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.

2026 Philadelphia Eagles schedule officially released

The National Football League made its master schedule for all 32 franchises official on Thursday night.

The defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles begin their slate on Sept. 13, Week 1 — vs. Washington Commanders at 4:25 PM.

Week 2 — at Tennessee Titans (September 20) Week 3 — at Chicago Bears (September 28, ESPN) Monday Night Football Week 4 — vs. Los Angeles Rams (October 4) Week 5 — at Jacksonville Jaguars in London(October 11) Week 6 — vs. Carolina Panthers (October 18) Week 7 — vs. Dallas Cowboys (October 26, ESPN) Monday Night Football Week 8 — at Washington Commanders (November 1, 8:20 PM, NBC) Sunday Night Football Week 9 — vs. New York Giants (November 8) Week 10 — Bye Week 11 — vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (November 22) Week 12 — at Dallas Cowboys (November 26, 4:30 PM, FOX) Thanksgiving Week 13 — vs. Indianapolis Colts (December 6) Week 14 — at Arizona Week 15 — vs. Seattle Seahawks Week 16 — vs. Houston Texans (December 24, 8:15 PM, Prime Video) Thursday Night Football Week 17 — at San Francisco 49ers (January 3, 8:20 PM, NBC) Sunday Night Football Week 18 — at New York Giants (TBD) Some #Eagles schedule notes: There are five scheduled primetime games for the fifth straight year. They have appeared in the third-most primetime games (114) in the NFL since 2000. -The Birds are slated for two Monday night games (at Chicago in Week 3 and vs. Dallas in Week 7) for the second consecutive season. Since 2000, the Eagles have played in the most Monday Night Football games (44) in the NFL. -The Midnight Green marauders travel to London for their third international regular-season game in Week 5 against Jacksonville at Tottenham Stadium. The Eagles previously defeated the Jaguars 24-18 on Oct. 28, 2018, at Wembley Stadium in London. -The Eagles will play on Thanksgiving Day for the eighth time in franchise history, last doing so in 2015. Overall, Philadelphia is 6-1 on Thanksgiving all-time. The .857 winning percentage on the uniquely American holiday is the highest of any team that has played at least 7 games.

Spectrum Memories: Playing Not to Lose Always Makes You Lose

Courtesy of ThePinkPuck.com

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

Facing a second consecutive death struggle in their second consecutive playoff series against a team from the Sunshine State, the Philadelphia Flyers had a prime chance to wrest control of their best–of-seven set against the Florida Panthers during a Game 5 Sunday matinee at the Spectrum.

From the drop, despite drawing even with a controversial overtime win less than 72 hours earlier, the Panthers did everything they could to give their hosts an advantage.

And unlike Cup challenging and Cup winning teams before them in the building, the Flyers never really took it.

Just 147 seconds after the opening faceoff, Panthers defenseman Paul Laus injected his elbow firmly into the mush of Flyers winger Pat Falloon, drawing a major penalty. The Flyers, who became flustered with Florida’s series-long commitment to perfect positional hockey in all three zones and in all situations, could only muster 2 shots on Panthers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. 

It took two more calls 27 seconds apart in the first 6 minutes of the second period for the Orange and Black to punch through. The Big Guy.

Stranger still, they were unable to build on that slender advantage by playing hesitantly. 

Stu Barnes managed to slip a squeaker home early in the third period to dampen any thoughts of extending that slim 1-goal edge. Second-year defenseman Chris Therien had to think quickly and clear a Tom Fitzgerald chance off the goal line early in the first OT.

And when journeyman grinder Mike Hough finally ended things before the midway point of the fifth period for a 2-1 result, as it was portrayed on all the TV stations, it looked like the hosts, nestled in the safety of their lockers, were tired and filled with relief they didn’t have to carry the anvil on their backs any longer.

“We were scared to make a mistake instead of going at them in overtime,” Dale Hawerchuk said later to Jay Greenberg of the Daily News.

Hawerchuk, having just completed his 15th NHL season and long since eclipsed the 1,000-game mark, still had yet to advance past the second round in 14 tries with either the Jets, Sabres or Philadelphia.

After beginning the 1995 summer playoff session with a 5-0 home record, they finished up a dismal 3-6 through the next 3 rounds. The Panthers limited the Flyers to just 11 goals across 6 games, their lowest total for a best-of-seven series which lasted at least that long since the Canadiens held them to 8 scores in a 6-game Wales Conference final in 1989.

So May 12, 1996 officially stands as the last meaningful Flyers game contested in the Spectrum, even though captain Eric Lindros put on his Mark Messier mask in the postgame and half-assedly assured a road win and Game 7 on home ice. 

“We’re coming back home,” he said. “We’re going to win.”

(Narrator voice) They did not, in fact, win.

