Flyers’ 5 Most Important Players For The 2023-24 Season
Every player on a team matters. Every player has a role to fill. Some are mentors to help younger players. Other are young players; the stars of the future who are hoping to make it big and have a long and lasting career. Then you have the star players that the team depends on. The Philadelphia Flyers have players in all of these categories, and need to find a way to make it work.
The Flyers have roughly two dozen players on their roster, and about the same in the minors, who can be called up at any time. From first line to depth piece, everyone plays their part in the organization. Everyone is important, but to paraphrase George Orwell, “some are more important than others”.
With the upcoming season, these five players will carry the most impact on the team’s performance this season. This doesn’t mean that the players not listed here aren’t important or won’t make an impact – they will. However, much of the success, or lack thereof, of the Flyers this year will rest on the shoulders, skates, and sticks of these five men.
#5: Sean Couturier
It’s no doubt that Flyers have missed Sean Couturier’s leadership almost as much as his offensive capabilities these last 20 months. Now that Patrice Bergeron has retired, you can make an argument that he is the best two-way forward in the league… when healthy.
He hasn’t played in an NHL game since December of 2021. A lot has changed on this team since then. Nothing has changed inside of him, though. Couturier still has the fire and energy ready to play and was upset that he wasn’t allowed a chance to play in some meaningless games in March and April.
The Flyers were wise to sit him in the final fames of last season. A healthy, hungry Coots will go a long way for the Flyers in 2023-24. If he can stay healthy, he will be a great role model for players like Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, and Noah Cates in terms how to play the game the right way. That alone could be worth five or six wins.
While the return of Cam Atkinson will also be important to this team, Couturier’s return is more important. He’s been the heart of this team for years; even if Claude Giroux was the captain. The leadership he brings to the table is invaluable. That’s something this team has been missing for a while. He will bring it back.
#4: Travis Sanheim
Chuck Fletcher gave Travis Sanheim a huge extension last year, and the Flyers therefore trusted him and enshrined him as the cornerstone of their defense. It’s safe to say that he hasn’t gotten off to a good start. Maybe it was the stress of trying to live up to the deal or adjusting to a new system under a new coach. Maybe it was the fact that he had to deal with new defense partners all season. Either way, Sanheim fell flat on his face and the deal is looking like a huge bust.
The defender was benched for frankly unspectacular play near the end of the season, although, to be honest, he could have been scratched earlier. Three other blueliners from last season are now gone: Justin Braun, Tony DeAngelo, and Ivan Provorov. At one point, it seemed as if Sanheim himself could’ve been traded away to St. Louis with Kevin Hayes, but that deal fell through, if it was in fact a real proposal to begin with.
At the end of last season, there were some who felt that Sanheim should be dealt immediately. Others felt that he should be given a chance to redeem himself. While 2022-23 wasn’t a terrible season, it wasn’t what we’ve been used to seeing from him and not worthy of the huge contract he was honored with.
This, however, is a new season. If he can get back that swagger he showed before, he can be a cornerstone of this defense. A good Sanheim can stabilize what is, probably, the weakest part of this team (the defense). A great Sanheim can shorten this team’s rebuilding process pretty quickly. It’s up to him to put it out there on the ice.
#3: Travis Konecny
Travis Konecny missed 22 games last year with a variety of injuries. Despite this, he had a career-year in points and goals. He finally broke through with the promise that we all thought he had when he was drafted in the first round all those years ago.
With Giroux gone and Couturier and Atkinson injured, the bulk of the offense fell onto his shoulders. For better or for worse, Konecny took it in stride and performed. He had a stretch in December, coming back from an injury, where he was scoring left and right – a pace you would have normally associated with someone like David Pastrnak.
Carrying the offense on his back, Konecny was the team leader last season. In truth, he should have been the Flyers’ representative at the All-Star game instead of Hayes.
The only reason Konecny isn’t higher on this list is because he has the least amount to prove. He is one of the franchise’s two star players. Could he be traded to a contender for younger talent or draft picks? Maybe. There were rumors to that effect, but how much of it was serious talks and how much was just “kicking the tires” on it?
For right now, Konecny is a Flyer and the team will continue to benefit from his services. If he can appear in 75 or more games this season, he will easily top his numbers from last year.
#2: Cam York
Kid, you wanted to be a first round pick and you wanted to be in the NHL. You wanted the spotlight and accolades that come with it. This is your time to shine.
With the big changes on defense that have happened this offseason, it is clear that the Flyers have pretty much made it clear that Cam York is the guy that they are counting on to helm the defense this season. Is he ready?
We’ll soon find out the answer to that question. If he is ready to lead the blueliners, he’s going to have to do it on the ice. He had a decent rookie season after being thrown into a defensive unit in flux midway through the year. Now he must prove he permanently belongs.
There are six defenders on the team. It is likely that the Flyers will carry seven and use one in rotation. York is most likely going to be a top-pairing defender and the quarterback for their power play. Maybe that’s not fair to put all of that on the shoulders of a 22 year old but hey, if you can’t handle it, you shouldn’t be here.
Fairly or unfairly, York is going to have a lot of expectations put on him. Much like Sanheim, the future of this team’s defensive corps seems to be resting on him. If he can weather the storm, the Flyers will be in a great position to evaluate where they go from here. If he can’t, the future of this team could be murky.
#1: Carter Hart
This is not much of a surprise. Hart is the most important player for the Philadelphia Flyers for the 2023-24 season, and there are many reasons for that.
First of all, is his play. Hart has been a fairly reliable netminder the last few seasons. Yes, he has games where he looks like a scared AHL call-up. There are also times he looks like the second coming of Bernie Parent. Much like any goalie, he has good days and bad days; great saves and soft goals. If he consistently plays to the best of his abilities, the Flyers will have a good season. With a revamped defense in front of him, perhaps he won’t have to face 30+ shots a night in more than half of his appearances.
Secondly, Hart needs to be healthy. The last few seasons, he had missed the last few weeks of the season with nagging injuries. Maybe the team shut him down because there was no hope of the playoffs. But if this team could make the playoffs, they’d need him in net. If he’s hurt, he’s not going to be of any help in the postseason.
However, the biggest reason that Hart is the most important Flyer for this upcoming season is Hart himself. Is he the goaltender of this team? He will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season. but at this time, nothing has been revealed about his intentions to extend with Philadelphia, nor has anything been revealed about plans to offer Hart an extension.
The Flyers have been stocking up on goaltending prospects this year. The team acquired Cal Petersen, re-signed Felix Sandstrom and Sam Ersson, have been working to keep Ivan Fedotov in the fold, drafted, arguably, the best goaltender in the draft in Carson Bjarnason, and then went and traded up to draft Belarusian prospect Yegor Zavragin.
The message seems to be loud and clear. Either Hart is the goalie or they are making preparations for his expected departure. If he is extended, great. If he is moved, also great. Perhaps the Flyers are hoping to build a great goaltending duo, like Detroit did with Chris Osgood and Mike Vernon in the late 1990. Or maybe the team is seeing who will be Hart’s successor in net.
Whatever the case, this will be a big year for Hart and the Flyers. Their futures are tied together. A strong Hart in net will help carry the Flyers forward. However, if he is dispatched, the return could make a strong future for the team if Daniel Briere can bring in the right amount of assets back. If he gets hurt, the return for him could greatly diminish. Time will tell, but that’s why Hart’s season will mean a lot for the Flyers this year. His health and his performance will go a long way into determining how the rebuild for this team goes.
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