Briere needs to up his game if Flyers can make the leap

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

In a season-ending press conference that lasted suspiciously under 30 minutes on May 14, Flyers general manager Danny Briere said a lot without giving away too much.

Admittedly, just four days after the conclusion of a season that clearly energized fans, players and decision makers alike, Briere wasn’t going to have too many bullets in the chamber. 

The future looks bright after a surprise post-Olympic run to secure a playoff berth and then a satisfying six-game dispatch of a fading longtime rival. Then again, how many times have we seen this before? 

It’s easy for Briere, retroactively, to say the unstated goal from the start of the season was for the Flyers to make the playoffs. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc. All my Latin scholars and West Wing fans can look that up. 

But now that goal became reality, what next? Make the playoffs for a string of seasons? Win one round and have a better showing in the second? Win two rounds? Who stays and who goes? Who knows? The shadow?

Instead of taking a risk and perhaps letting slip some internal discussions or shallow thoughts on the matter, he stonewalled.

“It doesn’t,” he said when asked if a trip to the second round altered the master plan. “If there’s a chance to help improve the team, something that makes sense for the long run, yes, we will jump on it. As far as I’m concerned it’s the same thing. We’re in a growth part of the rebuild. What has changed is the experience our guys have gotten.”

Sitting up close, Briere’s demeanor betrayed nothing but revealed nothing. I realize poker faces are required for the job, but after we lived through the robotic Chuck Fletcher era, which followed somnolent Ron Hextall pressers, is it too much to ask for the current GM to act like he doesn’t need a jolt from a 9-volt battery attached to somewhere sensitive? 

Maybe it's the way the organization needs the job portrayed, as Paul Holmgren's stoic, steely-eyed public demeanor belied some pretty serious emotions stuffed down just below the surface.

Briere continued in his quiet, understated manner: “I don’t wanna lower expectations, either. I think they believe they can make the playoffs again. They want another taste of it. I would think that after tasting it, all our guys, going back into next year … you gotta be careful in how much pressure you put, obviously, but that was such a fun run and I think the guys want to experience that again.”

(Head desk) 

Playoff Success is an Elastic Concept

Briere was brought here as a free-agent splurge in the summer of 2007 in the wake of a dead-last overall season, a steady performer as the club did a full reversal. His first 5 years produced a surprise run to the Eastern finals (2008), then a first-round exit (2009), a surprise Stanley Cup Finals run (2010) followed by a four-game second round sweep (2011), to a fan-pleasing dispatch of a perennially hated rival ahead of a disappointing loss to a formerly-hated rival (2012).

Those were the Clarke-Holmgren-Snider axis days, when an unplanned leap forward in the postseason immediately triggered a seismic shift in expectations, backed by rivers of cash and cap space. 

I get what Briere is doing, throwing cold water on speculation to buy some time until key discussions are undertaken, but the next phase of the plan needs to be in place by summer’s end – whether it’s revealed publicly or not. So the players know where they stand. And most importantly, to curb wild speculation from all corners of the media.

With each individual era of success, there is a pattern of playoff rubber-banding between surprise and disappointment that has kept repeating throughout the franchise’s 60 years. The script is usually this: a surprise playoff entry goes further than predicted, the next year takes a surprising step back ahead of a galvanizing deep run before at least one year of further disappointment before the roster is dismantled.

It happened in the 70s, 80s, 90s and Oughts, too. The hour is upon Briere and company to flatten the curve in the 2020s. I have a hard time believing they think a linear path is possible. 

It’s a 32-team league where 16 teams advance and the cutoff is around 92-95 points. One of these seasons, no matter what the plan or Briere’s moves, they will take that proverbial step backward. It won’t be a negative on his ledger *unless* the braintrust sees no point in taking a risk.

“We don’t want to be forced to make a move, just to make a move, because we made it into the playoffs this year,” Briere also said in his presser, hinting at external questions of making a ‘big splash’ with plenty of cap space to come. “We’ve said it for a long time, we wanted to build a team that’s gonna be here for a long time, not just to go for it for a year or two.”

I give Briere credit for righting a ship that drifted, financially and talent-wise, under his predecessor with modest, low-risk moves, but a large chunk of success this season rests on the emergence of the players themselves. The young core certainly are on board with whatever comes next, thanks to their experience with heightened fan interest. 

“I probably had 7 or 8 guys in my exit meetings that specifically mentioned how the fans reacted at the end (with a lengthy ovation after Game 4 vs. the Hurricanes) and they said … they knew how special it was to play in the playoffs, in Philadelphia, they didn’t realize how special it was,” Briere admitted. “The fans made it extra special. What they did, our players noticed.”

How can Briere ensure his general vision of long-term sustained success comes to fruition? 

View From Above

Roster - Briere took a conservative path with his late-season AHL callups, pulled back from pulling back Denver Barkey & Alex Bump by head coach Rick Tocchet himself. He did let Porter Martone run free after leaving Michigan State. Good thing it worked out in small sample size. Now is the time for them take what’s there and to experience pits and ruts, uninterrupted, on the road to success.

That will best be served by a two-way feed of Briere suggesting to Tocchet he embrace more sharply-defined roles for each player and by Tocchet suggesting Briere trust in their usage. For the prospects or young guys looking to cement a roster spot for years to come, attempting to blindly mold them simply cannot happen anymore. No more center/wingers or winger/centers. Pick a line and optimal situation for the kids and keep ‘em there.

