Who To See In 23-24

With single-game tickets going on sale earlier than ever before, it may be that hockey isn't at the top of mind and you may not even know which teams are the best bets to see when the cooler weather comes later this year. Well, don't fret - here's a rundown of what you'll get when you come out to see each one of them.

EARLY-SEASON VISITORS

These teams will visit Wells Fargo Center before the turn of the calendar year, with most of them coming only one time.

VANCOUVER

Tuesday, Oct. 17

Flyers Hall of Fame member Rick Tocchet begins his first full season behind the Canucks bench and will look to get the Canucks back into the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Teddy Blueger, Ian Cole, and Christian Soucy were all brought in after defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was bought out, as the Canucks looked to change their group following last season's step backward in their process. Of course, this is the home opener, and all the pomp and circumstance that goes along with it will be in place as the Flyers begin the 2023-24 home campaign.

EDMONTON

Thursday, Oct. 19

The one and only annual opportunity to see Connor McDavid comes early this year, so don't blink or you'll miss it. Boo him if you must, but also take time to appreciate one of the best players you'll see. Hopefully you'll also get to see the Flyers shut him down as they largely did last season.

Edmonton is looking to take that final step towards a Stanley Cup Final after making it to the playoffs this season. Even with the dominance of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl offensively, the Oilers haven't been good enough at the other end to keep the puck out of their own net.

MINNESOTA

Thursday, Oct. 26

One of two full-out green teams to come to Philadelphia each season, the Minnesota Wild have been consistent playoff participants in recent years but have also consistenly exited in the first round. With Ryan Reaves moving on, general manager Bill Guerin added Pat Maroon to fill that void. If nothing else, Maroon may be good luck in the playoffs - he won three straight Cups, two with Tampa Bay and one with St. Louis.

ANAHEIM

Saturday, Oct. 28

Anaheim's talented young roster added another piece with second overall pick Leo Carlsson, as new general manager Pat Verbeek surprised many who thought Adam Fantilli was a lock in the second spot. Anaheim generated a lot of highlights last season with the likes of Trevor Zegras, but obviously struggled as a group - the Flyers' 5-2 win over Anaheim last January might have been the most out-of-sorts opponent they saw all season, whether the caught the Ducks on a bad night or not. Verbeek has looked to address that by adding former Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas, who makes his only trip of the season to Philadelphia.

CAROLINA

Monday, Oct. 30

Tuesday, Nov. 28

The first Eastern Conference visitor of the season comes on the final home game of October as Rod Brind'Amour, another Flyers Hall of Fame member, brings his club to Philadelphia for the first of two visits in less than a month's time. The Hurricanes made it to the Conference Finals last year before running into a buzzsaw Florida team, losing in perhaps the closest sweep in NHL history. That will make the Hurricanes that much hungrier next season and a team to watch for Cup contention in the East. Carolina is an opportunity to see one of the most complete teams in recent NHL memory, having won 52 games last season despite not having anyone with more than 71 points on the roster; to the contrary, the Hurricanes had 12 players with 30 points or more. By contrast, Edmonton, the conference runner-up in the West, had only seven. But those are the hallmarks of a Brind'Amour-coached team, and those teams are a treat to watch.

Flyers fans will get an opportunity to do so twice before Christmas, with the Hurricanes returning on Nov. 28.

BUFFALO

Wednesday, Nov. 1

The Sabres make just one visit to Philadelphia this year and it kicks off the month of November. Buffalo has a young, stud-filled blue line that includes local product Mattias Samuelsson, the son of former Flyer Kjell Samuelsson, as well as Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. General manager Kevyn Adams brought in some veteran support for the young defenders in the form of Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton.

LOS ANGELES

Saturday, Nov. 4

The Kings make their only visit of the year an early one, and appear with a set of high expectations after making a high-octane addition in forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, acquired from Winnipeg in a trade that the Flyers indirectly helped facilitate by taking on the contracts of Cal Petersen and Sean Walker in a separate deal to help LA clear cap space. It's the only chance of the season to see Dubois in person at Wells Fargo Center, as well as his supporting cast that features Quentin Byfield and Brandt Clarke, himself an exciting young star.

