3 Questions Facing the Flyers in the Offseason

The 2024-25 season came to a close for the Flyers on Thursday night with an important 5-4 regulation loss to the Buffalo Sabres. It solidified the Flyers position in the draft lottery race and officially set the stage for a critical offseason.

Here are the three main questions surrounding the Flyers this offseason?

Who Will Be the Next Head Coach?

Things may have been trending toward a coaching change at the end of the season regardless, but the Flyers surprised with the timing of this decision with nine games to go in the regular season. John Tortorella was relieved of his duties as head coach on March 27 and Brad Shaw served as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

One of the first orders of business in the offseason will be finding the next head coach.

After a 5-3-1 finish to the season, Shaw will likely get a look, but it seems more likely that the Flyers will have someone different behind the bench.

In addition to Shaw, another in-house option that could be explored is Ian Laperriere, the current head coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL.

There have been rumors for years about the possibility of Rick Tocchet becoming the coach of the Flyers. Tocchet’s future in Vancouver is still up in the air, and if he’s available, the Flyers will certainly have interest. There was some thought that the Flyers could turn to Mike Sullivan as a successor to Tortorella if Tortorella decided to step aside from coaching at some point prior to his release. Sullivan finished the season as the Penguins head coach, but is on the hot seat as the offseason begins, and it’s fair to wonder if that ship has sailed now that Tortorella is no longer with the organization.

Then there are the outside the box candidates. The Flyers could turn to a different coach in the AHL ranks. Todd Nelson, the head coach of the Hershey Bears, has won back-to-back Calder Cups and is preparing to go for a third. In the college ranks, all eyes are on David Carle, the rising star of the coaching world who won two National Championship at University of Denver and back-to-back gold medals at World Juniors with Team USA. 

But another college coach is emerging in the discussion. Pat Ferschweiler, head coach of Western Michigan, just helped the program win its first National Championship. The Western Michigan alum, who played from 1990 to 1993, had a familiar linemate for two of those seasons: Flyers President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones.

Will the Flyers Address Goaltending?

There were many areas where the Flyers struggled during the 2024-25 season, but if you had to point to one in particular, the goaltending would stand out. The Flyers used just three goaltenders over the duration of the 82-game season.

Sam Ersson had moments where he was delivering elite numbers, showing he was more than capable to be a starter in the NHL. But that was also met with inconsistency, times of struggle that left his numbers with a lot to be desired.

Ersson had a 22-17-5 record with a 3.14 GAA and .883 save percentage in 47 games.

While Ersson proved to be a suitable piece of a tandem, the Flyers never found any consistency with the other half of that equation. Ivan Fedotov played in 26 games and had a 6-13-4 record with a 3.15 GAA and .880 save percentage. Aleksei Kolosov appeared in 17 games and had a 5-9-1 record with a .867 save percentage.

There could be better days ahead for the Flyers in goal. Carson Bjarnason, one of the team’s goaltending prospects, is making the jump to the AHL ahead of the playoffs. There was also tremendous success for another Flyers prospect, Yegor Zavragin, who put up outstanding numbers for a 19-year-old netminder in the KHL.

That said, both goalies are not options for the 2025-26 season. So, does Danny Briere look to make a move at the most critical position? Could the Flyers look for an immediate upgrade with a short-term deal on a veteran, or do they ride things out?

Ersson has one year remaining on his contract and will be back. But could the Flyers explore trade options with Fedotov? Will Kolosov even return at all? And if both netminders don’t return, who will be in goal alongside Ersson? It’s one of the bigger questions on the ice that needs answering in the offseason.

How Aggressive Will GM Danny Briere Be?

By finishing with the fourth-best odds in the draft lottery, the Flyers are guaranteed a Top-6 pick in the draft. They could win one of the two drawings, moving up to first or second overall, remain at fourth overall, or fall back to fifth or sixth, but it is increasingly likely that the Flyers will have a Top-5 pick.

That starts the critical offseason for the Flyers, the opportunity to get a top player in the draft and continue the rebuild in the most traditional fashion. But from there, what do the Flyers do and how aggressive does Danny Briere decide to get?

The Flyers have seven picks in the first two rounds. Each of their second-round picks will be in the first 16 picks of the round. Their own third-round pick will also be 68th overall, giving the Flyers eight picks in the first 68 overall selections.

The Flyers could certainly make all eight selections, but it’s more likely they look to use some of those picks to either trade around the various rounds or use them to try to acquire a player at a position of need.

The Flyers need to add centers to the roster. They still lack a No. 1 defenseman. Could a goalie be acquired on the trade market instead of through a low-risk, short-term signing? 

But the real question on the Flyers aggression in the offseason will come down to offer sheets and free agents. There are several young centers who are restricted free agents, names like Mason McTavish, Marco Rossi, and Gabriel Vilardi. Could the Flyers look to swoop in and sign offer sheets to bolster the roster?

Briere’s actions will ultimately determine how much the Flyers believe the rebuild is nearing its end. An aggressive offseason to acquire more established talent could be a sign they feel they can contend next season. But the Flyers may also look at next season as the last of this kind and are setting the stage for the 2026 offseason.

That’s in the hands of Briere, and his decisions, both now and next offseason, will define his tenure and the direction of the team moving forward.