Last season, there was a lot of speculation about the Flyers and their star player, Travis Konecny. Would he re-sign with the team? Would he be traded to a contender and flipped for top prospects and/or draft picks? Would he walk when his contract is up? Would he demand a trade?
Flyers' faithful breathed a sigh of relief when he signed an eight-year contract last year just before he headed into his final contract season. No more did we have to worry if he would stay or go. He was committed to the Flyers and the team was committed to him. To be honest with you, it's looking as if that $8.75 million might be a bargain now.
Konecny's Monster Year
Konecny has appeared in all 46 games so far. He has not been hurt, banged up, or injured. As a result, you are seeing his name on the stat sheets constantly. He leads the team with 20 goals; seven more than Matvei Michkov. Likewise, his 33 assists are ahead of Michkov's 19. Overall, Konecny has 53 points. That puts him in a tie for 10 in the league; but a far distant cry from Nathan McKinnon's league-leading 72.
This is the fifth time in his nine-year career that Konecny has reached the 50-point barrier. The beauty is this is just the halfway point of the season.
Konecny's career-high of goals was set last year at 33. This is the sixth year that he has scored at least 20 goals. Thirteen goals for the rest of the season are probably reachable. Not only that, there is no reason to think he can't hit 40 if he gets hot. He is also just six assists shy of tying his career record. The other night, he tallied four. Last season, he set a career-high of 68 points. Barring an injury, there is no reason why he can't get 70, 80, or even 90 points this season.
A few years ago, Konecny was on the bench and frustrated. His coach, Alain Vigneault couldn't unlock his potential and blamed him for the Flyers' playoff failures in 2020. Since then, John Tortorella has been able to turn Konecny into a rising star in this league. Noah Cates has been hot as of late, in part because Tortorella sticks with him. Maybe if some of the other guys on the team can pay attention (Morgan Frost, I'm looking at you...), maybe the team can start pounding out some wins.
Either way, Konecny's contract looks like a bargain at this point. I'm glad we get to see him flying down our ice for the next eight years.