Philadelphia Flyers

One of the best things about hockey is the uncertainty. We make our predictions, study the game to death, pretend to understand the charts that say the players we like are good and hope for the best. A lot of the time all of the preparation works out, but sometimes hockey forces us to throw it all out the window and enjoy the ride.

The 2022-23 NHL season isn't even one month old yet and there's already so much to be wrong about. Yay! I'm sure we'll get to the unpleasant surprises eventually, but for now, why don't we enjoy the good?

As it turns out, a lot of the pleasant surprises through the first two weeks of the season are oddly connected to each other. Noted Ottawa Senators fan Alanis Morissette said it best, "Life has a funny way of helping you out." Clearly, she was talking about the Vegas Golden Knights.

Anyway, let's take a look at the most pleasant surprises in the NHL while the season's still a baby.

1. Rasmus Dahlin and the Sabres

Breaking news, folks: 2018 first overall draft pick Rasmus Dahlin might actually be good.

Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever learn our lesson when it comes to this stuff, but let Dahlin's current tear be another reminder to have some patience with the guys who go straight to the NHL. Next time an 18-year-old draft pick joins a bad team and doesn't immediately blow us all out of the water, shall we give it a few years? No? A girl can dream.

Looking back with context, Dahlin wasn't ever even performing at a level where I'd seriously think he was a bust. He was on a great trajectory before the pandemic, struggled along with his team in 2020-21 and showed more spurts of potential in 2021-22 with 13 goals and 53 points in 80 games. Of course, those spurts of potential came when Dahlin had a greater opportunity following Rasmus Ristolainen's trade, and they also came with a bad plus/minus—such is life as the best defenseman on a bad team.

But is the 22-year-old entering his true breakout season now, following a full season of important experience?

Six games in and the Buffalo Sabres are 4-2-0, and it was a particularly vibey 4-1-0 before Tuesday night's 5-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken. Dahlin is currently leading all NHL defensemen in points with nine and goals with five in six games played, and the five-game season-starting goal streak he just snapped became an NHL record among defensemen.

Then there's goaltender Craig Anderson at the top of the league with his 2-0, 1.0 goals against average and .970 save percentage. We aren't kidding ourselves into believing this two-game sample means more than it does, but it's a good start.

All of this and we haven't even touched on Alex Tuch's seven points in six games or Tage Thompson's hot start, including his selection of "Fishin' in the Dark" for his goal song.

Obviously, it's ridiculous to read too much into things less than a month into the season, and like many, I've been fooled by a Sabres hot start or two in the very recent past. But I like what I see here, we'll see how they bounce back from this big loss to Seattle, and sometimes giving people room to spread their wings is the only way they get off the ground…

2. Jack Eichel and the Golden Knights

Speaking of the Sabres, Jack Eichel is off to a hot start in Vegas with three goals and seven points in eight games. The Golden Knights are doing better than expected in general at 6-2-0.

Eichel's hot start accounted for, you also have to give credit to goalie Logan Thompson, who has worked himself up from the ECHL to Vegas' No. 1 with Robin Lehner likely out for the season following hip surgery. Adin Hill hasn't been a shabby 1a, either.

I described every team with one word heading into the season, and for the Golden Knights, that word was "karma." They'd been flying too close to the sun with all the cap-space maneuvers and coaching hot seats already amassing in their short team history. It looks like they listened to Taylor Swift's new album, Midnights, and adopted her philosophy on karma—"Karma's a relaxing thought"—instead of mine, though.

There's also ironman Phil Kessel, who exudes good karma and sweats blue Powerade everywhere he goes.

And finally, there's new head coach Bruce Cassidy, who the team snatched up just over one week after the Boston Bruins somewhat surprisingly let him go. Now that I've laid it all out like this, I'm starting to feel bad about ever wishing ill upon this team…

3. The Bruins

Speaking of the Bruins, I tried to warn y'all that this team is not done. Despite the naysayers, Boston is 6-1-0 to start the season—and yes, Bostonians, I will mention they're doing that without Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy before you beat me to it in the comments.

What's working?

David Pastrňák, aka Mr. Blank Check, for starters.

