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For better or worse, Flyers’ Konecny only know one way
Travis Konecny has led the Philadelphia Flyers in scoring in each of the last three seasons. He dressed in all 82 games in 2024-25 despite playing through an upper-body ailment suffered in mid-January. The player achieved a career-best 76 points, winning his second straight Bobby Clarke Trophy as team MVP. Along the way, Konecny had his first 50-plus assist season in the NHL. In each of the two previous campaigns, he topped the 30-goal mark despite missing 22 games due to injuries in 2022-23 and a half-dozen games the next year.
Meanwhile, Konecny is a two-time NHL All-Star Game selection. He subsequently represented Team Canada at the Four Nations tournament. The Flyers player skated on Canada’s top line at the 2025 IIHF World Championships. Most recently, Hockey Canada invited Konecny to participate in Team Canada’s Olympic orientation camp.
By almost any measure, Konecny is a bonafide NHL star. He’s not a “franchise player” who contends for the Hart Trophy or Art Ross Trophy. Nevertheless, he’d be a nucleus player on any team in the league, However, there is one legitimate concern with the player. Konecny’s all-out style play is a necessity for him to be effective. He’s not an excuse maker. What’s more, if he can possibly play, he does.
Unfortunately, the style Konecny plays also leaves him prone to getting banged up. Although he’ll downplay nearly any injury or fatigue, there’s been a wear-down effect as seasons progress. His first halves of seasons have been excellent. The second halves have been OK but not up to the same performance level.
Konecny: Inside the numbers
The following are Konecny’s splits from the 2019-20 campaign through the 2024-25 season. There has been a noticeable pattern of strong starts and lesser finishes.
2019-20
- Through the All-Star break, Konecny posted 17 goals and 43 points in 47 games. He was named to his first NHL All-Star Game.
- A minor injury and the onset of the pandemic limited the player to 19 games after the All-Star break (7g, 11a).
- Konecny struggled (zero goals, seven assists) in 16 games during the “Bubble playoffs” in Toronto.
2020-21
- The pandemic shortened the 2020-21 campaign considerably. In 50 intraconference games, Konecny never really got on track (11 goals, 45 points).
- Konecny scored five of his 11 goals and eight of his 34 points over name games when the season finally started in January.
- TK’s next-best month came in February (13 points in 17 games). However, he only scored two goals.
2021-22
- The season as a whole was not a great one for Konecny under Alain Vigneault and interim head coach Mike Yeo.
- This campaign was an outlier — but not a positive one — in Konecny’s general pattern of fast starts and later slow-downs.
- The players pre All-Star (8g, 25 points) and post All-Star (8g, 27 points) raw splits were nearly the same.
- Overall, he dressed in 79 of 82 games.
2022-23
- This was John Tortorella’s first season as Flyers head coach. Konecny deserved All-Star consideration but Kevin Hayes got the nod as the Flyers’ representative.
- Overall, Konecny had 31 goals and 61 points in just 60 games played. A February injury in a game played in Calgary caused him to miss a month of action.
- Though the All-Star break, Konecny compiled 24 goals and 49 points in 45 games.
- The lengthy second-half absence likely cost Konecny the Bobby Clarke Trophy. Carter Hart won the award.
2023-24
- Konecny earned his second career NHL All-Star Game selection and his first Bobby Clarke Trophy.
- Overall, Konecny achieved a career-high 33 goals among his 68 points while dressing in 76 of 82 games,
- Twenty-two of his 33 goals and 42 of his 68 points came before the stretch drive.
- Over the season’s final 19 games, TK slumped to six goals and eight assists.
2024-25
- The player won his second Bobby Clake Trophy and played in the Four Nations tournament (in lieu of the All-Star Game).
- Konecny’s season splits can be pinpointed to a single game: He hurt his shoulder late in the first period of the Flyers’ road game against the Islanders on January 17, 2025. He returned during the second period and played every game for the rest of the season. However, his production tumbled. He especially struggled after the Four Nations.
- Pre-Injury: 46 GP, 20G, 33A, 53 PTS, 110 SH, 18.2 S%, +1
- Post-injury: 36 GP, 4G, 19A, 23 PTS, 78 SH, 5.1 S%, -18
- One of Konecny’s post-injury goals was an empty net tally. Over the season’s final 24 games, he scored just two goals and 13 assists. He was a traditional -14 during that stretch.
- Brad Shaw finished the season as interim head coach after the organization fired Tortorella on March 27.
Flyers: New Konecny contract, new head coach
On July 24, 2024, Konecny signed an eight-year contract extension. The new deal kicks in for the 2025-26 season and runs through the 2032-33 season at an $8.75 million average annual value. He turned 28 on March 11 of this year. He will be 36 upon the deal’s expiration.
New Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet has said that he plans to count on Konecny to be one of the team’s key tone setters right off the bat. The player is in the prime of his career and should remain productive for multiple years to come.
An immediate question: Can Konecny play at the same pace in the latter portion of upcoming seasons that he has in the earlier part?
I don’t think Konecny can — or wants to — take a “pace yourself” approach to seasons. He’s wired to go all out throughout the campaign, and the numbers out that he tends to play very well from the beginning through roughly the midway to three-quarter mark.
The slowdowns are equally hard to deny. The likelihood is that he’ll continue to banged up and continue to play through it as long he’s physically capable of suiting up. What he does works for him and the team.
The flip side is that there’s a price to pay sometimes for the waterbug style Konecny plays. The price is that he hasn’t been able to carry his best midseason paces through to the end.
Quick Hit: Hathaway’s Brew for a Cause
On Wednesday, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Engine and the Flyers announced the launch of a new craft beer line called Engine 19 IPA. The product is named and styled after Flyers veteran forward Garnet Hathaway. Scheduled for release next month. A portion of all sales with benefit first responder causes supported by the player’s Hath’s Heroes charity.
Garnet and wife Lindsay Hathaway joined Flyers Charities and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery to host a private tasting event for family, friends, and staff. Guests enjoyed exclusive tastings along with a fireside chat with Dogfish Head Co-Founder & Head Brewer Sam Calagione, Brewing Manager Bryan Selders, and the Hathaways. Hathaway’s Flyers teammates Bobby Brink and Travis Sanheim were among the attendees.
The Flyers also announced a public tasting event. Flyers fans are invited to celebrate the public launch of Engine 19 IPA on September 10 at PHS Pop Up Garden South Street. The event is free to attend.
Flyers Daily: Goalie Edition
Flyers goaltebding prospect Carson Bjarnason joins host Jason Myrtetus as the special guest on a goaltending-focused edition of Flyers Daily. Myrtetus discuss the goalie development process, Bjarnason’s projected timeline, techniques for developing muscle memory, ways to stay mentally sharp, working with one’s goalie coach, and much more. The episode runs nearly 30 minutes.
