With the NHL set to resume on the 22nd of February, the Philadelphia Flyers don’t have much to play for in the final 25 games of the regular season but that doesn’t mean the final stretch is unimportant with several players looking to finish the year on a high note.
Sitting with a 24-26-7 record, the Flyers technically have a chance at making the playoffs considering they’re just 6 points back of the second Wild Card spot but it’s a goal that will be very unlikely with the trade deadline coming up and a grueling March schedule on tap.
After having already traded Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, players like Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen could be next as the Flyers look towards the offseason and beyond for major changes. They own 7 picks in the first two rounds and Daniel Brière has been on record stating that he’s looking for his 1C.
With that in mind, there are still a few players that are going to be looking to finish the 2024-25 season on a high note like goaltender Samuel Ersson, rookie forward Matvei Michkov, and pending RFA defenseman Cam York.
SAMUEL ERSSON
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Ersson is entrenched as the number one goalie and head coach John Tortorella has never wavered from that stance despite some early struggles. Alexei Kolosov and Ivan Fedotov made his decision a lot easier with their hiccups in goal but Tortorella has been adamant that he wants Ersson to get used to a starter’s workload, hence his heavy workload despite a few injuries along the way.
On the season, the 25-year-old has posted a 16-10-3 record with 2 shutouts, a 2.81 GAA, and a .896 SV% – numbers that are in line with his young career statistics of a 45-32-10 record, 7 shutouts, 2.85 GAA, and a .893 SV%.
He started off the season with a 5-2-2 record, a 2.30 GAA, and a .902 SV% before struggling in the month of December after going through a 6-game stretch where he posted a .810 SV% and a 4.00 GAA. He’s bounced back admirably since then as he took a 9-4-1 record into the break with an even better .920 SV% and having allowed just 30 goals in 14 games.
Ersson played some memorable games which included a 39-save performance in a losing effort against Utah that led Tortorella to admit that it was the best goaltending performance he had ever seen. Other strong performances included a 30-save effort in a loss to Colorado and three 30+ save victories against Anaheim, New Jersey, and Pittsburgh.
The crease is his and he doesn’t have much competition from Fedotov, but a strong finish would do wonders for his confidence heading into a contract season in 2025-26. He will be an RFA at the end of the 2026 season but what should also help is that the Flyers haven’t made any inclinations that they are expecting to make a goaltending switch in the near future.
We’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in Ersson’s young NHL career. Last year in particular was a roller coaster ride after Carter Hart’s dismissal from the organization. Ersson served admirably as his backup with a 12-5-3 record, a .911 SV%, and just 45 goals allowed in 20 games.
After that it was a completely different story as he ended the year with an 11-14-4 record, a .876 SV%, and 87 goals allowed in 31 games. A major part of his slide was due to the fact that he played almost every game down the stretch with the Flyers unable to rely on Cal Petersen or Felix Sandström behind him.
With the Flyers’ surprising playoff spot loosening near the end of the season, Ersson’s play didn’t help in any way as he posted a 3-6-2 record, .835 SV%, and 43 goals in 12 games during the most crucial stretch. Not to mention that he was pulled 4 times and had a save percentage below 80% on 5 occasions.
He played in 31 of the team’s final 37 games and it was very evident that the rookie had run out of gas. However, with the aforementioned goaltenders floundering at the NHL level and Fedotov thrusted into an unenviable position straight from the KHL, the Flyers almost had no choice but to run him into the ground as they tried to protect their playoff position.
As for the final stretch of the 2025 calendar season, Ersson will be relied upon heavily especially during a 16-game month of March. A strong finish will go a long way for the confidence of player and team as they enter a very important offseason.
MATVEI MICHKOV
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Similarly to Ersson, Michkov doesn’t have anything to necessarily prove but a strong finish will go a long way for the rookie forward. After a strong start to his NHL career, Michkov has tailed off and the final 25 games will be crucial to regaining his confidence and offensive finishing abilities.
