Offseason Spotlight: Owen Tippett

Flyers winger Owen Tippett finished second on the team in 2023-24 with 28 goals and 53 points in 78 games played. Tippett, who turned 25 on Feb. 16, set new career highs in all three categories, topping the 27 goals and 49 points he posted in 77 games during the 2022-23 season.

On January 26, 2024, the Flyers rewarded Tippett with an eight-year contract extension that will kick in for the 2024-25 season. The deal carries a $6.2 million average annual value (AAV), and a total $49.6 million gross over its lifetime. The third, fourth, and fifth seasons of the contract (2026-27, 2027-28, and 2028-29) will carry a modified no-trade clause. Years one, two, six, seven and eight do not have a no-trade element. Tippett can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2032, when he will be 33 years old. 

The soft-spoken native of Peterborough, Ontario, does his talking on the ice with his combination of size (6-foot-1, 210 pounds), speed, and willingness to be a shoot-first attacker who excels in attacking off the rush and taking the puck to the net. Tippett finished this past season with 287 shots on goal: tops on the Flyers and 11th-most among all players in the National Hockey League.

TIppett recently sat down with Flyers Daily host Jason Myrtetus to discuss his career-best season to date, the Flyers' near-miss pursuit of a playoff spot, his new contract, preparation plans for next season, and more.

"There's always tweaks you want to make to your game, whether it's big tweaks or little tweaks," Tippett said. "For me, a big part is just shooting and making sure [the shot] is where it needs to be, like different release points and deceptions."

One area Tippett would like to improve come the 2024-25 campaign is his shooting accuracy from the mid-to-deep slot. Overall, he posted a 9.7 percent shooting percentage this past season. Bumping that up into even a modestly higher range would go a long way toward achieving his first 30-plus goal season and being a tad less streaky in striking paydirt. 

For example, Ottawa's Brady Tkachuk had a 10.4 percent shooting percentage in 2023-24 (37 goals on 357 shots on net). Toronto's John Tavares also posted a 10.4 percent shooting percentage (29 goals on 279 shots). If Tippett is able to make even slight tweaks to push up his shooting percentage three-quarters of one percent to one percent higher, a 30-plus goal season is well within his reach if he stays healthy. 

This past season, Tippett scored one of the most spectacular goals by any player in the league: a reverse spin-o-rama from the left circle that he top-shelved into the far corner of the net. He couldn't stifle a grin as he recounted the goal to Myretus.

"As soon as I took a step to the middle, I knew I wasn't going to be able to go anywhere. That's one of those ones you're just trying to get on net more than anything. But, I guess if you're in that spot, it catches the goalie off-guard sometimes, too," Tippett said.

When the Flyers acquired Tippett in the Claude Giroux trade with the Florida Panthers near the 2022 trade deadline, he came with a reputation for being a below-average defensive forward. That's something he has worked very hard to improve in his two-plus seasons in Philadelphia. While it's still a work in progress and Tippett is unlikely to evolve into a Selke Trophy candidate (which is more commonly a domain for centers than wingers, anyway), he takes pride in the steps he's taken toward evolving into a more well-rounded player in his mid-20s than he was earlier in his career.

One off-puck detail in which Tippett has made major strides: lifting opponents' sticks and either stealing the puck cleanly or at least causing the puck to harmlessly dribble away from the would-be attacker. Over the past two seasons, Tippett has been credited with 77 takeaways (1.75 per 60 minutes of ice time). That trails only checking-focused Noah Cates (93 takeaways in total, 2.45 per 60 minutes) and leading scorer Travis Konecny (87 takeaways, 1.92 per 60). 

A less subtle adjustment that Tippett has made: moving to his off-wing. 

Tippett spent the majority of the 2023-24 season playing left wing after previously playing primarily on the right side. His comfort in playing on either flank has given head coach John Tortorella and forwards coach Rocky Thompson more flexibility in personnel deployment. Playing the left side also creates some advantageous shooting angles for the right-handed Tippett. He's skilled on his backhand when he has to play the puck along the boards, so the transition to the off-wing was smooth. 

Although Tippett is not a boisterous or verbose type of communicator, he is well-liked and well-respected within the Flyers' tight-knit group in the dressing room. He's become close friends in particular with the team's other players in the 25-and-younger age group. 

According to Tippett, the tight bonds within the team were one of the major reasons why he wanted to commit to the Flyers for the long-term rather than seeking a path toward unrestricted free agency (and potentially more money as the salary cap ceiling is projected to rise significantly in upcoming years).

"We have an awesome group here, and that was definitely a big part of it," Tippett said on Exit Day of realizing his desire to be part of the team's roster plan for the long haul.  "My goal is to win here, with as many of these guys as possible. This is where I want to be, and I'm excited to be part of what we're building here."