Philadelphia Flyers roster projection: Strength on the wing and in goal, but holes remain

The Philadelphia Flyers still have a pair of significant holes in their lineup. General manager Daniel Briere hasn’t addressed either one to this point in the offseason. A top-line center and power-play quarterback remain areas of need.

There’s still been some roster turnover, though. That, coupled with the arrival of many of the young prospects and draft picks that Briere and his staff have compiled over the last three years, means the battle for roster spots and playing time should be pretty compelling when everyone convenes for training camp in September.

With that in mind, let’s review the depth chart now that the dog days of the NHL offseason have arrived.

Yeah, Leo Carlsson would have been a nice addition to this group. But that’s not happening, so barring any more moves, the Flyers will return the four centers they ended last season with down the middle: Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, Noah Cates and Sean Couturier.

Is this a good enough group to make the playoffs? Well, yeah. They proved that last season.

Is it good enough to contend for a Stanley Cup? Almost certainly not, and Briere is probably going to have to take another Carlsson-type swing on someone else at some point over the next year.

Zegras, who spent most of the first three-quarters of last season on the wing, is expected to remain in the middle at the start of the season. In 20 games after he was shifted to center in early March, Zegras posted 17 points (five goals, 12 assists). Now that he’s the highest-paid player on the team and entering the prime years of his career at age 25, he’s going to have to improve on that output. Becoming a point-per-game player, at least, should be the expectation (a functional power play would help).

“I thought playing center in the playoffs is something that definitely gave me a lot of confidence,” Zegras said on Tuesday.

Dvorak and Cates would be solid middle-six centers on any team, as guys who can contribute offensively and be relied upon defensively. The real wild card here is Couturier. Will he be the black hole on offense that he was for most of last season, or did he figure something out late and into the playoffs that made him one of the team’s more effective players? Couturier was a drastically different player in April and May than he was in January. It was a remarkable resurgence.

It seems unlikely that any of the center prospects will make the NHL team at the outset. Jett Luchanko is expected to spend next season in AHL Lehigh Valley, while Jack Nesbitt is committed to the University of Michigan, so he won’t even be at training camp. Jack Berglund might have an outside chance — he’s arguably now the Flyers’ top center prospect after the strides he made last season — but he’ll probably have to blow away team brass in camp if he is to claim a roster spot. He may also return to Sweden for another year.

The Flyers’ strength remains on the wings — so much so that we’ve shifted Travis Konecny to the left, where he mostly played after the late-season arrival of Porter Martone.

Considering the immediate impact Martone had, we’re penciling him in here on the top line. He’s a decent bet to become the Flyers’ first-ever Calder Trophy winner.

After that, Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov fill out the top nine on this side. Tippett reached a new level over the final couple of months of last season, and it will be interesting to see if he can maintain that kind of consistency for a whole season, while Michkov has to prove to the Flyers coaching staff that he’s ready to go from Day 1 of camp — which, so far, it looks like he’s determined to do. Further, Michkov alongside Cates, with whom he had his best stretch of hockey coming out of the Olympic break, seems the likeliest place for him to start.

Noel Acciari is a nice upgrade over Garnet Hathaway on the fourth line, scoring 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 67 games last season for the Penguins. If he meshes with Couturier, it would give the Flyers a much more effective fourth line than they had for the majority of last season. Acciari can also play center and take draws on the right side, which was a particular area of need for the club.

“If it’s not on the scoresheet, I want to help out the team any way possible, whether it’s blocking a shot, winning a faceoff, throwing a big hit — all the little things that helped me throughout my career, I’d like to bring over to Philly,” Acciari said on July 7.

It’s easy to see how there’s going to be a real battle for playing time between players who are established already, such as Konecny and Tyson Foerster, and young players who exceeded expectations last season in Denver Barkey and Alex Bump. Throw in Carl Grundstrom, who was surprisingly re-signed to a one-year deal, and Nikita Grebenkin, who may or may not be healthy by the time camp begins, and coach Rick Tocchet is probably salivating already at the potential for real internal competition. He’ll likely experiment with some of the wingers playing either side, too.

