The last time the Philadelphia Flyers played playoff hockey was back in 2020 inside the Canada bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic, where they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the New York Islanders. Since then, the Flyers decided it was in their best interests to start building towards the future. That meant selling off players to gain assets and, hopefully, build a consistent Stanley Cup contender.
The Flyers sold heavily at the trade deadline last season, yet barely missed out on a playoff spot. This offseason, Philadelphia made some big additions to make it help accelerate things, including trading for Trevor Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks.
While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Flyers governor Dan Hilferty expressed his excitement about the direction the team is heading in and that their "patient approach is working." Hilferty said that his view of a successful season is not necessarily earning a playoff spot, but to see improvement from last year.
“I feel really good about where we’re headed. This patient approach is working.”
— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) September 10, 2025
- Dan Hilferty on Flyers’ rebuild pic.twitter.com/PAT2QmoeE4
Flyers banking on 'patient approach' paying off this season and in future
Yes, the Flyers do feel like their rebuild is nearing its end, but there is no set mandate for general manager Danny Briere or coach Rick Tocchet that the team must make the playoffs this season. Instead, he wants to team to continue heading in the right direction.
Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones was asked about certain players they view as key building blocks on the team. Jones mentions Noah Cates, Cam York, Sam Ersson, Tyson Foerster, and Travis Sanheim as young players that stand out to him to really be cornerstones for the franchise.
Keith Jones mentioned a number of young players he expects to get better, but gave a ringing endorsement to Sam Ersson, in particular.
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) September 10, 2025
“I’m a big believer in Sam Ersson. I think that Sam is in a position now age-wise, and being pushed by the depth at that position that’s there…
But in this press conference, Hilferty mentions that the Flyers have a ton of cap space in the future, which gives them the opportunity to continue to add. After this upcoming season, the Flyers will have $41.4 million in cap space. It just so happens that the free agency class is stacked as of this writing, with Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, and Jack Eichel being the main headliners. That certainly would give the Flyers a chance to take that huge leap into contention in the 2026-27 season, and to take the away from one of their Metropolitan Division rivals will only help.
The Flyers first have to get through training camp and the preseason. Once the regular season arrives, the Flyers executives and fan base will get a good idea if the team is heading in the right direction. But don't expect to get an exact answer, considering 84 games need to be played.