It is borderline criminal that there were, by my calculations, more than 40 different line combinations over the course of the regular season and half of the Flyers' 10 playoff outings.

With so much roster and cap space available due a raft of players on the Flyers and league-wide reaching either RFA or UFA status come July 1, Briere needs to be locked in and  make effective moves to plug holes. More on that next week. 

Coaches - Meddling in on-ice affairs is a recipe for disaster. However, if a fresh talent infusion whose individual skill sets could only help the power play don’t bear fruit next season, Briere would have to tell assistant coach Yogi Svejkovsky to bounce.

Even in an era of reduced penalties overall and a slimmer number of chances per game and per season, a lack of a functional power play puts too much pressure on 5v5 to win games. Yes, it might rankle Tocchet, an old-school mind who values loyalty and who brought Svejkovsky along from Vancouver, but failure is not an option. 

It is still uncertain (and has never been reported) whether the milquetoast Briere could get as heated and insistent as he might need to be to make tough choices and defend them. 

Also, as mentioned last week, the imbalanced relationship between Tocchet and Matvei Michkov and Tocchet and the rest of the Flyers roster has all the earmarks of the Columbia disaster – chips in the armor awaiting a true tipping point where the situation gyrates beyond salvation. 

There may come a day when Briere needs to step in, specifically on Michkov’s behalf, urging Tocchet to bridge whatever gap remains, instead of letting Michkov find out on his own how to gain his good graces. I hope some form of this discussion has already been attempted, due to what seems like a season-long series of one-sided leaks to media from Tocchet or higher-ups and a series of questionable scratches and lineup placement. 

Tocchet’s contract is for 5 years and if he’s losing a supposed franchise cornerstone due to intractability, or a pattern emerges where his my-way-or-the-highway approach starts to backfire, Briere is well within his rights to shorten that leash. 

Futures - For the upcoming Entry Draft (June 26-27 in Buffalo) Briere has picks in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds, then has to wait until the 6th and 7th rounds to engage. That means there’s little to no wiggle room on reaches or projects. 

I’m not delving into specifics, as my role here as writer is not to play amateur scout and GM. Long time fans should be more concerned about the how and why, once the pick is made, rather than who. 

As a forever proponent of courting high-end Division 1 talent, Briere and assistant GM Brent Flahr need to figure out how to build a credible scouting system for American colleges. It’s not every year you hit on a No. 6 pick and then have a dark horse 5th-rounder arrive in the same season.

The club’s mid-round choices have been atrocious (Jay O’Brien), unstable (Wade Allison), Quad-A talent (Tanner Laczynski) or teetering on the brink of obscurity (Noah Powell, Ryan MacPherson) and the remainder of their historic drafting/signing relies too much on filling spots in the AHL or on favored nations (i.e. Western Michigan, Boston University, North Dakota). And you can't be wary of programs like Boston College because of one public blow out.

This is where I wish the late, great Ray Shero could have made the most impact if he were to agree to a front-office spot. He turned both the Devils and Penguins into sharper scouts.

In general, let the organizational perspective match the player’s size, skills and maturity is the first step. Allowing growth without complaint, or suggested guidance at the D1, European or junior levels is next. Aligning the Flyers’ plans with development in Allentown and John Snowden’s marching orders is the second-to-last level. Jett Luchanko? Once he lands in Allentown, groom him to either be a 1C or 3C Jack Nesbitt? Slot him into the opposite role when you decide where Luchanko fits. Oliver Bonk? Let him clean up that AHL minus-14 without shackling the skill that got him an NHL glimpse.

Keep it here next week where I'll talk about some obvious and not-so-obvious choices Briere faces to stock the 26-27 roster. If you missed it, read the Phanatic's take on first-year head coach Rick Tocchet.

Eagles, Patriots consummate deal for WR A.J. Brown

On Monday, the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots finalized a trade which saw wide receiver A.J. Brown heading from the NFC East to the AFC East. 

A collection of stories about the deal, its ramifications and the drama surrounding it below:

From Johnny Mac himself at Sports Illustrated: https://tinyurl.com/3ue9jfrj

From Bleeding Green Nation on the relationship between WR1 and QB1: https://tinyurl.com/3um9fuc3

From Mike Reiss and others at ESPN: https://tinyurl.com/4uk8t4y4

Sanchez wins NL Pitcher of the Month honors

From Yahoo.com

Philadelphia Phillies left-handed starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez edged out Jacob Misiorowski for NL Pitcher of the Month honors, MLB announced late this morning. 

Across the entire month of May, Sanchez failed to allow a single run -- earned or otherwise.

He worked at least 7 innings during each of his 5 starts, striking out 45 batters and walking only 3 over 39 innings. In the process, Sanchez surpassed Hall-of-Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander for the Phillies' all-time consecutive scoreless innings record, which was held since 1911. 

Heading into Wednesday's outing at home against the San Diego Padres, the 29-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has held opponents scoreless in 44 2/3 innings, currently the longest active stretch in the majors. Only Los Angeles Dodgers starter Orel Hershiser in September 1988, according to MLB.com's Paul Casella, went an entire month without allowing a run, doing so during his 59-inning scoreless run that stands as the current major-league record.

