Flyers Tie Dreadful Franchise Record

The Philadelphia Flyers are in the midst of a long and painful rebuild, and the light at the end of the tunnel still seems so far away.

Following Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, the Flyers were eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth-consecutive season. Philadelphia has now tied its longest playoff drought in franchise history, matching the drought from 1990-94.

No one expected the Flyers to be a contender this season, but after coming close to the playoffs last season, there was potentially some hope they could show some growth. Alas, that was not the case, and they're now dead last in the Metropolitan Division.

Philadelphia's biggest problem this season is one that plagues many teams, goaltending. The Flyers' .879 save percentage ranks dead last in the league by a sizable margin, and their .888 save percentage at 5-on-5 is the lowest in a season since the league began tracking that stat in 2009-10. Samuel Ersson has been up-and-down while backups Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov have struggled tremendously.

Additionally, the Flyers' special teams have not been very special. Their power play ranks 30th at 14.9 percent, marking the fourth year in a row they've ranked 30th or worse in that department. Their penalty kill has not been much better at 77.7 percent, tied for 19th in the league.

There is one huge reason for future optimism, though, and his name is Matvei Michkov. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft has had a very strong rookie season, recording 58 points (24 goals, 34 assists) in 75 games. He's still just 20 years old as well, so he can be a truly special player in the future.

Other prospects, including forward Jett Luchanko and defenseman Oliver Bonk - 18 and 20 years old, respectively - are showing great potential too.

Additionally, the Flyers have a whopping seven picks in the first two rounds this year: three in the first round and four in the second round. With that amount of draft capital, Daniel Briere and co. have virtually limitless options.

Finally, the Flyers' recent firing of John Tortorella should benefit their key players. Tortorella may be a future Hall of Fame coach, but by his own admission, he's not the best at coaching young, rebuilding teams. Finding a younger coach who will embrace the youth movement will be atop Philadelphia's to-do list this offseason.

Following their previous five-year postseason drought, the Flyers went on to make the playoffs for the next 11 seasons and 16 of the next 17. It will take a lot to rebound in similar fashion this time, but the pieces are there to become a future power.