Next up in our fantasy team preview series are the Philadelphia Flyers. It is going to be a long, long year for Flyers fans.
This preview might be deeper if it covered who left Philadelphia versus who remains. James Van Riemsdyk, and Anthony DeAngelo left via free agency. They traded Kevin Hayes to St. Louis for a 6th-round pick.
The big move was trading Ivan Provorov in a three-team deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings. The Flyers acquired Cal Peterson, Sean Walker, and defensive prospect, Helge Grans. They also acquired Los Angeles’ 1st round pick in 2023 (Oliver Bonk), Los Angeles’ 2024, 2nd round pick, and a 2024, 2nd or 3rd round pick from Columbus. Not a bad haul.
The Flyers should battle the San Jose Sharks for the best lottery odds in the 2024 draft. They drafted a big piece of their future two months ago in Matvei Michkov. Adding a Cole Eiserman or Macklin Celebrini would go a long way in helping this rebuild move forward.
There aren’t a lot of exciting, high-end fantasy hockey options to discuss. There are some intriguing pieces though.
2023 Philadelphia Flyers Team Preview
Flyers Forwards
Travis Konecny is the best fantasy option the Flyers have to offer, period. He’s a strong option in every type of fantasy hockey pool. Whether it be points, rotisserie, or multi-cat, he provides good value in all formats.
The supporting cast around Konecny is young. The youth movement is in full effect in Philadelphia. With youth comes inconsistency. Konecny should be the most consistent fantasy forward for the Flyers. Coming off a point-per-game season (61 in 60), he is a reasonable bet to break 70 and take a run at another point-per-game campaign.
Konecny could get a boost toward repeating if Sean Couturier is healthy. After missing 2022-2023 with injury, the expectation is he will be ready to go for opening night. Before the injury, Couturier was as consistent as they come. He was a lock for 70 points. After this much time missed, it will be difficult to think he can jump back in and pick up where he left off.
Cam Atkinson, is also returning from a significant injury (neck/tricep). Like Couturier, it is hard to put a point total on a player returning form such a signifiant injury. At 34, it seems unlikely he will nudge past 50 points.
The real intrigue arrives with the youth movement. Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, and Noah Cates, all carry sleeper value. Noah Cates came out of nowhere last year to drop 43 points. It will be interesting to see if he can build on this. Frost has been a prospect darling for years. It has taken him longer to hit than expected. For this reason, interest in him has waned.
Tippett might be the biggest wildcard of the three. Touted as a natural goal scorer in his draft year, he sniped 27 in 2022-2023. He is a dark horse to score 35 this year.
There’s one more player worth mentioning. This is a hunch more than anything I can back up with statistics. In fact, statistics don’t support Joel Farabee as a breakout candidate at all. Regardless, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s about to pop. If he does, I told you so. If he doesn’t – there was no supportable reason to believe me to begin with. Fifty-five is not out of the question.
Flyers Defenseman
This should be a fun battle.
At first glance, Cam York appears destined to run the power-play. He responded to his demotion to the AHL by John Tortorella the right way. He went down and went to work. When he was recalled he had made all the corrections to his game Tortorella had asked for.
Yet, he’s young and doesn’t shoot much. Tortorella demands a lot from his players and more from his defenseman. Nothing will be handed to him. He may not stick with the first power play unit this year.
Travis Sanheim might be given the reigns in camp. he sits at 416 games played. For NHL defensemen, the 400-game threshold is where most break out if they do.
Managers should be happy if either hits 40 points. Neither will lead a team to a fantasy hockey title. In one-year fantasy hockey leagues, you shouldn’t draft either unless you’re in a deep pool. York is by far the better dynasty player. It is only a matter of time before he is running the Flyers’ power play.
Rasmus Ristolainen has really fallen off the map. A former 50-point threat, his offensive game has dried up. In multi-cat leagues, he’s still a hits and block monster.
Flyers Goalies
Carter Hart has gone from the next Carey Price to a ‘what could have been.’ There’s still plenty of time for Hart to live up to the hype that accompanied him into the NHL. That time isn’t now. It will be a long year for Hart. No matter how well he plays, the defense in front of him is not strong. He will benefit from the structure of a Tortarella system. This won’t translate into wins.
His backup might be the oddest acquisition of any team this summer. There are several teams in need of a goalie more than the Flyers. Thus, acquiring Peterson is a bit of a head-scratcher. Perhaps the Flyers know something we don’t know. The Kings signed him to that three-year, five-million dollar contract expecting him to become their number one goalie. There’s talent there.
Things get more complicated with the return of goalie prospect, Ivan Fedotov. Recently called, the best goalie not in the NHL. Yet, he’ll start the year in the AHL.
I don’t recommend drafting or owning a Flyers goalie this year, unless desperate. There’s a lot of underlying goalie intrigue in Philadelphia.
In summary, Travis Konecny is the primary fantasy hockey option the Flyers have to offer. Everyone else is a late-round, uh… flyer. They have several players with breakout potential. If you draft any of them expect hot and cold streaks. Young players are often inconsistent. They would be better suited as mid-season streaming options rather than late-round options.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it and found this useful as you prep for your draft.
Give me a follow on twitter @doylelb4; where you’ll find as many hiking musings as you will fantasy hockey.
Make sure to check out all of our Fantasy Hockey Team Previews as they roll out over the coming weeks!