There is a non-zero chance that by this time next week, Leo Carlson is a Philadelphia Flyer. The 21-year-old star center signed a historic offer sheet and is obviously open to the idea of playing in Philadelphia and being a part of this roster that general manager Danny Briere has formed over the first few years of his tenure.
He would be the crown jewel to be placed on top of the lineup with a satisfying click as everything just comes together and forms something resembling much more of an actual Stanley Cup contender rather than some very talented wingers centered by a rag-tag group of outcasts or players playing above their weight class.
But what would that new and competitive lineup look like? We have at least one idea, because who doesn’t love fantasy booking your favorite hockey team’s lineup months before training camp even starts?
Flyers finally get their No. 1 center and things fall into place
This is going to be under the assumption that Claude Giroux does not come to Philadelphia for an emotional reunion. While it feels more than likely given all the noise surrounding the player — the Oilers are reportedly out, so it is really just down to the Flyers or the Senators and if he was just going to return to Ottawa, why wait this long? — it not being 100% feels counteractive to the exercise. We have to have at least some reality in this little fun construction of a lineup.
Additionally, this is not necessarily what we would want to do but it’s leaning more into what we can envision head coach Rick Tocchet doing to open up the Flyers’ 2026-27 season, after a couple moves were made.
Tyson Foerster — Leo Carlsson — Travis Konecny
Alex Bump — Trevor Zegras — Porter Martone
Noah Cates/Denver Barkey — Christian Dvorak — Matvei Michkov
Denver Barkey/Nikita Grebenkin — Sean Couturier — Noel Acciari
There could certainly be variations to this, but this is just one lineup that could certainly make sense to start the season with.
Notably, Owen Tippett is missing. While his $6.2-million AAV on a long-term deal is enticing to keep around as some sort of bargain counterbalance to Leo Carlsson’s substantial $18-million AAV, a winger has got to be traded no matter what in this scenario and especially if Giroux is added to the mix.
That winger won’t be Tyson Foerster (too good and locked up) or Travis Konecny (has a no movement clause) and trading away rookies like Denver Barkey or Alex Bump who are still on their entry-level contracts is certainly not what you do to make dollars work on your roster. So, Tippett is the odd man out and it will most likely be for some solid help on the blue line. Maybe there’s some sort of defenseman version of Tippett out there for Danny Briere to make a simple swap.
Bump then takes Tippett’s spot, in hopes that he can produce somewhat close to a 25-goal pace if given that opportunity and for very cheap. He most likely will fall short of that, but even if he’s just a complementary player to a Zegras-Martone pairing, then that’s perfectly fine.
As for more specific pairings, we can see Konecny getting the first crack at playing next to Carlsson on the right side and Foerster getting to form this two-headed, two-way monster partnership with the 21-year-old Swedish center. A very balanced line of power and skill and aggression and just overall ability.
Then for the rest of the lineup, with the Flyers adding a new center, Christian Dvorak slips down to a third-line role and Noah Cates is too good defensively to just throw away or play lower than this, so he takes up his spot on the left wing. And our boy Matvei Michkov is not given the best opportunity next to the best linemates ever, but it’s what was left and he could certainly make something more from a partnership he’s creating with Cates.
Denver Barkey also deserves to be up here, but Cates probably has the upper hand on him. So, in that case then maybe he starts the year on the fourth line next to Sean Couturier and newcomer Noel Acciari. It would form some sort of understated powerful playdriving line that can still be extremely aggressive and get under the skin of an opponent if needed, but also has enough of a scoring touch that getting more possession of the puck wouldn’t be a complete waste.
Nikita Grebenkin will also be hanging around but could very well return to more of a rotation player as he was at times last season. It does feel like he has a little bit more to prove than Barkey and is certainly behind him in the depth chart. So, if they don’t trade any other wingers than he could start the season in the press box as maybe the best healthy scratch in the league.
Potential for more changes
This is all assuming that adding Carlsson is basically all the Flyers do to their forward group, and then maybe add Giroux. But there certainly is the possibility that there’s an unforeseen trade coming as the Flyers continue to be aggressive in trying to make this team better.
Maybe it’s Tippett and Cates going out for another upgrade at the center position to play behind Carlsson and Zegras goes back to the wing. Maybe Zach Werenski becomes available before summer is over and the Flyers pounce right back on that opportunity and a couple good players from this lineup are gone.
No one knows for certain what this team is going to look like after training camp. But, everyone here is certainly hoping that Leo Carlsson is a part of it. And now we get to see exactly how a potential lineup involving a player of his talents looks like on-paper and see how players just fall more into places where they should ultimately play instead of over-extending, like we had last season.
It could be completely different, but that’s just how we see it. You should probably drop your fantasy lineup in the comments just to yell at me and tell me how dumb you think I am putting Tyson Foerster next to Leo Carlsson or something.