VEGAS

Saturday, Nov. 18

The Flyers return from a two-week break from home games with a back-to-back that starts with the defending Stanley Cup champions making their only visit of the season. As is the nature of things in the NHL, it's tough to keep even a championship roster together, especially when goaltender Adin Hill earned a huge pay raise with his playoff performance. Reilly Smith was the casualty this time as he headed to Pittsburgh for a third-round pick. But the newly-exciting Hill will be here, as will captain Mark Stone, dynamic forward Jonathan Marchesseault and the rest of the group that broke the Flyers' record for the fastest expansion franchise to win a Stanley Cup.

DETROIT

Saturday, Dec. 16

Steve Yzerman, the captain of the Red Wings team that broke Flyers' fans hearts in 1997, is trying to return his franchise to the playoffs after a seven-year absence. While that stretch of futility has landed them pieces like Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider to play alongside Dylan Larkin (drafted before the drought), those youngsters haven't been enough to right the ship. That's partially why Yzerman acquired Alex DeBrincat from Ottawa, who is Detroit's main offseason addition. DeBrincat is on his third franchise in in three years as he tries to find a place he'd like to play; he is betting on Detroit in signing a four-year deal. The talent level of the four aforementioned players is something to behold and should not be missed in Detroit's only visit of the season. It'll also be a return for former Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, signed as a free agent in the offseason.

NASHVILLE

Thursday, Dec. 21

The 2023 portion of the home schedule closes out with a Nashville team that is running under someone other than David Poile for the first time in its history this year. However, it's a thoroughly familiar name as Barry Trotz, the head coach of the team for an astonishing (in today's era) 15 seasons, returns as the club's second general manager. Trotz has been very busy in his first weeks on the job, adding Ryan O'Reilly and former Flyer Luke Schenn on free-agent contracts while buying out Matt Duchene and sending Ryan Johansen to Colorado. Trotz also brought in new head coach Andrew Brunette, who led the Florida Panthers to the Presidents' Trophy in 2021-22. Nashville's stars remain in place, led by Norris Trophy-winner Roman Josi and dynamic forward Filip Forsberg, who will be back in Philadelphia for the first time since an injury in Nashville's Februray visit derailed his 2022-23 season.

METRO DIVISION DOUBLES

These divisional rivals will come to Philadelphia twice this season. All of them will visit once in 2023 and once in 2024.

COLUMBUS

Sunday, Nov. 19

Thursday, Jan. 4

It'll be two intriguing visits for several reasons when the Columbus Blue Jackets come to Wells Fargo Center. Perhaps most notable for Flyers fans is the first game back in Philadelphia for Ivan Provorov, who was traded to the Blue Jackets in June. Then there's the draft interest, as third-overall-pick Adam Fantilli, expected to be in Columbus this season, could take the ice for the first time in Philly. And then there's local product Johnny Gaudreau, the South Jersey native, product of Hollydell Ice Arena and unabashed Eagles fan, who's always a treat to watch when he returns to his hometown. The Blue Jackets will also help the Flyers ring in the new year when they come to town for the first home game of 2024, the first contest you can pick with your Santa Sacks.

NY RANGERS

Friday, Nov. 24

Saturday, Feb. 24

The annual Black Friday game is back in full force as the Flyers welcome in the New York Rangers in a nationally-televised affair, putting the longtime rivalry between the clubs on center stage. General manager Chris Drury fortified his roster with a host of short-term veteran deals - Blake Wheeler, Jonathan Quick, Riley Nash, Nick Bonino, and former Flyers Tyler Pitlick and Erik Gustafsson. Another familiar name, Peter Laviolette, has taken over behind the Rangers bench and will try to help the Rangers' young core, led by Alexis Lafreniere, take another step in its development. The Rangers will be back for a Saturday showdown on February 24.

