Owen Tippett had a breakout season in a big way in the 2022-23 season, and now figures to be one of the Philadelphia Flyers’ best players in the long-term.
On March 19, 2022, Claude Giroux, alongside Connor Bunnaman and German Rubtsov, was traded to the Florida Panthers for a 2024 first-round pick, a 2023 second-round pick, and some guy named Owen Tippett. At the time of the trade, Philadelphia Flyers fans weren’t thrilled with the return they got for Giroux, but a little over a year later, the trade looks like the rare stroke of genius from ex-GM Chuck Fletcher.
Owen Tippett was selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers, but never truly found his footing in Sunrise. In his Panthers tenure, Tippett’s average time-on-ice never exceeded 12:32. In fact, the year he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers was the year he achieved 12:32. Before that, his best was 11:29.
Upon arriving in the City of Brotherly Love, Owen Tippett’s ice time skyrocketed to 15:12 over 21 games 2021-22. Tippett didn’t fill the stat sheet in his initial quarter-season with the Flyers, as he posted only four goals and three assists in those 21 games. Still, he just looked more confident and aggressive with the Flyers that year compared to with the Panthers.
Owen Tippett. 26th of the year! pic.twitter.com/12H82xMXiu
— TLY (@TheLibertyYell) April 12, 2023
Owen Tippett’s breakout 2022-23 season with the Philadelphia Flyers is a massive revelation for the organization’s long-term outlook. Before this year, Tippett had never exceeded 10 goals or 21 points in a season, and was on the verge of being universally declared as a draft bust. This year, Tippett had 27 goals, 19 of which were at even-strength, and 22 assists. Tippett finally showed off the offensive ability that was touted by Future Considerations as “. . .that natural scorer’s touch. . . “.
Although Owen Tippett was brought in by Chuck Fletcher primarily for his offense, Tippett is no slouch defensively either. In his career, Owen Tippett has never finished a season with more giveaways than takeaways.
In the 2022-23 season, Tippett really rounded out the defensive part his game. He had 44 takeaways to just 25 giveaways, surpassed 100 hits for the first time with 125, and finished 15th in the NHL in blocked shots amongst forwards with 69.
Heading into the 2023-24 season, Owen Tippett is feeling like a different player. At his exit interview, speaking on his successful 2022-23 season, Tippett said “Obviously, going into the offseason, it helps to kind of have that confidence and be able to build off that”. Tippett, at his current pace, could be taking over the Flyers’ top line.
Proud to say I've always been an Owen Tippett believer #FueledByPhilly pic.twitter.com/V0hIMBQb00
— Jon (@ByJonBailey) July 16, 2023
Owen Tippett has just one year remaining on his current contract, and the Flyers might want to avoid tying up their money elsewhere. On top of re-signing Tippett, the Flyers will potentially need to extend Carter Hart and Egor Zamula, and they’ll have Kevin Hayes’ salary on their books alongside the cost of the Tony DeAngelo buyout. Couple that with the contracts of Cal Petersen and Cam Atkinson, and things could get hairy in the short-term.
With an improvement on his high-flying breakthrough year, Owen Tippett could be in line for a massive payday. That’s one the Philadelphia Flyers should be willing to take on the chin, though; they’ll be ecstatic they found their star right wing of the future.
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