On May 16 at Pittsburgh, Sanchez tossed a 6-hit shutout while fanning 13 and failing to walk a batter, the first full-game clean sheet ffor a Phillies starter since Sanchez himself accomplished the feat in June 2024 against the Marlins.

The previous Phillies pitcher to be named Pitcher of the Month for the Senior Circuit was Zack Wheeler in June 2025.

Misiorowski, a right-hander for the Milwaukee Brewers, also turned in a stellar second full month of the 2026 campaign, racking up an 0.23 ERA and 57 strikeouts over 38 1/3 innings.  

For the full list of award winners in both the AL and NL, click here.

Calculated gamble on Tocchet pays even odds in first year

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

Signed to a reported 5-year contract with a mandate to get the Philadelphia Flyers over the hump of also-rans and turn them into playoff contenders and ready-for-primetime players, Rick Tocchet’s first year as a head coach for the team which drafted him can be called a qualified success.

Exactly 382 days ago, my first offering at the resurrected Phanatic concerned the Tocchet’s hiring, the cherry on top of Comcast Chairman and Chief Executive Officer/Flyers governor Dan Hilferty’s nostalgic fever dream. 

It was another dip into the well of former Flyers in close-quartered hockey decision making which already included GM Danny Briere, president of hockey ops Keith Jones, alongside John LeClair and Patrick Sharp.

Looking back, much of the column was a string of cogent, but runaway thoughts and projections based on a press conference long on good feelings but short on insight into Tocchet’s selection. None of that matters, for the moment. 

After a mad dash to a playoff berth on the heels of a deep trough in mid-season, Tocchet appeared on the franchise ledger as the 7th head coach to complete a full first season behind the bench and guide his club to a playoff berth – following Keith Allen, Mike Keenan, Paul Holmgren, Ken Hitchcock, Dave Hakstol and Alain Vigneault. Among these, only Keenan, Holmgren, Hitch and AV won a round. 

What’s more, he received the good kind of public vote of confidence from Briere on front office break-up day, May 14.

“I think he did a great job,” Briere admitted. “I knew him as a teammate, I watched him from afar when he was coaching (in Pittsburgh & Arizona). I was really impressed by how involved he was with the players.”

Time will tell what the front office expects from Tocchet next year. Though Briere cautioned against the inflation which infected previous regimes, expectations will be raised and will be based on the work on and off ice Briere apparently observed from Tocchet since he took over.

“The amount of time he was spending on the ice, after practices, other coaches are gone, it was really impressive how he stayed and worked with guys individually,” Briere noted. “The relationship that he had with the players, you saw some of the clips that were played in the dressing room after games. There’s a connection there.”

A caveat: among the five, including Tocchet, to make the playoffs following a full first year at the helm, only Keenan and Hitchcock returned to the postseason the next year. 

Nonetheless, a 43-win, 98-point season earned the 62-year-old enough recognition in a crowded field for the Jack Adams Trophy to garner 3 first-place votes and rank 7th (ahead of former teammate and conference semifinal opponent Rod Brind'Amour of Carolina) overall.

With apologies to a former colleague who’s still plugging away in the same fashion after all these years, here’s the Good, the Bad & the Ugly of Tocchet’s initial season.

Good - Philly on the radar

If you believe the sports-talk-radio-fueled philosophy that an NHL city needs to be “relevant” to attract free agents, prospects and other high-end talent, Tocchet might have created a haven here. Briere seemed all too eager to back his bench boss.

“He’s known as a ‘player’s coach,’ I’ve heard that from many agents,” Briere continued. “I’ve gotten a lot of comments from agents that their players would certainly be open to playing here because of Rick Tocchet.” 

That confidence apparently also stretched to Tocchet's recognition that players like Denver Barkey and Alex Bump -- both of whom started the year in Allentown -- were an integral part of the club's late-season success. Briere even admitted Tocchet's belief in Bump saved him from an early trip back to the AHL after his early March call up.

Courtesy of the Associated Press

Given plenty of operating room within the salary cap thanks to its expected increase, some badly-needed money off the books and a burning need to address that perennially nagging 1C need, Briere should set out to help Tocchet ASAP. 

Whether intended or unintended due to the flood of young players who comprised the NHL roster by the end of the regular season, the atmosphere in the room seems to be an exciting, collegial one. A late-season charge to an unexpected playoff spot helps foster that atmosphere in a bubble, but the full-season grind starting in September will go a long way towards determining if that was a mirage. 

Defensively sound, differently

John Tortorella’s methods were clear: at all costs and at all times, clog up the passing lanes and shooting lanes whenever and wherever possible with no fear of the puck. 

Tocchet’s system which aided goaltender Dan Vladar by “cutting the net in half” and reducing the number of shot attempts and shots on goal without physically wearing on the roster, worked wonders for his and the club’s overall up front numbers. 

The Flyers surrendered just 25.5 shots per contest (only Carolina, Vegas & Ottawa yielded fewer) and ranked 9th in total goals allowed with 243. Vladar met his career-best workload with regular-season highs in total saves (1162 on 1283 shots) goals-against average (2.42), tied in save percentage (.906), while personally facing 24.6 shots per appearance. In the playoffs, those were 271/294 (.922) and two shutouts among his 4 victories.

