The Flyers have spent 59 years waiting for a rookie to finally bring home the Calder Trophy. They’ve come close plenty of times, but never close enough to end the drought.
Matvei Michkov was the latest near miss, leading all rookies with 26 goals in the 2023-24 season before finishing fourth in the voting. Before him, Bill Barber, Ron Hextall and Shayne Gostisbehere each finished second, which remains the franchise’s best result in Calder balloting.
A long list of Flyers has cracked the top five over the years - Doug Favell, Andre Lecroix, Bobby Clarke, Mel Bridgman, Behn Wilson, Pete Peeters, Brian Propp, Pelle Lindbergh, Dave Poulin, Pelle Eklund, Eric Lindros, Mikael Renberg, Janne Niinimaa, Simon Gagne, Matt Read and Michkov - but the hardware has never landed in Philadelphia.
That could change in 2026-27, and early odds already have Porter Martone at the center of the conversation. Per FanDuel Sportsbook, the Flyers rookie is the current favorite at +250, just ahead of Toronto Maple Leafs No. 1-overall pick Gavin McKenna at +270. San Jose Sharks 2nd-overall pick Ivar Stenberg sits next at +700, followed by Chicago Blackhawks 2025 3rd-overall pick Anton Frondell and Washington Capitals defenseman Cole Hutson, both at +900.
Martone’s case starts with the way he handled his first NHL action. The Brampton (OHL) and Michigan State (NCAA) product joined the Flyers for their final nine-game postseason push and put up 4 goals and 10 total points. The jump looked manageable from the start.
Then came playoff hockey. Martone opened that run in a revived Flyers-Penguins rivalry and recorded 2 goals and an assist for 3 points in a six-game series. He followed that with 2 more assists against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, finishing the postseason with 5 points in 10 games.
It was a packed year for Martone before the Flyers ever leaned on him in the NHL. He played for Canada at the World Championships before the 2025 NHL Draft, spent a full season at Michigan State, captained Canada at the World Juniors, and then closed the year back at the men’s World Championships after Philadelphia’s postseason ended.
Now the focus shifts to 2026-27, and the Calder race figures to demand more than just promise. The last five winners - Schaefer, Hutson, Bedard, Beneiers and Sieder - all finished their rookie seasons with at least 50 points.
The last three were all at 59 or better. Kirill Kaprizov, with 51 points in the shortened 56-game 2020-21 season, is the only winger to win the award in the last 10 years.
That matters because the early front-runners are all wingers. Martone, McKenna and Stenberg are all natural scorers, but the award usually rewards more than raw talent. Playmaking could give McKenna and Stenberg an edge in that department, while Martone’s value will come from how often he can put the puck in the net.
For Martone, the number to watch may be 30 goals. That kind of finish would create a real separation in a field that figures to be loaded with rookies. In the current Flyers group, only Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier have hit that mark twice, and since 2015 the only other Flyers to do it are Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds.
The last rookie to win the Calder with 30 or more goals was Auston Matthews, who finished with 40.
Martone’s early NHL sample suggests the ceiling is there. He scored 4 goals in 9 games in 2025-26, a pace that would project to 37 goals over an 84-game 2026-27 season. If he can keep that kind of scoring touch while McKenna and Stenberg adjust to the North American pro game, the Flyers may finally have their first Calder Trophy winner.
In Other News...
Flyers Fans Can Already See The Debate Around This Scoring Gamble
Patrik Laines next NHL stop is already shaping up to be a fascinating one, and the conversation around him is starting well before any real decision point arrives. After the only public link for a while was the Islanders professional tryout offer, reports now suggest a wider market is forming, with multiple teams around the league keeping an eye on the winger as the 2026-27 season comes into view.
For Philadelphia, the appeal is easy to understand. Laine still brings the kind of scoring upside that can tempt a front office looking for a jolt, but his injury history is exactly what makes the discussion complicated. Because he could fit a performance-based contract structure, the Flyers and other interested clubs may see a chance to chase offense without making a full-bore commitment, even if the eventual debate is going to be just how much risk they are willing to carry. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers May Soon Face A Matvei Michkov Contract Debate
The Flyers have already shown with their recent Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale deals that they are willing to pay for young talent when they believe the fit is right. Both contracts came in at significant cap hits and underscored a simple truth around the league: if a team wants to keep promising players in place, it often has to buy into their upside before the market gets even more expensive.
That is where Matvei Michkov enters the conversation. Philadelphia has generally been more cautious than clubs like the Canadiens and Hurricanes, who locked up key young pieces on eight-year deals before those players fully broke out, but the pressure to keep pace is only going to grow. If Michkov continues on his current path, the Flyers may soon have to decide whether their usual approach still makes sense in a market that keeps rewarding early commitment. [Read more 🡒]
Danny Briere Is Driving The Flyers Back Into The Fight
The Flyers push back into the postseason has a familiar feel to anyone who remembers Danny Brieres own days in orange and black. Now in the general managers chair, the former Mr. Playoffs has been shaping a roster that looks built to matter again, and the payoff showed up in a 2025-26 season that ended with Philadelphia third in the Metropolitan Division and back in the bracket.
There was real validation in the first round, when the Flyers knocked off the Penguins and gave their fans a reminder of what October and beyond can feel like. The run stopped in the next round against Carolina, but Brieres work has already changed the conversation around the franchise, especially after bold additions such as Trevor Zegras in 2025 signaled a front office willing to swing for more than just respectability. [Read more 🡒]