How the Flyers can Upgrade the Center Position without breaking the Bank or giving up the Farm

(All stats in this article were pulled before the start of the Redwings game on 12-8-2024)

It’s no secret that the Flyers need help down the middle of the ice. However, the team has made efforts to get better between the dots by selecting Jett Luchanko this past summer. Who, mind you, has looked good this season after returning to the Guelph Storm of the OHL, scoring 20 points in just 16 games played. It should also be noted that he recently made Team Canada’s 2025 World Junior Championship roster. But it is becoming rapidly apparent that the Flyers may no longer be able to endure while they wait for him or whatever other talented prospects they may draft this summer to arrive.

The reason being is their lack of production from their current crop of center icemen, starting with Sean Couturier, who, although he makes nearly eight million dollars a season, has only been able to record 15 points in 30 games played. Now, I’m sorry, a half-a-point-per-game average and a 0.20 goals-per-game average is utterly unacceptable given his salary and the fact that Sean gets to play on a line with guys like Konecny, Michkov, and Tippett every night.

Sadly, it only gets worse from there. Morgan Frost has scored only four goals and 12 points this season for an average of 0.14 goals per game and 0.44 points per game.

Scott Laughton has netted only seven goals and 14 points this year, which computes to him putting up 0.22 goals per game and 0.45 points per game.

Noah Cates has only totaled two goals and seven points this season for a whopping total of 0.07 goals per game and 0.25 points per game.

And Ryan Poehling has managed to push only one goal past the opposition’s netminder this year and has totaled only nine points in 28 games played, for an average of 0.03 goals-per-game and 0.32 points-per-game.

Still, this makes me wonder why they have seemed to double down with their existing crew, considering they have a guy like Anthony Richard, who, while only playing in seven games this season when the others previously mentioned have been injured, has managed to put up six points. Now, while he may not be a long-term answer, he brings energy and has been playing better than the scrubs they have been putting out there on a nightly basis.

And, why I get some fans may not get the sense of urgency that I am trying to convey here, being that the team currently sits in fourth in the Metropolitan Division, I would urge them to think of the mental and physical impact it is having on our young star Matvei Michkov. For as it stands now, he and Travis Konecny have had to do it all this season, and believe me, opposing teams know this. Making them marked men. As made evident by the beatings, Matvei has been forced to take on a nightly basis this season. The thought process behind this being if they take Michkov out of the equation, then their team has a good chance of winning.

Lucky for us, despite Matvei receiving this treatment and not having any real help or threat to score coming from the center position, he has still somehow managed to thrive, as he is currently leading all rookies this season in goals with 11 and points with 27. So, just think what he could do if he had some help down the middle. Then maybe, just maybe, Matvei wouldn’t have to try and do it all (I.E., attempting things like a Michigan goal from behind the net) that then leads to him receiving a scolding from his head coach, John Tortorella.

So, in order to keep Michkov healthy and get him out of this predicament, I would urge the Flyers management to make a move for a youthful centerman who could make an immediate impact without breaking the bank or them having to give up the farm.

And, while I get that the idea of this seems easier said than done, trust me, it most certainly is feasible. I just think that the Flyers have been looking in the wrong places for help. Players like Shane Pinto and Josh Norris aren’t worth the asking price that Ottawa would be requesting for them to agree to a trade. Former 2019 1st-round pick Peyton Krebs, who has speed and playmaking ability that plays for the Sabers, may seem enticing, but I believe Buffalo has all but ruined him. Then there is the often-rumored Trevor Zegras of Anaheim, whose showboating attitude and inconsistent play might just be the thing that sends John Tortorella to an early grave if management were to acquire him.

The way I see it, the only HOT take that I’ve seen that makes even the slightest bit of sense for the Flyers would be for them to try and acquire the 23-year-old center Marco Rossi from the Minnesota Wild. But while Marco and the Wild have not really seen eye to eye on everything (which sparked the current trade rumors surrounding him), I don’t see the Wild being dumb enough to part ways with a player who in his first full season in Minnesota last year scored 21 goals and 40 points. Not to mention the fact that Rossi is a restricted free agent who is currently playing on the Wild’s top line and is on pace this season to score 29 goals and 66 points; you find some common ground with those types of players who are that young and talented you don’t trade them.