NEW JERSEY

Thursday, Nov. 30

Saturday, April 13

The Devils/Flyers rivalry will be center stage this season during February's Stadium Series matchup at MetLife Stadium, but that is a road game for the Flyers; they'll still see the Devils twice in Philadelphia, including the last game of November. It's fair to say the Devils are where the Flyers hope to be in perhaps three years - after being out of the playoffs nine out of 10 seasons since 2012, the year they beat the Flyers in the second round en route to the Stanley Cup Final, their young core suddenly burst on the scene last year with a 52-22-8 season and beat the Rangers in the first round. That core, of course, was boosted by three draft lottery wins - including two first-overall picks - in the span of six seasons. That's even better luck than the Rangers, who saw their ping-pong balls selected in two consecutive seasons (2019 and 2020) and picked first in the latter. Regardless, those picks have netted the Devils the likes of Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, and Simon Nemec, and those players are ones not to miss.

PITTSBURGH

Monday, Dec. 4

Monday, Jan. 8

This classic matchup starts a light month of December and returns early in January. Many of the newest Flyers are learning what this rivalry is about, while Pittsburgh's veteran core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang remain to keep the rivalry alive from the Penguins' side. All three players are under contract for multiple remaining years but there's no question that the opportunities to see these three players together at Wells Fargo Center are starting to grow short. Meanwhile, it's a new era within the Penguins organization as former Flyers general manager Ron Hextall departs from the same job in Pittsburgh; he was replaced by Kyle Dubas, who left Toronto, and will no doubt be looking to put his own stamp on the roster.

WASHINGTON

Thursday, Dec. 14

Tuesday, April 16

The Capitals, coming off their first playoff miss since 2006-07 and general manager Brian MacLellan is determined to make it a one-time thing. The question might be who would actually be on the roster when the season starts. They have added a couple big names, most notably Max Pacioretty in free agency and Rasmus Sandin at last season's trade deadline. MacLellan may be looking to shake up his roster under new head coach Spencer Carberry, and that could mean another big name like Evgeny Kuznetsov might be on the way out at some point. But the one certain thing is that 1) Alex Ovechkin isn't going anywhere, and 2) he remains the top reason to come see the Washington Capitals. Those opportunities are also perhaps growing thin although Ovechkin has three years remaining on his deal. When the season starts he will continue his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record, which he can reach with 73 goals; most likely out of reach this year, but still an opportunity to see a stop along the road.

The second visit, in April, will be the final game of the season.

SECOND-HALF STARS

These teams will make their single visit of the season after January 1.

CALGARY

Saturday, Jan. 6

The Flames changed course this off-season with a new GM in Craig Conroy and a new head coach in Ryan Huska. By the time the team arrives in January, there will be a clearer picture of where it's going. It's the only visit of the season for some big names like Mikael Backlund, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Elias Lindholm, as well as 6-6 Swedish goaltender Jacob Markstrom.

MONTREAL

Wednesday, Jan. 10

Fresh off the top-5 selection of defenseman David Reinbacher, the Canadiens come into Philadelphia for their only visit of the season with the hope that their young stars will be taking another step. Montreal tossed a whole lot of money at Cole Caufield this summer - $7.85 million x 8 years - in the hope that he'll return fully recovered from shoulder surgery and continue his 35-goal-per-season average for the rest of the decade. Caufield and Nick Suzuki are poised to lead the offense for that timeframe, with 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky also figuring to play a big part this year. It's an early glimpse at a team on a similar rebuilding timeframe to the Flyers and one that might become a rival as the 2020s move on.

DALLAS

Thursday, Jan. 18

The Stars made it to the Western Conference Finals last year and are gearing up for another run with a talented roster led by Jason Robertson, one of the 11 100-point scorers around the league last year. Dallas is hoping it added its final piece in the pickup of Matt Duchene after he was bought out by Nashville. Veterans Joe Pavelski and Tyler Seguin make their only visit of the year to Philly as well, while young goaltender Jake Oettinger is ready for another season of progress.

