What Is Behind the Philadelphia Flyers Resurgence?
Coming into the 2023-24 season, the Philadelphia Flyers’ franchise finally appeared to be heading in the right direction regarding planning for the future and the long-term success of the team. The Flyers’ fanbase expected for the present to be a struggle as the development of young talent was taking place but with the end goal in the back of their minds. This change of mindset was a breath of fresh air for the franchise with new general manager Danny Briere taking over the helm, who replaced former general manager Chuck Fletcher. Under Fletcher, the Flyers were known for making the big offseason signings and trade deadline deals with a focus on win-now. However, that philosophy didn’t pan out well during Fletcher’s five-year tenure with Philadelphia.
The Flyers finished with a record of 141-145-43 for 325 points in Fletcher's 329 games in charge, good for 21st place in the NHL at that point in terms of points percentage (. 494). The Flyers only managed to make the postseason once during Fletcher’s tenure, in which they were bounced by the New York Islanders in the second round of the 2019-20 season. The lack of success during Fletcher’s time with the franchise was in large part due to the team’s inability to score efficiently, their poor performance playing 5-on-5 and their lackluster penalty kill success rate. In four of the five seasons under Fletcher, the Flyers ended each season having given up more goals against than goals scored on the year.
A major turning point in the revival of the Flyers was the hiring of head coach John Tortorella before the 2022-23 season. During Tortorella's first season with Philadelphia, the season didn’t end well with the team finishing 7th in the Metropolitan Division and having a (31-38-13) record for 75 points. This poor result came after a hot start to the regular season in which the team had won seven of their first 12 games but would precede to lose 10 straight in the course of the season. Despite this disappointing start to Tortorella’s tenure in Philadelphia, there was a sense within the fanbase and clubhouse that the future was looking bright.
Three months into the 2023-24 campaign, the Flyers have jolted back into the playoff picture for the first time in three years as they occupy the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 19-13-6 record for 44 points. A vital factor for Philadelphia’s success has been their 5-on-5 performance and penalty kill as well. Entering action on Thursday, the Flyers have one of the league’s best penalty-kill percentages (85.34%), which is well above the league average of (79.57%). During 5-on-5 action, the Flyers sit in the middle of the pack (15th) of even-strength goals (87), which is an improvement from last season as they ranked in the bottom half (23rd) in the 2022-23 season.
This season, Tortorella has felt more at ease with implementing a more aggressive playstyle into his squad’s identity. This comes after beginning his tenure with the Flyers last season primarily getting back to the basic fundamentals that the team had been having notable struggles with. This switch to a more physical style has led to his team being one of the league’s best on the rush after typically being a dump-and-chase team. This change in identity has allowed the Flyers’ younger players to have benefited from the adjustment and have been able to flourish. After a difficult stretch of head-scratching hockey performance over the past few seasons, the Flyers and their fanbase have reason to hope that they have reached the other side of the rainbow with entertaining hockey to come.
