3 questions facing Philadelphia Flyers

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1.  Today, three important questions facing the Philadelphia Flyers.

1. Who plays center?

The Flyers showed how much they think they need a No. 1 center by signing Anaheim Ducks restricted free agent Leo Carlsson to a five-year, $90 million offer sheet ($18 million average annual value) on July 3. The Ducks matched the contract, leaving Philadelphia to enter the season with Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, Noah Cates and Sean Couturier as its likely top four centers.

General manager Daniel Briere said the Flyers feel comfortable with that depth chart, especially after Zegras had NHL career-bests of 26 goals and 67 points in 81 games last season. But the 25-year-old won just 34.1 percent of his face-offs, and spent most of last season alternating between left wing and center.

"If we're able to, and I know it's extremely hard, but if you're able to find a No. 1 center, you have guys like Trevor and Noah Cates that have played the wing as well," Briere said. "It's a lot easier for a center to move to the wing than vice versa, we all know that. So, if there's another chance to acquire a No. 1 center, yes, we will try. But realistically, those guys don't become available very often. I believe in this group."

2. How does the power play get better?

After finishing last in the League (15.7 percent) for the fourth time in five seasons, the results only can go up. One improvement can come on face-offs; the Flyers won 48.8 percent of power-play face-offs, the fourth-fewest in the NHL. A more active Jamie Drysdale at the point should also help. 

"He has a lot of tools that a power play quarterback needs," Briere said. "It's just now making it happen. How does he make it happen? How does he take it to the next level?"

That comes from shooting the puck more, which Drysdale has been working on during the offseason. He had 101 shots last season, tied for 68th among NHL defensemen. 

"I think there's a lot of little things that I can work on, just when I get the puck, head fake, looking off, things like that, a little bit more deceptiveness, and obviously the main kicker is just shooting more," he said. "Been pretty continuously working on my shot over the last year and throughout this summer. Something that I'm going to come in confident with and use as a weapon, and kind of take it from there."

3. Can Matvei Michkov respond?

Last season was an up-and-down one for Michkov, culminating in him having one assist in eight Stanley Cup Playoff games and being scratched twice.

Briere is confident Michkov will arrive at camp with the right mindset to be closer to the player who led NHL rookies with 26 goals and was second with 63 points in 80 games in 2024-25, and the one who led the Flyers in scoring after the break for the 2026 Olympics with 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 26 games, not the one who had 51 points (20 goals, 31 assists) in 81 games last season and struggled during the postseason.

"We believe in him," Briere said. "Now he just has to come back and do it, and do it for the whole year and lead us into the playoffs. We think he has that in him. He's the type of kid that will want to prove to everybody that he's got too much talent, and combine that with the competitiveness, for him not to succeed."