Stat Hockey’s Philadelphia Flyers 2023-24 Line Projections

This is a look at the Philadelphia Flyers 2023-24 line projections. It will cover all forward lines, defense pairings, goaltenders, and scratches.

Projected Lineup

F

Travis Konecny – Sean Couturier – Owen Tippett

Joel Farabee – Morgan Frost – Cam Atkinson

Scott Laughton – Noah Cates – Tyson Foerster

Nick Deslauriers – Ryan Poehling – Garnett Hathaway

S- Wade Allison, Tanner Laczynski

D

Travis Sanheim – Cam York

Marc Staal – Rasmus Ristolainen

Yegor Zamula – Sean Walker

S- Nick Seeler

G

Carter Hart

Cal Petersen

Forwards

The Flyers are looking a fair bit different than they did last season up front. Couturier and Atkinson are back, so that gives them two top-six players to work with. In the absence of those two, Frost and Tippett were forced to step up and had themselves impressive coming out parties. It should earn them full time top-six roles even this season.

I like Tippett on the top line to play alongside Couturier and learn from him. A good mix of veterans and young players is never a bad idea. Konecny is a top line winger and should play there this season. With Atkinson back and Tippett also playing on the right side, Konecny is able to shift over to his off side. With these two talented players, Tippett will be able to blossom even more into what the Flyers hope he can be.

This means Frost should get veteran Atkinson on his wing as well as Farabee who will be looking to bounce back. This line has potential, but doesn’t match up great against most second lines in the league.

The third line is where things get interesting for the Flyers. Laughton is coming off a career year in which the Flyers were asking for a whole lot to even consider moving him. He will be riding high after last season and give young Cates and Foerster a boost. Cates is looking to build off of an impressive rookie season and get some more help. Foerster might also be able to provide that after recording seven points in his first eight NHL games. I could see any one of these three being moved up at any time this season to mix up lines.

The fourth line is nothing special, but they will play classic Flyers hockey. Deslauriers and Hathaway create an immensely physical duo on the wings while Poehling is young enough that he still has some upside. This line will create energy at the very least, but not play a ton. Allison should also see a fair bit of time in the lineup whether there’s space or not.

Defense

The defense has a much different look than last season with Ivan Provorov and Tony DeAngelo gone. York moves into a clear top-four role and should even get top pairing minutes. Sanheim becomes the clear cut number one defenseman who is great defensively. He has made Ristolainen a much better defender when playing alongside him, but York could also greatly benefit.

Staal isn’t a slouch defensively and should be able to level out Ristolainen a bit at the very least. This will definitely not be a great second pairing, but there is experience.

Related: Stat Hockey’s Ottawa Senators 2023-24 Line Projections

I think Zamula finally gets into a full time role after shorter stints over the past three seasons. He’s no longer able to be sent up and down freely and is one of the future pieces the Flyers hope to develop nicely. He should get more playing time than Seeler on the left side. As for the right side, Walker came over and will be decent enough on the third pair.

Goaltending

Hart had a good season for the Flyers and won the team a number of games. I don’t think much should change this season for him as John Tortorella expects effort from his players no matter the skill. Petersen will be looking to bounce back in a big way with the Flyers after being sent to the AHL in Los Angeles. If he can’t, there’s a few young goalies waiting for their chance this season.