Pastrňák not only has five goals and 12 points in seven games, but he's making it look fun in true Pastrňák fashion. That's an easy one, especially with his friend David Krejčí back in the mix. Arguably even more encouraging for the Bruins has been their scoring depth. Of all who have skated in every Bruins game, everyone except Tomáš Nosek has recorded at least one point. Twelve have recorded a goal, and Nick Foligno's three goals already surpass last season's total.

I've long thought this team's performance can be measured in Jake DeBrusk's vibes per 60. If DeBrusk looks like he's having a good time, you can bet the team is in a good place, and this kid seems like he's having the time of his life these days.

Goaltender Linus Ullmark is also having a strong start with a 5-0-0 record and a .936 save percentage.

4. The Flyers

This is where the connections end unless we really want to stretch it and tie Foligno's hot start to his former coach and current Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella.

Say what you will about Torts and his no-nonsense approach, and it definitely doesn't work for everyone, but at least for now it's seeming to jibe with the Philly market and apparently with what was supposed to be a bottom-five team in the league. The Flyers are a team that needed Torts if there ever was one. They started out the season undefeated through three games and currently sit at 4-2-0. I do think the team will trend down sooner rather than later, the offense is already severely lacking at times, and it doesn't help that James van Riemsdyk is going to be out for at least one month after finger surgery.

But what's the point in saying all this when we weren't even expecting a hot start to begin with out of this team? Enjoy it while it lasts.

5. The Retro Reverse Jerseys

The NHL released its latest set of alternate jerseys via Adidas last week, and it might be my favorite batch of jerseys the league has ever put together. Between the Panthers' ode to Florida, the Bruins' ode to the Pooh Bear and the Tampa Bay Lightning's ode to a throwback so bad that it's good, I was thoroughly impressed. I loved that teams were branching out and giving the people what they actually want. More fun, please!

Prior to the start of Day 2 of the 2022 NHL draft on Friday, the Carolina Hurricanes reportedly agreed to trade defenseman Tony DeAngelo to the Philadelphia Flyers for multiple draft picks.

According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the Flyers will receive DeAngelo and a seventh-round pick in exchange for second-, third- and fourth-round picks that are spread out over the next three years.

LeBrun added that DeAngelo agreed to a two-year, $10 million contract extension with the Flyers after the trade as well.

The 26-year-old is a six-year veteran who has played for the Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers and Hurricanes.

DeAngelo was the No. 19 pick in the 2014 draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, but before ever appearing in a game for the team, he was traded to the Coyotes in 2016.

He was traded again one year later to the Rangers, and it was in New York where he fully hit his stride as a dynamic offensive defenseman.

His breakout year occurred in 2019-20 when he set career highs with 15 goals and 53 points while also posting a plus-12 rating.

After appearing in just six games for the Rangers in the 2020-21 campaign, DeAngelo was waived in the wake of getting into a locker-room altercation with goalie Alexandar Georgiev.

The Canes signed DeAngelo to a one-year, $1 million prove-it contract last summer, and it turned out to be a quality move, as the right-shot D-man bounced back with a career-high 41 assists to go with 10 goals in addition to posting a career-best plus-30 rating.

While DeAngelo has had some behavioral issues over the years, he is among the best puck-moving blueliners in the NHL, and the Flyers addressed a huge need by acquiring him.

Ivan Provorov, Rasmus Ristolainen and Travis Sanheim are two-way defensemen with perhaps a greater focus on defense, meaning DeAngelo will add some variety to the defense corps.

In the New Jersey native, the Flyers have a power-play quarterback and someone who can lead the rush at even strength, making him a significant addition for a team that went a disappointing 25-46-11 last season.

Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov has reportedly been detained in Russia on suspicion of evading Russian military service.

According to Radio Free Europe, Russian media outlets are reporting that Fedotov was detained in his native Russia on Friday after police and military officials "launched a manhunt ... at the request of the military prosecutor's office."

Per Joshua Manning of Euro News Weekly, Russian reports said Fedotov was then taken to the military registration and enlistment office. Fedotov could face up to two years in prison if convicted, per Manning.

