a six game winning streak from the regular season), they lost six of their last seven games.

As can be expected for a young roster, the Flyers were a streaky bunch. They were highly competitive and bruisingly physical, but leaned heavily on their “bend, don’t break” defensive structure and Daniel Vladar’s outstanding goaltending.

As the “Let’s Go Flyers!” cheers rang out after their Game Four overtime loss to the Hurricanes, they could bask in the moment while knowing there were limits to where they could go this postseason.

Big Picture Planning

Briere can be excused for having a “victory lap” vibe during his press conference. After all, there aren’t many general managers who had as good a 2025 offseason as he had when he signed Vladar and center Christian Dvorak. In addition, he traded for Trevor Zegras. All three players were major contributors to the Flyers’ postseason run.

So it’s certainly exciting for the the fan base and media about going bigger in their targets this summer. Names like Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk, and others are dancing in their heads. But it’s important to remember that names like that have potentially substantial cost to acquire.

“If there’s an opportunity to jump on something that can help us, it’s my job to look at everything,” Briere said to reporters. “But I don’t feel that I’m forced to make a move just to make a move because we’ve made it into the playoffs this year.”

There’s an old adage amongst hockey ops departments when it comes to precious salary cap space: you can’t win the Stanley Cup on July 1, but you can certainly lose one.

“We’ve said it for a long time, we wanted to build a team that’s gonna be here for a long time, not just to go for it for a year or two,” Briere said. “So that’s still the same approach on my end.”

All three of Vladar, Zegras, and Dvorak were not flashy additions at the time, but they were smart additions based on what they cost to bring in.

And it’s more likely than not that will be Briere’s tact when making additions. It’s far more likely that he’ll be hunting for veteran players with playoff experience.

Taking Care of Internal Business

However, the real first order of business for Briere is to secure his own players. Restricted free agents are the first priority and he’s already started to check off those boxes. On Friday, he signed goalie Aleksei Kolosov to a one year, $850,000 contract.

But one of the more interesting conundrums for him to determine are what extensions for Vladar and Zegras look like.

In his first full season as an NHL starter, Vladar took control of the job and established himself as one of the league’s best. His 46 save performance in Game Six of the Penguins series will go down in team lore. But is one season enough for a long-term commitment?

Even when considering long term planning with Carson Bjarnason in Lehigh Valley and Yegor Zavragin, the read is here is that Vladar has become a core component of the Flyers present present and future.

Therefore, it’s incumbent for Briere to secure him on a long term deal, so expect it to be in the three to five-year range.

Zegras is a tougher read. When Tocchet termed the 24 year old a hybrid forward, it turned out to be true as he moved to wing for the majority of the season, then shifted to center for the stretch run. He bounced between the two positions in the playoffs.

In many ways, that versatility is what’s going to make his next contract a difficult one to pin down. It wouldn’t be surprising if it takes the two sides most of the summer to figure it out. The guess here is that his deal might be closer to a $10 million AAV, pending the length of the contract.

Michkov’s “Vengeance Tour” Begins Now

Martone, Bump, and Barkey jumped on board during the season. Defenseman Oliver Bonk got a look-see at the end of the regular season and played in the Flyers final playoff game. All will come into training camp managing heightened expectations for their second year contributions.  However, it’s important to remember that they’ll be expected to earn roster spots and playing time.

However, none of them will have the spotlight on them quite as intensely as Matvei Michkov. It’s an important summer for the soon-to-be third year Russian forward. He had as tough a sophomore campaign as anyone and he still managed to score 20 goals and eclipse 50 points. In addition, he led the Flyers in scoring after the Olympic break.

However, his struggles to keep up with the playoffs’ pace of play magnified his shortcomings at this point of his career. Making strides in areas such as skating, conditioning, on- and off-ice decision making, in addition to becoming more comfortable communicating with his teammates in English are critical.

“The big thing for Matvei is adapting,” Briere said. “I think he’s a very smart young man. He will adapt and he will learn from what happened this year.”

Tocchet was pleased to see Michkov on the ice practicing the day after the player’s availability, even calling it the beginning of his “vengeance tour.”

For Michkov to fulfill the promise he showed in his rookie season, it will be important to carry that kind of determination through the summer all the way to puck drop in October.