Will Flyers Finally Break Playoff Drought in 2025-26?
A franchise with a history of continued playoff contention and a reputation for its constant competitive attitude has missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in five consecutive seasons. Can the Philadelphia…
A franchise with a history of continued playoff contention and a reputation for its constant competitive attitude has missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in five consecutive seasons.
Can the Philadelphia Flyers avoid coming up empty for the sixth consecutive time, which would set a franchise record? Danny Briere spoke about how his offseason additions in a new phase of the organization’s rebuild impact playoff expectations.
“It’s going to hopefully make us more competitive throughout the season and maybe push to get closer to the playoffs... It's not like, 'Okay it's not the priority,' but we still want to make the playoffs, and I want the players to keep pushing in that direction.”
-Danny Briere
The third-year general manager has consistently focused on building a team that sustains long-term contention rather than a narrow short-term priority for playoff berths. While Keith Jones and Dan Hilferty have similarly tempered playoff expectations, NHL players inevitably think with a more immediate competitive mindset.
“Whether it’s named a rebuild or not, I think as players, you naturally want to finish as high as you can. But I think this year, mentally, you look at it like, we’ve kind of spent enough time down here (at the bottom of the NHL.”
-Travis Konecny
Philadelphia last watched the Flyers in a playoff game in the Toronto bubble with no crowd in September 2020. Their arena hasn’t hosted a home playoff game since 2018. Will the Flyers finally break the playoff drought in 2025-26?
Rebuilds Take Longer Than You Think
Debates about the value of long-term rebuilds usually assume natural year-to-year progression, and they don’t always account for realistic timelines. Subtracting from a roster, picking at the top of the draft, waiting for prospects to reach the NHL, and developing those prospects into contributors usually requires an NHL team to wait the better part of a decade (if they execute correctly).
The Flyers have moved into a new phase of the rebuild. They no longer plan to subtract veteran players as a major focus of roster construction to collect draft picks. However, they’re not going to enjoy the full benefit of assets they've gathered in the beginning years of the rebuild by 2025-26.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesJett Luchanko will begin the season with the Flyers, and Russian phenom Matvei Michkov enters his second NHL season poised to leap toward stardom. However, other top prospects like Oliver Bonk, Egor Zavragin, and 2025 first-round picks Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt probably won’t play in the NHL this season.
Briere won’t even use the pick he acquired in one of his most significant deals, sending Scott Laughton to the Maple Leafs, until 2027.
While the Flyers have taken steps forward during the rebuild, don’t let it distract you from the magnitude of the long-term commitment they made knowing years of playoff contention wouldn’t be their priority.
Chances for the 2025-26 Flyers
The oddsmakers didn’t identify any of Philadelphia’s offseason changes as a reason for a surge from the bottom of the standings. It doesn’t mean they’ll simply return the same roster.
NHL teams linger on the playoff bubble during the second half of each season with legitimate flaws, and few teams slip out of the race with more than a month left in the regular season. The Montreal Canadiens earned the final Eastern Conference wild card last season with only 40 wins on the 82-game schedule and a -20 goal differential.
The Flyers should reasonably expect to sit on the playoff bubble late in the 2025-26 season. However, most major sportsbooks project them with playoff odds and Stanley Cup odds significantly below the 16-team field.
They’re tied for the 27th best championship odds on FanDuel and the 24th best on ESPN Bet. They finished tied for 27th in the NHL standings in 2024-25.
The 2025-26 Flyers
What path do the Flyers have to surprise the NHL with a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Trevor Zegras adds an element of top-end offensive skill the Flyers have missed in recent seasons. Christian Dvorak also patches up a group of centers that looked desperately thin in the final months of 2024-25.
The Flyers have emphasized internal player development as a major focus of their rebuild. While Michkov has the highest potential for a breakout of any returning roster player, secondary contributors like Cam York, Owen Tippett, and Tyson Foerster have all inched toward their prime NHL seasons with room for improvement.
“Now we have more young guys that are pushing and that to me is what is exciting. Nobody can be comfortable or happy with what they've done in the past. They have got to keep getting better and better, and that includes all our veterans, because our young guys are starting to push and they want more, and they're hungry for more.”
-Danny Briere
Rick Tocchet has a clean slate behind the bench, and a different dynamic with players could unlock a better rhythm than the Flyers reached in three seasons outside the playoffs under John Tortorella. Changes on the power-play coaching staff might also help a struggling unit.
However, there is a greater variable that any oddsmaker or analysts can’t account for. The most impactful position in the sport of hockey also happens to be the least predictable.
Goaltending has sunk the Flyers through the better part of the 21st century, and they’ve finished 32nd in save percentage in consecutive seasons. The midseason loss of Carter Hart in 2023-24 drastically changed the direction of the goaltending position in Philadelphia.
Sam Ersson hasn’t carried the load as a number one netminder since, and Briere has struggled to solidify the crease with a legitimate backup option. The Flyers expect that even a serviceable option like free agent addition Dan Vladar will create better stability between the pipes.
“We expect the goaltending to be better. I think Vladar will come in and probably be a little bit more support for Sam, but we do believe in Sam still. He's shown some flashes. I think with Sam, having a guy there to protect him, and not him having to or expecting him to play three games a week should probably help Sam in the long run. That's my feeling.”
-Danny Briere
The theoretical idea of a rebuild sometimes appeals to a fan base frustrated with the failure to build a championship roster.
However, a rebuild in practice takes longer than almost any fan accounts for. The Flyers will continue to navigate the challenges of rebuilding in 2025-26, but they must face the reality that their continued long-term vision could very well extend their playoff drought to the longest in franchise history.
