The Flyers schedule afforded them a few days’ head start on the rest of the league, but now that the NHL All-Star break is officially upon us, it’s a good time to assess just where things stand with the Orange and Black.

One thing is for certain. It’s a safe bet that nobody – and I mean nobody – saw the Flyers sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 56 points at the break. And despite entering on a five-game losing streak, the Flyers still have the 14th-most points in the NHL, also something that would have surprised everyone if you hopped in the DeLorean and returned to October to tell everyone what the hockey world looked like entering February, 2024.

With 32 games to play, the Flyers have a four-point cushion over the New York Islanders and a five-point spread between themselves and Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and Washington. Normally, that would be comforting. However, no one in the league has played more games than the Flyers, and all of those teams chasing them have games in hand (Islanders – 1, Penguins – 4, Devils and Capitals – 3).

A lot has been made about the Flyers’ schedule and how brutal it is. Of those 32 games, 15 come against teams with a better record and six come against those four teams chasing them.

So, things are gonna get tight.

President Keith Jones knows it. GM Danny Briere knows it too. And the fans believe in them. They trust the new Flyers leadership, and there’s nothing that’s happened so far that suggests they shouldn’t.

But they have to be right with their self-assessment.

The thing the Flyers need to figure out is, who they are. Usually, you know by now. Coach John Tortorella wouldn’t talk about his team in December when things were going well. He said he’d know what his team is by the end of January. But the way the month ended – a five-game winning streak that culminated in their best game of the season, a 5-1 dismantling of Dallas, followed by a five-game losing streak capped off (at least for now) by being boat raced out of their own building, 6-2 by Boston – leaves everyone – including the Flyers – still wondering who or what they are.

I was talking to one of my team sources Tuesday night, who said they still need more time to figure that out for themselves.

“Are we the team that we were the first 45 games or are we more of the team we’ve seen in the last five games?” he said. “We want to see how we look the next few weeks to be sure.”

The next few weeks may seem like a long time, but it’s not. The Flyers only play 10 games the entire month of February.

Despite the current losing streak, Torts has maintained that he likes the team, and a couple of recent signings show the Flyers brass likes it too. Locking up Owen Tippett for eight years with an AAV of $6.2 million could turn out to be a steal. Ryan Poehling was re-upped for two more seasons at $1.9 million.


As I reported recently, the Flyers are also keen to lock up Nick Seeler on a new deal but are keeping options open there until closer to the deadline. One source told me, “We want to weigh the value of a potential trade offer against the value of keeping the player at a certain number. It’s really a cost/benefit analysis. But we really like our player and his character.”

Then you have the addition of Jamie Drysdale in the Cutter Gauthier trade earlier this month, the continued growth of Cam York and Egor Zamula, the really surprising two-way game of Tyson Foerster, a rookie goalie in Sam Ersson, and veterans like Travis Sanheim, Sean Couturier, and All-Star Travis Konecny locked in for a bit, and suddenly you have half of a roster that you want in place when the team is truly considered a contender again.

But what about the rest? What about guys like Sean Walker, who has had a really good season for the Flyers? What about Rasmus Ristolainen, who was scratched for a game last week because Torts didn’t like his game recently? What about the dean of the team – Scott Laughton? He’s the only player to wear a letter on his sweater and he’s loved by the coach and the organization, but is this the right time to move him? What’s Morgan Frost’s status with the team? How about the depth pieces like Marc Staal and Nic Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway?

Flyers GM Danny Briere has a lot of options on the table in front of him, and how the team plays in the next few weeks will determine which options he acts on and which he doesn’t.

Let’s examine a few:

Risto

With the acquisition of Drysdale, the emergence of Zamula, two young defensemen in Emil Andrae and Ronnie Attard playing well for the Phantoms, and another in Helga Grans now back from injury and starting to impress and with Oliver Bonk playing well in juniors, the Flyers feel like they have some talent in the system that should reach the NHL.

But the Flyers need to create space for them.

Right now, there are eight defensemen on the NHL roster, which is one too many. Somebody has to go. And its likely multiple somebodies will go.

When you think of the future Flyers blue line, There’s Sanheim, Drysdale, and York that are locks. Seeler is a probable and Zamula has made a case to stay for a bit. So, there’s no question where the Flyers will look to trim.

We’ll talk about Walker separately, but I’m betting if you asked Flyers management what’s the one contract they’d like to move, if they can, it’s Ristolainen.

