Will Jett Luchanko stick with Flyers all season? It’s complicated
The Philadelphia Flyers have retained 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko into the regular season for the second consecutive year, but it does not mean the 19-year-old center will be with the team for the duration of the season.
According to a source Monday morning, I was told Luchanko will not be kept in the NHL if he is to be the fourth-line center for the Flyers. While management believes Luchanko “could hang” in the NHL in the bottom trio, they feel he will need to force his way toward the upper end of the lineup to stick beyond the nine-game mark. The same source told me the team will likely make a decision after five or six games; Luchanko played his second game of the season in the Flyers’ home opener versus the Florida Panthers Monday night.
The Flyers need help down the middle, making Luchanko’s presence that much more significant. Based on those I’ve spoken with in the organization, though Luchanko is highly regarded and could play a vital role with the Flyers, the team won’t keep him around to play fewer than 10 minutes a game. Speaking with someone a few months back, the example of Sean Couturier was presented to me as one in regards to the negatives of keeping a player in a reduced role that could hamper long-term offense; while the Couturier comparison has not been directly drawn to Luchanko based on those I’ve spoken with, that is where my mind has gone.
Luchanko is currently in a battle with journeyman center Rodrigo Abols, to crack the lineup as the fourth line pivot. If Luchanko needs to elevate his role in the lineup (as the source suggested to me), he will have to bump someone down. My first thought was captain Sean Couturier, who has (understandably) not been the same player since returning from injury in 2023 after missing two seasons due to back injuries. Speaking with a source, Luchanko overtaking Couturier in the lineup is something the Flyers don’t feel like can happen just yet.
Beyond that, the only plausible scenario in which I can see Luchanko sticking around is if he were to take Trevor Zegras’ spot down the middle. Zegras was acquired over the summer from the Anaheim Ducks. Zegras has not been impeccable down the middle with the Flyers, but I do wonder if head coach Rick Tocchet would actually pull the plug on the Zegras-at-center experiment just to keep Luchanko around.
Luchanko’s OHL team, the Guelph Storm, is also playing a factor, as they are not projected to be a competitive club. From a Flyers’ perspective, Luchanko does not stand to greatly benefit from a return to the Storm, even if he is not 100 percent prepared for the NHL. Luchanko is a prime example of a teenager who could stand to benefit from time in the AHL, which is an allowance that will kick in for the next collective bargaining with a limit of one player per team.
Luchanko may not be completely prepared for the NHL, but the Flyers are prepared to give him a chance. But if he is to stick around with the big club, he will have to be in an elevated role in the lineup rather than as the fourth line center.
Emil Andrae recalled – but not only as a showcase
The Flyers’ defense has not been in the best shape to start the season, especially with the injuries to Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York. While York is expected back sooner rather than later, Ristolainen is expected to be out until at least November.
Emil Andrae, a second-round pick from 2020, was recalled over the weekend; while the Swedish defender has not been in the best graces of the Flyers’ staff, this is an opportunity for him to stick in the Flyers lineup.
As I wrote about last week, the Flyers are on the lookout for a defenseman to bolster their back end. I mentioned Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram. While the Flyers do like his talent, his play since arriving in Buffalo has caused skepticism on the player’s work.
Asking three executives on Monday, the consensus on Byram is that he is a second-pair defenseman who could maybe be more if he puts his talent together. The Flyers’ concern is the Sabres’ valuation of Byram, as they may look at the 2019 fourth-overall pick as a top-pair guy and seek similar value for him. Additionally, it does not sound like the Flyers are overly high on 2021 first-overall selection Owen Power as an alternative target.
As for Egor Zamula’s agent’s comments a few days back, there does not seem to be an urgency from the Flyers to move the player. Speaking with a source, Zamula has not progressed year to year to justify an elevated role in a depleted Flyers’ lineup on the back end.
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