Owen Tippett has spent plenty of time as a talking point, and not always for the right reasons. Since arriving in Philadelphia as part of the return for Claude Giroux, he’s been measured against the price the Flyers paid - Tippett plus a first-rounder - and that kind of baggage tends to follow a player around.
The production has been there, even if it hasn’t always been loud enough to silence everybody. He opened his Flyers career with four goals and three assists in his first 21 games, then put together a first full season of 27 goals and 22 assists.
The year after that brought career highs of 28 goals and 25 assists. He followed it with what got labeled an “off year,” finishing with 20 goals and 23 assists on a team that was struggling during John Tortorella’s last season behind the bench.
Last season, with a new coach, he got back to 28 goals and 23 assists and again cleared the 50-point mark.
That’s the thing with Tippett: he’s not the flashiest player, but he keeps flashing real scoring ability. The problem, from the outside, is that people always seem to want the next level.
Twenty-eight goals turns into why not 30. Fifty points turns into why not 60.
And that frustration has been made worse by the Flyers’ constant churn in recent years. Injuries, transitions, and changing line combinations have all been part of the picture, and Tippett has had to keep adjusting without much of a stable runway.
He also brings speed, which makes him a tricky matchup when he’s right. But he’s streaky - very streaky.
He can start with something like four goals in three games and then disappear for the rest of the month. When he’s rolling, he looks dangerous.
When he’s not, he can get in his own head and press too hard.
That’s why he’s been such a frequent trade name over the last few seasons. Now, though, that chatter should be harder to sustain because the no-trade clause in his contract is kicking in.
And moving him would take a massive return. Unless a team is offering a top-line center who can anchor things for the next 10 years, dealing away a player who gives you 25-30 goals a season at $6.2 million doesn’t make much sense, especially with NHL salaries climbing this summer.
Maybe that’s why the most realistic outcome is the simplest one: the rumors cool off, Tippett stays put, and the Flyers keep benefiting from what he already does well. A boring 28-goal season and 40 assists would do just fine. He could help drive a playoff run and still leave people shrugging.
But there’s also a version of this where the Flyers’ younger talent changes the equation. With players like Porter Martone and Matvei Michkov drawing more attention, Tippett could wind up as the guy opponents lose track of.
If that happens, he becomes a dangerous sniper in a different way. Thirty or even 40 goals wouldn’t feel out of reach.
And if the scoring load shifts toward the younger names around him, Tippett may finally get the kind of runway that lets him flourish. Less pressure, more space, more chances to pile up career highs. That would be good news for Tippett, and even better news for the Flyers.
In Other News...
Matvei Michkov May Be Missing Something About Philadelphia
Matvei Michkov has already given Flyers fans a glimpse of his personality, and his latest comment about Philadelphia being short on Russian bathhouses fits that mold. It was the kind of offhand remark that says as much about a player settling into a new city as it does about the city itself, especially for someone trying to make a home in a place with a very different rhythm, culture and daily routine than the one he left behind.
The wrinkle is that the bathhouse situation may not be quite what Michkov thinks it is. There are Russian bathhouses in the Greater Northeast and Lower Bucks area, including Southampton Spa, which makes this sound less like a real civic drawback and more like a simple gap in knowledge, or maybe just a player still learning the geography of his new surroundings. For the Flyers, it is a small but amusing reminder that sometimes acclimating to Philadelphia means discovering what is already tucked away just beyond the neighborhood lines. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Fans Now Know How Theyll Follow The 2026-27 Season
Flyers fans finally have the map for how theyll watch and listen through the 2026-27 season, as the team and its local broadcast partners laid out the full television and radio plans. NBC Sports Philadelphia will remain the main TV home, with coverage set to begin Oct. 3, while the Flyers Broadcast Network on radio stays anchored by 97.5 The Fanatic and its familiar pregame and postgame setup.
The broader picture is one of continuity for a fan base that has come to rely on the same local voices and platforms across the long season grind. Most of the action will live on NBC Sports Philadelphia, with the rest handled through the clubs radio side, and the schedule also includes a few showcase moments that will reach an even wider local audience. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Rookie Camp Is Already Creating A Tough Prospect Debate
The Flyers 2026 rookie camp is already doing what these gatherings are supposed to do: making the organization sort through its prospects before the real competition begins. With the training window shortened, every shift carries a little more weight, and a few young players have started separating themselves in ways that matter to the people watching closely. Cole Knuble drew attention with a promising showing in the Rookie Series, while goalie Carson Bjarnason entered camp coming off a mixed last season but showed better form in a recent game against the Rangers.
Devin Kaplan, meanwhile, has been quieter as he works his way back into the mix after injury, which only sharpens the debate over who is ready to push for a bigger look next. For a Flyers group that wants to see development turn into decisions, rookie camp has already become less about participation and more about comparison, with one prospect building momentum and another still trying to close the gap. [Read more 🡒]