Porter Martone’s rough opener provided a worthwhile reminder that he’s still just 19
After Martone took the league by storm last spring, many expected him to transition seamlessly to stardom in 2026-27. Instead, Martone showed some growing pains in Wednesday's blowout loss
Porter Martone started off with a bang last season, joining the Flyers at the end of March and scoring at over a point-per-game clip to help them to a once-improbable playoff berth. He was so steady and unfazed amid the Flyers’ run that it almost looked like he wasn’t going to have one of those “welcome to the league” moments.
On Wednesday night, in the Flyers’ 2026-27 opener, he had it.
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After Ville Koivunen beat the Flyers, including Martone, on a bad line change, the latter sat for the final four-plus minutes of the first period. Martone was then assessed an untimely cross-checking penalty, which quickly resulted in Pittsburgh’s third goal. He was later demoted to the fourth line, alongside Sean Couturier and Carl Grundström, in the team’s 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I just thought the first four or five shifts, he had a couple times to go through [Erik] Karlsson, and he let up, and you can’t do that,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “His game is something — he has to play that style, like a gritty style. He’s not going to go up the ice flying around.”
Martone had no shot attempts and four giveaways, tied for the most among the Flyers. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers had a team-low 2.64 expected-goals percentage with Martone on the ice at even-strength.
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Tocchet said his line changes, including his decision to demote Martone, were the result of the overall poor offensive performance from the group.
“To have offense, you have to have the puck,” Tocchet said. “We had chances to skate the puck in, and we’re throwing pucks in, and we just reset the puck to them. If you’re not battling, that means you’re not battling offensively. That means you’re not willing to take the puck.”
Martone, 19, was far from the only player to have a bad night. Tocchet said the team won “no battles” and that the defensive structure was the worst he’d seen it since he arrived in Philadelphia a year ago.
As bulletproof as Martone might have looked to start his NHL career — becoming a preseason Calder Trophy favorite, and projected to be one of the Flyers’ most important players heading into this year — there were signs in the playoffs that there was still going to be an adjustment period. He endured a five-game scoreless streak before picking up two more assists in the final two games of the Flyers’ second-round playoff series loss to Carolina.
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Tocchet said pregame that the Flyers are trying to “cocoon” Martone and all the young players from the outside attention, and to use the team environment to avoid overloading him in his rookie season.
But Wednesday’s opener is a reminder that, despite as even-keeled as Martone can be, there are still growing pains in becoming an NHL regular.
“I don’t think it’s an excuse, but I find younger players need longer,” Tocchet said. “You need a longer training camp. Veteran teams don’t. That’s not an excuse. That’s the way it is. Everybody lives in that world.”