Besides, even if Minnesota has exhausted all options with him and was willing to part with Rossi, you know old Billy Guerin, their GM, is going to be asking for a king’s ransom for Rossi’s services, considering he knows the Flyers have three first and three second-round picks in this summers draft.

So, to me, the better option would be for the Flyers to look a little deeper into some playoff-caliber team’s depth charts to find a player who is playing above expectations in the minors, but because of their NHL clubs’ success has yet to be brought up to the big show.

With that mindset, I could think of no team better to start with than last year’s Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. A team that, for some time now, has been known to prefer the help of wisely old veterans to that of able-bodied youth.

Ryan McAllister

And, if they do that, Danny Briere and the rest of the Flyers brass would find a young 22-year-old center by the name Ryan McAllister, who the Panthers signed a few years back as an undrafted free agent from the NCAA’s Western Michigan University, which don’t forget is Keith Jones’ the Flyers President of Hockey Operations beloved Alma Mater.

Now, if you are not familiar with Ryan or his game, he is a 5’10, 185-pound center who made his claim to fame back in the 2021-2022 season while playing for the Brooks Bandits of the then AJHL, where he won a slew of awards. When he was able to score 57 goals and 82 assists for 139 points in 60 regular season games played. Folks that means he was netting, on average, 2.31 points per game. A feat that he was able to duplicate come playoff time that year when he scored ten goals and 19 assists for 29 points in 13 games played for an average of 2.23 points per game.

And with him having that type of year, it obviously caught the attention of Western Michigan, where the very next season, in 2022-2023, Ryan was able to step right into the NCAA as a freshman and take it by storm, scoring 13 goals and 36 assists for 49 points in 39 games played for an average of 1.25 points-per-game.

Now, a few short years removed from his collegiate days, McAllister is prospering nicely to the tune of seven goals and eight assists for 15 points scored in 16 games played for the Panthers AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. Who, if he continues at this pace, Ryan is projected to finish the season with 28 goals, and 33 assists, for 61 points.

But, as impressive as those stats may be, what I like most about McAllister is the fact that his presence on the ice usually results in everyone around him raising their game and point totals. Take, for instance, his former linemates from the Bandits, forward T.J. Hughes and defenseman Zach Bookman. Before the two became linemates, Hughes only managed to score 15 goals and 31 points the previous season. But when put on a line with McAllister every night his stats skyrocketed to 66 goals and 61 assists for a total of 127 regular season points. This kind of season, of course, led to Hughes receiving an excellent opportunity to play for the University of Michigan, where he has had moderate success at best and, sadly, to this point, has failed to get drafted or signed by an NHL team; which explains why he is still playing there three seasons later.

The same goes for Zach Bookman. The year Bookman played an entire season with Ryan for the Bandits, Zac looked as though he was on his way to fame and fortune, considering he managed to break the AJHL record for points scored by a defenseman when he posted (102). A record, mind you, that was previously held by none other than the great Cal Makar, who only managed to post a measly (75) points. But now that Zac is three years removed from playing with Ryan seeing that he choose to take his talents to Merrimack College, you can still find him playing there, totaling just six points in 16 games played this season.

If that’s not enough evidence, you can also look at a guy like Jason Polin, who (thanks to Ryan) is now a Colorado Avalanche prospect. Before McAllister joined him at Western Michigan, Jason finished the 21-22 campaign with a respectable 16 goals and 26 points, but the following year, when Ryan joined the team, Polin saw his numbers rise to new heights, netting 30 goals and 47 points. However, just like the others since then, Polin has not been able to recreate the kind of production he had previously while playing with McAllister. And to better prove my point, I think it should be noted that Polin has only managed to post just six points this season for Colorado’s AHL affiliate, the Eagles.

Now, this, of course, was not meant to be a shot at any one of these players, for they have made it much farther playing this great game than I did. Instead, it was merely a way I could show how good McAllister really is. I could go on, but I believe you are beginning to get my point, which is that everywhere McAllister has played, his teams have seen not only success but also a massive surge in their offensive production. So, if the Flyers were to acquire Ryan McAllister from the Panthers for, say, a bottom-six guy like Bobby Brink or a defenseman with Stanley Cup Winning experience like Erik Johnson, who would hopefully assist Florida in their pursuit of a possible repeat this spring. Then, I would be willing to bet that Ryan could do the same here in Philadelphia.

Again, like the Flyers provided Owen Tippett, all McAllister may need is a chance to prove himself. The question is, are the Flyers smart enough to give him that chance?