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For Rebuilding Flyers, What Defines a Successful 2025-2026 Season?
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In professional sports, success or failure is pretty easily decided. It’s based on wins and losses.
After all, this is a bottom line business.
However, if you add a little nuance to the equation, understanding that not every season can be judged a failure if you don’t win a championship, then falling short of the ultimate success doesn’t necessarily mean no success.
For the Flyers, as we head into the 2025–26 season, determining what success looks like in a rebuilding year is one of those equations where you apply this aforementioned nuance. I know the team has not won a Stanley Cup since the back-to-back championships in 1974 and 1975. That’s despite getting to six more Stanley Cup final appearances in the 50 years since. So ultimate success has not been achieved in five decades now.
As the Flyers progress to the next phase, I’m having a hard time determining what success looks like this coming season. Is it a playoff berth? Is it being in the playoff equation until the end of the season?
For some, it’s weighing the legitimacy of a playoff appearance against a team that finishes at the bottom of the NHL, earning high lottery odds to land the number one pick and the right to draft Gavin McKenna. It’s the notion that if you’re not going to make the playoffs, the only acceptable result otherwise is the ability to draft the top player.
It’s very rare that I get to this point of the off-season and heading into another season where I have less clarity on the definition of what success looks like for the Flyers. Why do I lack the feel heading into this season? Because the team has question marks that need to be answered, whether it’s the goaltending, the performance of Trevor Zegras, or the evolution of Matvei Michkov in year two.
I think Flyer fans believe the team is on the right track based on the drafting of the current Danny Briere and Keith Jones regime. Those players are not in Flyers uniforms just yet, with the exception of Michkov. Porter Martone may be in a Flyers uniform after his collegiate season at Michigan State, Jett Luchanko may make the team out of camp this year, and Alex Bump has got a real shot for the Flyers on the left wing. Even with those elements, I’m still not sure what will define the Flyers season as a “success.” So I’ll ask you. What does success look like for the Philadelphia Flyers this coming season? Define it and explain it because I’m not sure.
Kinkead: Okay, I’ll answer the question. I think you need to see 5 things. One, clarity at the goaltender position, which means determining whether or not any of the current group is a franchise-level player. Two, successfully assimilating and extending Trevor Zegras. Three, Tyson Foerster hitting 50 points. Four, unlock the next level for Jamie Drysdale, Matvei Michkov. Five, get one or more of the draft prospects legitimate playing time with the Flyers. Then you come off the $6.5 million of dead cap in Kevin Hayes, Cam Atkinson, and Scott Laughton with a clean slate and the opportunity to really pursue some good players in free agency.
Jason Myrtetus is a Philadelphia-based broadcaster and host, best known for his work with the Philadelphia Flyers since 2008. He serves as a radio pregame, intermission, and postgame host and is the voice behind the Flyers Daily and Hockey & Hounds podcasts. A passionate hockey enthusiast, Myrtetus played organized hockey from age 5 to 50, starting as a goalie and later coaching youth teams. His career began in rock radio before transitioning to sports, including roles at WIP, WYSP, and 97.5 The Fanatic, where he worked as Assistant Program Director, producer, and co-host. Diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in December 2024, Myrtetus has openly shared his battle, drawing on his hockey-rooted resilience to face treatment. A father of three and husband to Angela, he remains a vital part of the Flyers’ broadcast community.