COLORADO

Saturday, Jan. 20

It'll be a tough start to a four-game homestand as the Avalanche make their only visit of the year right after Dallas does, and it's two teams that by this point should be residing at the top of the Central Division and ready to challenge Vegas for top billing in the West. The always-spectacular duo of Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen continues to lead the charge in Colorado, but they've now added Ryan Johansen from Nashville, Jonathan Drouin from Detroit and Miles Wood from New Jersey to round out an offense that scored the fifth-most goals in the Western Conference last year. Then of course there's Norris Trophy-winner Cale Makar leading the defense and goaltender Alexandar Georgiev looking to improve even further on a career-best 62-game, 40-win season.

WINNIPEG

Thursday, Feb. 8

February starts off with three single visits by Western Conference opponents, beginning with Winnipeg's in the first home game after the All-Star Break. The Jets are moving on without Pierre-Luc Dubois, traded to Los Angeles, and will look to fill that void with the free agent signing of Vladislav Namestnikov. Alex Iafallo, who came back to Winnipeg in the trade, should also provide some offensive help. But the Jets still have plenty of firepower in Kyle Conner, last year's leading scorer, as well as Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey, who are all worth checking out.

SEATTLE

Saturday, Feb. 10

It's just the third visit ever for the Kraken to Philadelphia, and they're worth checking out if you haven't seen them yet - especially now, after making a 40-point turnaround from year 1 (60 pts) to year 2 (100 pts) and making their first playoff appearance, where they nearly took out the Dallas Stars in the first round. 2021 second-overall pick Matty Beniers is one to watch as he comes into his own in his second full professional season, and the Kraken hope to have a healthy Andre Burakovsky, who was one of the Kraken's top scorers when he was sidelined by a groin injury in February. In the summer, the Kraken added Kailer Yamamoto, Connor Carrick and former Flyer Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to the fold.

ARIZONA

Monday, Feb. 12

These aren't the Coyotes of recent years who were mostly just a burial ground for other teams' unwanted contracts. Bill Armstrong has started adding a veteran presence to his club with the signings of Nick Bjugstad, Troy Stecher, Alex Kerfoot, Jason Zucker and Alex Galchenyuk on July 1; Bjugstad started last season in Arizona before being traded to Edmonton for the stretch one, while Stecher and Galchenyuk have both previously played for the organization. Clayton Keller had 37 goals and 86 points last season at the age of 24 and is poised to improve on that, making this one worth adding to your plans.

ST. LOUIS

Monday, March 4

Former Flyers coach and player Craig Berube brings his Blues in for their only skate of the season in Philadelphia. This contest marks a return for Kevin Hayes to Philadelphia after being traded to the Blues prior to the draft. It's also the yearly return of Brayden Schenn to Philadelphia and the only chance for Flyers fans to see goaltender Jordan Binnington.

SAN JOSE

Tuesday, March 12

It's always good to see Oskar Lindblom, who returns to Philadelphia with his San Jose club in mid-March. The Sharks signed Mackenzie Blackwood to be their goaltender for the immediate future as they embark on a rebuild anchored by the selection of Will Smith in the fourth overall spot at this summer's draft. The Sharks also took Quentin Musty in this year's draft, where they had multiple first-rounders for the first time since 2007; one of the players taken with those 2007 picks, Logan Couture, is the captain of the Sharks and is within reach of 1000 career games this season. If all goes well, Couture will be approaching that milestone when the Sharks come in for this contest. Tomas Hertl also returns for San Jose, while Filip Zadina and Kyle Burroughs are among those joining the team this year.