Fedotov has spent parts of six seasons playing in the Russian KHL, including spending last season with KHL power CSKA Moscow, but he signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers in May and announced his intention to go to the NHL.

Fedotov is 25 and Russian law requires all men between the ages of 18 and 27 to serve at least one year in the military.

Russia entered into military combat this year when it invaded Ukraine in February, and the war is still ongoing.

Fedotov, who was a seventh-round draft pick by the Flyers in 2015, has established himself as one of the top goaltenders in Russia over the past few years.

During the 2021-22 season with CSKA Moscow, he went 14-10-2 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .919 save percentage, marking the fourth consecutive season he had a GAA of 2.21 or better and a save percentage of .919 or better.

Fedotov also led Moscow to a Gagarin Cup win, which is the KHL equivalent to the Stanley Cup.

Additionally, Fedotov represented the Russian Olympic Committee at the 2022 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal.

The plan had been for Fedotov to potentially compete with Carter Hart for the Flyers' starting goalie job next season, as Hart is the only NHL goalie under contract for Philadelphia next season with Martin Jones hitting free agency.

John Tortorella was named the 23rd head coach in Philadelphia Flyers history this week, and he knows he has to do a lot of work to get the team back to a place where it can contend for a Stanley Cup.

"I'm not gonna sit here and say that we're going to be Stanley Cup contenders next year," Tortorella told reporters. "Having said that, I know there's some work to do. That's what I want to do."

Torts is very animated and confident as he talks. Says Flyers will "attack" things, and that he doesn't what to call the season a rebuild or a retool or any other handle. "You're not going to trap me." #Flyers

— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) June 17, 2022

Torts says he needs to see the players in practice and talk to them before he knows how to coach them. "I coach hard and these guys will know where they stand with me each and every day." #Flyers

— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) June 17, 2022

Tortorella: I think coaches get tunnel vision sometimes. And listen, I'm one of them. But sometimes, you have to stop for a second and listen (to the players). We have to make that adjustment. Having said that, there's a fine line there. You can't allow it to run amuck.

— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) June 17, 2022

Fletcher on Tortorella: "Players will respond if you're demanding if they know they care about you."

— Bob Rotruck (@BobRotruck) June 17, 2022

The 2021-22 campaign was disappointing for the Flyers based on their roster, including Carter Hart, Cam Atkinson, Sean Couturier, Kevin Hayes, James van Riemsdyk and Joel Farabee.

Philadelphia traded its longtime captain, seven-time All-Star Claude Giroux, to the Florida Panthers in part because of its lack of success.

The Flyers fired former head coach Alain Vigneault last December following an 8-10-4 start. Mike Yeo served as the team's interim head coach and led the team to a 25-46-11 last-place finish in the Metropolitan Division.

With the team missing the postseason for the second consecutive year, the Flyers announced Yeo would not return as head coach.

Tortorella should be able to get more out of Philadelphia's current roster in 2022-23, and he called the Flyers the "right fit" for his coaching comeback, per ESPN. However, it'll be a difficult task getting the team ready to compete with the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference.

The 63-year-old most recently served as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2015-21, going 227-166-54 and becoming the winningest coach in franchise history. He led the team to the playoffs four times in his six seasons, though it only advanced past the first round once.

Tortorella also coached the Lightning for seven seasons from 2000-08, leading the team to a Stanley Cup title in 2004, and has also coached the Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. He most recently served as an NHL analyst for ESPN.

John Tortorella will be back behind an NHL bench next season, as the veteran coach has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $16 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers.

There are a lot of reasons to like this hiring. However, it's also rational to think this could end in disaster for the polarizing hockey figure.

Let's start on a positive note.

Tortorella's hard-nosed, blue-collar style might endear him to the blue-collar fanbase in Philadelphia. The Northeast is a tough place to play and coach, and no one knows that better than Tortorella, a Boston native who helmed the New York Rangers for five seasons. Fans can be overly critical, and they'll surely voice their displeasure loudly at the rink and on social media. Torts' fire and intensity are going to play well in a market that is used to dishing it out.