Their 243 total goals surrendered were the fewest for an uninterrupted season since Dave Hakstol’s last full season of 2017-18 (also 243).

Bad - More offense required

The same philosophy which helped Vladar by “cutting the net in half” and reducing the number of shot attempts and SOGs unfortunately provided an obstacle for generating chances where it counts.

The Flyers finished 28th in the league (only the Blues, Stars, Rangers & Blackhawks averaged fewer) with 25.5 SOG per game. Their 250 total goals – most for a full season since 2017-18 (251) ranked 10th in the East. In an era of boosted offense, However, their 240 goals in regulation/overtime push that average down from 3.04 to a pedestrian 2.92. 

Plus, among the eight Eastern playoff teams, the Flyers’ total goals ranked last, a whopping 22 behind Ottawa.

The Orange and Black haven’t seen a season’s average end well above three goals per, since 2011-12 (264 total goals, 3.21 per game; 260 reg/OT goals, 3.17 per game) and will need both a tweak in philosophy and more confidence in their puck release to increase their scoring in all phases. The hope over here is that longer-term solutions to this issue, like inclusion of Bump and Porter Martone onto the roster from the start of the season, as players who are more willing to shoot no matter where, will boost these numbers.

Keeping Focus

You can actually pinpoint the second the Flyers’ season ripped in half. On Jan. 6, they were relatively healthy at 22-12-7, 4 points out of first in the Metro and in solid playoff position. Then, the Old Time Hockey circus atmosphere consumed the hosts as they beat Anaheim, 5-2, while Stepford Fans piled on Ducks winger William C. Gauthier. 

Tocchet said he loved the home response. The players had shit-eating grins postgame. 

From all the energy expended to gain that meaningless, out-of-conference win, a freefall of 3-9-4 up to the Olympic break featured key injuries, lotsa fatigue and questionable decisions beyond roster roulette from Tocchet like that last-minute practice on Jan. 14 ahead of travel to – and a loss against – Buffalo.

That, right there, is the reason the Orange and Black needed a mad dash to a playoff berth in the first place. It worked this year. Odds are against them if they wind up on the same trajectory next year.

It’s up to the coaching staff and Tocchet as the head of the spear, to understand that an even keel at all times is the way. Perhaps this will be Briere’s greatest test of communication between off-and-on-ice philosophies: any change in culture has to extend to correction of a head coach who’s mentality on certain issues remains stuck in the 1980s.

Ugly - Странный человек

Say what you want about the internal mechanisms of an overwhelmingly English-speaking locker room and the external drama exposed and fostered by the regular beats at suspicious intervals about the relationship between Tocchet and Matvei Michkov. 

Following the break-up pressers several weeks ago, there are more questions about the ebb of this relationship than answers, given the overwhelming responses from the rest of the young core that the atmosphere “in the room” is great for development because so many players have peers their age and experience to work with and learn alongside.

Tocchet can’t really claim to be so much of an open-minded, input-friendly players’ coach if even one player seems to be left behind – whether it be due to long-term injury, differences in temperament or a language barrier – especially if it happens to be a high-level draftee tagged as a franchise cornerstone whose rookie season under the previous regime looked far more promising. 

Perhaps it’s even as simple as majority rules and with Michkov the loose end that needed to make more effort to gain the head coach’s trust, but we’ll never know. We got plenty of almost-certainly-leaked news bites through the beats plenty of times from the start of the season until the end, when he was benched for Jett Luchanko in an elimination game.

We never got Michkov’s side of the story and most likely never will. Concurrent with being a petty, snide way to conduct business, it must have had the intended effect, as we found out in Tocchet’s presser that Michkov was already doing laps. 

I’d put the breakdown of responsibility for improving the relationship going forward at 80/20 for Tocchet, with Michkov’s 20 percent revolving around mandatory offseason English lessons while he’s skating like a madman to watch that chicken fat go.

The power play

Although this particular task was delegated to Yogi Svejkovsky, Tocchet brought him on as an assistant and stuck him with the responsibility, so his name goes with the blame. The raw numbers: 37-for-235 during the regular season (15.7%, 32 out of 32 teams); 3-for-36 (8.33%; 14 out of 16 teams) in the playoffs.

These issues are not acutely Flyers specific. Both the high-scoring Buffalo Sabres (21st at 19.5%) and Colorado Avalanche (27th at 17.1%) suffered through inexplicably awful regular seasons and tepid playoffs with the man advantage.

Not having the requisite shooters rests on GMs Chuck Fletcher and Briere – including the late-season trade of one-time NCAA scoring leader Bobby Brink; a chronic inability to shoot lies with the players themselves where confidence can’t be taught; the system itself and its ineptitude points directly at Svejkovsky.

Tocchet may not have an answer to fixing the acute on-ice issues, but during his farewell conference, he laid down a comprehensive method to overhauling hearts and minds which convinced me he’s at least committed to seeing the potential resolution of a nagging issue from all angles. Interesting that it was not an organic response, but one that was prompted by a local writer. More on that in later posts this summer.

The inclusion of Bump and Martone more often in the mix on either PP unit might be the ice-level spur needed.

Next week, be sure to check in as The Phanatic examines Danny Briere's third season at the helm.

