A Swiftie’s guide to the 2023-24 Philadelphia Flyers season

#9. Sanheim is the Flyers’ top defenseman after a down year

“I’d like to be my old self again, but I’m still tryin’ to find it,” – Taylor Swift, “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” (2021)

Travis Sanheim’s underlying offensive and defensive impacts cratered in the 2022-23 season right after signing a massive eight-year, $50 million extension in Oct. 2022 – a sports storyline we know all too well.

The good news is that the 27-year-old will be fully healthy and ready to charm hockey fans and Swifties alike with his buccaneering style of play. On his best days, Sanheim can dominate both ends of the ice, but that hasn’t occurred a lot lately.

The 2014 first-round pick is just one year removed from a 31-point season, but the Flyers will want to see that number reach closer to 40 this year in correspondence with an improved team and a larger share of minutes. Sanheim’s career-high of 35 points came back in his first full season in the NHL in 2018-19, and it’s now up to him to show he hasn’t stalled in his development since then.

The Flyers were reportedly scrambling to try and offload Sanheim and his ginormous contract to the St. Louis Blues, but there were too many moving parts and there was nothing else GM Danny Briere could do. Instead, the Blues got Kevin Hayes for free, pretty much.

#8. Fedotov spurns Flyers for Russia, kind of

“Been here all along, so why can’t you see, you belong with me?” Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me” (2008)

In one of the more fascinating summer storylines in the NHL, goalie Ivan Fedotov wound up staying in Russia to play for CSKA Moscow instead of playing for the Flyers. In May 2022, Fedotov signed with the Flyers, and two months later – on July 1 – Fedotov was coincidentally arrested before his departure to North America for “evasion of military service”.

The 26-year-old has since completed his military service obligation with Russia’s navy, and even though his contract from the previous year with Philadelphia was rolled over, he signed a two-year deal with CSKA instead.

Briere is probably dreaming about waking up and finding out that the goalie he’s been looking for is coming to the Flyers, but it’s Russia we’re talking about. Calgary Flames defenseman and fellow Russian Nikita Zadorov recently claimed in a bombshell interview that Fedotov could return ‘at any time’, but the goalie would have to make it through the airport, onto the plane, and off the plane without the Russian government finding out and interfering.

It’s unclear whether or not this has all been Fedotov’s choice, but the Flyers are still pushing to bring him over along with the IIHF. Philly will be standing by waiting at the back door of the at the PHL International Airport, but they might be there a while. Maybe Briere will put some Taylor Swift on to pass the time.

#7. Staal takes ice time from young Flyers defensemen

“Don’t know what to call this situation,” – Taylor Swift, “Foolish One (Taylor’s Version)” (2023)

Swifties, this is what I like to call hockey’s version of a ‘situationship’.

The Flyers bizarrely went out of their way to sign Marc Staal to a one-year contract on July 3 when they already had Sanheim, Nick Seeler, and Cam York in the fold. They were also expecting Yegor Zamula back from his season-ending surgery, and the preseason emergence of Emil Andrae makes Staal’s signing look doubly foolish in hindsight.

Maybe Philadelphia assumed that the chances were maybe that Staal had other plans, having just been deployed in a top-four role for a Florida Panthers team that appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals, but instead the veteran defenseman reunites with his former New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella.

Tortorella himself even admitted (or finally acknowledged) that this year was ‘the next step’ in the rebuild, but is there really a reason to carry seven (eight with Andrae) defensemen on an NHL roster?

If Staal can still play, coaching maybe isn’t in the cards in his hand yet, but it would be hard to blame Flyers fans for thinking the team hasn’t learned their lesson by increasing the likelihood of botching prospect development.

#6. Atkinson finally returns to the Flyers’ lineup

“Losing him was blue like I’d never known,” – Taylor Swift, “Red (Taylor’s Version)” – 2021

The Flyers and their fans probably weren’t ready for the pronounced impact of missing Cam Atkinson for the entirety of the 2022-23 season, just like how Taylor Swift wasn’t prepared for the impact of losing a lover in her hit song “Red”. Fortunately, Atkinson was officially activated from injured reserve on Sept. 20 – he’s back.

Atkinson’s specialty is lighting the Red lamp – he did so 41 times under Tortorella in the 2018-19 season – but at age 34 and following a neck surgery, it’s fair to wonder if he can still play at that level. The former Columbus Blue Jacket now has added competition for minutes in the forms of Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, and Bobby Brink, and Joel Farabee is older and wiser since Atkinson last played.

The 13-year vet is signed through the end of next season, so this campaign is extremely important in determining his future in NHL. Moving on from him is impossible with his $5.875 million cap hit and modified no-trade clause, so he’ll have to make it happen in this upcoming season and the next.

#5. Michkov is dominating the KHL in his D+1 year

“Now you’re all I need,” – Taylor Swift, “All Of The Girls You Loved Before” (2023)

Somehow and some way, the second-best offensive player in the 2023 NHL Draft – and perhaps arguably the best – fell to the Flyers at pick no. 7.

Now, Matvei Michkov is dominating Russia’s highest level of competition as a teenager, which is sure to make Flyers fans draw hearts around his name. The HK Sochi talisman won’t be able to come over to North America for a few more years, but the anticipation in Philadelphia is already tangible.