After scoring 11 goals and 27 points in his first 27 games, Michkov has since just tallied 5 goals and 9 points in 28 games. His plus/minus went from a +5 to a -20 and his ice time has been slashed by 2 whole minutes.
Tortorella has benched the rookie phenom several times and even got into a heated argument with him during a loss to the New York Islanders, but according to the head coach it’s all apart of the process of getting him acclimated to the North American game.
A lot of the discourse has surrounded his stamina considering the KHL season doesn’t run as long as the NHL’s. The most he’s ever played in one season was a combined 48 games when he suited up once for SKA St. Petersburg and 47 with HC Sochi last year.
He looks a little slow out there and his skating legs are non-existent most of the time, but his offensive abilities have not disappeared despite his scoring struggles. While being benched and having his ice time slashed, Michkov has also ended up playing with several different linemates with the Flyers changing their combinations quite often.
While the lack of consistency is one thing, he’s also been skating with some lesser offensively capable players that has led to his struggles and the power play has once again gone to back to it’s disastrous ways.
The hope is that the 4 Nations Face-Off break will give him the rest and reset that he needs to finish off his rookie campaign strong. He might not be the favourite for the Calder Trophy anymore but just finding his game again, getting in sync with the coaching staff, and finding his scoring touch will be more than crucial for both player and team.
Building chemistry and confidence will be paramount but it will all depend on how Tortorella deploys him the rest of the way. Before the break, Michkov saw 18:56 ATOI in the final two games but that was coming off the heels of a 21-game stretch where he averaged 14:07.
Will Tortorella let him loose in the final 25 games of the season? Will Michkov see upwards of 18 minutes a night like he did back in October and November? And will Michkov get back to his more gifted linemates like Travis Konecny?
All those questions will be answered soon enough but they do hold the key in a confident finish for the 20-year-old.
CAM YORK
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York hasn’t had a bad season by any stretch of the imagination, however it wasn’t the step forward we were looking for after a career-year last season.
The 24-year-old defenseman was expected to be the anchor heading into the 2024-25 season alongside Travis Sanheim but things haven’t gone as planned, and during a contract season every detail matters.
What’s working in his favour is the salary cap is projected to keep rising at $95.5 million next year, $104 million the year after, and $113.5 million the year after that. Some of his counterparts have already signed long-term deals, which might’ve initially put some pressure on both the Flyers and York, however the increasing salary cap dampened the situation ever so slightly.
York won’t come close to the $8.5 million that Brock Faber earned from Minnesota or the $8.05 million that Jake Sanderson got from Ottawa. However figuring in the salary cap hike, he could come close, especially if he finishes the year with a lot more gumption.
His offensive numbers are down to just 4 goals and 13 points across 43 games after notching 10 goals and 30 points in a full 82 game campaign last year. He had done even better the year before with 20 points in just 54 games but his offensive touch has been inconsistent at best.
He finally earned power play time last year but for whatever reason the Flyers haven’t used him at all this year as he has just 6.3 minutes played with the extra man. Points are going to be hard to come by without power play minutes even with the Flyers’ disastrous man advantage and considering his skills, it’s a misstep from the coaching staff to keep him off.
He is still averaging over 21 minutes a night, owns an even rating, and has 84 blocked shots. The Flyers haven’t had to rely on him as much as they did in the final stretch of the 2023-24 season and the early portions of 2024-25 due to the resurgence of Rasmus Ristolainen, the dependability of Nick Seeler, and the improved play of Jamie Drysdale of late.
York is still an important piece to the Flyers’ back-end and future but a strong finish to the season would solidify that in the eyes of player and front-office. Earning a long-term contract should be his priority but if he remains inconsistent to the final game, it will become an even tougher decision for Brière and company.
If things don’t pick up or he seemingly struggles with consistency, there will be a lot more questions than answers once contract negotiations pick up and the Flyers try to steer towards a path of trying to figure out their core players.
A strong finish to the season is more important for York than the aforementioned duo of Ersson and Michkov. If he can find his game, become the dependable force on the back-end that the Flyers desperately need, and finds his offensive game under Tortorella and company, then we are in for a smooth ride.
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