 

Sanchez snaps 115-year-old Phillies record for consecutive scoreless innings

Courtesy of the Phillies

 With his clean sheet through the end of the bottom of the fourth inning at Petco Park in San Diego, Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez set a new franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings at 41 2/3.

The original record of 41 straight scoreless was set by Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1911 -- a mere 18 years since the pitcher's mound was codified as 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate. 

Sanchez' streak officially sits at 44 2/3 innings after he worked 7 scoreless frames innings in an eventual 3-0 victory over the Padres to close out a 3-game sweep on Wednesday afternoon.

Sanchez ended his outing with exactly 100 pitches, 67 for strikes. He struck out 9 and walked none, yielding just 6 hits. It is the ninth time this season in 12 starts Sanchez has worked at least 6 full innings.

"It's something special. Something really important. I never imagined something like this so I'm just really happy and proud of myself," Sanchez told Phillies broadcasters Tom McCarthy and John Kruk immediately following the conclusion of the contest through his interpreter, 

On surviving a couple close calls with balls hit deep int the outfield, requiring expert plays: "It was crazy today. (Padres infielder Manny) Machado was really going for me, but he couldn't." 

"Just staying calm and thinking about one pitch at a time," he added when asked about working through those rare times runners were on base. "If you take it one pitch at a time and try not to be over aggressive."

Current Phils radio color commentator Larry Andersen still holds the record for consecutive scoreless innings from a relief pitcher, tossing 32 2/3 innings without a blemish back in 1984.

Other Phillies pitchers to toss a significant amount of scoreless innings include, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com: 

Cliff Lee 34 IP (2011)

Dick Farrell 32 2/3 IP (1957-58)

Ranger Suarez 32 IP (2024) 

Robin Roberts 32 IP (1950) 

Ken Heintzelman 32 IP (1949) 

In addition, according to longtime baseball writer Jayson Stark, Sanchez now ranks third among all MLB left-handers for consecutive scoreless innings. The others: Doc White (45 IP, 1904) and Carl Hubbell (45 1/3 IP, 1933).

Sanchez did not allow a single run of any kind in the month of May, across 5 starts and 39 innings, going 4-1.

The all-time record for consecutive scoreless innings by any pitcher is 59 innings, accomplished in 1988 by Cherry Hill High School East graduate and veteran hurler Orel Hershiser, for the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Per Langs, after Hershiser, the record of scoreless innings for all pitchers are as follows: Don Drysdale (58 IP, 1968) Bob Gibson (47 IP, 1968) Zack Greinke (45 2/3 IP, 2015). 

"He's been really good for quite a long time now," said Phils shortstop Trea Turner following the game, which featured the rest of the club toasting Sanchez in the locker room. "When you're that consistent, you're going to start putting your name up there with those other guys. He deserves it."

Can Dan Vladar handle being a No. 1 goaltender?

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

If nothing else, Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar is direct and to the point. 

It is a hallmark of a significant number of Slavic peoples. Evidence of this, as far as the franchise is concerned, stretches back at least as far as former defenseman and Czechia native Petr Svoboda’s assessment of Buffalo upon his acquisition by Philadelphia in the spring of 1995, as told by long-time backliner Chris Therien.

So when Vladar told an assembled throng of team personnel and media on players’ breakup day, May 12, that he’s intensely ruminating over the final goal of the Flyers’ season – a less-than-classic tally scored by Carolina forward Jackson Blake roughly 5 ½ minutes into overtime of a season-ending Game 4 just 17 days ago – with roughly 60-odd hours between the red light and the interview, you gotta believe him. 

“I probably watched it 150 times, getting more and more mad and it’s still in me,” he admitted. “That’s another fire that’s going to be driving me forward. Goals happen. They happen every single day around the league. For me, (it’s about) that mentality to give myself a better chance to be a better goalie next year.”

When asked what it was like failing to stop the last shot he faced? “Tough.”

Onto the offseason, and there was more compact communication. 

When asked if the undisclosed injury that is definitely in the hand and/or arm area suffered when Penguins winger Bryan Rust strafed him in the first round would affect training over the summer, he offered just five words: “No, I don’t think so.”

When pressed on what, specifically, he could work on this summer, he chose the politician’s route, saying: “We can always get better and obviously there’s gonna be little things that I’m gonna go meet with Dilly (Kim Dillabaugh) our goalie coach here and have a long conversation,” he hedged, but then struck back with this nugget: 

“I’m not sure I’m gonna give you any hints right now but there’s gonna be stuff, for sure.”

One of those things that screams out on video, his occasional ability to lose focus when playing the puck. We all know about the twin gaffes against the Penguins and Hurricanes which cost goals. But this is something that goes back to his days with the Flames:

Asked about a contract extension, as Vladar is an unrestricted free agent in July 2027, heading into the final year of his current 2-year, $6.7M deal: “If you ask the same question to Danny B, I’m gonna be watching, so we’ll see what he says.”

Danny B apparently heard him and, two days later, offered little in the way of truthiness. Nonetheless, it’s still curious that rumors of an extension started wafting about a week after the breakup. As reported by at least one beat, the new contract would be in the range of 3-to-6 years, with a shorter term meaning higher average annual value. And if you believe some internet radio host whose face keeps popping up on my YouTube feed for no good or apparent reason, Vladar has some kind of clue, from somewhere, that the Flyers are interested in retaining his services.

