The 2026-27 Philadelphia Flyers season is upon us. In just a couple of weeks we’re going to finally be able to watch our beloved Orange and Black skate out on the ice and play some dang hockey. It’s been so long, even if it’s been the shortest offseason the Flyers have had in some time.
Before all that action gets underway, we need to take a hard look at every player on the roster and set a benchmark for what our expectations can be heading into the season, with a little reflection on how last season went. Let’s dig into previewing some players on the Philadelphia Flyers.
Sean Couturier
What did we see from Couturier last season?
Sean Couturier had an eventful 2025-26 season for the Flyers. Eventful in a way that is more interesting than positive. He started last season with soft expectations to be at least a healthy contributor offensively while continuing to provide his defensive acumen. Just to keep a status quo from the previous year while hopefully remaining as healthy as possible.
He started off the season well but lost that spark fairly quickly and seemed much more like a placeholder than someone making an impact beyond some solid possession numbers. But it was then when his role was redefined to be some sort of ultimate fourth-line player that a switch was flipped and Couturier was able to see his impact grow.
As soon as Couturier was given a role with fewer minutes and no real expectation to score many points, a switch was flipped and he was out there being more physical than he has been in the last few years and looking like a force. He remained in this role, even if he was technically getting a whole lot more minutes than a typical fourth liner, while in the playoffs and was again an effective player.
It was a total rebranding for Couturier.
What type of role do we expect Couturier to play this season?
It’s going to be an incredibly interesting season for Couturier. Ideally, he remains on that fourth line and there is no issue to be that type of player. But, if he were to be as physical as he was in this role last season, then it certainly feels like an injury or two would be likely.
So, is Couturier just going to be this low-scoring, possession-focused fourth-line center that might be a little more physical than he was, but not really bashing bodies like he was earlier? It’s not the worst thing in the world but it certainly a downgrade in expectation for Couturier. But, that’s also what makes this season so interesting.
A whole lot of questions should be answered. Can Couturier bring that same level of intensity for the entire season? How good will he be if he is “just” a fourth-line center? Will his health hold up? What this season will tell us hopefully means a whole lot for the Flyers’ future involving Couturier and if he is going to be anything more than the 10th most important forward on this team in a year or two (if he’s not there already).
Christian Dvorak
What did we see from Dvorak last season?
In his first season with the Flyers, Christian Dvorak had a career year, tying his career high in goals with 18 and scored 51 points, which was 13 more than his previous high. That really just sums it up though — the veteran center was given a good opportunity to produce more offense than he ever has before, a combination of averaging 18:28 time-on-ice and playing with Trevor Zegras for the first half of the season, and ran with it.
But it wasn’t even just playing with Zegras that created all of this production. In the final 22 games of the season, as the Flyers went on their great late-season push into the playoffs, Dvorak had six goals and 15 points and playing over 19 minutes a night.
IT’S 2-0 FLYERS! ⚫️🟠
— NHL (@NHL) January 22, 2026
We’re only 4:36 into this game and Christian Dvorak has extended the lead! pic.twitter.com/MoyR1SwynN
No one can deny that he was an important player for the Flyers last season and during the most important time of the season. But there was always a creeping doubt whether this is actually Dvorak or just someone riding crazy high percentages. Among regular Flyers last season, only Tyson Foerster had a higher on-ice shooting percentage than Dvorak at 5-on-5 (12.09%). Sometimes players always have high on-ice percentages just because of the special things they do on the ice lead them to that, but for Dvorak, his previous career high of 9.25% and a career average of 8.42% before he arrived in Philadelphia leads us to believe that he did have a little bit of luck around him.
But that was then, can he do something similar?
What type of role do we expect Dvorak to play this season?
Dvorak will probably have the same role on the Flyers that he did in the second half of the season. He’ll have talented wingers around him no matter what, just because the Flyers have immense depth at the position, and could therefore continue producing a good number of points. It might not reach another career high, or even 50 points, but it could very well be his second-highest total and over 38 points.
The veteran center is there to set some sort of benchmark. If there are any other centers playing better than he is, then they will probably get more minutes — whether that is Noah Cates or Sean Couturier or some other newcomer who gets a mid-season call up from the Phantoms. That’s the hope anyways. He’s a floor-raiser more than anything else and has quickly settled into a secure role of a middle-six center (for now).
The expectation is for him to just not mess up a whole lot, really. Just be there and present; good enough and fast enough to keep up with the young wingers surrounding him. He could play off the aggressive forecheck of Denver Barkey, or try to make plays for Alex Bump, help lift Matvei Michkov and give him time and space, or make sure Porter Martone is well-supported. Just be the ultimate stable force down the middle — good enough for us to not constantly want someone else playing down the middle.
Noel Acciari
What did we see from Acciari last season?
Well, we just saw Noel Acciari be a big pest for the Pittsburgh Penguins last year but he was an exceptional depth player for that surprise playoff team.
Whether it was at center or on the wing, Acciari played an extremely consistent support role in the minutes he had. It was in a pure fourth line sort of way, but the 34-year-old forward could have easily been considered one of the league’s best pure fourth liners. A solid amount of speed, and enough skill to score 13 goals and 25 points in 67 games last season — Acciari has tools to contribute in more than just a Being There type of veteran forward.
What type of role do we expect Acciari to play this season?
Which leads us to our expectations sort of perfectly. While we adore Garnet Hathaway and at his peak he was maybe the perfect fourth liner, last year showed that he slowed down a significant amount and for long stretches of time it felt like he was unplayable.
The expectations for Acciari are to just be better than that. Be that type of fourth liner that is an under-the-radar contributor and a real engine to make the Flyers’ entire game work. And, if he keeps up his forechecking game from last season, he should be one of Rick Tocchet’s favorites.
Looking at the tracked forecheck pressures and the recovered dump-ins from All Three Zones, Acciari was above league average at both. And then when looking at just how successful the Flyers were at that, only Tyson Foerster was any better at pressuring opponents and causing turnovers (and he’s one of the best in the league at doing it).
It wouldn’t be too much to ask Acciari to keep on bringing that level of glue play to make Tocchet’s system work and to win over meaningful possession, and to make the fourth line truly one that helps the team win a whole lot of games.
At the very least, Acciari should be better than what Hathaway showed last year.
