Almost a quarter of the way through the 2025-26 season, it’s becoming clearer that the Philadelphia Flyers are still a far cry from the Stanley Cup-contending team they aspire to be.
Yes, the Flyers are in a playoff spot at the time of this writing, but they’re also two points away from being the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference.
Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers have too much talent to lay dormant forever, though injuries are certainly taking their tolls on those teams.
And, when it comes to tiebreakers, the Flyers are tied with Buffalo for the fewest regulation wins (4) and have the second-fewest regulation and overtime wins (5).
If the team isn’t currently thinking about the postseason, they’d be in the right frame of mind.
The Flyers aren’t a bad team, necessarily, but they are painstakingly boring and still haven’t found a way to consistently generate offense.
In the Rick Tocchet era thus far, the Flyers are dead last in the NHL in shots per game (24.6), tied for the third-fewest goals per game (2.56), and more generally have seen very little improvement from many of their core players.
Franchise player Matvei Michkov is at the heart of those issues, and it’s not all his fault.
At 5-on-5, Michkov, 20, leads the Flyers in on-ice goals for per 60 minutes (3.15) and on-ice shooting percentage (12.05%) and ranks second in on-ice goals percentage (58.82%) and expected on-ice goals for per 60 (2.63), according to Natural Stat Trick.
The problem, however, is that Michkov is averaging just 11:55 a night at 5-on-5, which ranks ninth on the Flyers behind Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, Owen Tippett, Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, Christian Dvorak, Trevor Zegras, and Bobby Brink.
To put all of that information into layman’s terms, the Flyers are generating and scoring the most with their Russian talisman on the ice, but he’s barely playing third-line minutes.
And to wrap it up, Michkov is sixth in scoring amongst his 2023 draft classmates, while players like Leo Carlsson, Connor Bedard, and Will Smith have all taken off this season with 17 or more points. Michkov, on the other hand, is stuck at nine points and pacing for 47 on the year.
After hot starts, Foerster and Tippett have all but faded into obscurity, too.
The former, returning from an 11-day layoff due to injury, has managed just one goal and one point in his last five contests.
Foerster is on pace for 46 points, narrowly besting his career-high of 43 from last year, despite playing nearly two minutes more on average going from 16:52 a night to 18:24.
If the 23-year-old continues to feature exclusively as a checking-line forward, then he’ll only ever be a checking-line forward who doesn’t reach his full potential offensively. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
As for Tippett, his game has completely stalled out after scoring five times in the first six games of the season. Since then, he has one assist in his last 10 games.
Tocchet admitted recently that Tippett needs to “stay a little bit more focused in the game,” but Tippett immediately went offside on what would’ve been a game-winning Konecny goal with 26 seconds left in a 1-1 game against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.
That goal, of course, didn’t stand, and the Flyers lost 2-1 in overtime on an unfortunate and uncharacteristic error from Cam York.
Zegras’s point-per-game pace and Konecny’s resurgence are things to be happy with, as is Dan Vladar’s .919 save percentage.
As for the young players, and the ones who didn’t just arrive in Philadelphia this summer? It hasn’t been perfect.
York and Jamie Drysdale look improved, but, as mentioned above, York did just lose them a game with a turnover, and Drysdale’s game still lacks end product with seven points in 16 games.
Rookie forward Nikita Grebenkin, who has flashed promise and his playmaking chops at various times throughout the nascent season, didn’t even play against the Oilers on Wednesday night.
That came at the cost of 6:59 of ice time for Nick Deslauriers, 7:50 of ice time for Garnet Hathaway, and 6:21 of ice time for Rodrigo Abols, who also went 0-for-5 on faceoffs.
Overall, the way the Flyers are developing their current players and the direction of the rebuild overall has clearly taken a downward turn.
Whether that is temporary or not remains to be seen, and the sky isn’t falling.
As far as reinvigorating interest and excitement in the Flyers? The progress amongst the fans, at least those with voices on social media, has been inscrutable.
“We’ve got to be better, plain and simple. There’s no excuse for where we are right now. We need to hold ourselves accountable and make the necessary changes, because this isn’t acceptable.”
— Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres Forward
Buffalo Sabres fans, brace yourselves: change is coming. After yet another brutal defeat — a 5-2 loss to Utah followed by a 6-2 drubbing by the Colorado Avalanche — it’s clear that this team is nowhere near the contender they were supposed to be this season. And for fans who’ve waited 14 years for a playoff spot, the latest string of losses is a hard pill to swallow. With Buffalo’s record now at a dismal
Sabres in Crisis Mode: A Season on the Brink
The loss to the Avalanche capped off a disastrous five-game losing streak, with
The truth is, the Sabres have been in this situation for far too long. The fans are fed up, and even the players are starting to admit what’s been painfully obvious:
The End of the Line for Adams and Ruff?
At this point, there is no denying that accountability must fall on both
As Tuch stated, “There’s no excuse for where we are right now.” The Sabres have been left behind in a rapidly advancing NHL, and with another playoff-less season on the horizon, it’s time for ownership to act.
The Roster Shake-Up: Who’s Safe and Who’s Not?
But it’s not just the front office and coaching staff that needs to change. With this current Sabres team showing no signs of getting it together, nearly
The Sabres need to shed their past — and that means moving out players who aren’t contributing to the rebuild. It’s a painful reality, but every player needs to be held accountable for this team’s continued failure. It’s no longer about potential or promises — it’s about delivering results, and if you’re not part of the solution, you’ll be part of the problem.
Buffalo’s Road to Redemption: How to Fix the Sabres?
So, what now for Buffalo? The road to redemption starts with tough decisions. Kevyn Adams will need to make bold moves to reshape the roster, bringing in fresh talent to bolster the lineup. The Sabres’ defense needs a complete overhaul, and the goaltending situation is looking more desperate by the day. The team can no longer afford to let mediocrity slip by — it’s time to build a playoff-caliber team, and the clock is ticking.
This won’t be an easy fix, but with the right moves, Buffalo could finally start to dig itself out of this hole. The fans deserve a competitive team, and the Sabres owe it to themselves to deliver.
Can the Sabres Turn It Around?
There’s no sugar-coating it — the Sabres’ current path is not sustainable. Another year of misery for Buffalo fans will simply not do. As the Sabres face the harsh reality of their worst season in recent memory, one thing is clear: the status quo cannot continue. The front office and coaching staff need to make bold, immediate changes. The future of the Buffalo Sabres depends on it.
The time for change is now — and for the first time in years, it feels like the Sabres have no choice but to start fresh.