The media can also be skeptical, critical and downright harsh. The spotlight can sometimes shine so hard it burns. Tortorella has been known to spar with reporters, which might make for some entertaining clips, but it also serves another purpose. He puts the focus on himself, taking the pressure away from his players during critical moments of the season.

He's been known to get a lot out of his players, but that doesn't necessarily mean they all like him. Columbus Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky had an interesting tweet shortly after ESPN's Kevin Weekes broke the news of the hire.

🙏🏻 for the @NHLFlyers players!

— Brandon Dubinsky (@BDubi17) June 17, 2022

But other players, such as former Rangers and Blue Jacket defenseman Michael Del Zotto who spent five seasons with Tortorella between those two franchises, understand Tortorella's way can be beneficial to their careers. Del Zotto shared his thoughts on Tortorella during training camp in 2021:

"The thing with Torts, you know where you stand with him. He's brutally honest. If you can take it, if you have thick skin, there's no other coach you'd rather play for. When you play for coaches where you don't know where you stand, it's tough to have a conversation with (them). You're not sure if they're telling the truth or not with you. With him, you know where you stand every day, and that's very hard to find. He wears his heart on his sleeve, too. He would do anything for his players."

And that's what Flyers players and fans should expect from their new coach—he doesn't hold back. You never know what he's going to say or do, but you better believe he's going to say and do exactly what he's thinking, even if it bucks convention. Maybe he'll put beloved mascot Gritty on the fourth line just to send a message to a player he thinks is dogging it.

Whatever you think of Tortorella, you can't deny this: he knows how to build a solid defensive foundation wherever he goes, which should be music to the ears of Flyers fans and players.

Tortorella installed systems that helped turn Henrik Lundqvist into a Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender and Sergei Bobrovsky into a top goalie in the league. Sure, Lundqvist was a generational goaltending talent, but it's tough to argue with Tortorella's resume, especially considering Flyers don't exactly have a strong track record when it comes to the net.

Carter Hart could be the goalie that finally breaks the curse, but he's been streaky. He got his save percentage back up over .900 last season after a down year in 2020-21, and, at only 23 years old, there's still reason to believe he could develop into the franchise goalie the club has been searching for since the 1990s.

But in order for Hart to even have a chance to develop, the Flyers will have to stop bleeding chances in front of him. Philadelphia gave up the eighth-most scoring chances in all situations last season, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, and only controlled 45.25 percent of them, the fourth-worst mark in the NHL. There were times the Flyers looked lost in the defensive zone last season, and Hart's numbers suffered as a result.

A Stanley Cup champion in 2004 with the Lightning and a Jack Adams Award winner (best coach) in 2017, Tortorella has proven credentials. Sounds great, right?

Unfortunately, his accolades don't cover up all the warts that come with him. His intensity can be what fuels the team that he coaches, but it can also be a huge detriment.

Much like many of the demanding old-school coaches, Tortorella's style can be grating. It's easy to get teams to buy into the messaging when they're winning, but when they're losing and a coach is grinding them into ice chips, it's just as easy to tune them out. It happened in New York, and there's no guarantee it won't happen again.

He's also set to turn 64 years old next week, and any coach of that age is naturally going to face the question of whether or not he can relate to today's NHL player. The game is getting younger, faster and more skilled. Tortorella has been vocal about his disdain for some of the flashy skills the younger generation of players has displayed.

He chastised dynamic Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras for his signature "Michigan" style goals and assists. Those old-guard thoughts weren't totally unique, though, considering Arizona Coyotes analyst Tyson Nash caused quite a stir later in the season when said Zegras should be "prepared to get punched in the mouth" because of the perception he would "skill it up" to embarrass opponents during games.

The Flyers are going to have to rely heavily on some young players in the coming years because of the way the roster is currently constructed. This is not currently a playoff team—the Flyers' 61 points were the fourth-fewest in the NHL last season—and general manager Chuck Fletcher doesn't have a glut of cap space to work with in the immediate future.

Tortorella is going to have to squeeze a lot out of a subpar roster as Philadelphia tries to rebuild and climb out of the basement. And if he doesn't, the fans will turn on him—and quick.

