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Several Flyers Players Have NHL Milestones Within Reach in 2023-24

By Kevin Lagowski

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 25: Scott Laughton #21 of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrates with Rasmus Ristolainen #55 after scoring a goal against the Detroit Red Wings in the second period at the Wells Fargo Center on March 25, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 25: Scott Laughton #21 of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrates with Rasmus Ristolainen #55 after scoring a goal against the Detroit Red Wings in the second period at the Wells Fargo Center on March 25, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Even though the upcoming Philadelphia Flyers season is not expected to be a banner one for the franchise, we shouldn’t let that temper the excitement of hockey being back in just a few short weeks. By design, these ‘new look’ Flyers are on the young side and don’t have a ton of NHL success to speak of, so we won’t be seeing anyone hitting 500 goals or 1,000 points in the Orange and Black this season (or anytime soon, for that matter). But when you go through the roster, we can find several cases of players within striking distance of NHL milestones.

Carter Hart sits at 84 wins, 16 victories shy of hitting 100 for his NHL career. It’s been a long time coming for Hart, who has had to deal with a lot in his five years in the league. It will be a nice accomplishment when he reaches the mark this year, which he will, barring injury. Hart would also become just the fourth Flyers netminder to record 100 wins, and he will pass Steve Mason for third place on the club’s all-time list if he can nab 21 W’s this year.

It remains to be seen how well Sean Couturier can bounce back after missing nearly two full calendar years, but he has a chance to make some Flyers history if he can stay healthy and return to some form of his old productivity. Couturier will bust into the Flyers’ all-time top 10 in games played this season, and he can climb as high as fourth place on the list if he suits up for 70 games. He needs 20 goals to get to 200, which would make him the 16th Flyer to get there. He also needs 20 assists to get to 300, and he’d be the 15th Flyer to hit that mark. And, continuing the trend of round numbers, he is 40 points shy of 500. He’d be the 15th Flyer to reach that number, as well. Incidentally, Cam Atkinson needs 48 points to get to 500. He’s in the same boat as Couturier as he returns from injury, so it’s anyone’s guess if he can pull it off this season.

Hopefully it’s not too much of a reach, but Morgan Frost needs 31 points to get to 100 for his career. We’re all in big trouble if he can’t get there this year. Ditto Owen Tippett, who only needs 11 points to get to 100. Meanwhile, Rasmus Ristolainen needs 19 points to get to 300 in the NHL, which is a nice number for a defenseman. Travis Konecny is nine goals shy of 150 and nine assists shy of 200. He’ll get there easily, with an eye toward the 68 points he needs to reach 400 for his career. He’ll also hit 500 NHL games with 12 more appearances. Newcomer Garnet Hathaway will reach that mark with 43 games played this season.

Scott Laughton needs a single point to reach 200, and he is 18 goals short of 100 for his NHL career. That’s the same number he had last year, establishing a new career high, and so the bar has clearly been set. Meanwhile, Nicolas Deslauriers is sitting on 97 NHL points (in 586 games, lol) and will get to 100 at some point. As for the bench boss, John Tortorella will become the 8th man to coach 1,500 regular season NHL games after getting 35 more under his belt.

They won’t exactly be building a wing in the Hall of Fame for these accomplishments, but these feats are worth celebrating as we all take this journey together. Hopefully the aforementioned Flyers can achieve them this season as the franchise turns the corner toward competitiveness.

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