Also this.

The McDavid / Matthews Fund

Woll is the biggest X factor of the whole year to me. Not only do I think he could have a big bounce back, I wonder if he could really challenge Vladar and act as a rising tide that lifts them both. That said, I came to that +20 number based on the 1/3 of Ersson starts where he allowed 4+ goals

I want to see Drysdale jump to 40+ points. There were only 7 D <26 y/o in the NHL who did it last year. I want to see him push his way into that group. If the PP can get right and he's a part of that success, he'll be right in the mix. He had more PP TOI than Faber and Byram.

This tidbit from today’s episode of Flyers Daily was super interesting to me. I fully expected Tyson Foerster to sit at the top of the list of hardest shots taken by a Flyer in the POs. What I didn’t expect to see was Jamie Drysdale so close behind. 👀

The Showman.

Oh, I see now. Thank you! Looks like Ellis from DFO loved his camp. Hope he has a big year! And always want as many Flyers at WJC as possible, if only to entertain me during the holiday break.

Left: Michkov Flyers at Training Camp / Sept. '25 Right: Michkov at "Match of the Year" / July '26 Safe to say Matvei has lost a few lbs. He looks younger now than he did a year ago!

+10 pts would’ve landed the Metro at CAR 113 PHI 108 PIT 98 Much more reflective of how the playoffs shook out when BUG wasn’t a factor. 🤔 Also more reflective of a Flyers team with Foerster and Martone, not to mention the PO versions of Risto and Couturier, who weren’t nearly as impactful in RS.

I have MM39 at RW here, but on PP I think he's better at LW! (ducks) Matvei likes this path on PP where he can work from behind the net on his forehand and draw defenders to open up mult. passing options or his favorite: the point shot across his body to the short side. Tip is basically a decoy.

If this is the Flyers roster we can expect come Sept., I took a crack at potential PP units. 🧵 Refresher: 2026 Playoff PP Units PP1 L: Foerster NF: Dvorak R: Zegras Bumper: Konecny D/QB: Drysdale PP2: L: Tippett NF: Couturier R: Michkov D/QB: Sanheim and/or Ristolainen 2026-2027 PP Units:

3. With the Flyers depth at W and Zegras away from Dvorak, Zegras will get upgraded linemates. He spent 45% of his ES shifts w/Dvo last year. That actually feels low? Nevertheless, if he spends 45% of his time w/the likes of Foerster, TK, Tippett and/or Martone? His nums will go up.

Dvorak's $5.15M ranks 11th lowest among 2Cs according to @puckpedia.com That's a pretty imperfect view of that landscape, but the idea that he's overpaid isn't accurate. He'll also provide a great safety as Zegras finds his way at 1C. Like a lot of the guys on this list, they're a 1A/1B tandem

Potential Spring to Fall change in the Flyers lines combos. While this off season is being regarded as a largely "Run it Back" year, it's anything but when you compare the group the Flyers iced in March to what we could be looking at come September. If Zegras can take a step and grab 1C and...

I’m still interested in circling back on Dylan Cozens. No, he’s not Leo Carlsson but no one is. Cozens is one of only a handful of young Centers in the NHL who are in that league. Risto + Cates? Picks?

Seems like 2 paths from here in the near term: -Run It Back: Keep Risto for in-season trade when we know more about RHD: Drysdale, Jiricek, Bonk -Revisit OTT Trade: Risto (and...?) for Cozens Cozens doesn't have close to the LC91 upside but would be a step forward. Cozens is same size, 4Y older

Shades of Chuck Fletcher trying to land Jawny Hockey and falling on his face in front of the entire league. The Ducks having the worst GM in the league means this could go in any direction.

Chris Johnston on how difficult it will be for the Ducks to build a team around Carlsson + Gauthier at a combined $30M+ I’ve heard “They’re just going to match it” 100x at this point but not much on how ANA would build a team thereafter. They’d have Carlsson and Cutter but a mess on their hands.

Even if the Flyers don't land Carlsson, it's obvious that the line structure will be pretty different than it was for the bulk of last year. -Foerster on 1L -Martone replaces Brink in T6 -Couturier and Acciari are huge upgrades to 4L -Bump adds scoring to 3L -Barkey Swiss army knife

How different could PHI look in 26-27 w/Leo Carlsson? The lineup on the left is from March 2, the final game of the Flyers most successful run of the 25-26 regular season. Only TK would return in the exact same role (RW1) as last year. Almost every single card in the deck has been re-shuffled.

Also, the "Future 1st" play is an easy one to run and has paid dividends already w/TOR. Maybe Cates is 2028 and Risto 2029. If the problem you're trying to solve is recouping 1sts only, it becomes an easier transaction than extracting top tier prospects, which IMO has been the goal to date.

I think you're exactly right. $12M is a conservative estimate. Let's say he's $15M. Terry will start season on IR/LTIR, but he's expected back by 🇨🇦 Thanksgiving, so you need to account for that money. That's 22 players. $4M over and this defense. That would be signing up to not make the POs.

Briere just FWD’d this to Stan Bowman. $2.6M in retention would be good work by Briere. 1 for 1 for Seeler seems fine to me. IMO it’s about upgrading Seeler knowing that guy will be paired with Jiricek or Bonk a lot. They want someone more dynamic than Seeler (most of them are) for those kids.

Where I *do* very much agree w/Shayna is on this front. The entire careers of Michkov and Martone aren't going back in a trade for 2 years of Zach Werenski. Cam York? A LHD would almost certainly have to move out, hence the Flyers sniffing around Darnell Nurse.

Thank Charlie not me! Great work this weekend, COC. I used my X burner for the first time in a while and it’s so gross over there. Part of the job for you I suppose but mind your mental health. That level of toxic negativity is just…yuck. You wouldn’t know this was 60ish days ago!!! #LetsGoFlyers

If CBJ want to try to pivot and not rebuild, Sanheim (and...) for Werenski could be a thing. TS has a full No Trade, which could veto yet another Sanheim trade. (In a bad way this time.) Sanheim + Foerster could be very compelling package to CBJ. Flyers also have 2x 1sts in 2027.

Good to see Matvei in the gym and clearly Lorne Goldberg, the Flyers new Performance Development Coach, is keeping tabs on Michkov’s workouts in Perm.