The Flyers’ 2025-26 season has already been a success, whether the team makes the playoffs or not

Whether by hook or by crook, the Flyers are officially back in the playoff race. And that’s a good thing, regardless of how things play out down the stretch.

After three wins in four days, including a momentous 2-1 overtime win against Dallas on Sunday night thanks to the heroics of Sam Ersson and Trevor Zegras, the Flyers are suddenly three points out of the third spot in the Metropolitan Division and two back of the second wild card. As coach Rick Tocchet said to his players in the dressing room after the latest win, “We’re in the ballgame, boys.” Indeed.

What a difference a month can make. After limping into the Olympic break as losers of 12 of 15 games, the Flyers looked doomed for a franchise record sixth consecutive season without playoff hockey and another summer filled with questions and criticism surrounding the organization’s plan and direction. Add the sideshow of Matvei Michkov’s conditioning and subsequent lack of playing time, as well as ridiculous calls for Tocchet’s job from certain sectors of the fan base, and things looked bleak.

» READ MORE: Flyers beat Stars, 2-1, in overtime to pull closer in the playoff hunt

But instead of lying down and playing out the string, the Flyers, much to their credit, have gone full Undertaker meme and risen from their coffin with a 12-4-1 spurt since the restart. In that time frame, only the Buffalo Sabres have collected more points than the 25 earned by the boys who call Broad Street home.

“It’s up to them [the teams ahead of us]. If they keep winning games, good for them,” said winger Travis Konecny on March 19, “but we’re going to keep applying pressure and let them know that if they slip, we’ll be right there.”

Whether playoff hockey returns to Philadelphia for the first time since 2018 remains to be seen. The Flyers’ regulation wins tiebreaker number all but assures they will need to finish in a playoff position outright to make it. As of Monday morning, Money Puck puts the Flyers’ odds of making the postseason at 26.3% with nine games remaining. Beat the Capitals on Tuesday in Washington, and those odds jump to 37.1%.

But whether the Flyers make it or not, this season should already be viewed as an overwhelming success, even if it costs the Flyers seven or eight slots in the NHL draft order. Why?

First and foremost, the Flyers have plugged three key holes with the shrewd offseason acquisitions of Dan Vladař, Zegras, and Christian Dvorak, while also landing a top-10 prospect in all of hockey in 2025 first-rounder Porter Martone.

Vladař, 28, has been the team’s unquestioned MVP, posting a 24-12-7 record, a .907 save percentage, and 12.8 goals saved above expected, according to Money Puck, while playing a career high in games and looking every bit of a No. 1 goalie. And Zegras, who just turned 25 and isn’t going anywhere despite being a restricted free agent, is on pace for career highs in goals (26) and points (66), and has had improved results lately playing at center. Finally, Dvorak has already topped his career high in points with 44 and has been a reliable pivot for a team starved for centers.

Just as important, the Flyers’ torrid run has largely been keyed by the team’s youngest and most important players for their future. Other than Michkov, who also has been much better of late with six points in his last six games, every young player seems to have taken a step forward in Year 1 under Tocchet.

Owen Tippett, 27, is playing the best hockey of his career and looks to have finally corralled all his God-given ability to fulfill his destiny as a transition force and 30-goal power forward. Twenty-seven-year-old Noah Cates leads the team in goals (seven) and points (15) since the break and has already surpassed all his career highs. And Jamie Drysdale, 24, has completely remade his defensive game and is now starting to flash his offensive upside more regularly.

Add rookies Alex Bump, 22, and Denver Barkey, 20, both of whom are playing a regular shift and contributing to a team in a playoff race, and 24-year-old Tyson Foerster, who could be nearing a return after scoring 10 goals in 21 games before suffering an upper body injury in December, and the future looks bright. Even Cam York, 25, has been mostly steady, even if he hasn’t popped offensively as expected.

Having those players experience winning and playing in these types of meaningful games is invaluable and will only benefit them down the road when the Flyers are hopefully truly contending for Stanley Cups. That extends to the 19-year-old Martone, who, after a dominant freshman season at Michigan State, will now be thrown into the deep end of an NHL playoff race this week after signing on Sunday.

“Even guys like Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale never really had the chance to play in some of those games,“ general manager Danny Brière said Sunday night. “This is a tremendous experience for all our players, and to have the Bumps and the Barkeys around, and now adding Porter to that group, I think it’s really good for the growth of this team and preparing them for the future.”

While no one will confuse the Flyers for a genuine Stanley Cup contender this season, and there are major holes that still need to be addressed long term, acquiring a No. 1 center being the most pressing among them, the Flyers are moving in the right direction.

» READ MORE: Flyers sign top prospect Porter Martone to an NHL contract

Narrowly missing the playoffs this season won’t be a setback like it was when regimes of old compromised the future for one more run with an aging group, only to be bounced in the first round. In fact, it will be the opposite, and rather the positive and natural progression of a rebuilding team taking its first step toward relevance and experiencing pressure and learning what it takes to win in April, à la Montreal last season, or Anaheim this year.

Flyers president Keith Jones said in early September that this season was all about “continued growth,” taking “steps forward,” and “not about moving back.”

The Flyers have delivered on those expectations and have moved forward without jeopardizing their long-term future. It’s time to just sit back and enjoy the ride … however it ends.