Tyson Foerster was one of the most impressive young Philadelphia Flyers players last season, but to start off the 2024-25 season, he has unfortunately been anything but.
Foerster, 22, has just two goals, an assist, and three points in 14 games this season and has already served as a healthy scratch once. Head coach John Tortorella has tried to use the sharpshooter in different roles, ranging from a first-line winger to a bottom-six defense-oriented checker. So far, Foerster has not excelled anywhere.
Through his 14 games, Foerster is eighth among 12 Flyers forwards in Corsi percentage at 5-on-5 (45%), 10th in high-danger shot attempts per 60 minutes (1.06/60), ninth in on-ice goal differential (-6), and last in high-danger unblocked shot attempts (0), per MoneyPuck.
You read that correctly: Tyson Foerster does not have a high-danger unblocked shot attempt in 170 minutes of 5-on-5 play this season.
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Foerster is not shooting, not scoring, and perhaps most importantly, not even getting involved offensively.
It’s been a disappointing start for a 22-year-old player expected to expand on and improve on his 20-goal rookie season. If Foerster continues at this pace, he would finish the season with 12 goals, six assists, and 18 points in 81 games.
And considering Foerster is in a contract year, he might have lost himself a lot of money.
Flyers weren’t ready to give Tyson Foerster a big contract
Foerster is in the last year of his three-year, entry-level contract he signed with the Flyers on Oct. 14, 2020, and he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Because Foerster is in a contract year, he could have started negotiating a contract extension as early as July 1. However, nothing from the Flyers side of things indicated that this was ever on the cards, and it’s proving to be a wise gamble.
“There’s also nothing wrong with letting them play and see how they keep developing,” Flyers GM Danny Briere told Philly Hockey Now back in June. “Guys like Cam York and Tyson Foerster are great examples of–for our young guys that we’re going to draft, guys that we drafted last year, guys that we’ve invested in their development–how to train, how to become professional hockey players, and you look at the big step they took last year.”
The organization obviously loves Foerster, as does Tortorella, but the results have not been there. The Flyers will inevitably re-sign Foerster after the season, but the contract is more likely to be a bridge deal rather than one that is either long-term or lucrative.
An interesting comparable for Foerster might be the three-year, $12 million ($4 million AAV) contract his draft classmate, New Jersey Devils forward Dawson Mercer, signed on Sept. 20. Mercer will be an RFA again in 2027, which means the Devils will still control his rights through one more contract negotiation.
The difference is that Mercer has three seasons with 40 or more points or 20 goals under his belt, while Foerster has one. And Foerster might still only have one if he struggles through the rest of the season.
The former Barrie Colts sniper has plenty of time to turn around, but the Flyers are the ones who hold the advantage over Foerster through the first month of the season.
