This week, we’ll look at the Flyers’ likely Top six forwards to start the season, in no particular order.
Bobby Brink
(Last Season: 57 GP 11 G 12 A 23 P 10 PIM +1 +/- 13:48 TOI)
This past July, the Flyers agreed to a two-year extension with Bobby Brink paying him $3MM per season.
In his early Flyers career, which spanned parts of the past two years, Brink has 27 points in 37 career games, with most coming this past year.
Now, on his second contract, Brink has an idea of where he needs to improve as a player; based on what the Flyers told him, it’s not all on the ice.
On the Nasty Knuckles podcast, Brink recently said:
“I know where I need to get better, and we had a conversation about it. A lot of it came back to the gym and just being more explosive and being stronger, maybe, on pucks and that sort of thing. A lot of it was focused on the offseason. I knew it was an important offseason; still, as a younger player, there’s a lot I can improve, and we talked about that.”
The Flyers hope he can take the next step and add to his 23-point campaign this year.
Morgan Frost
(Last Season: 71 GP 13 G 28 A 41 P 22 PIM +4 +/- 15:50 TOI)
Going into the season, Frost is a big breakout candidate for the Flyers.
Frost totaled 41 points in 71 games last year. However, 30 of those points came in his final 44 contests.
Having played parts of five seasons for the Flyers, Frost has a total of 229 games to his credit. Before the 2022-23 season, Frost averaged about 0.3 points per game. Starting in the 2022 season, he’s averaged 0.57 points per game, nearly doubling his prior output with increased ice time and opportunities.
This year, he could also spend some additional time playing with the Flyers’ new weapon, Matvei Michkov, provided he can stay in Tortorella’s good graces. See more on Michkov and our Bottom 6 write-up here.
Frost is on the final year of a 2-year deal with a $1.5MM cap hit and will be looking for a pay raise in his next deal at the end of this season.
Owen Tippett
(Last Season: 78 GP 28 G 25 A 53 P 12 PIM -5 +/- 16:35 TOI)
Tippett, 25, started 2024 off with a new 8-year, $49.6MM contract extension ($6.2MM per year). It was important for the Flyers to lock him up long-term after he was a key piece in the Claude Giroux trade with the Florida Panthers in 2022, along with a 2024 first-round pick.
Luckily for the Flyers, Tippett jumped from a 0.35-point-per-game player with the Panthers to a 0.66-point-per-game average over the past two seasons (155 games) with the Flyers.
Tippett will be a core piece for the Flyers going forward and should slot in on the first two lines this year.
At the time of his contract extension during the season, Scott Laughton said of his teammate:
“You saw it last year, the way he uses his speed, especially from our own zone, I think he creates so much offense for us. He has been really good. He creates a ton of offense out of nothing, so it has been fun to watch. Big body which, skates well, physical, he brings it all. It’s going to be exciting to see what he becomes, but he’s starting to find the identity right now.”
Sean Couturier
(Last Season: 74 GP 11 G 27 A 38 P 29 PIM -10 +/- 17:49 TOI)
Couturier has been dealing with back issues from surgeries and injuries for a few years now and has struggled to regain his top-center form, most notably his scoring touch.
Couturier, a former Selke award winner for the league’s best defensive forward (2019), now has twelve years in the league, all for the Flyers. Before the 2017 season, Couturier was about a half-a-point per game player (0.52 points per game from 2013-2017). During the 2017 Season and for the next 276 games over parts of 4 seasons, Couturier hit another level, and his scoring went to almost a point-per-game player (0.91 points per game from 2017-2020).
Last Year, Couturier suited up for 74 games for the Flyers, giving them 0.51 points per game in an average of 17:49 ice time per night. In his prime, Couturier was logging north of 21 minutes per night, and that extra ice time adds up on the score sheet.
Some media outlets are saying Couturier is no longer an effective top-six forward.
The Flyers are hopeful that Couturier is far enough removed from injuries to return to the player they signed for $7.75MM in 2022. Couturier is now in year 3 of that 8-year deal.
Joel Farabee
(Last Season: 82 GP 22 G 28 A 50 P 37 PIM -13 +/- 16:11 TOI)
Despite a slump down the stretch, the 24-year-old winger posted career highs in scoring last season
For his part, Farabee has the right attitude, telling NBC Sports Philadelphia earlier this month:
“I think just as a hockey player, you always want your peers, this coaching staff, and management to want more from you. I don’t think anyone’s ever come out of a year saying, ‘I wish you would do less.’ I think for me, it’s just motivation. Obviously, I hope that the staff and the management believe in me as a player. I believe in winning here and being someone that can help the team win. I think my ability to play up and down the lineup helps me a lot,” Farabee said.
“So just being able to continue to do that and be more consistent, I know down the stretch, it gets a lot tougher with the games and things like that. But for me, just trying to be a guy that’s reliable and someone that can be out there, play both sides of the puck and try to help this team win.”
Despite versatile production and the right attitude this Flyers team needs right now, according to The Hockey News, Farabee is a Top Trade Candidate as the NHL season starts, saying:
“Considering that Farabee is a solid point producer and only 24 years old, many other teams would very likely express interest in him if the Flyers made him available. Furthermore, just this past season, the Syracuse, New York native posted new career highs with 22 goals, 28 assists, and 50 points in 82 games.”
We’ll have to see how the Flyers juggle their line combos to start the season, but a 24-year-old winger coming off career highs and giving you 50 points has the potential to be Top 6 player every night. Farabee enters the year on Year 3 of his 6-year contract with a $5MM annual cap hit.
Travis Konecny
(Last Season: 76GP 33G 35A 68P 67PIM +4 +/- 19:50 TOI)
Last but certainly not least, the latest Flyer was recently locked up for the long term.
Konecny inked an 8-year, $8.75MM extension earlier this offseason. The Flyers agreed to a full no-movement clause in the first six-years of the deal followed by a limited no-trade in the final two years, as reported by NBC Sports Philadelphia.
On signing the extension, Konecny said:
“One of the biggest things for me was I just wanted to get this over with and make sure that there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a Flyer for life. What we have been working toward and what I believe that this team can be, this is where I wanted to be. It was pretty easy for me to make the decision that I was going to stay here as long as possible.”
In eight years with the Flyers, Konecny has posted 400 points in 564 games.
Konecny, named to his second all-star game this past year, has matured as a leader and added:
“It’s always been an ambition to be a leader on the team,” Konecny said.
“Going into next season, I want to lead by example.”
Here’s another Flyer with the right attitude.
PHOTO: David Kirouac/Imagn Images
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