3 questions facing Philadelphia Flyers

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, three important questions facing the Philadelphia Flyers.

1. How does the power play get better?

The Flyers have ranked in the bottom three in the NHL on the power play four straight seasons. Their 30th-place finish last season (15.0 percent) came after three consecutive seasons in last.

"I know it's a big eyesore," coach Rick Tocchet said.

But Tocchet feels the talent is in place and is confident the coaching staff will be able to put the players in position to succeed.

"There are some concepts that we believe that can help this power play," he said. "We believe there's certain situations we can put a guy like (Matvei) Michkov or a guy like (Trevor) Zegras. ... It's just not one or two guys. (Travis) Konecny, he's a guy that can play different positions; he can score goals, he's got a great one-timer.

“So, there's a lot of guys in there, (Tyson) Foerster, great hands around the net, so there's a lot of good attributes and characteristics of a good power play. It's just a matter of being a unit together."

2. Can the goaltending improve?

Philadelphia's .890 save percentage at 5-on-5 last season was the lowest since it became an official statistic in 2009-10.

Goalie Dan Vladar signed a two-year, $6.7 million contract ($3.35 million average annual value) July 1 and is expected to split time with Samuel Ersson, who had an .883 save percentage in 47 games (45 starts) last season. Vladar had an .898 save percentage with the Calgary Flames in an NHL career-high 30 games (29 starts).

Tocchet said it's a clean slate for both goalies, and whoever is playing best will play the most.

"I'm 100 percent confident I have a lot more in me," Vladar said. "Whether it's going to be over 30 (games) or under 30 all depends on how I'm going to be playing, how Sam is going to be playing. I'll just do my best as I always did. At the same time, I'm super confident I can be playing more games for sure."

3. Can Trevor Zegras be a full-time center?

The Flyers acquired Zegras in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on June 23 with the hope he could provide an offensive presence at center.

The 24-year-old played there most of his first two NHL seasons, scoring 46 goals, but because of defensive issues and the arrivals of Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson, the Ducks shifted him to the wing the past two seasons.

"I've played center kind of my whole career up until two seasons ago, and I've always felt more comfortable there," Zegras said. "I think there are definitely areas that I need to work on. ... Let's see kind of where it goes with the new coach and the new team, but it would definitely be exciting to be back in the middle for sure."

The Flyers have other options if Zegras doesn't work out, including Christian Dvorak, who signed a one-year, $5.4 million contract July 1, and Jett Luchanko, the No. 13 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft who made the opening-night roster last season and played four games before being returned to Guelph in the Ontario Hockey League.