97.5 The Fanatic Flyers Roundup: Cechmanek, Tanking, 4-Game Winning Streak

The Philadelphia Flyers have caught fire with a four-game winning streak approaching the first unofficial checkpoint of the NHL season at American Thanksgiving.

Their victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, the defending Stanley Cup champions, sent the Wells Fargo Center into euphoria on Saturday. It capped off a week that started with incredible misfortune after the news about the death of Roman Cechmanek.

An embarrassing loss to the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 7 must’ve knocked something loose. The Flyers recovered to finish their California road trip with regulation victories over the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. They also impressed a national TV audience with a solid 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Wednesday.

Their best win of the season came in a 4-3 overtime thriller against Vegas in the Saturday matinee. The two teams traded blows in a wide-open game that needed more than 60 minutes to decide a winner. Sean Couturier scored on a fluttering puck one minute into the 3-on-3 session to improve Philadelphia’s record to 9-7-1.

A previously cringeworthy power play scored their first two goals against Vegas. Tyson Foerster finally got rid of his 2023-24 goose egg with the opening goal of the afternoon.

The Flyers won four consecutive games twice during the 2022-23 season, but they haven’t had a winning streak reach as many as five since their nine-game streak just before the Covid pause in March 2020.

The matinee against Vegas began with a heartfelt tribute to the late Roman Cechmanek. The former Flyers goaltender passed away on Nov. 12 in the Czech Republic.

Cechmanek burst onto the scene as a 29-year-old rookie in 2000-01 just over a year after the Flyers drafted him in the sixth round. He finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy for the top NHL goaltender and fourth in Hart Trophy voting for the league MVP.

He played well during the regular season in 2001-02 and 2002-03. However, early playoff exits pushed the Flyers to make a change. They sent him to the Kings for a second-round draft pick in 2003. He played only one more NHL season before returning to Europe to finish his professional career.

John Tortorella intends to put a competitive team on the ice. The organizational rebuild hasn’t changed that. The eye toward the future never included the intention to tank for the sake of NHL Draft Lottery odds.

The rebuild has more to do with developing young players within the organization. Tortorella talked about the balance the Flyers hope to strike between winning in 2023-24 and evaluating young players who can make long-term contributions. 

Lineup decisions with young players like Bobby Brink, Morgan Frost, Egor Zamula, and Tyson Foerster have controlled the conversation early this season. The organization does not plan to draw a hard line between putting young players on the ice and trying to put together the most competitive possible lineup on a game-to-game basis.

Instead, Tortorella wants the proper overall view as part of a “constant evaluation” throughout the season. That evaluation will continue for a young team desperately holding onto a respectable early-season record.

97.5 The Fanatic, the official radio partner of the Philadelphia Flyers, provides a weekly roundup with news and analysis of the 2023-24 season.

The 2023-24 Philadelphia Flyers have begun the “New Era of Orange” in the first long-term rebuild in franchise history. A new leadership group with Comcast Spectacor CEO Dan Hilferty, President Keith Jones, GM Danny Briere, and head coach John Tortorella has inspired a renewed sense of hope at the Wells Fargo Center after a brutal three-year stretch for an organization with a proud history.

John Tortorella stands behind the bench for a group looking to develop young players as the core of the next great team that helps the Orange and Black back into Stanley Cup contention. 

Carter Hart and Joel Farabee now have significant NHL experience under their belts at a young age. They will progress into leaders for an organization waiting for stars to emerge.

Owen Tippett, Cam York, and Noah Cates all took major steps forward in 2022-23. The Flyers expect them to continue their development in the NHL in major roles for a rebuilding team in 2023-24.

Veterans Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson are looking to regain their footing after missing the entire season in 2022-23. Travis Konecny has also risen through the ranks to become a respected veteran in his eighth NHL season. Scott Laughton plays a key role as the only player to wear a letter on his jersey last season.

The Flyers are a longshot to earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023-24. However, the group of rising young players provides an attractive draw at the Wells Fargo Center this year.

The long-term promise of Matvei Michkov and Cutter Gauthier joining these developing young players will encourage the fan base to move past the disaster of the past three years that forced the organization to reexamine itself and move towards a new era.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.