If Travis Konecny doesn’t fit the system, look at the system. The Flyers are 0-5-2, the worst start in franchise history, and the coach is the one who has to adapt.
Tuesday morning, Anthony Di Marco reported for Daily Faceoff that there’s “a growing sense of frustration” with Konecny inside the organization. Per his sources, there’s a belief Konecny’s game may not suit Rick Tocchet’s “more regimented offensive system.” He added that “approaching Konecny to waive his no-movement clause could be an option should the Flyers continue to struggle.” He named the Utah Mammoth as a potential fit, with the Flyers interested in Caleb Desnoyers, Utah’s fourth overall pick in 2025.
Travis Konecny led the Flyers with 68 points in 77 games last season. When your leading scorer is the problem, you should be asking a different question.
What’s going on
Three games, three different sets of forward lines. Only Christian Dvorak and Tyson Foerster have stayed together.
| Line | Sat. Oct. 10 at BOS | Sun. Oct. 11 vs CAR | Tonight vs SEA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zegras · Dvorak · Foerster | Barkey · Dvorak · Foerster | Martone · Cates · Michkov |
| 2 | Tippett · Couturier · Michkov | Martone · Couturier · Tippett | Zegras · Couturier · Tippett |
| 3 | Barkey · Cates · Martone | Bunting · Zegras · Michkov | Foerster · Dvorak · Barkey |
| 4 | Wilson · Acciari · Bunting | Grundstrom · Cates · Acciari | Bunting · Studnicka · Acciari |
Tonight’s lines are from morning skate, per Charlie O’Connor and Jackie Spiegel. Credit where it’s due: Michkov is on the top line with Martone, which is half of what I asked for Monday. The other half was Barkey, and the power play went the other way. Martone is expected to play left wing for the first time as a Flyer. Oliver Bonk, 21, stays on the top pair with Travis Sanheim. Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen are out again. Dan Vladar starts in net, per Tocchet.
The power play split
The power play got split up too. At camp, Tocchet built his top unit around Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov. On Sept. 24 he said, “The key is connection… Mich and Trevor’s connection the past 3 days has fast tracked” (via Jamey Baskow). Seven games and a 9.5% power play later (27th), they aren’t on the same unit:
| Unit | Tonight’s personnel |
|---|---|
| A unit | Jiricek · Zegras · Foerster · Martone · Bunting |
| B unit | Drysdale · Dvorak · Michkov · Tippett · Barkey |
Units per Jackie Spiegel and Jordan Hall at morning skate. Outlets list the units in different orders. Either way, the pair Tocchet built the power play around in camp is split up. They were still together on the top unit at Ottawa on Oct. 8. As O’Connor put it, the Michkov and Zegras power play “experiment lasted not even two weeks before they broke it up.”
What I’m seeing: Travis Konecny isn’t the problem
The Flyers are coaching their skill out of the lineup. Torts was brought in to find the right guys and teach them a way to play. The front office did its part and collected skill: Konecny, Zegras, Michkov, Martone. Now the coach is running a system those players aren’t succeeding in.
The numbers say it isn’t close. Through seven games the Flyers have 31.7% of the 5-on-5 expected goals (31st) and 33.0% of the high-danger chances. They’re -106 in shot differential, the worst in the league by a wide margin (PhillyVoice, via Natural Stat Trick). They average 20 shots a game, last in the NHL.
We’ve seen this movie. Last season Tocchet opened with a box-and-one zone he called “a very aggressive zone.” When it broke down, he talked with his fellow Hockey Canada coaches at the Olympics and reworked it (Inquirer). Credit where it’s due: the fix worked. The Flyers finished 7th in high-danger chance share. But it took outside help and half a season to get there.
That’s the part that bothers me as a coach. At the Tier 1 level, you don’t install a system and wait for the kids to fit it. You look at who can make plays with the puck and build your reads around them. Michkov leads the team in goals and played under 13 minutes Sunday. Travis Konecny led the team in scoring and the word is he doesn’t fit. If your best offensive players don’t fit, the system is the square peg.
A good coach adapts his style to the players he has. He doesn’t force a square peg into a round hole.
What I’d like to see
Pick lines built around the skill, then leave them alone for a week. These are the lines I laid out Monday, with D pairs added:
| Line | My lineup (LW · C · RW) | Target TOI | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michkov · Barkey · Martone | 17 to 18 min | Martone and Barkey win it back. Michkov makes the play. |
| 2 | Tippett · Zegras · Foerster | 17 min | Zegras carries it. Two shooters. |
| 3 | Bunting · Dvorak · Couturier | 14 to 15 min | Checking line. The top PK pair stays together. |
| 4 | Studnicka · Cates · Acciari | 10 min | Speed, a faceoff man and a forechecker. |
| D1 | Sanheim · Drysdale | Paired at Boston and Ottawa. Drysdale’s legs move it out. | |
| D2 | Seeler · Bonk | A stay-at-home partner who talks lets Bonk make the first pass. | |
| D3 | Benoit · Jiricek | More minutes for Jiricek. Best shot share of any Flyers D. | |
| G | Start Woll | .914 save percentage to Vladar’s .857. | |
| PP A | Drysdale · Dvorak · Zegras · Michkov · Tippett | Keep the unit together. Let the connection Tocchet praised in camp play. | |
| PP B | Jiricek · Foerster · Martone · Barkey · Bunting | A shot from the point, two shooters and a net-front body. |
On Monday I said leave the power play alone. Splitting Zegras and Michkov is the opposite of that. Travis Konecny can’t return until Saturday at the earliest. When he does, he goes back on the top unit and plays with Couturier.
What I’d watch tonight: does Michkov’s ice time climb back over 15 minutes, and does Bonk get a clean first pass against Seattle’s forecheck? The Kraken are 31st in shots allowed. If this group can’t get to 30 shots tonight, it isn’t the opponent.
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