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. What are realistic expectations for Matvei Michkov?

The 19-year-old forward arrives with a remarkable amount of hype and an offensive skill set that separates him from the rest of the roster, but the Flyers are doing their best to manage expectations.

"This is a year for him to come in and kind of experience what it's like to play at this level and adapt," general manager Daniel Briere said. "To be honest, I don't have much expectation for him. I have more expectations for our other guys that have been here for a few years to take a step forward."

Michkov has said he's ready to learn about life in the NHL, on and off the ice, and has one goal in mind.

"The first plan is for the team to make the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs," he said via an interpreter. "Help the team win night after night so the fans can be coming and enjoying the games more and more."

Michkov was on the ice working toward that goal the day after arriving in Philadelphia from Russia at the end of July, a level of initiative that has impressed Flyers management.

"He wanted to come here early and adapt and try to put himself in the best position possible to attack the year," Briere said. "A lot comes from him as well. He wants it, and he's willing to put himself in those positions to be successful. I also give him a lot of credit for being willing to put himself in the best possible position."

2. How do they fix the power play?

The Flyers were last in the NHL on the power play at 12.2 percent, the third straight season they have finished at the bottom of the League.

Coach John Tortorella said assistant Rocky Thompson again will oversee that unit, but they have spent the offseason soliciting ideas from Briere, hockey operations advisers John LeClair and Patrick Sharp, and pro scout Dany Heatley, all accomplished power-play contributors during their NHL careers.

Briere said the addition of Michkov and a full season with defenseman Jamie Drysdale should help.

"There's no doubt that for us to be more successful this season than last, the power play will have to improve," he said. "It's not going from bottom of the League to the top five. You make small adjustments, constant gains, to put us back to where we feel we should be."

3. Can the goalie tandem be successful?

Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov will begin the season with 66 games of NHL experience, 63 of them for Ersson.

Ersson was thrust into the No. 1 role after Carter Hart took a leave of absence Jan. 23. He had a 2.82 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in 51 games, but noticeably wore down late while starting 28 of Philadelphia's final 34 games.

Fedotov arrived from the Kontinental Hockey League on March 29 and played three games, then signed a two-year, $6.5 million contract ($3.25 million average annual value) April 23.

They will open the season on equal footing, and Briere is looking forward to the internal competition for playing time.

"I hope it creates a healthy battle between the two, and they can push each other," he said.