Something to keep an eye on in September and beyond will be whether Barkey gets a longer look in the middle, where he played in the second round against Carolina after Cates’ injury. Tocchet thinks highly of the ultra-competitive but undersized forward, who was again a standout in this summer’s development camp. Could Barkey end up as the Flyers’ version of Logan Stankoven?

There’s a faction of Flyers fans out there that are frustrated the team still hasn’t dealt Rasmus Ristolainen yet, but this reveals why that hasn’t happened — without him, the group lacks size (Jamie Drysdale) or experience (everyone else) on the right side. Briere is already on record saying he’s not sure whether Oliver Bonk or David Jiricek is ready for full-time NHL duty yet, but unless there’s another move made before September, one of them could be in the opening night lineup if Tocchet prefers three right-handed shots.

In that scenario, we’ll give the edge to Bonk, for now, after his successful NHL debut in the regular season finale and his insertion into the lineup for Game 4 against the Hurricanes in the second round. Bonk is still waiver-exempt, though. Jiricek isn’t. Further, there’s a chance that Jiricek gets an opportunity on the power play, which the Flyers desperately need to improve.

All said, this should be an intriguing training camp battle.

Briere’s lack of activity with the defense also leaves Drysdale, now the team’s highest-paid defenseman, as the likeliest top unit power-play quarterback. The Flyers finished last in the league in power-play percentage last season.

“I think that’s an area I can improve on,” Drysdale said earlier this week. “I think there’s a lot of little things I can work on. When I get the puck, head-fake, looking off … things like that. A little bit more deceptiveness. Main kicker is just shooting more. I’ve been pretty continuously working on my shot over the past year and throughout this summer.”

Assuming Travis Sanheim remains on this side with Ristolainen as his partner on the top pair, the Flyers are pretty set here. York had a sneaky solid 2025-26 season, capped by his overtime series-clinching goal against the Penguins, and Seeler’s physicality, meanness and leadership are still necessary.

Benoit, who was acquired as part of the trade for Joseph Woll from Toronto, seems likely to make the team as at least an extra due to his 6-foot-4 frame. His traditional and underlying metrics were pretty brutal last season, though, so Benoit will have a target on his back for the others beneath him. If Hunter McDonald or Ty Murchison has a good camp after each made his NHL debut last season, the door could be open for one of them to make the opening-night roster.

Not much to dissect here. Dan Vladar is now firmly entrenched as the No. 1 after signing a five-year, $5.5 million AAV extension on July 1, and Woll gives the Flyers an experienced No. 2, potentially allowing Tocchet to ease what was a heavy workload for Vladar last season. This may be one of the better goalie tandems in the NHL.

Woll’s best season was when he was a tandem goalie with Anthony Stolarz in Toronto in 2024-25. The 28-year-old is, naturally, still aiming higher.

“It’s never anyone’s goal in the NHL to be a backup. That’s not my goal,” Woll said after the trade. “I’m coming to compete. At the same time, I think that’s only to the benefit of the team. I think Vladdy and I will be a great tandem when we push each other.”

Woll replacing the inconsistent Samuel Ersson is the biggest reason the Flyers’ offseason — pretty quiet, other than the failed offer sheet — may set them up to improve upon their surprisingly successful 2025-26.

Opening-night lineup prediction

Travis Konecny — Trevor Zegras — Porter Martone
Tyson Foerster — Christian Dvorak — Owen Tippett
Denver Barkey — Noah Cates — Matvei Michkov
Alex Bump — Sean Couturier — Noel Acciari

Extra: Carl Grundstrom

Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler — Oliver Bonk

Extras: Simon Benoit, David Jiricek

Dan Vladar (starter)
Joseph Woll