What changes could the Flyers make if their season continues to spiral?

Oct 13, 2026, 08:03 EDT

What changes could the Flyers make if their season continues to spiral?

Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images

An 0-5-2 start has landed the Philadelphia Flyers at the center of attention for all the wrong reasons.

With just eight goals scored through seven games, and ranking dead last in expected goals percentage, there’s little to be positive about (goaltending aside) for the orange and black.

So, what’s the deal? On one hand, the young forward group didn’t seem prepared after a shortened offseason and a small training camp with no fitness testing. But there’s something more to it; there are far too many passengers for there not to be. All but five forwards are chasing after their first goal.

The low-hanging fruit is to blame head coach Rick Tocchet, who has struggled to coach this team up offensively. But no matter how you feel about Tocchet as a coach, he objectively did a good job with the Flyers last season as a whole – specifically defensively, where they were a top-five team analytically.

Even if it is a coaching problem, team sources told Daily Faceoff on Monday that there isn’t a change on the horizon. Could that differ if this disaster slides into the winter months? Quite possibly, but for the time being there isn’t a change expected behind the bench.

So that leaves the roster, that certainly has left a lot to be desired. As DFO reported last week, the Flyers are in the market for help on the back end – specifically a veteran with size. Sure, adding a veteran like Justin Faulk or Zach Whitecloud would certainly stabilize things, but it wouldn’t solve their offensive woes.

Among the forwards who have struggled the most are Noah Cates, Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett. Combined, they have scored one goal and two assists through the first seven games. In the case of Cates, offense has never been his calling card, but his overall game has been a concern. He has been shifted down to the fourth line and is logging just 12:18 of time on ice per game, good for 11th among 15 forwards who have played this season.

Tippett and Zegras’ struggles have been much more alarming. The duo finished with 51 and 67 points, respectively, last season, which ranked in the top three among Flyers players for points. The two also found chemistry last year and started the season on the ‘’top’’ line together. It has since been broken up as the coaching staff has desperately juggled things around to find a spark.

With it being the middle of October and less than 10 games into the season, there is not much that can be made in terms of a significant trade right now. With a parity-filled NHL, there are very few teams looking to make big splashes at this time of a year. But if things continue to go off the rails for the Flyers this season, there may be some more significant options on the table in the winter months.

If they wanted to make a significant splash in terms of a ‘’hockey trade,’’ it would start with forwards Tyson Foerster, Porter Martone and Matvei Michkov. Martone, the sixth-overall pick in 2026, is about as untouchable as it gets. Foerster and Michkov, meanwhile, are still valued very highly internally according to sources. Moving off of one of those players is highly unlikely, especially mid-season.

Zegras could be an option, but the 25-year-old just signed a four-year, $36.5 million contract this summer and is coming off of a career year in offensive production. It’s unlikely that the Flyers will be looking to pull the plug and sell low on him.

That brings us to Cates and Tippett.

Cates, 27, has been one of the league’s better defensive forwards the last several seasons and has been with the Flyers since 2022. Despite the poor start with zero points thus far, the 2017-fifth-round draft pick still brings value to a club’s bottom six. He’s under contract for three more seasons at a very-digestible AAV of $4 million with no trade protection.

The Flyers would likely not get a massive haul for Cates, but moving a core player like that would send a message to the group that things need to change. The Flyers also have several players internally who could eventually take on Cates’ role, such as 2024-drafted centers Jack Berglund, Jett Luchanko and Heikki Ruohonen.

Tippett, 27, has always shown potential of being a 30-goal scorer but has struggled to get over that hump officially. Cost controlled for six more seasons at a $6.2-million AAV with limited-trade protection, Tippett still has a lot of value even if he is ultimately more of a 25-goal, 50-point player.

The Flyers have gotten a lot of interest in Tippett over the last 12 months, but have held firm on a high ask for him. Given his team-friendly contract, getting correct value for him could prove to be a tough ask. But if the Flyers were truly wanting to shake things up, taking a hit in terms of offensive upside in return for filling a need – for example, moving Tippett plus an additional asset for a top-six center who doesn’t have the same pedigree – may be something GM Danny Briere must consider.

Then we come to winger Travis Konecny, who is the team’s longest-serving forward outside of captain Sean Couturier. The 29-year-old has led the Flyers in points in each of the last five seasons, recording 61 or more in the past four. Konecny has missed the past-two games with injury, but was struggling in his own right before that, recording just three assists through the first-five contests.

Speaking with sources Monday, there is a growing sense of frustration from within the Flyers organization with Konecny. According to one source, Konecny doesn’t isn’t overly impactful when he isn’t scoring or antagonizing the opposing team. The play often dies on his stick, making bad decisions with the puck that often lead to turnovers. As one source said, the one-constant on the Flyers’ struggling power play the last number of seasons has been Konecny – a fairly-damning criticism.

After so many successful seasons under John Tortorella’s rush-based, offensive system, there is an internal belief that Konecny’s game may not be especially suited for Tocchet’s more regimented-offensive style.

According to sources, approaching Konecny to waive his no-movement clause could be an option should the Flyers continue to struggle. Konecny is in just the second year of an eight-year, $70-million contract he signed in the summer of 2024.

One team that could be a fit for Konecny should the Flyers look to go down this road are the Utah Mammoth, whose style under head coach Andre Tourigny could help elevate the 2015-first-round pick’s play. The Mammoth currently lead the Central Division with eight points, and GM Bill Armstrong is in position to add to his roster in the way of assets to trade and cap space to absorb salary.

The Mammoth are a deep team down the middle, with the likes of Logan Cooley, Nick Schmaltz and Vincent Trocheck, all of whom are locked in for at least three years on their respective contracts. Could that make center-prospect Caleb Desnoyers expendable?

Desnoyers, 19, was drafted fourth overall by the Mammoth in 2025 – two spots ahead of Martone. The Flyers liked Desnoyers in that draft, DFO was told, and would have interest in him if the Mammoth were open to moving him in a deal for Konecny. Some may wonder about 2024-first-round pick forward Tij Iginla, but he isn’t a player the Flyers have interest in, according to sources.

In the case of defenseman Travis Sanheim, it sounds like the Flyers will keep him around to anchor the blueline and be a partner for young, right-shot defensemen (such as Oliver Bonk) in the coming seasons. He is also a candidate to be the team’s next captain when Couturier moves on. The two have similar demeanors and leadership styles, according to sources.

If the Flyers do ultimately look to try and shake things up on the trade front, they won’t be looking for draft picks and a package focused on future assets. They will be heavily focused on prospects on the cusp of making the NHL and ready-now players.

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