One of the biggest storylines for the Flyers this season has been the play of Owen Tippett. In 71 games this season, he has notched 24 goals and 20 assists for 44 points.
That’s more points than he had last season, and he is on pace to record his most in a season since 2023-24. He's also having one of his best seasons, metrics-wise. According to Natural Stat Trick, he has a 49.82 CF%, a 53.21 SCF%, and a 53.95 xG%.
Combined this with what he has done the past few years, Tippett has established himself as a 50-point forward. He's someone who will be a consistent point producer and can generate plenty of offense. While this is impressive, the Flyers are at a crossroads, and his future with the team is up in the air.
Will they make him a part of the future, or move him as part of a roster shakeup? The best move for Philly is to make him part of the team's long-term plans.
Owen Tippett can help solve the Flyers offensive woes
Statistically, the Flyers have been one of the worst offensive teams this season. They have scored 200 goals, which ranks 25th in the league. They have converted on only 14.5% of their power plays, the worst in the league. And they also rank in the bottom half of the league in most offensive advanced metrics. Their struggles are among the biggest reasons the Flyers are likely to miss the playoffs this season.
With the Flyers having such problems on offense, it does not make sense to move off a guy who is good in that area. He may not be the best offensive player, but he is one of the Flyers' better forwards these past couple of seasons. Why move off a player who has been one of the bright spots in the team's worst area? It makes much more sense for the Flyers to find more players like Tippett and surround him with similar offensive talent.
He is a guy they can pencil into their top six for the foreseeable future, knowing they will get solid production. The combination of him and Trevor Zegras has clearly worked as both rank in the top three in point production for the Flyers. According to Moneypuck, the two have a 50.6 xGoals% and an xGoals For of nine. If they can find a solid left winger to play alongside them, it could become one of the best lines in the NHL.
Tippett is already locked into a reasonable long-term deal. Back in 2024, he signed an eight-year deal worth $6.2 million annually. This was already a very reasonable contract, but with the cap set to rise a lot over the next few seasons, this will be a steal. They will be able to count on a solid offensive a player for a fraction of his actual value. This allows the Flyers to use the cap space to fill other roster holes.
While there are many questions for the Flyers to answer going into the offense, Tippett's future should not be one of them. He should be one of the guys this team builds its forward core around.