97.5 The Fanatic Flyers Roundup: Mike Richards, Painful Sharks Loss
The Philadelphia Flyers suffered a bad loss against the San Jose Sharks, but their former captain became a bigger focus for their fan base. Mike Richards will play in the Flyers Alumni Game, the organization announced Thursday.
Mike Richards: Flyers Alumni Game
Richards began his career with the Flyers in 2005. He quickly showed the prototypical intensity that the organization had gushed over for decades. The Flyers handed him the captaincy at age 23 in 2008.
The former first-round pick developed into a strong offensive player at the top of the Philadelphia lineup and one of the better two-way centers in the NHL. He helped the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010 in an electrifying playoff run.
However, his maturity off the ice became a concern. The downfall came as quickly as he rose. Paul Holmgren boldly sent Richards to the Los Angeles Kings in 2011 for a package centered around Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds.
Problems off the ice disrupted Richards’ career after he left Philadelphia. He hasn’t gotten involved with the Flyers even after he last played in the NHL in 2016 with the Washington Capitals.
The Alumni Game will take place on Friday, Jan. 26 against the legends of the Boston Bruins. Mark Recchi will enter the franchise Hall of Fame during a ceremony before a Saturday matinee against Boston the following day.
Former captain, Mike Richards is returning for the Alumni Game on Jan. 26 🚨
— Flyers Charities & Community (@FlyersCharities) November 9, 2023
Richards led the Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final and he will be hitting the ice again alongside Mark Recchi, John LeClair, Eric Lindros, and more.
Get your tickets NOW: https://t.co/QhaSq79itY pic.twitter.com/ZFRGNmZbUJ
Flyers-Sharks: An Embarrassing Loss
John Tortorella and other prominent members of the organization have stressed organizational culture as a focus of the rebuild. However, they didn’t show enough continuity in an embarrassing loss at the Shark Tank on Tuesday.
San Jose entered the game with an 0-10-1 record. They took an early lead on an Anthony Duclair goal, and they never gave it up in a 2-1 victory. Tortorella insisted before the game that his team cannot even consider the concept of a trap game considering their lack of status in the NHL landscape.
However, his players didn’t bring their A-game in San Jose. They controlled the pace of play for long stretches of the game, but the result wasn’t there against the worst team in the NHL.
The Flyers have driven play at 5-on-5 at a much stronger rate in 2023-24. They finished 23rd in the league in percentage of expected goals (xGF%) last season, but they currently rank 8th in the most important analytical play-driving statistic. Tortorella won’t focus much on play-driving statistics after six losses in an eight-game stretch.
Looking Ahead
Carter Hart will likely start one of the two remaining games on the West Coast swing. He has missed the last three games with a mid-body injury.
The Flyers face the Anaheim Ducks on Friday at 10 pm (broadcast on 93.3 WMMR) and the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday at 10:30 pm (broadcast on 97.5 The Fanatic).
The Ducks have started strong out of the gates despite low expectations entering the season. Their crosstown rivals in LA blasted the Flyers 5-0 at the Wells Fargo Center last weekend. The schedule won’t get any easier after a loaded weekend. Two Stanley Cup contenders, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights, loom on next week’s schedule.
97.5 The Fanatic, the official radio partner of the Philadelphia Flyers, provides a weekly roundup with news, analysis, and the outlook on the 2023-24 season.
The New Era of Orange: Meet the 2023-24 Philadelphia Flyers
Travis Konecny (RW)
Konecny is the sparkplug that embodies the attitude the Flyers need to carry through the rebuild. He set a career high with 31 goals last season, and Tortorella will count on him as one of the leaders of the team helping less-experienced players grow into bigger roles.
Sean Couturier (C)
The former Selke Trophy winner missed the final 53 games of the 2021-22 season and the entire 2022-23 season. Couturier is the longest-tenured member of the Flyers and their most accomplished scorer. While the 30-year-old doesn’t necessarily fit the timeline of the organization’s rebuild, his contract runs through 2029-30. He must prove he’s capable of staying healthy to avoid becoming an albatross contract that handcuffs the Flyers.
Owen Tippett (RW)
Tippett broke out with 27 goals in his first season as a full-time NHL player in 2022-23. The Flyers acquired the former 10th-overall pick in the trade that sent Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers in March 2022. He earned the respect of John Tortorella by taking the impact of his game to a new level, and he is one of the centerpieces of the organization’s rebuild.
Joel Farabee (LW)
An offseason neck injury and ensuing surgery certainly didn’t help Joel Farabee get into a rhythm during the 2022-23 season. The 23-year-old winger is back fully healthy after two underwhelming statistical offensive seasons in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Cam Atkinson (RW)
The 2022-23 season was a nightmare for Cam Atkinson. An injury in training camp was supposed to be a short-term issue, but it ultimately kept him out for the entire season. The 5-foot-8 right winger is now 34 approaching the end of an impressive NHL career, but he can stay play a key role as a top-six forward and a penalty killer in 2023-24.
Morgan Frost (C)
He is one of the most polarizing players in the world of the Philadelphia Flyers. Morgan Frost struggled to find his footing early in his NHL career, but a strong offensive output in the second half of the 2022-23 season earned him a spot in the lineup in 2023-24. The former top prospect must prove himself during the span of his new two-year bridge contract to earn the respect of a demanding head coach who has consistently pushed him hard during their time together.
Scott Laughton (C/LW)
There are not many people who don’t have a tremendous amount of respect for Scott Laughton. Teammates, fans, coaches, and media praise the veteran because of his demeanor and leadership and his impressive journey to become a full-time NHL player. The reputation convinced Danny Briere to pass on a legitimate trade market and hang on to Laughton as part of the leadership core that could help the Flyers bridge to the future.