If these feelers are true and not just leaks intended to keep the fanbase attuned after the Flyers were eliminated, Briere is about to fall into the trap of extending based on potential and not reality. As true today as it was when I first mentioned it around 2015; hockey logic and human logic don’t often intersect.

Other than not wanting to negotiate or sign in-season, what’s wrong with waiting until, let’s say, next All-Star break to have more data, statistics and trends from which to make a decision?

Vladar appears to have the internal drive and temperament, as well as an advanced standing in media relations, to be a long-time starter for the Flyers. The (multi) million dollar question is, will Vladar be ready to be a true No. 1?

Vladar made some history this past postseason. He joined Bernie Parent, Pelle Lindbergh, Ron Hextall, Michael Leighton and Carter Hart as the only netminders to record more than one shutout within a playoff series. 

When the day eventually arrives, he will also become the first, among goaltenders to play at least 40 games in any single year, to record at least one postseason clean sheet before doing so in the regular season.

Vladar laid the foundation for that success with a slew of career bests: highs in wins (29), total minutes (2995:13), tying a career high in save percentage (.906), setting a career low in goals against average (2.42). Saves like these, in Columbus in late January – where flexibility and timing are required – aren’t the kind we need to see often, but it’s good to have in the repertoire:

He ended the year having surrendered 3 or fewer goals in 20 of his final 23 starts since a stinker on March 9 at home vs. the Rangers, also racking up a .922 save pct. and 2.18 GAA across 10 playoff starts. Those stats helped, no doubt, by head coach Rick Tocchet’s system of shot suppression, where the 27-year-old faced 25.16 per game in the regular season.

How does Vladar’s workload measure up to other starters over the last decade?

• In 2025-26, he played a total of 62 contests: 52 regular season, 10 playoffs.
• In 2024-25, Sam Ersson logged the most with 47 games on his ledger. 
• Two years back, Ersson appeared 51 times, as Carter Hart, the October starter, played 26 games before his release.  
• Hart saw action in 55 games in 2022-23.  
• In 2021-22, Hart appeared 45 times while insurance backup Martin Jones played in 35. 
• During the COVID year of 2021, Brian Elliott played in 30 of the mandated 56-game slate. 
• In Alain Vigneault’s first full season, 2019-20, Hart was called on 43 times. 
• During 2018-19, 8 goaltenders played at least one game, with Hart logging the most at 31 games and Elliott adding 26. 
• Dave Hakstol’s last full season behind the bench, 2017-18, Elliott got the nod 43 times. 
• During Hak’s first two seasons, it was Mason as the clear starter, playing in 54 and 58 games, respectively.

Nobody will touch the Flyers’ all-time record for appearances in one season by a goaltender, set by Parent (73 games over a 78-game schedule, 1973-74). A future starter might never even get close to Parent’s 68 appearances in 1974-75 or Martin Biron's same number in 2007-08.

After that:

65 games - Lindbergh (1984-85)

61 games - Mason (2013-14)

60 games - Dominic Roussel (1993-94)

59 games - Ilya Bryzgalov (2011-12)

When asked about the Flyers’ historical lack of maintaining the presence of a No. 1 goaltender, Vladar said that one of the reasons he chose Philadelphia was the opportunity to play and claim the starter’s role. He’s got the reins now. It’s up to the coaching staff and his own performance. 

While Briere said during his final presser that he’d have to evaluate whether Ersson would be back next year, here are the financials: Ersson’s current deal expired with restricted free-agent status after earning $1.45M last season. Alexei Kolosov was signed in mid-May to a “show us something, please, we’re begging you” 1-year contract at $850K after earning $925K last year into his own RFA season. 

Ersson is a logical choice to be brought back, albeit at a discount. Educated guess, he’d get up to one-third of the work – which would set him up for 25-27 starts and roughly 28-30 appearances. If Ersson is either low-balled or flat-out non tendered, it’s another headache for Briere to have to comb the free-agent market to find a veteran stopgap, because nobody thinks Kolosov is an answer.

That means Vladar would shoulder the burden of 55-57 starts, brushing up against the threshold of the above-mentioned No. 1 guys from the past. Assuming one playoff round, we’re at anywhere from 59-69 appearances if Ersson or another choice falters, it might be more. 

“Obviously I’m not satisfied with (last) season. I want more,” Vladar said. “But at the same time I know we have great team staff around here in Philly and also I trust my guys back home in the summer. I think everybody’s on the same page and it’s going to be a conversation we’re gonna have to get me as ready as possible.”

Remembering Tommy Greene's unlikely 1991 no-hitter

The guy who pitched one of the least likely no-hitters in Phillies franchise history wasn't even supposed to have taken the mound on that Thursday afternoon in Montreal.

Danny Cox, who had appeared twice in the World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, was the Phils' No. 2 starter in 1991 (behind Terry Mulholland) and was scheduled to take a turn and win the rubber match of a three-game series. 

Trouble was, Cox had apparently pulled a muscle and couldn't go.

Enter Tommy Greene. 

Greene, clearly the add-on in the August, 1990 deal in which GM Lee Thomas acquired late-career slugger Dale Murphy, had pitched in all of 25 games in the majors until May 23, 1991. He was a swing man for then-Phils manager Jim Fregosi, with his last appearance 6 days prior, in mop-up duty where he picked up the win by tossing the final 4 scoreless innings in a 1-0, 16-inning victory over the Cubs.

