The Philadelphia Flyers have lost 12 of their first 15 games to open the 2026-27 season, they’ve averaged 1.93 goals per game, and they don’t look any different than how they began the year. Most teams would make a change by now but the Flyers aren’t like most teams, are they? If 15 games isn’t a large enough sample size for immediate change, then what is the number?
GM Daniel Brière mentioned before the year began that he expected his team to take a step back with how the rest of the conference improved over the summer. I’m not sure if his “step back” meant losing 9 straight to start the year and only have 3 wins through the first 15 games of the season.
Last night’s loss to the Washington Capitals was a microcosm of their season to date. They looked outmatched and outclassed by a bigger, faster, and more skilled team. They had issues controlling the puck in the offensive zone, let alone the neutral zone, and while they came inches away from tying it at one point in the third period, they only showed up for about 10-15 minutes.
Postgame, Sean Couturier mentioned that they’re playing soft and losing a lot of puck battles, Nick Seeler said some players are playing for themselves and not for the team, and Rick Tocchet mirrored those sentiments while also not being pleased with how some players overextend some of their shifts – likely taking aim at Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras.
Those comments are not necessarily wrong as the Flyers have looked soft this year in nearly all departments. The physicality has completely disappeared and there’s been almost no response – outside of the last couple of games – after one of their teammates got dropped by a big hit or a dangerous play like when Brandon Hagel got Porter Martone in Tampa Bay or when Tyson Foerster nearly had his head bashed into the ice against Carolina.
A lot of the time they look disinterested as a unit, they play lackadaisically for most parts of the game before they try to mount a comeback, they don’t engage in physical play or win puck battles, and there does seem to be a lack of comradery.
So when do things finally change? Is it the head coach who has seemingly lost the locker room? He has consistently spoken to the media after games about how his team isn’t playing the right way, how they’re nervous, how they’re not rising to the occasion. His pleas to sharpen up seem to be falling on deaf ears at this point if they still haven’t received the message.
It is the core of the team? Foerster has looked like a completely different player than what we’ve come to see over the last few years with just 2 goals in 14 games and he looks nearly invisible most shifts. Cam York looks extremely disinterested most shifts, he doesn’t engage physically at all, and you can make a solid argument that he loses most of his battles either one-on-one or along the boards.
Is it the veterans? It’s hard to say with Travis Konecny and Rasmus Ristolainen having been hurt for most of the season. Then you have Couturier and Noel Acciari who possess zero offensive impact but lead the team in hits, however that’s still very little to boast about considering the team’s overall soft play.
Seeler has also been relatively quiet on that front recently with only 3 hits in his last 4 games, which is a pretty big deal for a defensive defenseman known primarily for his physical nature and calling out his teammates for playing selfishly. For reference, Hunter McDonald has 17 hits in that same span.
The only players worth a shout so far this season are Michkov, Zegras, Travis Sanheim, and the goaltenders in Dan Vladař and Joseph Woll.
The easiest solution would be to fire the head coach because it’s clear as day that the players aren’t listening to him. Tocchet has stressed the same things to the media on a daily basis and yet his team has not changed their way of playing, which to me sounds like a lost locker room and a head coach being tuned out.
His track record in Arizona and Vancouver should also speak volumes when young players under his rule of thumb like Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome struggled immensely but found success after he moved on. Say what you will about the Michkov “mob” on social media, but it’s interesting that even now he’s finding it hard to compliment or praise one of the only players doing anything for his failing club.
Tocchet survived the first nine losses, but how many more do they have to suffer before the Flyers make a change behind the bench? Brière and Keith Jones almost tried to do damage control after that ninth loss in Detroit to when Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and ESPN’s Emily Kaplan both made it abundantly clear that the Flyers weren’t going to fire their head coach for the sake of change.
It will be interesting to see how long Tocchet’s leash is, because I’m sure another reason they’re letting this continue is that Comcast might not want to be on the hook for another head coach that wasn’t able to survive the length of their contract. He would be joining the ranks of John Tortorella, Alain Vigneault, Dave Hakstol, and Peter Laviolette, and you could make the argument that they were all fired for a lot less. Laviolette lasted just 3 games into 2013-14, Hakstol was 12-15-0 when he got fired in 2018-19, and Vigneault was 8-10-4 in 2021-22.
Their upcoming schedule offers almost no reprieve either outside of a back-to-back against Calgary and Vancouver, however the way they’ve been playing recently, it won’t come easy. The next 5 weeks for the Flyers involves Utah, Minnesota, and the New York Rangers before they head out to Western Canada and play Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton. After that it’s Columbus, Edmonton, Buffalo, Ottawa, Montréal, Washington, Vancouver, New York Islanders, Toronto, the New York Islanders, Minnesota, and Winnipeg.
You take a look at those games compounded with their current record and ask yourself, how much longer they can let this continue?
On the player personnel side of things, the Flyers have been involved in trade rumours and Jones was even spotted scouting some games last week, but nothing seems to be developing or materializing. Dylan Larkin doesn’t want to come here, their offer for Kirill Marchenko wasn’t nearly enough, and they either can’t or don’t want to approach Konecny to waive his NMC, they don’t want to move off of Foerster, and have been hesitant on moving away from Owen Tippett.
Brière has to feel some urgency to right the ship especially after his quiet offseason has backfired. It should be a telling sign that the same team from last year that inspired so much faith in the front office to run things back has looked completely different this year; proving that something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
There’s a lot of talk that the Flyers don’t want to make a change just for the sake of change, but some of these players have been around for too long and at some point a change of scenery is necessary. The Flyers have boasted about a young core before that never realized their potential and they’re doing it again under a different regime.
If the plan is to unintentionally tank for a top pick, then continue playing this way, don’t move off the head coach, and keep the player personnel as is because it’s clear they’re dysfunctional. However, if they want to actually right the ship and get back to playing a decent brand of hockey, then a seismic change needs to happen to shake the players, the organization, and even the city.
FLYERS ALUMNI VEGAS AND IRELAND TRIPS
Flyers Nation and TrueFan Travel have teamed up for two trips with the Flyers Alumni!
The Las Vegas package (March 10–14) includes tickets to Flyers–Golden Knights on March 11 at T-Mobile Arena, an all-inclusive tailgate, optional flights from Philadelphia, a 4-night downtown hotel stay, an alumni pep rally and Q&A, a Flyers vs. Utah watch party, and a meet and greet.
The Ireland Golf & Tour Experience (July 20–27) includes optional flights from Philadelphia, six nights at The Brehon Killarney and Portmarnock Resort, a welcome reception, a meet and greet and Q&A with Brad Marsh, Patrick Sharp, Joe Watson, Bill Clement, Mark Recchi, and John LeClair, a live Coatesy’s Corner, and optional golf at Old Head, Dooks, Portmarnock, and Druids Glen.
Whether you’re chasing a road game in Vegas or a week on the links in Ireland, these are two chances to travel with Flyers legends!
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