Noah Cates (C)
Noah Cates couldn’t have been more impressive during his rookie season in 2022-23. He was one of only three Flyers to play 82 games, and he established himself as a reliable shutdown defensive center. Cates received votes for the Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward) and the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year). Tortorella hopes to see his young center take another step offensively in 2023-24 after posting a solid numbers with 13 goals and 25 assists last season.
Tyson Foerster (RW)
The rebuild will depend on the development of young players with the talent to become contributors at the top of a lineup for a Stanley Cup contender, and Tyson Foerster will be a major factor. At age 21, he faces his extended chance to contribute at the NHL level after an impressive run in the Ontario Hockey League and the AHL. He has the ability to become the type of dangerous sniper who can be the focus of a power-play unit.
Bobby Brink (RW)
The surprise of the 2023 preseason earned himself a spot on the NHL roster to begin the season. The 2019 second-round pick led the NCAA in scoring two seasons ago, but an injury kept him from gaining momentum in 2022-23. Brink is a smaller playmaker who must compensate for the lack of size with excellent puck skills. He has his opportunity on a rebuilding Flyers team looking for young players to break out and prove themselves as full-time NHLers.
Nicolas Deslauriers (LW)
While the NHL has transitioned into a new era, some tough guys like Nicolas Deslauriers have maintained roles. He finished with only six goals and six assists in 80 games in 2022-23, but the organization values his experience and physicality enough to count on him as a fourth-line role player.
Ryan Poehling (C)
The Flyers can afford to give young players like Ryan Poehling a shot to develop in a new setting during the rebuild. He brings legitimate speed to the bottom six after struggling to gain footing in his first four NHL seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Garnet Hathaway (RW)
The Flyers signed Garnet Hathaway to a two-year contract on the first day of free agency in July 2023. He brings physicality and the experience of a Stanley Cup run with the Washington Capitals in 2018. At age 31, he could potentially be a short-term stopgap that helps the Flyers maintain a respectable competitive nature for the next two seasons while playoff contention looks unlikely.
Cam York (D)
John Tortorella surprisingly sent Cam York to the AHL to begin the 2022-23 season, but the former first-round pick and University of Michigan star responded with a strong performance for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms before finally getting called up for 54 games. He was arguably the best defenseman on the team during his time at the NHL level.
Travis Sanheim (D)
There was skepticism surrounding Travis Sanheim during the 2023 offseason. Briere tried to trade him in a blockbuster deal with the St. Louis Blues that ultimately fell through. Sanheim has legitimately struggled in two of his past three seasons. The eight-year, $50 million he signed during the tenure of Chuck Fletcher runs through 2030-31. It forces pressure onto Sanheim to perform from a fan base that is justifiably skeptical of the long-term investment.
Rasmus Ristolainen (D)
The move to acquire Rasmus Ristolainen for a 2021 first-round pick, a 2023 second-round pick, and defenseman Robert Hagg seemed like a leap of faith at the time. The 6-foot-4 bruiser played a strong defensive game in 2022-23 with the help of assistant coach Brad Shaw. He hopes to prove his value to the Flyers during the final four years of a lucrative contract he signed in March 2022.
Nick Seeler (D)
Seeler has impressively carved out a role for himself as a reliable third-pair defenseman during his tenure with the Flyers. He brings an element of physicality to the blue line, and his willingness to drop the gloves has stood out within the organization. He was Philadelphia’s nominee Masterton Trophy after the 2022-23 season because of his admirable journey through the pros after the Minnesota Wild drafted him in the fifth round in 2011.
Marc Staal (D)
Marc Staal has played 1101 regular-season games and 128 playoff games in 16 NHL seasons. Tortorella is looking for the veteran to play a part-time role to help pave the way for young blueliners like Cam York, Emil Andrae, and Egor Zamula in 2023-24.
Sean Walker (D)
The Flyers acquired Sean Walker as part of the Ivan Provorov trade. Including Walker looked like a move for salary cap purposes. The 28-year-old righty is playing in the final season of his current contract in 2023-24 with a $2.65 million cap hit.
Emil Andrae (D)
Most pundits didn’t project Emil Andrae on the roster to begin the 2023-24 season. However, the young Swedish defenseman has turned some heads with an aggressive offensive game. His development will prove whether he is a long-term piece of the blue line after the rebuild begins to take better shape.
Egor Zamula (D)
Egor Zamula has his NHL future on the line in 2023-24. The Russian blueliner put on legitimate muscle during the 2023 offseason, and he has an opportunity to emerge from a group of young defensemen looking to earn playing time.
Carter Hart (G)
The franchise goaltender has played more games at the age of 25 than many NHL goaltenders play in their entire careers. Hart compensates with a questionable defensive corps in front of him, and he’s proven himself in a limited tier of number one goaltenders in the modern landscape of the league. Briere desperately wants to hang onto Hart to stand between the pipes when the Flyers finally regain their footing as Stanley Cup contenders.
Sam Ersson (G)
Sam Ersson earned his spot as a backup with an excellent showing in limited action in 2022-23. The flashes of potential forced the Flyers to entertain the idea of trading Carter Hart with consideration to the timeline of the rebuild.
Felix Sandstrom (G)
Sandstrom played 20 games as the primary backup to Carter Hart in 2022-23. He has a place within the organization as a third goaltender with considerable NHL experience who can step in for a limited time if injuries invade the crease in Philadelphia.
