Inside look at 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, the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Philadelphia Flyers spent most of last season in position to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs before a 4-9-3 finish left them four points back of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

But with the bulk of that roster returning, plus one significant addition, the Flyers are confident they can reach the postseason for the first time since 2020.

"I do believe our team's right there," forward Travis Konecny said. "We're going to work just as hard as we did last year. We're going to skate and continue to work on some of the young guys getting a little bit better and some of the older guys adding stuff to their game as well. I'm really excited to see where this team can go."

The player generating the most excitement is forward Matvei Michkov. The 19-year-old, selected with the No. 7 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, signed a three-year, entry-level contract July 1, just days after having the final two seasons of his three-year contract in the Kontinental Hockey League terminated.

Michkov had 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) in 47 games for Sochi, the second-most points by a teenager in the KHL history (Kirill Kaprizov, 42 in 2016-17). He is expected to play a top-six role and on the first power play with Philadelphia.

Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said he and his staff are trying to keep the expectations at a manageable level.

"We don't see him as a savior," Briere said. "That's certainly not what we're putting on his shoulders. He's 19 years old, he's coming in to learn, to expand his game. We hope that the sky's the limit for him, but we're certainly not expecting him to be the savior of this team."

Michkov, however, doesn't seem to mind the high expectations.

"The main idea always is to win," Michkov said via translator July 24. "I'm here to help the team to win. Just to play my style and I'm here to win."

Philadelphia has done its part to put a support system around Michkov, including hiring an English-language tutor.

Briere also believes coach John Tortorella will provide another kind of support.

"'Torts’ is going to be good for Matvei," Briere said. "He's going to teach him how to be a pro. He's going to teach him how to compete, play hard, defend hard, but he also wants to see him be creative and be free and try to make some plays. I think it's going to work awesome between them."

Michkov's biggest impact will come on the offensive end. Philadelphia was 27th in the NHL in scoring last season (2.82 goals per game) and last on the power play (12.2 percent).

But one player won't fix their scoring issues. Further maturation from a young group of forwards that includes Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee and Noah Cates will be key.

The Flyers also need a more consistent season from No. 1 center Sean Couturier. The 31-year-old, returning after missing most of the prior two seasons because of back problems, started the season well but ran low on energy in the second half, finishing with one goal in his final 37 games.

Briere is confident Couturier can regain his pre-injury form, which was highlighted by consecutive 30-goal seasons (2017-19) and the Selke Trophy as best defensive forward in the NHL (2020).

"We expect Sean to be the player that he was in the first half of the season last year," Briere said. "It's not an excuse, but he was banged up. ... Almost every body part was hurting last year, other than his back, which is a good thing.

"He's going to be a force. He's going to be an important player for us moving forward to lead this young group."

Another offensive spark could come from defenseman Jamie Drysdale. He had had five points (two goals, three assists) in 24 games after being acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 8 but played through a sports hernia sustained in October. He had surgery in April, has been skating since late July and said he's focused on showing what he can do when healthy.

"It's something that our [defense] corps has needed for a long time, a guy who can control the play like he does," Farabee said. "So, we're super pumped to have him, whether it's 5-on-5, power play, you name it, he's going to be playing. So, it's really special and he's a great player."

The addition of Michkov, the continued development of their young forward group and healthy seasons from Couturier and Drysdale has Briere confident the Flyers will again be playing meaningful games late into the regular season, and potentially beyond.

"I think we showed last year that we have a competitive team," Briere said. "I think we'll be a team that's going to be working hard to do that this year and hopefully the experience that we've learned last season will help us go into the season and hopefully put ourselves in a place where we play meaningful games again down the stretch, and maybe with a better result."