4 most surprising Philadelphia Flyers players in 2023-24

Travis Sanheim set career-highs across the board

Travis Sanheim has been a fixture with the Flyers for seven years, and he’s logged top-four minutes throughout most of his time in Philadelphia. But wow, talk about an epic points total here, as Sanheim reached double-digit goals for the first time in his career and 34 assists, both of which led to a career-high 44 points with a game remaining. 

Sanheim was so good he also shattered his previous career-highs in average total ice time, with 23:48 this season, nearly a full minute more than the 22:58 he attained in 2021-22. The extra ice time allowed Sanheim to further secure career-bests with 146 blocks, 91 hits, and 35 takeaways. What’s more is the fact he committed just 46 giveaways, which was nowhere near the highest of his seven-year career. 

Yes, all of the above are just basic stats, but they still indicate an overall improvement in Sanheim’s play. His advanced possession metrics may not be as impressive at even strength or 5-on-5, but he was still valuable on the power play and when the Flyers were short-handed. 

On the man advantage, Philadelphia scored 12 goals while he was on the ice, and they also snagged an incredible nine short-handed goals at 4-on-5. Overall, Sanheim’s play helped fuel what you can argue was the NHL’s most surprising team this season.