Despite being one game below .500, the Phillies were a hurting bunch.

Just over 2 weeks prior, a car accident after a bachelor party for outfielder John Kruk resulted in centerfielder Lenny Dykstra -- who drove while intoxicated and crashed his sports car into a tree in Radnor Township in the early morning hours of May 7 -- suffering a broken collarbone, broken ribs and a broken cheekbone, while starting catcher Darren Daulton sustained a fractured left orbital bone and scratched cornea.

So it was Greene and backup Darren Fletcher the battery at Stade Olympique, opposing Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, who'd pitched alongside Roger Clemens with the Red Sox for 5 seasons

It had been 281 days since Mulholland no-hit the San Francisco Giants and was one throwing error away from pitching a perfect game that instead went in the books as a 6-0 victory and the first Phillies no-no recorded at Veterans Stadium. Greene was on the bench for that one, having been acquired from the Braves just over a week prior. 

As told to MLB.com in 2021, here's Greene's thought process as he took the hill: "Mentally, I told myself I was going to treat this start like I treated my relief appearances. Be aggresstive and go as long and as hard as I can. My thought was 'if I run out of gas, they will put someone else in for me.' Hold nothing back!"

In return, his teammates provided the slimmest of margins for error -- a first-inning RBI triple from Ricky Jordan after Kruk reached with a 2-out double.

Greene did manage to retire 11 in a row at one point, between the 2nd and 5th innings, but had at least 1 runner on base in the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th and 8th frames. Along with his career-best 10 strikeouts, he walked 7 batters, including two in the 2nd and two more in the 6th. 

With three outs to go, Philly's offense came to life for the second and final time, on back-to-back doubles from Von Hayes and Fletcher. 

More Greene: "It wasn't until after the seventh inning that I realized I hadn't given up a hit. When I did that, I immediately thought of the three no-hit bids I had coming up through the minor leagues that I lost with two outs and two strikes in the last inning. I said to myself, 'take one batter at a time.' In the bottom of the ninth, I was facing the meat of their order."

Andres Galarraga was his 10th and final punchout for the first out of the 9th. Larry Walker was retired on a routine ground ball to third. 

Tim Wallach was the final batter, and here's Greene's mindset as revealed in that 2021 piece: "I then told myseld I was going straight after Tim. I wasn't getting two strikes again unless he fouled pitches off. 'Fletch' put down the sign for a fastball. By then, I had thrown probably over 100 fastballs out of my 135 pitches. I agreed with his sign and said to myself, 'stay aggressive,' and threw the fastball on the outer half of the plate. He swung and hit probably the hardest ball all day but it was a one-hopper right back to me."

The highlight package from KYW 3 tells the rest of the story: 

If you remember this game well, you might have been playing sick, or hooky, from either work or school. The final contest in the three-game set against the Expos was a Thursday afternoon first pitch, coming at a time when break time for TV watching at either work or school was reserved for things like the NCAA tournament only when local universities were playing.

After a 4-9 start which cost Nick Leyva his job, long-time major leaguer and former Angels and White Sox skipper Jim Fregosi was called upon from his brief stint in the broadcast booth to bring a desperately needed spark. The 2-0 win brought the Phillies up to the .500 mark for the first (20-20) AND last time all season. 

Despite the eventual returns of Dykstra and Daulton, a lack of depth across the roster began to take its toll and by late July, the Phillies were dead last in the NL East. 

Only a 13-game win streak and solid play over the remainder of the schedule -- even after Dykstra was lost for the back end of the season after breaking his other collarbone colliding with the outfield wall in Cincinnati -- brought their record to 78-84, good enough for 3rd place in a weak division.

Greene finished the 1991 campaign with a 13-7 record, 2 more complete games and a 3.38 ERA over 207.1 innings. He endured a mostly injury-plagued career from there, the lone exception a brilliant 1993 campaign during which he finihsed 16-4 with 7 complete games and 2 shutouts for the National League champions. 

The Phillies would not record another no-hitter until April 27, 2003, at the Vet. Kevin Millwood shut down the Giants, 1-0.

Bump and Martone, Part Deux

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

Flyers prospects Alex Bump and Porter Martone, as I mentioned in a previous column from the end of the regular season, are former Division 1 college hockey wingers getting looks as potential long-term NHL roster solutions, although both are on separate but distinct trajectories.

Bump, a 5th-rounder who spent 2 years at Western Michigan before turning pro, and Martone, the No. 6 pick last June who exited after one season in Michigan State, will presumably be given every chance to compete for a roster spot – and two may even be held for them to 

lose – but the burden of expectation and the pressure of success may have a larger influence on their growth than performance alone.

One of the key concepts from both GM Danny Briere and head coach Rick Tocchet that emerged at their respective season-ending conferences last week, was that the young guys who entered the lineup later in the season can go away having a taste of what the playoffs mean. 

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that both Bump and Martone have yet to confront what happens *before* the playoffs, namely the grind of participating in a full 82-game season. 