I can report the Flyers have talked to several teams about Risto, but so far, none have gotten close to consummating a deal. Earlier this season, Toronto was engaged more than just kicking tires on him, but ultimately they passed, telling the Flyers that his contract term – three more seasons after this one with an AAV of $5.1 million, was just too long for them to find palatable.

The Flyers are willing to eat a little bit of the salary, but they don’t want to hamstring themselves either, already with money tied up in retention of part of Kevin Hayes’ contract and the buyout of Tony DeAngelo.

The Flyers are looking for creative ways to make a trade for Ristolainen work. Maybe taking on some salary from another team to help Ristolainen fit easier this season.

One team that makes sense, and I know has reached out to the Flyers, is Calgary. However, talks haven’t really gotten real far at this point. Still, it’s been enough for the Flyers to send scouts to see the Flames in case Calgary comes to the table with a legit offer. Right now, they seem to be playing the long game.

But other teams are starting to express interest as well, and once a player’s market heats up, it could ramp up the conversation on Risto quicker and if so, he could be the first shoe to drop for the Flyers in February rather than pushing it all the way to the deadline on March 8th.

Walker

The Flyers had been back and forth on whether to sign Walker to an extension or to trade him at the deadline.

But trading for Drysdale pretty much put an end to that waffling.

The Flyers aren’t likely to meet Walker’s price tag, and multiple sources have said the ask is $5 million annually.

While that may seem a little rich for Walker, it is in the range of the going rate for second pair-quality defensemen and because of the need for defense on all contenders, especially right-shot d-men, it wouldn’t surprise if someone is willing to ante up and give Walker his bag.

Just don’t expect it to be the Flyers.

But what can the Flyers get for Walker? The ask, currently, is a first round pick. Teams may be reluctant to offer that for Walker now, but the deadline makes some teams do crazy things. I’ve heard several teams have called about Walker, including Edmonton, Toronto, and Tampa Bay.

Edmonton makes a lot of sense as they really need to upgrade their defense, especially on the right side. Not to mention, they have already been rumored as a team who is willing to trade a first round pick for defensive help.

Will a competitive market push one of those teams, or someone else, past the threshold to give up their first rounder? Who knows. Ultimately though, a second rounder shouldn’t be out of the question. Hell, maybe a conditional first rounder. And considering what many people thought of Walker when he was traded here last summer, getting that kind of return would be a big win for the Flyers.

Frost

Look, I’ve been one of those people who doesn’t see it with Frost, and I know he’s polarizing when it comes to opinions about his game. Yet, I can admit, that for a while, Frost looked really good. From the time of his healthy scratch and subsequent come-to-Jesus meeting with Torts through the Dallas game a couple weeks ago, Frost was sensational. He looked like the player the Flyers hoped he could become when they drafted him.

During the five-game losing streak, like most of his teammates, Frost has come back to earth a bit. And that’s the thing with Frost. He tantalizes you in spurts, giving you great play for a period of time, and then he either disappears for a stretch of games, or, he falls into some bad habits that make him noticeable for the wrong reasons.

Nobody is ever going to be a peak performance player every time they step on the ice. There are going to be highs and lows in every season. For Frost to be the player he needs to be, there needs to be more consistency and less fluctuation in play.

It’s no secret at this point that the Flyers have talked to teams about Frost going back as far as last summer. There was an attempt to move him to Ottawa just before the season. He hasn’t done enough to this point to make the Flyers take him off the table and lock him into a position on the core of the team.

Does that mean he’ll be traded at the deadline? Not at all. Will they try to move him? Yes, they will.

Laughton

Once again, a decision on Laughton will likely come down to the deadline. Three years ago, he was rumored to be a hot name to be moved at the deadline, and instead signed a new contract on deadline day. This time, there’s no contract negotiation involved, it’s just a matter of someone meeting the Flyers’ asking price.

The Flyers turned down a first round pick for Laughton last year, but they wouldn’t be as reluctant to do so this time around. That said, would teams offer a first rounder for Laughton, whose production has taken a step backwards this season? Most teams, including the Flyers, love his versatility in the lineup, his compete level, and his leadership qualities. He is the kind of player that can be a locker room difference-maker in the postseason.

But a first round pick is steep.

Because of the value he brings to a team, the Flyers may be perfectly content to keep him. But the way he plays over the next five weeks could also change the conversation here.

The Other Guys

Staal could end up elsewhere, but he’s not getting you anything. The Flyers like what Hathaway brings to the fourth line and he’s under contract for another year, so a trade there is less likely. Ditto with Deslauriers.