The Philadelphia Flyers started the 21/22 season off strong, but it fell off the rails in the second quarter of the season. After jettisoning their long-time captain at the trade deadline, are the Flyers headed for another rebuild?
2021-2022 Season Performance
Regular Season
There wasn’t a single glaring issue that sunk the Flyers in the 21/22 season, it was a myriad of issues. They were outplayed at 5v5, with poor offensive creation and poor defense. Goaltending wasn’t great. Their powerplay was the worst in the NHL and the penalty kill was well below average.
The Flyers poor defensive results were a team effort. They didn’t have a single forward below the league average for 5v5 on-ice xGA/60 and their top 2 defensemen in the same category were just average. A couple of young players stand out in the team leaders, although just made the 200 5v5 minutes cut-off. Ronnie Attard put together some strong offensive numbers in 15 games and was one of the Flyers top defensemen defensively as well. Felix Sandstrom played 5 games in net and put up some very respectable numbers.
Looking Ahead to 2022-2023
Offseason Moves
With Johnny Gaudreau reportedly looking to move closer to home, there were plenty of reports that Philadelphia could be his landing spot. GM Chuck Fletcher went on the record to state that the Flyers didn’t have the cap space to land a free agent like Gaudreau. Instead, they added depth to the roster with the return of 35 year old Justin Braun being their biggest splash in free agency.
The Flyers also added some toughness, with a 4 year deal for Nic Deslauriers. It was a puzzling move given the term handed out for a player who projects to be a replacement level forward.
According to CapFriendly, the Flyers are about $2.5M over the cap with a 23 player roster so it appears likely that they’ll start the season without any further significant additions.
22/23 Roster
Injuries took their toll on the Flyers last season and their 22/23 roster projection reflects that. With a fully healthy roster, the Flyers look like an average team. Their forward depth is a strength, driving an above average offense. Team defense and goaltending are concerns, however, and the success of those groups could decide the Flyers fate next season.
Metropolitan Division Landscape
The Metropolitan Division is by far the tightest in the current projections and the Flyers are in the thick of it. Ultimately, they will have to outlast some talented teams if they have playoff aspirations.
Long Term Outlook
The Flyers long term outlook is not rosy. They have a lot of players with at least 3 more years on their current deals and, with the exception of Joel Farabee, they all on the declining side of the age curve. Without some action to change course, it looks like a roster set to slowly dwindle into obscurity.
Want to check out more projections for the 22/23 season? Sign up for an annual membership to get access to all 22/23 team and player projection plots and peruse the full set of free agent player cards. Plots will be updated through the offseason as the 22/23 rosters take shape and updated to track progress through the season.
Historical player data from Natural Stat Trick. Contract data from CapFriendly.
