The Philadelphia Flyers are going to have to make a trade and clear bodies from the winger position at some point in the near future, but, until then, they’re reportedly trying to cool the noise surrounding one player in particular.
Talented young forwards Tyson Foerster, Matvei Michkov, and Porter Martone figure to be three of the Flyers’ four top-six wingers of the future, which leaves room for only one more top dog.
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Travis Konecny, who is in the first year of his eight-year, $70 million ($8.75 million AAV) contract, is assured that final spot, almost by default, though he is coming off a career-best 76 points in 2024-25.
The odd men out, at least for the more premium roles on the team going forward, are going to be Owen Tippett and Bobby Brink.
Tippett, 26, has been the popular name in trade talks due to his rare combination of size and speed, his inconsistency, and a $6.2 million cap hit through 2031-32 on a contract that sees its modified no-trade clause kick in on July 1, 2026.
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But, Tippett quietly does have nine goals and 18 points in 26 games this season, which puts him on pace for 28 goals and a career-high 56 points. It’s not 40 or even 30 goals, no, but the Flyers apparently believe the former No. 10 pick has even more to give.
“I think the Flyers are trying to do everything they can to calm the noise around him. I think it’s bothered him a little bit. I think he’s definitely heard it,” NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said of Tippett in his latest episode of “32 Thoughts.”
“I think the Flyers are trying to say, ‘Look, this is not our doing.’ I do think the Canucks asked about him. I don’t think that’s going to be happening.”
The Canucks, of course, come into play based on the connections between them and first-year Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet, who coached a plethora of Vancouver players of interest to the Orange and Black, headlined by Quinn Hughes.
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Hughes to the Flyers is all crazy talk right now and would require the Flyers to pay up with an eye-watering package of futures, prospects, and young NHL players, and that would immediately bite them if Hughes were not to re-sign beyond 2027, when his current contract expires.
It is fascinating, though, that the finger-pointing towards Tippett has reached such a fever pitch that the Flyers have to go out of their way to tell the player the opposite is true, and that this information comes from the top NHL insider in Friedman.
Time will tell if the Flyers trade Tippett before his trade protection kicks in on July 1, if at all, but the situation is worth monitoring, especially if and when Martone arrives to squeeze his fellow winger off a featured role.
