Philadelphia Flyers: Nate Thompson sees team as contenders beyond this season

Nate Thompson has only been on the Flyers for a short time. But he can already tell just how good this team can be.

Nate Thompson has seen a fair share of this league since he entered 13 years ago. During that time, he has played for seven different teams. That’s included a Tampa Bay team that had Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos together. A trade deadline deal brought him to the Flyers this past February.

And despite playing in just seven games, he has already been able to see what this team is capable of. When he joined, they were on a three-game win streak. That ended up jumping to nine games. The Flyers then lost the final game before the pause.

But that time gave Thompson enough time to see that this team is built for more than just this season. He spoke candidly about the team on Sportsnet’s 31 Thoughts: The Podcast with Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.

“They’re definitely going to have a chance. It was a lot of fun, especially at this point in my career, to be a part of something like that. Unfortunately with what happened, we got paused, but hopefully we can get back to that, get back to playing and have a chance to win this year.”

This is most likely Thompson’s only season with the team. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. He was acquired as a veteran presence to help the team make their final push to the playoffs. Thompson has made it to the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals during his career.

For the Flyers, Thompson stepped into a fourth-line and penalty-killing role. It’s a small sample size, but he averaged more time on the PK per game than any other Flyers forward. His 2:09 per game was more than Sean Couturier who averaged 2:02. He has averaged around 12:37 time on ice per game.

Also known for his faceoffs, Thompson won 53.7 percent of his draws while with the Flyers. Overall, he was third on the team with a 55.01 percent rate. His advanced numbers are nothing spectacular. But in a fourth-line role, they are passable.

In his seven games with the Flyers, Thompson had a 41.96 CF%, a 43.06 FF%, and had an expected-goals total of 49.26%. He posted one assist during that time, which came in his fifth game.

He ended up spraining his knee in the team’s final game against the Bruins. The pause has given him time to heal. He has been medically cleared and will be available whenever the season resumes.

Thompson has enjoyed his time in Philadelphia, even if it’s only for a short period of time. At a point in his career where there may not be much time left, this experience has been a lot of fun for him.