Flyers’ Konecny says he felt ‘drained’ after 4 Nations

After being on a tear to start the season, Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny slowed down and he explained why Friday.

Winger Travis Konecny had a dominating first half of the season, looking to possibly hit 35 or possibly 40 goals this season after two consecutive 30-plus goal years. But Konecny revealed in Friday’s team exit interviews that the drive to impress Team Canada’s selection group for the 4 Nations Face-Off might have sapped him after the tournament, not having as much in the tank as he thought he had.

The upside is Konecny wasn’t physically banged up down the stretch, something some following the team believed was the case. “No I wasn’t dealing with anything,” he said. “I think just the push that I was making to get on that 4 Nations team at the start of the year. I think by the end of that I was just drained. I think it just took a lot out of me and once the play started to go down it snowballs and you start getting in your own head. That’s something on the mental side of things I have to take care of.

“If we were in a better spot for a playoff push it wouldn’t been acceptable to do that. If you look around the league some of the other players who went to that tournament, they find ways to get through it and come out the other side. It’s something I can look at.”

As next season will also have a break thanks to the Winter Olympics, Konecny said he’s not going to prepare for the 2025-26 season any differently than he did this past year. “I’m going to prepare the same way. I’m going to focus on our season again, that’s what I was doing last year. Obviously there was a push inside my head that I would like to be on that 4 Nations team. But it didn’t change my day-to-day as far as how I approached my team. That’s the same way I’m going to look at the summer. I’m not going to train any differently in hopes of making the Olympic team. I’m going to do what I need to do to help the Flyers and anything else is a bonus.”

Perhaps the biggest compliment Konecny paid was to linemate and rookie Matvei Michkov. Konecny said he never played with a guy as driven as the Mad Russian seems to be. Or with the belief in himself Michkov has.

“I think he’s probably the one guy I’ve played with in my career that he wants to be the best player in the NHL,” Konecny said of Michkov. “He believes that he can be and you can’t teach that. That’s just something he wants and he believes in. That’s a powerful thing. If he can continue to figure out how to play on both sides of the puck and help us win games that way too, he’s a really big part of this.”

Konecny played several seasons with Claude Giroux before Giroux was traded to Florida. But Konecny says Giroux and Michkov are different. “G was just intense during practice, G was always leading the right way, working hard. Definitely way more intense than Michkov. G thought the same thing, he could be the best. But when you talk to Michkov he believes it. He wants to be the top scorer in the league and that’s where his head’s at.”

The winger, whose contract extension begins next season, says he thinks the Flyers are possibly two seasons away from being a “consistent contender” regarding making the playoffs. A lot of that will depend on what Flyers general manager Danny Briere is able to do this summer to improve the personnel. “We’re still got a young team, we’re still got guys developing,” he says. “I think all the pieces we have right now, we are capable of getting in for sure.”