The Flyers desperately needed a high-end offensive talent after trading away Claude Giroux, and Michkov gives them as much as they could possibly hope for. The 18-year-old has 12 points in 10 games since joining Sochi, and he’s currently in the midst of a four-game point streak. Michkov is on pace to score 29 goals, 41 assists, and 70 points in 64 games – not even Alex Ovechkin produced at this level as a kid.

In time, the Flyers will be grateful every dead-end – and every Chuck Fletcher and Ron Hextall gaffe – led them to Michkov.

#4. Laughton remains with the Flyers, for now

“You heard the rumors from Inez, you can’t believe a word she says,” – Taylor Swift, “Betty” (2020)

Scott Laughton finally had his breakout year in the 2022-23 season, and heavy trade rumours subsequently followed. The Flyers reportedly received at least one delectable offer that included a first-round pick, but lo and behold, Laughton remains in Philadelphia.

The trade narrative was eventually relinquished as time passed, but it is strange that the team would willingly pass up a top draft pick for a 29-year-old who’s surpassed 32 NHL points only once. Alas, that’s the beauty of rumors; you can’t believe a word they say most times, but this was true.

The truth is also that the Flyers really love Laughton and they know they can rely on him to be a leader and to play in a host of different situations on the ice. All NHL teams need a buzzsaw that can lead by example, and that’s Laughton.

The 2012 first-round pick probably won’t ever live up to his draft status, and that’s fine because it’s impossible to win meaningful games in the National Hockey League without guys who can do the little things.

If a first-round pick just showed up in the Flyers’ inbox, would they want it? Who knows, but it wouldn’t be a shock if the trade rumors started up again at some point in the year.

#3. York’s chance to prove himself to the Flyers

“When you are young, they assume you know nothing,” – Taylor Swift, “Cardigan” (2020)

Cam York really struggled to get regular games and regular minutes in years’ past for the Flyers, but this upcoming season will be his first true test. The former Michigan ace is expected to share duties with Sanheim as the team’s de-facto no. 1 defenseman. York’s NHL appearances have increased incrementally over the last three years, and he’s expected to make the full-time jump starting this week.

The 22-year-old’s underlying numbers at both ends of the ice have been excellent, which suggests the Flyers just have a different alchemy with his skillset in the mix. York didn’t look the best in his preseason appearance against the New Jersey Devils, but we’ll chalk that up to Philly rotating a ton of players and holding others out.

Tortorella assumed the young York knew nothing as per his various assignments to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but once the thrill of experiencing Ivan Provorov, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Tony DeAngelo expired, York was standing right in Torts’ front porch light. In 2023-24, the Anaheim, CA native will be embarking on his own Eras Tour – the era of being the Flyers’ top rearguard on an 82-game tour.

#2. Flyers’ London boys lighting up the OHL

“Long live the walls that we crashed through,” – Taylor Swift “Long Live” (2010)

All of the Flyers’ prospects have been playing extremely well so far, but it’s the two young stars from London generating some hype for the Knights in the OHL. 2023 draft picks Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk have led the way for London’s 3-1-1 start to the season, and it’s the third-round pick Barkey who’s pacing their forwards in points.

The 5-foot-9 center is already up to two goals and four assists in five games and has set himself on pace for 27 goals and 81 points in 68 games. Barkey’s size was certainly a draft concern, but the 18-year-old instead says “bring on the pretenders”. The kid has some real skill, and his hockey IQ and work ethic give him a chance to make something happen on every shift. If his offensive production catches fire, watch out.

2023 first-round pick Bonk is known more for his defensive ability than his offensive ability, but his father Radek once scored 70 points in a season with the Ottawa Senators. The inherited vision of the ice and knowledge of the game will translate to the next level, but it will be interesting to see how consistently the young blueliner can create offense.

2024 draft-eligible defenseman Sam Dickinson is also on fire for the Knights on the left side of their defense, and it’s fair to wonder if he will be remembered by the Flyers come July. Eventually, fate will step in and force London into a goodbye, but for now this dazzling trio remains atop the OHL.

#1. Flyers’ kids graduate from the AHL

“Are we out of the woods yet? Are we out of the woods? Are we in the clear yet?” – Taylor Swift, “Out Of The Woods” (2014)

As expected, the Flyers will graduate a host of kids from the AHL Phantoms this year, and that group includes Emil Andrae, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, and Sam Ersson. Ersson will assume the role of backup goalie after Tortorella declared him the winner in the battle against Felix Sandstrom, while the other three will presumably compete to be in the lineup on a nightly basis.

Out the gate, it seems Foerster will have the first crack at top-line minutes. The 2020 first-round pick has played alongside Sean Couturier and Joel Farabee a bunch in the preseason – as has Bobby Brink – but Brink has shown to be equally as effective in a variety of different places in the lineup.

The Flyers have one too many forwards, so these guys won’t be out of the woods all of the time. It may not happen next year either, as Owen Tippett and Ryan Poehling are the only pending free agents in this forward group and they’re both restricted free agents.

In short, the kids are not in the clear just yet, but they’re sure to add some excitement, energy, and skill to a Philly team that’s needed it for some time now.

All lyrics used in the exercise are credit of Genius. 

The Flyers will officially begin their season on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. when they face the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.