2 early Flyers trade candidates after 2nd-round sweep vs. Hurricanes

For the first time since 2020, the Philadelphia Flyers brought Stanley Cup Playoff hockey back to the City of Brotherly Love, finishing strong down the stretch by going 10-4-1 in the month of March and ultimately finishing with a 43-27-12 record in what was the first season of former Philadelphia forward Rick Tocchet behind the bench as head coach.

Ironically, their first matchup was against the in-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins, who were back in the playoffs themselves for the first time since 2022. It also marked their first playoff matchup since the completely wild roller coaster opening round series of 2012.

History repeated itself in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, as the Flyers took a 3-0 series lead before the Penguins mounted a two-game comeback, making life uncomfortable for Philadelphia. However, Cam York’s seeing-eye shot in overtime of Game 6 gave the Flyers the series victory, punching their ticket to the second round of the postseason for the first time in 14 years, sending the sellout crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena into a frenzy.

Unfortunately, the Flyers ran into a buzzsaw led by another former forward who wore the orange and black during his own NHL playing career. The Carolina Hurricanes, led by former Flyers forward Rod Brind’Amour as head coach, swept Philadelphia in four straight games to remain undefeated thus far in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They’d also swept the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.

Carolina forward Jason Blake scored twice in the decisive Game 4 of the series in Philadelphia, including the series-clinching overtime goal. While it was a disappointing end to the season, the Flyers received a hearty salute from the fans still in the building who hadn’t gotten a head start on the traffic, indicating that they’re excited about the possibilities of things to come.

In the meantime, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere is going to have his hands full over the next several weeks and months as he works to ensure that Philadelphia’s playoff appearance wasn’t an anomaly for this season.

Does Matvei Michkov fit in with the Flyers long-term?

The Flyers selected Russian forward Matvei Michkov with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and he had a strong rookie campaign under now-former head coach John Tortorella, leading the NHL in rookie goals scored with 26; he also added 37 assists for 63 points in 80 games. Overall, he finished fourth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year.

However, he’s clashed with Tocchet over his conditioning level. Tocchet infamously called out Michkov for allegedly having reported to training camp out of shape, and it wasn’t the only time that he called him out publicly for a lack of conditioning. This led Flyers GM Daniel Briere to have to calm the waters between the two, saying that Tocchet just wanted what was best for the sophomore forward.

“Rick Tocchet wants Matvei to succeed,” Briere said in February via The New York Times. “He wants to develop him to be the best player that he can be. Along the way, there’s tough lessons that come with that. … Him and Matvei have a good relationship. Sometimes they are fiery. Sometimes when you’re not winning, things are done and said. But they always come back to the table, and they want the best for this team, and Rick wants the best for Matvei.”

Michkov was made a healthy scratch twice by Tocchet during the playoffs, including their Game 4 OT loss to the Hurricanes that ended the season on May 9. And recently, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman indicated that multiple teams would be open to acquiring Michkov if he were officially made available by Briere.

Michkov, who saw his point total dip from 63 to 51 in his second season, has one year left on his rookie deal with a $950,000 cap hit before he becomes a restricted free agent next summer.

Goaltender Samuel Ersson could use a change of scenery

Once seen as a potential starter for the Flyers, Ersson instead saw his job essentially taken by newcomer Dan Vladar, who was signed last offseason after spending a couple campaigns with the Calgary Flames.

Even though Ersson sometimes showed flashes of being able to handle a heavy workload, they were often brief before questions began being raised on whether or not he’s starting material in the NHL. Meanwhile, the Flyers have young goaltenders who continued their development in the system, including Carson Bjarnason and Aleksei Kolosov.

A pending restricted free agent, the Flyers could choose to cut ties with Ersson and receive assets in return for him while his trade value is about as high as it will be.

It’ll be interesting to see if Briere ends up pulling the trigger and moving on from either Michkov or Ersson this summer, in the quest to create sustained postseason success for the Flyers over the next couple of seasons.

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