Two nights later in Miami, the Panthers closed out the series thanks to 4 separate episodes of rat droppings. Less than one calendar year after so much emotion fueled a surprise run to the Eastern finals, Philly GM Bob Clarke was mystified at his team’s maddening fluctuations.

“Keeping our emotional level up has been a constant battle right from the beginning (of the playoffs), Clarke was quoted in Full Spectrum. “How can you be so high one game and so low the next?”

Over their 29-year tenure in the brown sardine can, the Orange and Black finished 79-52 in the postseason with two Stanley Cup championships, six trips to the Finals and 11 entries into the semifinal round.

The Flyers moved into the new building across the parking lot and the NHL schedule makers crafted a cruel reunion between the teams, with the first regular-season home date for Terry Murray’s club was a rematch with Doug MacLean’s defending Eastern Conference champions.

Florida went ahead and won that one, too, by a 3-1 count. And then won the second meeting in Philly a little over 3 weeks later, 3-2. The Panthers challenged the Oilers’ record of 15 games from the start of a season without a loss, but the Flyers rose to the challenge and won, 3-2, on Nov. 2, ending Florida’s run at 8-0-4.

“I’ve been around this game too damn long and I’m getting sick of this,” goaltender Ron Hextall said after the Game 6 defeat. “I want to win the last game, not lose.”

Hextall lost the last game in ‘96, then the last game in ‘97 in Detroit. He also lost the last game he ever started, Apr. 5, 1999, a 5-1 home defeat to the New York Rangers where he gave up a center-ice goal to hot-shooting Chris Tamer.

Ed Snider boldly predicted the Flyers would win the Stanley Cup during the first year in the CoreStates Center, and they at least reached the final round, without having to plow through the Panthers or New Jersey Devils. To this day, these franchises have not enjoyed a postseason rematch.

To review the previous editions of Spectrum Memories which recalled the Flyers' final season in the Spectrum 30 years ago, hit the links below.

From October, a rousing start to a hopeful season in Montreal.

In November, the Russian Five couldn't overcome an entire team.

For December, pounding the Penguins and whistling while they work.

January's edition, snatching a tie from the jaws of victory.

From February, as true now as it was then...Claude Lemieux still sucks.

March finds the Flyers given new life with an old No. 1 pick.

April's regular-season Spectrum sendoff.

Eagles, Cowboys to renew hostilities on Thanksgiving

In advance of the release of the National Football League's master schedule for the 2026 season, anticipated to occur on Thursday night, certain matchups have already been leaked.

One of those made known to the public late Monday afternoon, is the Dallas Cowboys' opponent on Thanksgiving.

This year, it will be the defending NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles.

The Cowboys have hosted the late afternoon start on the 4th Thursday in November almost every year since 1966, excepting 1975 and 1977. 

Philadelphia has been chosen as their foe twice previously, in 1989 and 2014, winning both.

The Cowboys have won each of their last four Thanksgiving matchups. Last season, it was a 31-28 triumph over the three-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Las Vegas Raiders were the last club to top America's Team on America's holiday, a 36-33 overtime decision on Nov. 25, 2021.

Distaste between the two NFC East franchises, simmering for decades, reached a boiling point at Texas Stadium in Irving, TX on Nov. 23, 1989. Retroactively nicknamed "Bounty Bowl I" for Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan instructing several Cowboys players to be targeted, including former kicker Luis Zendejas, the Birds won, 27-0. That marked the first time Dallas was shutout on the holiday.

In that blowout victory, Eagles QB Randall Cunningham finished 21-of-33 for 234 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Cris Carter. The visitors' defense forced 5 Cowboys turnovers and held rookie QB Troy Aikman to 54 yards through the air on 7-of-21 completions. 

Flash forward to 25 years later, Nov. 27, 2014 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Embattled signal-caller Mark Sanchez -- who infamously was victimized by the "Butt Fumble" two years prior while playing for the New York Jets against the New England Patriots -- led the Birds to a rousing 33-10 victory. 

Sanchez ended the day 20-of-29 for 217 yards, one score through the air and another on a rush. LeSean McCoy rolled for 159 yards on 25 carries and another ground TD. Conversely, Dallas QB Tony Romo was picked off twice and sacked 4 times and the hosts committed three turnovers.

For the Eagles, this will mark the eighth time the bellwether franchise has been selected to play on Thanksgiving, having gone 6-1 previously. Their only defeat came in their last Thanksgiving matchup, in Detroit, a 45-14 walloping by the Lions in 2015. Between 1968 and 2014, they bested the Pittsburgh Pirates (1939, 1940), the Lions (1968), Cowboys and Cardinals (2008). 

The remainder of the 2026 schedule for all NFL teams is expected to be revealed this Thursday, May 14, at 8 pm on NFL Network.