Every coach goes into their job hoping for the best while understanding there's a chance it could end in disaster. Not everyone can be Bill Belichick. There are more failed and frayed endings than happy ones in sports.

For now, this is the right move for the Flyers. Will it still look that way by the time Tortorella's contract is up in four years? We'll find out.

John Tortorella is returning to the NHL.

The Philadelphia Flyers are hiring the former Columbus Blue Jackets bench boss as their next head coach, according to ESPN's Kevin Weekes. The deal is for four years and $16 million ($4 million annually), Weekes added.

The Flyers fired Alain Vigneault in December following an 8-10-2 start to the season. In parts of three seasons with the team, he was 74-54-19 but failed to reach the postseason after his first year in charge in the 2019-20 campaign.

Philadelphia brought in Mike Yeo as interim head coach, and things only went further downhill from there, as it went 17-36-7 to close the season.

It was the first time since the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons that the Flyers missed the playoffs in back-to-back campaigns. They have only won one playoff series since the 2012-13 season.

There are good pieces in place for the Flyers. Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny, Cam Atkinson and Joel Farabee are solid attackers, while Ryan Ellis, Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim are capable blue-liners. For once, the team appears to have a young goalie worth building around in Carter Hart.

What the Flyers don't have, though, is much high-end talent. While they might address that in the postseason, chances are Tortorella will be tasked with getting this group to overachieve after a 2021-22 season that saw them dramatically underachieve.

General manager Chuck Fletcher had to get the right person for the job, with another poor appointment potentially leading to his own seat growing warm. He chose Tortorella.

Tortorella last coached for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2020-21 season but was fired after the team finished at the foot of the Central Division, ending a four-year postseason run.

The 63-year-old also coached for the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers (twice) and Vancouver Canucks, going 673-541-37 with 12 playoff berths, including a Stanley Cup championship with Tampa in the 2003-04 season.

Tortorella was one of the biggest names on the coaching market, and his fiery demeanor should play well in a sports town like Philly.

John Tortorella, who owns 20 years of NHL head coaching experience, has reportedly been offered the opportunity to lead the Philadelphia Flyers staff.

ESPN's Kevin Weekes reported Tuesday the sides are in "late-stage negotiations" about a contract for Tortorella to take over as the team's head coach for the 2022-23 season. TSN's Pierre LeBrun added further talks are set for Thursday.

Philadelphia narrowed its search to Tortorella and Barry Trotz, another high-profile coaching veteran, over the weekend, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

The Flyers failed to reach the playoffs each of the past two seasons and haven't advanced beyond the Eastern Conference Semifinals since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2010.

They fired head coach Alain Vigneault in December after three seasons, and interim replacement Mike Yeo was dismissed at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, when Philly posted a 25-46-11 record, the NHL's fourth-worst mark.

Hiring a head coach will be the start of a busy offseason for Philadelphia, which must also name a new captain after trading Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers.

In May, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher noted handing out the "C" isn't a high priority.

"That's about No. 20 on our list right now. We'll get into that," Fletcher told reporters. "My assumption is we'll get through this summer, get closer to training camp, sit down and make that assessment."

More important for the franchise, which won its most recent championship in 1975, is finding a way to reinvigorate the roster.

"It is being aggressive in all phases. Certainly, part of it is we need to get younger, we have to get more talented," said Fletcher, who was hired as GM in 2018. "We have to get faster. We have to aggressively look at trades, free agency, and can we add a couple players to supplement what we have here and make this team better."

Hiring the fiery Tortorella would be an effort to change the culture in Philly's locker room.

The 63-year-old has compiled a 673-541-37-132 career record (.548 winning percentage) across 1,383 games as a head coach with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks.

Tortorella is a two-time winner of the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's best coach, taking home the honor in 2003-04 with the Lightning—who won their first Cup title—and 2016-17 with Blue Jackets.

The Boston native mutually parted ways with Columbus following the 2020-21 season and spent the past year as a hockey analyst for ESPN.

Trotz owns a 914-670-60-168 record (.567) from stints with the Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. He guided the Caps to the 2018 Stanley Cup title.

The 59-year-old Canadian was let go by the Isles at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.