The Philadelphia Flyers finished last week with back-to-back wins, improving their record to 27–21–11 following the Olympic break. What storylines should fans make note of in the week ahead?
The Latest on the Flyers’ Trade Rumors
Trade deadline season has arrived, and the Flyers are poised to be sellers despite wins over the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins. Two big names have emerged: Rasmus Ristolainen and, more recently, Owen Tippett.
Ristolainen has been floating around in rumors for several seasons, but the speculation is real this time. With two years left on a reasonable $5.1 million cap-hit deal in a right-defense-needy market, there probably won’t be a better time to sell. The 31-year-old could return a small fortune, too.
Next, there’s Tippett. According to Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff, the Bruins have interest. However, he writes, “The Flyers aren’t looking to move the 27-year-old winger by any means but are open to discussions, though the price to get him out of Philadelphia would have to be significant.”
Other players who could be in the trade mix are Bobby Brink, Nicolas Deslauriers, Carl Grundström, and Noah Juulsen, simply due to their contracts expiring in the summer.
Flyers’ Playoff Odds After Back-to-Back Wins
The Flyers have won back-to-back games, with a particularly important one against the Bruins. Surely, they’re in the playoff hunt, right?
Related: Flyers’ Daniel Bove Hire Could Spell the Downfall of New Regime
Well, not quite. By the way things are going, the Orange and Black will need around 99 points to qualify for the postseason (it’s a very high bar this season). To do that, they’d need to have a record of approximately 16–6–1 over their final 23 contests, or in other words, put up 33 points.
Are the Flyers realistically capable of that? No, probably not. That’s especially the case if they’re sellers at the trade deadline. Hockey Stats’ model has Philadelphia’s playoff odds at 12%—just qualifying would take a borderline miracle.
Flyers Schedule March 2–8
| Date | Time (EST) | Opponent (Record) | Location |
| Monday, March 2 | 7:30 p.m. | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (27–24–9) | Scotiabank Arena |
| Thursday, March 5 | 7 p.m. | vs. Utah Mammoth (31–25–4) | Xfinity Mobile Arena |
| Saturday, March 7 | 5:30 p.m. | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (31–15–13) | PPG Paints Arena |
