These are the players Flyers fans most (and least) want back next season — and the one they can’t agree on
The young Flyers made the playoffs (and won a series) for the first time since 2020, so we weren’t surprised to see most players grade out well in our annual poll.
After the Flyers overcame a big points deficit to make the playoffs and win their first series since the 2019-20 season, it’s no surprise that fans want to see what the Flyers’ young group can achieve next year.
That success was reflected in our annual Stay or Go poll, in which readers voted on which players they want the Flyers to keep and move on from. Virtually every player graded out well. Most lineup regulars earned at least 80% Stay votes.
Here’s a deeper dive into the results ...
The good
Both of Danny Brière’s big offseason additions, Trevor Zegras and Dan Vladař, graded out well. Zegras (93.4% stay) is a restricted free agent, and Vladař (90.4% stay) is eligible to sign an extension starting on July 1. Free agent signing Christian Dvorak, who signed a five-year extension in January, also graded out well and earned 90% Stay votes.
The bad
There were a few stragglers in the poll. Emil Andrae and Noah Juulsen spent much of the season swapping in and out on the third pair. Voters were more favorable toward Andrae, with 60% picking Go compared to Juulsen’s 85%. Andrae is a restricted free agent, while Juulsen is an unrestricted free agent. Fourth-liner Garnet Hathaway earned 44% Go votes, and midseason waiver pickup Luke Glendening received 58% Go votes. Glendening is an unrestricted free agent, while Hathaway has one more year left on his contract.
» READ MORE: Your guide to a critical Flyers offseason
The polarizing
Rasmus Ristolainen was the most polarizing player in our poll. The Flyers made the controversial decision not to trade him at the deadline, and the 31-year-old defenseman delivered by becoming a workhorse on the back end in his first career playoff games, playing heavy minutes on the top pair with Travis Sanheim. But with defensive prospects like Oliver Bonk and David Jiříček fighting for spots in the lineup, the Flyers could use Ristolainen, whose contract expires after next season, to acquire additional draft and prospect capital and go after a bigger fish. More than half (52%) of poll respondents voted for Ristolainen to go.
What’s up with Michkov?
For all the (mostly online) controversy about Matvei Michkov, who was scratched in the final Flyers’ playoff game, fans in the Stay or Go poll still believed in the 21-year-old winger. Michkov, the Flyers’ seventh overall pick in 2024, led the Flyers in points after the Olympic break but went quiet in the playoffs, scoring just one point, an assist on Cam York’s Game 6 overtime winner. Still, 91.3% of voters picked Stay.
New face in net?
With Vladař’s emergence, Sam Ersson, a restricted free agent, may have played his final game with the Flyers. Ersson improved after the Olympic break, which may have helped him earn 54% Stay votes, but the Flyers may be looking to make a change at backup goalie.
