Flyers

Rhetorical Question: Are the Flyers Six Points Out of a Playoff Spot, or Seven Points from the Eastern Conference Basement?

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Jan 29th, 2026 · 11:24 AM EST

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The Flyers lost 5-3 in Columbus on Wednesday night despite a Travis Konecny hat trick. That’s two wins out of 11 to create a logjam of five Eastern Conference teams on 57 points:

Here we are, once again, with the Flyers stuffed right into the middle of the pack.

Are they six points out of a playoff spot, or seven points from the Eastern Conference basement?

It’s a rhetorical question, asked with the purpose of determining fan attitude towards the team. If the glass is half full, you look at the Islanders and Penguins within striking distance, and if the glass is half empty, you note that the Flyers got their doors blown off by both of those teams recently, and are once again sitting in hockey purgatory, where they always seem to find themselves.

Of course, it all depends on how you frame this season contextually. This is still a rebuilding year, right? Or is it not? What goals are we trying to achieve before we can truly exit the rebuild and segue from a new era of orange into a new era of actually contending for the first Stanley Cup in more than 50 years? There’s no more tanking here. If the season ended today, the Flyers would be 13th in the lottery with a 2.1% chance at the #1 pick. If this 57-point pack separates itself, and the Flyers go backwards, they’re looking at something in the top ten, but no better than a 7 or 8% chance for the top spot. And what does drafting between 7th and 15th do for them anyway? Not much. You end up with another Jett Luchanko? The timeline demands the development and promotion of Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, and Jack Nesbitt. Maybe one of these second round guys pans out, but this is isn’t Sam Hinkie’s process, and nobody is going to sit around waiting for the Flyers to either hit or miss on some mid-round guys who may or may not even reach the NHL level.

You’re just looking for meaningful steps forward. How many have there been? Trevor Zegras should be extended. Dan Vladar is good, but is he a franchise goaltender? They need a backup goaltender, a 1C, a 1D, and should probably offload a winger or two to round out the roster. At least the salary cap is clean for the first time in a long time.

Anyway, on to the next game! Red hot Boston Bruins up next.