Judging by that metric, Bump has a serious head start on Martone but hasn’t lapped him yet. The 22-year-old lefty shooter logged 9 total appearances with the Phantoms last spring, then worked through an injury-shortened 36 AHL games this year, before 17 regular-season and 6 postseason starts for the Orange and Black punctuated by intermittent scratches.

“Absolutely. I think it was really good for me, just to get more reps, more puck touches, play more meaningful minutes,” Bump said of his season starting in the minors. “I think that really advanced and progressed my game. I’m super happy with my time down there. Obviously I don’t wanna go back but everyone down there makes (the experience) so fun and enjoyable.”

Bump also has a franchise record in his cap – just the third rookie in team history (Dave Poulin, 1983; Todd Bergen, 1985) to score in both his first NHL regular-season and first NHL playoff game. 

Martone, all of 19, took exactly half of his 10-game regular-season stint after bolting from Sparty  in the wake of a 50-point frosh campaign, to figure out just who he is at the top level of the game. He added a solid 10-game playoff slate. I wrote previously that he needed to figure out how to crack the code by starting with only 1 goal in 5 games, and he proved me wrong with relish. 

“Arriving at MSU back in September, you know it was difficult to be able to crack an NHL roster,” he said. “Looking back and talking to management, it was the best decision I could have made. I just didn’t want to come here and just be a part of (the playoff chase), I wanted to come here and make an impact.”

Here’s where the fork in the road arrives for both: Bump, who had a long runway to get to Philadelphia, is not in demand overseas. He won’t participate in the Worlds for Team USA. Martone, on the other hand, who rocketed through 35 games in college and 20 in the NHL since October, is a wanted man by Team Canada, wants that opportunity and already has a goal to his credit. He goes as far as his country goes.

Which one will be more rested, or at least more ready to tackle training camp in September with a full workload is a fair question. 

The odds right now, as they were in early April, are that Martone, the No. 6 draftee, would receive a greater benefit of the doubt but less leeway to earn a permanent spot, while the 5th-rounder may be scrutinized more after 4 months off but given more time to acclimatize. Both need to end up in the same place: contributing energy and offense every shift.

It’s a great problem to have, as Briere said of both players, whose respective rises were not on the call sheet when decisions were made to acclimatize them to the NHL in the season’s final 20 games. 

“I almost forget these little moments because we get in the playoffs and these guys played such a big role that I forgot they made (the NHL roster) and they hung around,” he admitted on May 14. “Their play kinda dictated that they hung around and played more. It’s not like it was planned that way, but to have them experience that and in such a big role (is great).”

Both Bump and Martone are works in progress, with both players displaying self-awareness in their gameplan to get ready for September’s training camp. They both recognized that speed and strength are skills in need of upgrade, with Bump saying he needs more weight and Martone stating he needs more muscle. They are, perhaps, the two keystones to greater stamina and durability.

"Obviously I’m really close to what I want to accomplish,” Bump said when asked if he still carries a chip on his shoulder as a 5th-round draftee.

With 5 goals on 23 shots (21.7%) in the regular season and 2 goals on 10 SOG (20%) in the playoffs, that's right where Bump needs to be, even if there is no revolutionary change to last year's low-event, high-danger approach. Extrapolated across a full season, that would be roughly 150 shots -- or less than 2 per game, to reach 30 goals.

“I know in my head that I can play in this league but I think there’s a lot more to prove and to show what I can do. I think I can do a lot more than what I’ve showed already.”

That chip can be whittled away by his accomplishments being given equal weight by those in charge of editing hype videos for Flyers prospects. It can also disappear with the right deployment by Rick Tocchet and the remainder of the coaching staff. The hope is, from this vantage point, neither will be subject to the amoeba treatment, shuttled from wing to center.

Bump is a “get-up-and-go” type player, who can take a puck from a scrum, create his own space in stride and shoot wherever there’s an open shot. He’s the ideal player on a power play for what was briefly known as the “Hartnell spot” at the edge of either circle roughly 15 feet from the net. 

Martone is a guy who can throw the body down low, in the corners or along the dashers, collect and distribute; he’s also the Wayne Simmonds-type player to chip the puck off net-mouth scrambles they need at even strength or on the advantage that hasn’t arrived since Wayne Simmonds. After his initial blip, 3 goals on 12 SOG (25%) followed in the regular season, but 2 scores on just 23 SOG (8.7%) in the playoffs begs for better choices and optimal positioning.

Collectively, the Flyers notched 240 regulation-time goals on 2,088 shots, a robust 11.5% overall, with an average of 25.46 SOG per contest. Including Bump and Martone on regular shifts would be key to reversing this trend.

Forget any teasers of tragedy in competition. There is no animus between the players, because they’re all part of the same group that will be relied on to take the club to the next level for the next year or two.

“It’s nice to go through it with someone else, like Barks (Denver Barkey) and Marty (Porter Martone). It’s nice to have younger guys around,” Bump added. “We’re with each other every day. You always have someone around to talk to about anything.”

Martone’s confidence already burst through amidst a baptism of fire, it’s up to all involved to build on the foundation. Bump’s foundation laid, his confidence will surely come with greater reliance and steadier work.

At an impressionable age, the only way to find out is by doing. If Martone wears down during the upcoming full-season grind and if Bump takes a while to get up to speed, it’s a very expensive lesson to learn. If both players arrive at the same point despite different offseasons, the rest of the league would pay the price.