The Philadelphia Flyers are heading into 2026-27 with a little less shine on them than they had after last season’s run.
MoneyPuck’s first set of projections has the Flyers at 43.1% to make the playoffs, a number that leaves them in the bottom half of the NHL and behind teams such as the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets, Buffalo Sabres, and Utah Mammoth. They do slot in near the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets, who sit at 42.2% and 41.9%, respectively.
The numbers don’t stop there. MoneyPuck gives Philadelphia a 20.1% shot at getting back to the second round, where they reached last year, along with a 9.2% chance of making the third round.
The Flyers are pegged at 4.3% to reach the Stanley Cup Final, 2% to win the Cup, and 6% to win the Metropolitan Division. On the points front, they’re projected for 93.4, which would be a five-point drop from the 98 they put up last season.
At first blush, the cautious outlook is easy to understand. Philadelphia’s offseason was mostly quiet, with Joseph Woll standing out as the biggest addition. The Flyers also made an attempt to land superstar center Leo Carlsson on an offer sheet, but outside of that, the only other notable pickup was veteran center Noel Acciari, who arrived from Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, some of the teams that missed the playoffs a year ago made much louder moves. Washington and New Jersey, in particular, added players like Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, Boone Jenner, Luke Evangelista, Anthony Mantha, and Evan Rodrigues.
That said, the Flyers do have some internal boosts of their own. A full season from Porter Martone and Tyson Foerster changes the look of the roster, while David Jiricek and Simon Benoit are both expected to offer more than Emil Andrae and Noah Juulsen did a year ago.
Woll also represents a major upgrade in goal over Sam Ersson, who finished his final season with the Flyers at 14-11-5 with a .870 save percentage.
There are reasons Philadelphia can feel better about its place than the projections suggest. Pittsburgh’s top players are getting older, and the Penguins are set to start with an unproven goaltending pair in Sergei Murashov and Arturs Silovs. Columbus, meanwhile, is dealing with distractions involving Zach Werenski, Adam Fantilli, and Kirill Marchenko, and defenseman Dante Fabbro will open the year on injured reserve.
A strong start would go a long way for the Flyers. If they come out quickly, they should start climbing past some of the teams ranked ahead of them.
In Other News...
Flyers Opening Night Roster Leaves One Early Season Concern
Opening night is here, and the Flyers have settled on their 23-man roster as the NHLs new season gets underway with a five-game slate Tuesday. Philadelphia made its final moves before the league deadline, adding Garrett Wilson to the active roster while also sorting out the last bits of roster business around a league calendar that featured other notable activity, including a six-player deal between Columbus and Toronto and new captains in San Jose and Boston.
For the Flyers, the most immediate concern is the personnel picture they carry into the opener. The club is still working with a roster that has already had to absorb an early injury absences before the first puck drop, which makes the margin for error a little thinner than ideal this time of year. Even with the lineup now officially set, opening night will offer the first real look at how Philadelphia plans to navigate those early-season cracks. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Fans Should Watch This Dylan Larkin Trade Twist
The Flyers went into the summer trying to make a real splash, but the biggest swing came up empty when Anaheim matched the offer sheet for Leo Carlsson. Philadelphia still addressed parts of the roster with Joseph Woll, Noel Acciari and prospect Porter Martone, yet those additions feel more like steady maintenance than the kind of move that changes the conversation around the team. In that kind of market, it makes sense that the Flyers have kept looking for ways to land a bigger-name center to reshape the lineup.
One of the names that has surfaced in that search is Dylan Larkin, and the fit is easy enough to understand from Philadelphias side. The club has explored trade possibilities involving players of that caliber, including discussions around packages built to get something done, but nothing has progressed to the finish line. For now, the Flyers are still waiting for the sort of deal that would bring more impact than depth, and Larkin remains one of the more interesting possibilities hanging out there. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Opening Night Puts Tocchets Biggest Trust Test Front And Center
The Flyers have settled on their opening night roster, and the bigger story is how the lineup is being organized around development as much as immediate results. Philadelphia has spent the buildup sorting out roles and responsibilities based on where each player is in his career arc, with young pieces being eased into bigger jobs while the veterans are expected to keep the group steady. It is the kind of reset that says as much about the coaches priorities as it does about the roster itself.
Matvei Michkov and David Jiricek sit near the center of that plan, even if their assignments are being handled with care. Michkov is part of the young core the Flyers want to keep moving forward, while Jiricek enters the season with the usual questions that come with a player still trying to earn full confidence at the NHL level. Around them, Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier are being leaned on for leadership and stability, and how well that balance holds could go a long way toward telling the Flyers how much trust they can build this fall. [Read more 🡒]