NHL insider gives low future ranking to non-contending Flyers

In the National Hockey League, just like every other sport, there are tiers of competitiveness. You want to be in the top group, battling it out for a title. Failing that, however, many would argue that it's best to be at or near the very bottom, acquiring future assets and building back up to contender status. You'll need to pass through the middle along the way, but some teams never get past that point and stall out. According to Corey Pronman from The Athletic, that may be exactly what will happen with the Philadelphia Flyers.

NHL insider gives low future ranking to non-contending Flyers

Fans are indeed apt to complain about the situation that they're in and would welcome any kind of change. So, for a Flyers team that has been well below average for the past decade and outright bad since the 2020 playoff bubble, planting themselves in the middle might seem somewhat appealing. But the problem with this 'mushy' middle is that you can only stay for a short while before you either make the ascent or drop back down and try again. Staying perennially on the playoff bubble with no real shot at a title is a hopeless scenario and one that would quickly grate on the last nerve of the Flyers faithful.

As Pronman writes, "Matvei Michkov is an elite prospect and could be a star in the league, but they need a lot more than him." Simply put, the Flyers don't currently possess the depth of young talent that would have an outside observer look at them and peg them as a true contender a few years from now. It's why, of last year's 16 non-playoff clubs, Pronman has the Flyers ranked as only the 13th best positioned at this time. On Pronman's list, the Flyers only managed to nudge out the Blues, Flames, and Penguins, with the last entry at least bringing a smile to the faces of Orange and Black supporters who would love to see the Pens fall off a cliff after finally being without a superstar.

You can't poke many holes in what Pronman is trying to articulate, either. The Blackhawks, who top the list, tanked and lucked their way into Connor Bedard. And teams like the Ducks and Sharks have been stockpiling young talent for longer than the Flyers have, giving them a big leg up. Pronman does take current NHLers into account, as well, which is why teams like the Sabres and Red Wings also finish ahead of the Flyers. Those clubs have been stuck for years, but you can't doubt that their top players are currently better than what the Flyers have on their roster.

It should be noted that Pronman recently made a separate list of teams who may be destined for what he calls "the mushy middle", but he regards said area as being the lower half of playoff clubs in the immediate future. This is a different concept than the 'future contender' rankings where the Flyers came up so short. As I see it, as the Flyers rise at least somewhat, other teams will fall, and that could potentially bring the Flyers to this "mushy middle" for longer than desired. Either way, there isn't anyone anywhere who is preemptively anointing the Flyers as Cup contenders in 2028 or thereabouts.

The good news is that the Flyers appear to have a plan in place, and the promising glimpses we've seen of newbies like Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink can help the club shoot up a list like this in short order if they continue their trajectories. And let's not forget that the Flyers currently own three picks in the first round of the 2025 draft, which could be franchise-altering if executed properly. The point is that the team's currently low ranking doesn't have to be a long-term thing, but it's up to the Flyers to bring themselves to the point where people take notice and regard them as a legitimate threat to make some noise.

People won't want to hear it just one month before the opening faceoff of the 2024-25 NHL season, but this is likely to be yet another down campaign for the Flyers, absent something otherworldly from Matvei Michkov. The Flyers can, however, maneuver themselves properly to finally bring the team out of the dark and grab everyone's attention soon. It'll take some luck along with shrewd moves. And the payoff will be worth the wait if things come to fruition.