FLORIDA

Sunday, March 24

From a fan-viewing perspective, it's good that the Panthers won't come to Philadelphia until the final few weeks of the season. By then, the stars of their storied Stanley Cup Final run should be all healed up and back on the ice - guys like Brady Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad, who played through injuries in the playoffs that were so severe that they're not expected to return for the start of the season. Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaege and Brandon Montour are also key returnees not to miss, as is former Flyers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. Oliver Ekman-Larsson has arrived in free agency to help, as have Rasmus Asplund and Evan Rodrigues.

CHICAGO

Saturday, March 30

If you can't catch Connor McDavid early in the season, maybe Connor Bedard is your guy you can catch late. (Or catch both.) Bedard, who is in Chicago thanks in no small part to the fact the Flyers beat the Blackhawks in overtime on the last day of last season, will have played almost a full season by this point and will be well on his way to figuring things out at the NHL level. The Blackhawks brought in some veterans to support their new star, adding Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno and Corey Perry, who are all worth seeing despite being on the back end of their careers. This is a team led by yet another former Flyer in head coach Luke Richardson.

NY ISLANDERS

Monday, April 1

The results of Lou Lamoriello's eventful July 1 will be a lot clearer by the time the Islanders make their only visit of the season to Philadelphia exactly nine months later on April 1. Lamoriello opened up the ledger books on the first day of free agency, handing out long-term deals to Ilya Sorokin (eight years), Pierre Envgall (seven years), and Scott Mayfield (seven years); he even signed his backup goaltender, Semyon Varlamov, to a four-year deal. The big names you've come to associate with the Islanders over recent years are all still there - Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and others will also be in for this lone visit of the season.

And finally, these four teams will come in twice, with both visits coming after the turn of the calendar.

OTTAWA

Sunday, Jan. 21

Saturday, March 2

Any game that involves Claude Giroux coming back to Philadelphia is a big one, and this year's schedule features two visits from the former captain and franchise's second-leading all-time scorer. The Senators look largely the same headed into the season minus Alex DeBrincat, traded in July to Detroit, but have added former Flyer Zack MacEwen and signed up goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to man their crease for the next several years. But it will be #28 that a lot of Flyers fans come out to see on these two dates.

TAMPA BAY

Tuesday, Jan. 23

Tuesday, Feb. 27

Although its three-year run of appearances in the Cup final came to an end last season, the Lighting still feature plenty of exciting talent that will come to Wells Fargo Center twice in the span of just over a month. Tampa has had to deal with some roster turnover and as such added forwards Conor Sheary, Josh Archibald and Luke Glendening to the fold, along with defenseman Calvin de Haan. But the reasons to come see Tampa Bay are still there from previous years - Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy, among others, are still on hand to make the Lightning one of the League's most exciting teams.

BOSTON

Saturday, Jan. 27

Saturday, March 23

Last year's Presidents' Trophy winners come to Philadelphia to wrap up a very challenging month of January for the Flyers, and then return in the third week of March. The Bruins fizzled out in the playoffs after one of the best regular seasons in NHL history, and no doubt will be hungry to not repeat that phenomenon. They'll come into Philadelphia with former Flyer James van Riemsdyk, who will no doubt look strange in black and gold; they also added Morgan Geekie, Kevin Shattenkirk and Parker Wotherspoon, and brought Bruins legened Milan Lucic back into the fold as they try to take another step towards a Stanley Cup. The Bruins were one of the best-executing opponents in recent memory when they came to Philadelphia at the tail end of last season, and should not be missed.

TORONTO

Thursday, March 14

Tuesday, March 19

Pick one, pick the other, pick both… but this year's scheduling quirk sees the Flyers play the Maple Leafs in consecutive home contests five days apart. (A road game in Boston sits between the two for Philadelphia.) It's always a big night when Toronto is in town, even for the Canadian members of the team, as many of them grew up following the Leafs. For everyone else, it's the names - Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares, Morgan Rielly, and on and on. New general manager Brad Treliving has tried to bring some grit to the lineup in the form of Ryan Reaves and Max Domi, while also adding Tyler Bertuzzi to the offensive mix. The bang for the buck is high with this group, and their two visits come in the heart of the stretch run.