On Sunday, the Philadelphia Flyers secured two crucial points with an overtime win over the Dallas Stars, playing legitimately well against a true Stanley Cup contender. But the more important news broke earlier in the day. At 1 p.m. ET, less than 24 hours after his college season at Michigan State ended in an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal overtime loss, the Flyers signed 2025 sixth-overall pick Porter Martone to his entry-level contract.
There was no drama about whether he would sign, like what happened with the 2022 fifth-overall pick, Cutter Gauthier. There weren’t any worries about when he would sign, either, like when the Flyers had to deal with geopolitical and Kontinental Hockey League circumstances surrounding 2023 sixth-overall pick Matvei Michkov (which wasn’t Michkov’s fault, just a logistical hurdle that had to be cleared).
With Martone set to make his NHL debut this week, plus the possibility of Tyson Foerster returning this season (or, if nothing else, making good progress to return in October), Philadelphia finds itself in familiar territory. Despite trading wingers Bobby Brink and Nic Deslauriers at the trade deadline, the team is, again, nearing overload on the wing, even with Foerster and Nikita Grebenkin on the shelf.
“It’s a good problem to have,” Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said of having an excess of wingers on Sunday night. “We’re developing some guys on defense as well. Some of our guys took big steps on defense and some of our guys, even in the minors, are getting better. So, it’s exciting. Our forward group is really exciting to watch right now, and we’ll see where it goes.”
Here are some of the ways it could go, for the rest of this season and beyond.
Marton’e Short-Term Impact
With Martone joining the lineup either Tuesday or Thursday, someone will have to come out. Of the 12 forwards who dressed on Sunday against the Stars, four have been healthy scratches recently: Denver Barkey, Luke Glendening, Carl Grundstrom and Garnet Hathaway.
Right now, Glendening and Hathaway are safe, given their strong play on the fourth line with Sean Couturier. In about 52 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (a small sample size since Glendening was only claimed off waivers on March 6, plus two-game injury absences for him and Couturier), the trio has a 56.87% expected goal share (per Natural Stat Trick) and outscored opponents 3-2 at 5-on-5.
Barkey also missed those same two games due to injury, but has come back looking rejuvenated. In four games since returning, the Flyers have won the xG battle three times with him on the ice. Barkey also has a goal and an assist and nearly scored a highlight reel rush goal on the power play on Sunday, weaving deftly to the middle of the ice before catching the pipe with his shot.
That leaves Grundstrom as the odd man out. While he has been a solid play-driver of late, his four-game goal streak dates back to December, with just one goal and four points in 30 games in 2026. Outside of last Thursday’s game against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks, Alex Bump has hit a bit of a wall, so maybe head coach Rick Tocchet gives him a one-game rest at some point, as he did with Barkey earlier in the season.
However, there’s also one other change that has to be made — which top-nine right winger switches to the left side? Travis Konecny took a shift on the left wing with Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett after a successful penalty kill in the first period on Sunday, so perhaps that’s a preview of what’s to come.
Related: Flyers Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines – Back in the Race, Martone, and More
Of course, Tocchet could always move Michkov back to the left wing, where he seems to prefer him. Michkov has been slightly more productive since returning to his preferred right side after the Olympics, but not to the extent that it would be detrimental to switch him back.
Martone’s Long-Term Impact
The Flyers knew this conundrum was coming before Sunday, of course. With Martone officially under contract, they have at least nine wingers under club control for next season, according to PuckPedia. The “at least” designation is needed for Trevor Zegras, who the team has said they prefer to play on the wing, and for Sean Couturier.
The 33-year-old has shown a bit more since shifting to left wing on the fourth line and could benefit from a Claude Giroux-esque late-career shift to the wing (although don’t expect any 100-point seasons anytime soon).
Even if Zegras and Couturier stick down the middle, that still leaves an extra forward. Maybe Hathaway becomes the 13th forward, although that type of decision is usually more popular among fans than coaches. Nikita Grebenkin may not be an NHL regular, but if he develops as the Flyers hope, he should be playing pretty close to every day.
Maybe a terrible training camp by Denver Barkey or Alex Bump could get them sent back to the American Hockey League. But otherwise, the Flyers are going to have to explore another trade. Konecny has a no-move clause, and moving Martone and Michkov seems highly unlikely.
The same goes for Foerster, both because of his skill set and his value is likely to be low after his injury. Barkey seems to be top-nine or bust, but perhaps the Flyers would feel comfortable having Bump in that role next season, at least to start.
That shifts the focus to Owen Tippett, but he’s been playing some of his best hockey of late. If the Flyers wanted to get truly weird, maybe they’d give Tippett a run at center after he volunteered to take a shift there a few games ago. He kills penalties, so the team at least somewhat trusts him defensively. But he’s not good on face-offs, and such a move would seem very similar to when the Flyers shifted Joel Farabee to center late in the 2022-23 season, which never panned out.
Enjoy the Ride
The Flyers have big long-term decisions to make, but they also don’t have to make them just yet. They should have at least eight or nine games worth of data to see how Martone fits in the NHL, who he has chemistry with and how high in the lineup they think he can rise next season.
There are things to worry about for the future, but right now, there’s a rare reason to be excited about where the Flyers stand in the present. They’re within arm’s reach of a playoff spot and are one of the hottest teams in the league. Now, they’ve got a shiny new toy as an extra reinforcement for the biggest stretch of the season.
