The 2024-25 season was a step in the wrong direction for the Philadelphia Flyers. After finishing the 2023-24 season with 87 points, missing the playoffs by just four points, fans thought the Flyers were close to becoming competitive again. These hopes were amplified after they went 8-4-2 in November. Sure, they were still only a couple of games over .500, but things seemed to be trending in the right direction.
However, November seemed to be a flash in the pan as the Flyers struggled down the stretch. Over the final five months of the season, they went 21-29-7. This earned them a record of 33-39-10 good for 76 points and a last-place finish in the Metro Division. The hope was that the Flyers would fill holes on the roster during the offseason and look to make a run at the playoffs in 2025-26. But after seeing what the Flyers did, it's hard to have much hope.
Why things don't seem to be very sunny in Philadelphia
Heading into this offseason, the Flyers had several holes that needed to be addressed. They needed to bring in multiple centers, a right-handed defenseman, and a reliable goaltender. Now, to General Manager Daniel Briere's credit, he did go out and address these concerns. At least one option was brought in for each of those positions.
The problem is that the options they brought in are not significant improvements over what they had last season. Starting at center, the Flyers brought in Christian Dvorak and Trevor Zegras, two established NHL centers. Dvorak is coming off a season in which he recorded 12 goals and 22 assists for 33 points. On the other hand, Zegras tallied 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points in just 57 games.
While both these guys can be solid middle-six centers, it's unknown if they can play on the top line. One thing successful NHL teams have is a bona fide top-line center. Both these players are decent when on the ice, but have question marks. Is Zegras able to stay healthy over a full season to become a key contributor? Are we ever going to see Dvorak score more than 40 points in one season? Not the questions you want to have from your center core.
Unlike Dvorak and Zegras, who could become key components of the Flyers, the same can not be said about their other signings. They inked Noah Juulsen to a one-year deal, and it's unlikely he can even get through that. Juulsen is just here to be a placeholder for one of the young defenseman they have in their system. Juulsen has never played a whole NHL season before, meaning that one of these defensemen is expected to be an NHL contributor at some point. That's something that can put a lot of pressure on a young player.
But the worst move Briere made was signing goaltender Dan Vladar to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $3.35 million. Vladar is not someone Flyers fans should be excited about. He's coming off a season where he had a .898 save percentage and a 2.80 goals against average. Combine that with his career save percentage of .895 and 2.99 goals against average, and he's not been what the Flyers already had in net.
Overall, this offseason felt like the Flyers added a bunch of stopgap pieces. Nothing that made them significantly better or will help them in the long run. It's shaping up to be another forgettable and frustrating season.