The Philadelphia Flyers are 10 games into the 2025-26 season. The team is beating most expectations. They look a bit fiesty, they've battled in every game, and look light years beyond what this team was last season.
So why? What has changed so far? Is it sustainable? Is this team for real, or are we heading for another disappointment? After all, two years ago, the Flyers almost made the playoffs. However, injuries sabotaged them. Could the same fate await? Let's take a look at what has changed and why the Flyers are 6-3-1 after 10 games.
New Additions are Thriving
The Flyers didn't make a lot of big splashes this offseason. There was no major signing like Nikolaj Ehlers or Aaron Ekblad. Sure, those might have been good additions to the team, but it turns out the Flyers didn't really need them.
The Flyers made only two "big" free agent signings. Christian Dvorak and Dan Vladar. They also made a trade for Anaheim's Trevor Zegras.
Dvorak has been better than advertised so far. He has scored two goals with three assists. More importantly, he has won 57.6% of his faceoffs. Winning faceoffs helps set up plays. Dvorak has also blocked six shots and doled out eight hits. Is it a major contribution? No. But it's the little things that do matter. Dvorak has been a great teammate so far and is playing well enough to earn close to 16 minutes of ice time a game.
Then there is Vladar. Vladar has been lights out. Statistically, he's second in GAA (1.67) and tied for first with a .939 save percentage. Can he keep this up? Who knows? Let's enjoy it while we can. It's been a while since we had a goalie this good. It seems almost unusual. Not quite sure how to handle this.
Zegras has revitalized his career since arriving. Consider the fact that the Flyers gave up Ryan Poehling and some draft picks for the team leader in goals (4), assists (8), and points (12). Zegras is thriving. Yes, he's got a 45.1% faceoff percentage. That doesn't matter. He seems to be a natural fit with Matvei Michkov. The two are bonding, and that is great. Daniel Briere had better start working on extending him soon, or he may cost a lot more.
Power Play is Better
One of the biggest issues with this team over the last few years has been a failure to score on the man-advantage. It seems like every year since the COVID Era, Philly has been in the bottom five in power play despite having talented players on the special teams units.
Well, so far, the Flyers sit at 17th in the NHL. They are scoring on 20% of their power plays. That's not great, but it is an improvement over the last few seasons. And if Zegras and Michkov keep connecting on the power play, this can only go up.
At the same time, the Flyers have the fourth-best penalty kill unit at 89.5% For a team that leads the NHL in penalty minutes (159), that's pretty good. Now, let's start bringing down the penalties a bit.
The Defense is.....
Is the defense better? That's a hard-to-answer question. On the one hand, they have only been blown out in one game: Winnipeg's 5-2 victory. Every other game, the team has battled. They are better in overtime, which used to be a guaranteed loss if it went into an extra frame or, God forbid, a shootout.
On the other hand, the team doesn't have a lot of depth. An injury or two could really put this team in a major bind. They've been lucky so far. The NHL is a long season of 82 games, and we are only 10 games in. A rash of injuries could overtake this team, as we've seen in the past, and we could be in big trouble.
As is, the Flyers' defense, which was supposed to be an Achilles heel, is holding up fairly well. They might be better than we thought. Jamie Drysdale has been healthy and is performing at the level we all have hoped to see. Cam York, so far, has five assists and is also looking as if he is earning that big contract he signed this offseason after spending a brief time injured.
The Tocchet Effect
When Tocchet became the head coach of this team, it was wondered how he would change this team from the John Tortorella Era. During training camp, it became abundantly clear. He is bringing hope to this team by his "player first" mentality.
The funny thing is how it is coming on. This is a frisky team. We've seen this team rack up a lot of penalties, but the defense holds up being down a man. This is a team that has no problem flinging hits and slinging fists. They love to be physical. They are becoming an intimidating team to face. In short, they are playing just like their coach did when he was a player.
If you watch the Flyers, they are having fun playing. This is something that they lost and hadn't gotten back. This team is enjoying playing the game. That attitude is probably what keeps them battling in every game instead of giving up during the third like we have seen before.
The Future?
Who knows where this team will go? Do they have the firepower for a sustained run? After all, they stand at 6-3-1 after October, but they have played some of the best teams in the NHL and played them well. They are not intimidated by anyone.
Personally, I feel that this team is probably a Chris Pronger-type defender and/or a sniper away from being a true contender. Perhaps they have a player like that down below. Maybe they need to acquire one via a trade this year. Maybe that defender could've been found with the recent trade for Christian Kyrou.
Either way, this team is a lot more fun to watch since last year. There is an infectious sort of optimism that is emanating from this squad. Hopefully it continues. Let's see what November brings. The next few games bring some opponents that the Flyers should beat up on (Calgary, Nashville) and some teams that will test their mettle (Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton).