Flyers secure 3rd place in League standings

Defending Stanley Cup champions finish regular season with 3^rd place in the highly competitive Metropolitan division and 3rd Overall with the honour of coming up against the No.2 team in the league, the New York Islanders, in what should be great match-up.

1. The regular season is over.  The Flyers finish with a 55-24-4 record and 113 points. A 14 point improvement in prior year and single season record ... yet the team still landed at 3rd in the division. 

2. Big signings led the way. The Flyers made a number of big acquisitions during the season and those guys really stepped up and led the team.
Alex Ovechkin - acquired in trade with the Vegas Golden Knights - led the team in goals (45) and points (82).
Victor Hedman - big free agent acquisition - led team in assists (64) and 2nd in points (78).

3. Special Teams Improvement. A big focus going into the season was the teams performance in special teams and drove the acquisitions for Ovi and Victor. Consquently, there was a significant improvement across the board with those two being a key factor. The team finished at 20.0% (2021-22: 13.0%) on the powerplay and 82% (79.5%) on the penalty kill. Both PP and PK will be a key factor going into the playoffs.

4. 2023-24 contract situation. Flyers management have structured the team extremely well going into the season and currently only have their goalies (Talbot and Halak) as UFAs on expiring contracts and Hughes and Carrier to re-sign as RFAs. Hughes will be key man going forward and Flyers brass have committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure he continues for the foreseeable future as a Flyer.

5. 2023 Draft. Rumours are coming from within Hockey Ops that the team is looking to utilise their depth and strength at centre to acquire more picks. We will see what plays out but this looks like a strong draft and Flyers management are keen to get a few more tickets for the chance to hit big in the lottery.