Flyers Players Discuss Injuries, Future During 2026 Exit Interview

The 27-year-old was regularly absent from practices before Round 2, which he confirmed was the training staff trying to manage the hernia as best as possible. It didn’t prevent him from making some highlight reel plays, like his spectacular shorthanded assist in Game 2 or the whirling rush that kick-started the chain of events leading to Cam York’s series-winner in Game 6. But the second ailment was more serious.

“Just didn’t feel kinda right towards the end of that series,” Tippett detailed, revealing he didn’t feel right in the days following Game 6. “Obviously, got tests and stuff and worked with our trainers. Feeling better now… just never got to the point of being able to be cleared by the trainers and doctors.”

While Tippett’s ailments were the most severe, he wasn’t the only one playing hurt.

“I banged up my rib in Game 2 of the Pittsburgh series. But it was fine. I was able to play through it,” said York.

“From the diagnosis, you never knew, but right when it happened, it felt similar to two years ago when I broke my other foot, so I didn’t have high hopes,” said Noah Cates about the broken foot he suffered blocking a shot in the first period of Game 2 against Carolina. He estimated it’ll be a month until he’s cleared for offseason training.

“Unable to go represent my country at the World Championships because of that,” Vladař said when asked about the impact of Bryan Rust’s collision with him in Game 3 of the first round. “It wasn’t obviously just me. Three-quarters of the team had something going on.”

Injuries, of course, aren’t a blanket excuse for the Flyers’ elimination. Even at full health, they would’ve been sizable underdogs against the Hurricanes, who are surely dealing with their own ailments. But they do give extra insight into just how demanding this time of year is.

Future Decisions

Eight different players who dressed for the Flyers during the playoffs have their contracts expiring. Five of them are restricted free agents, with only backup goaltender Sam Ersson at serious risk of not receiving a qualifying offer. But there was a lot of intrigue about what type of deals the others may be heading for, especially Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, two of the team’s top point producers in the playoffs. Unsurprisingly, both players expressed positive feelings when asked about their contract status.

“Hopefully something will get done, sooner than later,” said Jamie Drysdale, who emphasized he wanted to stay focused on playing during the season rather than negotiating a deal in-season.

“I would love to be here for a long time. I hope that that would happen over the next couple months,” said Trevor Zegras similarly. Both players are in similar spots — restricted free agents with arbitration rights whose next deal should cover multiple unrestricted free agent seasons.

The main RFA who is at risk of not being re-signed is Ersson. The Flyers will have to decide whether his strong play after the Olympics offsets the poor performance before it. But on his end, the Swede doesn’t seem to be looking for a change of scenery or a bigger role than Vladař’s backup.

“I’ve been here my whole North American career, this is the only place I know,” Ersson said. “This is where I want to be. I love it here.”

While his fellow netminder is still under contract for another season, Vladař will be eligible for a contract extension on July 1. That decision is the opposite of Ersson’s status; there wasn’t much in his track record suggesting he could play as well before this superb campaign. The Flyers may want to wait for more evidence before committing to the 28-year-old long-term, given the volatility of goalies. But they could definitely justify pulling the trigger this summer.

“If you can ask the same question to Danny B, I’m gonna be watching, so I’ll see what he says,” Vladař quipped.

The Flyers don’t have any truly notable UFAs, but two of their depth forwards, Rodrigo Abols and Luke Glendening, both advocated for a return. It’s easy to see Glendening filling the veteran depth role up front that Erik Johnson played on defense in 2024-25, although maybe Garnet Hathaway’s presence in that department looms large enough.

Youth Movement

Brière will undoubtedly look to improve the team with external additions over the offseason. But arguably the biggest thing determining where the Flyers go from here is the growth of their young talent.

The Flyers could have up to six players on entry-level contracts next season, all of whom got a taste of playoff action this spring. The spark Porter Martone provided down the stretch and into the playoffs showed the importance of young talent stepping into a big role, which Martone handled well throughout his first two months in the NHL.

“I want to improve at everything. Whether it’s building up my body more, gaining more strength, working on everything on the ice,” the 19-year-old said, planning to split his summer between Michigan State and Philadelphia after he plays for Canada in the World Championships in Switzerland.

Offseason training was, of course, a topic of discussion for Matvei Michkov. It was a powerful narrative surrounding him for the first four months of the season before he turned it on late in the regular season.

“After the break, started feeling my game better,” Michkov said through a translator. “You all see what happened before and after.”

But he also acknowledged the elephant in the room: his lackluster playoff performance. Michkov was a healthy scratch (twice) more frequently than he was on the scoresheet (one assist, on York’s first-round winner). Sometimes, lessons have to be learned the hard way, and Michkov sounds eager to harness the good and erase the bad from year two, saying he plans to get to work “right now.”

“I’m a player that should go on the ice and do my job,” Michkov said when asked about his benching in Game 4 against Carolina. “If the coach decides I have to miss the game, I have to take it. Go back on the ice and train and work for the best.”

The development of those two in particular will go a long way to setting the Flyers’ ceiling for next season and beyond. But there are others to watch as well. Alex Bump and Denver Barkey both popped after midseason call-ups and showed flashes in the playoffs, too, and both hope to carry that into their first full NHL seasons. They had similar seasons, and fittingly, they gave similar answers when asked about their next steps.

“Put on some more good weight, get faster, get those first three steps a little quicker,” answered Bump. “My skill is all good, it’s just more physically demanding with putting more weight on and being able to do it for 82 games.”

“First thing is getting heavier, and stronger. Get a quicker first three steps, be able to cut back on guys and get more space for myself so I can have the puck for a bit longer and make those plays,” Barkey said. He even chuckled when informed that Bump had given a near-identical answer moments earlier.

“You can never be too fast,” he accurately surmised, also adding he’s prepared to play either wing or center after getting a chance down the middle in Game 82 of the regular season and in the Carolina series.

Still to Come

Tuesday was just day one of three analyzing the 92 games the 2025-26 Flyers played. Tomorrow, head coach Rick Tocchet will speak, and general manager Daniel Briere’s turn is on Thursday.

Tocchet’s presser will likely center around the team’s post-Olympic surge and lessons learned from their two playoff series, especially the loss to Carolina. There should be an emphasis on improving the team’s offense, especially their pitiful power play and getting Michkov back on track toward stardom in his third season.

As for Briere, he’ll surely hear questions about those things, too. The second section of this article should be a featured topic, as he handles critical negotiations with Zegras and Drysdale on their third NHL contracts. There should also be some draft buzz, especially surrounding the team’s plans for this year’s selection and the status of the first-round pick they are slated to receive from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2025 Scott Laughton trade.