Rick Tocchet is keeping the door open for Denver Barkey to spend more time down the middle, and that could become a meaningful wrinkle for the Flyers as they sort out their center depth.
The conversation around Philadelphia’s center position has only grown louder after the team missed on Leo Carlsson to fill its top-line need. That leaves Trevor Zegras in line for a bigger workload in the middle, but the Flyers still need answers beyond that. Tocchet made clear that Barkey is part of the discussion.
“I thought Barks did a nice job (at center). It’s not like he was hemmed in.
Do I think he can be a centerman? Yeah, I do,” said Tocchet.
“We’ve got to figure out spots. It’s a puzzle.
But it’s nice as a coach when you have four, five or six options to play center. Now we have a guy that can play center; it does add to the options that I have.”
That kind of flexibility matters for a team that didn’t find many appealing center options in free agency. Philadelphia tried the offer sheet route with Carlsson, but once that push fell apart, Danny Briere moved on and decided to trust the roster already in place.
From the outside, that can look like a gamble. Inside the room, Tocchet and Briere appear comfortable leaning on their younger players.
Barkey’s sample at center in the regular season was small, but he got a real look in the second-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, and Tocchet liked what he saw. Barkey held his own against the eventual Stanley Cup champions.
At 5-foot-10 and 171 pounds, he doesn’t fit the classic mold for a center, but that hasn’t stopped players with similar size from making it work. Vincent Trocheck, for example, carved out a reputation as one of the game’s top face-off winners despite being under six feet.
There’s also a built-in reason Barkey could adapt quickly: center is not foreign territory for him. He came through the London Knights in the OHL as a center, so if Tocchet does increase those opportunities, Barkey won’t be starting from scratch.
He’s part of a bigger youth movement Philadelphia is counting on heading into the 2026-27 season. Porter Martone turned heads with a late-season burst, piling up 10 points in the final nine games to help push the Flyers into the playoffs. He enters the season as the favorite to win the Calder Trophy, which would be the first for a Flyers rookie.
Matvei Michkov is another major piece in the mix. After a disappointing sophomore year that included a playoff healthy scratch and a spot in Tocchet’s dog house, he attacked the offseason with a rigorous training program and is expected to try to make a leap in his third season. The Flyers are still waiting to see whether he can become a core part of the future and whether he merits a contract extension.
Add Barkey to that group, and the picture gets even more interesting. Whether he ends up at center or on the wing, he looks set to remain in the mix.
In Other News...
Flyers May Finally Have An Edge Over Boston Again
The Flyers spent the offseason trying to tighten the parts of their roster that have too often left them exposed, and the result is a group that looks more balanced on paper as it turns toward the 2026-27 season. Philadelphia addressed its goaltending and made a point of keeping key young pieces in place, which matters for a club trying to climb back into the Eastern Conference conversation rather than simply patch holes year to year.
Boston, meanwhile, did what the Bruins often do by adding scoring and reinforcing the blue line, but there were also departures that complicate the picture. The matchup between these two Original Six rivals still figures to be close, and the edge may be thinner than it has been in years, but for once the Flyers can at least make a legitimate case that the offseason nudged the balance their way. [Read more 🡒]
Noah Powell Enters A Crucial Flyers Season Without A Clear Role
Noah Powells move into pro hockey has already taken him on a winding path, from college and OHL stops to his first look with the Phantoms. The early signs were encouraging enough to show why the Flyers have reason to keep an eye on him, but like plenty of young forwards making the jump to the AHL, the adjustment has not been seamless. He has had moments that hint at real upside, and he has also had the kinds of stretches that remind everyone how steep the climb can be.
What makes this season so important is that the next step is less about raw talent than about clarity. The staff wants to see him settle into the AHL game and carve out a dependable identity, whether that ends up being as a hard-working checker or a more attack-minded forward. For a player still trying to define what he is at this level, the coming months should say a lot about where he fits in the Flyers longer-term picture. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Leave One Small Training Camp Battle Quietly Unsettled
With training camp approaching, the Flyers appear to be leaning toward a quieter, more internal look at the roster rather than adding outside competition on professional tryouts. It is a practical approach for a team trying to sort out its depth without cluttering the picture, especially with the preseason shortened and several battles likely to play out among players already in the organization.
Philadelphia could still alter course if the right opportunity surfaces, but for now the camp plan is centered on what the Flyers already have in house. Around the league, there has also been no shortage of unresolved business elsewhere, from Shane Wrights trade-request situation in Seattle to the surprise that Jake DeBrusk stayed put in Vancouver, reminders that this time of year often leaves just as many questions as answers. [Read more 🡒]