Philadelphia Flyers: Michael Raffl is as versatile as they come

Michael Raffl has been with the Flyers for seven seasons. He can do just about anything you need from him.

Michael Raffl was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Flyers in May of 2013. He made his NHL debut that October and hasn’t looked back since. The Austria native has played just about every position and in every situation that the Flyers need him for.

He is primarily a fourth line winger that can chip in as a part of the team’s penalty kill. He has seen time in the Flyers top six at times. Raffl plays a fearless game where he’s not afraid to block shots and is strong on the forecheck and backcheck.

Raffl has shown the ability to score as he chipped in with 21 goals in his second season and 13 last year. This year he has put up six goals and 12 assists. He did lose out on 10 games when he suffered a broken pinkie back in December. He still reached the 20-point mark for the fifth season out of his seven total.

His per-60 totals were actually better this season than in previous years. Raffl was posting 0.14 goals-per-60, up from his 0.09 the season before. His 0.34 points-per-60 are his best since the 2015-16 season.

His possession numbers won’t blow you away, but he does enough to get the job done. A career 51.9 CF%, he was just off that mark this season. He was under the 50% mark for only the second season. It was also the second season he fell into the negatives when it came to his relative Corsi percentage.

Things are fairly even as well when it comes to his Fenwick (49.6). So the team isn’t necessarily driving play, but aren’t getting destroyed either.

Among regular penalty killers, Raffl is fourth in goals against per 60 at exactly 5.0. That comes averaging 1:16 minutes per game on the PK unit. He does have a shorthanded goal as well.

Raffl is one of those players that can loosen things up and is known as one of the most well liked guys in the locker room. He is in the first year of a two-year extension.