August 27, 2024
Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports
What kind of leap will Tyson Foerster take in his second full season with the Flyers?
The summer is winding down and Flyers training camp is only a few more weeks away.
There's going to be one more stretch of quiet until then – well, presumably – but that quiet does bring a bit of clarity to what the 2024-25 team might look like now that the buzz from trades, signings, buyouts, and rumors have had a chance to die down.
Matvei Michkov is here. That's the biggest headline of them all for the Flyers, but who is going to play with him on opening night?
Here's our latest version of the Flyers' projected 2024-25 lineup – you can see the original one from June HERE – along with some notes...
| LW | C | RW |
| Tyson Foerster | Morgan Frost | Matvei Michkov |
| Owen Tippett | Sean Couturier | Travis Konecny |
| Joel Farabee | Ryan Poehling | Bobby Brink |
| Noah Cates | Scott Laughton | Garnet Hathaway |
RESERVES: Nic Deslauriers, Olle Lycksell, Rhett Gardner, Elliot Desnoyers, Oskar Eklind
• The conversation on what the first Michkov line will be will carry all the way through camp and the preseason, but ahead of it, the combo of him, Frost, and Foerster might be the one that makes the most sense. In theory, all three would have the skating to keep up with one another well enough, Frost would carry the puck through the middle, Foerster would be the defensive cover for the line with a solid wrist shot to boot, and Michkov would be the anytime goal-scoring threat. Additionally, it'd be a considerably young line to lead in with – Michkov is 19, Foerster 22, and Frost 25 – which would push that the Flyers are in fact getting younger and hopefully better, even if only two-thirds of that line would be sure long-term locks.
• You can probably flip between Tippett and Foerster as the first-line left winger – Tippett is more established and would likely bring a bit more scoring – but in terms of balance, having him on the second unit with Couturier and Konecny is a strong route with similar thinking as the first: Tippett brings you power and a hard shot off the wall, Couturier brings you shut down defensive minutes, and Konecny brings you speed and improvisation from the right. This would also be the veteran line to counterbalance the youth at the top.
• Laughton's name has been in trade rumors for a while, and Farabee has popped up a few times now too, but both are still Flyers with camp near and look like they'll each be slotting back into the bottom six. Laughton has always been a bottom-six, checking minutes forward, so there's no real problem there. Farabee is interesting though because he's coming off a career season, as much as it didn't feel like it, but might be suddenly hard-pressed for a significant share of the offensive zone opportunities since Tippett and Foerster are now taking up the top on the left side.
• When Michkov was introduced to the media back in July, GM Danny Brière cracked a joke that Nic Deslauriers was going to be his new best friend and said he showed the top prospect the video of Deslauriers fighting New York Rangers enforcer Matt Rempe. Deslauriers went in and out of the lineup for much of last season, and looks to do the same for this one, though it'll be interesting to see if he dresses for the Flyers through the first few games just to send the message to opponents that Michkov will be protected.
MORE: The next core is starting to form, other Flyers thoughts
| LD | RD |
| Cam York | Travis Sanheim |
| Nick Seeler | Jamie Drysdale |
| Egor Zamula | Erik Johnson |
RESERVES: Rasmus Ristolainen, Ronnie Attard, Adam Ginning, Emil Andrae, Helge Grans, Louis Belpedio
• Not all that different from our original defensive projection in June, though Erik Johnson is slotted in on the bottom-pairing alongside Egor Zamula. Johnson re-upped for a year to serve in the veteran mentor-style role that Marc Staal occupied last season. As the schedule wears on, his role is going to reduce to make way for the younger blueliners, and he knows that. However, it wouldn't be a shock to see him get an opening night nod, especially depending on where Rasmus Ristolainen is health-wise from his ruptured tricep.
• Speaking of Ristolainen, if he's healthy, he'll play. He has to with that $5.1 million cap hit. There were a couple of trade rumors about him, too, but like Laughton and Farabee, he's still here, with the mill likely to stay calm until the next trade deadline.
MORE: The top 5 offenses and defenses in Flyers history
| G |
| Sam Ersson |
| Ivan Fedotov |
RESERVES: Cal Petersen, Alexei Kolosov(?)
• The Flyers hitched their wagon to Ersson and Fedotov as their NHL goalie duo for this season, with Ersson having the benefit of a full summer to brace for being the No. 1 guy going in, and Fedotov having the same to get acclimated to a new league and country after he was thrown straight into the fire as soon as he got off the plane from Russia late last season.
• The Flyers held on to Cal Petersen, but it isn't going to be anywhere near ideal if they have to bring him up from the Phantoms at any point.
• As for mystery Belarusian prospect Alexei Kolosov...who even knows right now?
MORE: The Flyers' strange 2024
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