The Philadelphia Flyers might be getting their top prospect to join the team and provide a major boost within the next couple of days.
Porter Martone and his Michigan State Spartans faced the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday afternoon to decide who gets to go to the Frozen Four and compete for a national championship. The Spartans were the favorites heading into the game as the No. 3 seed overall and looked the part as they came back from a 1-0 deficit to make it a 3-1 lead in the middle of the third period.
Unfortunately, that all fell apart. Two very quick goals by the Badgers tied the game and forced overtime in the do-or-die game and just 24 seconds into the extra period, Wisconsin scored and ended Michigan State’s and Martone’s season. He finished Saturday’s game with an assist and a minus-3 rating with two shots on goal.
Porter Martone can now join the Flyers as soon as possible
Martone ends his potentially only year in the NCAA as one of the best talents to play college hockey in the last 10 years. In 35 games, he scored 25 goals and 50 points — his 1.43 points per game is fourth among all skaters in college hockey this season and only a handful of players in their Draft+1 seasons managed to produce at a higher rate. He had simply one of the best seasons in the modern era.
While it is not always great to see one of the best Flyers prospects this decade end up losing and not getting the chance to play for a national title this means something major for every single Flyers fan across the world. Porter Martone is now eligible to sign his entry-level contract and debut in the NHL as soon as possible.
It’s essentially a bittersweet moment because it is ultimately Martone not reaching the highest achievement, but it might also mean seeing him in the Orange and Black as soon as next week.
But, it’s also not so simple and there are several different options that both the Flyers and Martone could consider.
The potential paths that Martone can take to start his pro career
The main expectation is that because of just how good Martone is and how he is simply considered one of the best prospects in the world right now, he will sign his entry-level contract with the Flyers and then get immediately thrust into the NHL and finish his season to play however many remaining games Philadelphia has in their schedule. That is, honestly, the most likely outcome and certainly the most exciting possibility.
In this scenario, he would have the first year of his entry-level contract burned and would become a restricted free agent in 2028, and eligible to sign a new contract extension in 2027. Not the end of the world at all if it means getting a player of Martone’s caliber on the team in actually important games to finish this season.
One other option is that Martone signs his contract but starts in the AHL. That seems unlikely but it would mean actually getting to put pen to paper on a deal and playing more slow with his development, to see how he looks at the next step up from college for a player like him.
Or, just maybe, for some reason, Martone will sign his entry-level contract but have it start for the 2026-27 season, and then join the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the rest of the season on an amateur try-out. But, that route is usually reserved for prospects tiers below Martone — no offense to Cole Knuble, but that’s the level of player we’re talking about that typically walks that path to start their professional career, not sixth-overall picks who just had one of the best seasons in college hockey.
But, if we want to go by some reporting, The Inquirer’s Jackie Spiegel mentioned that after the Spartans were eliminated that it will be a “short wait” for Martone to join the Flyers. So all of this option weighing should ultimately result in Martone coming to the NHL very soon.
It would be shocking to see the Flyers sign Martone and have him in the lineup against the Dallas Stars at home Sunday night, so it certainly feels that the likely NHL debut for Martone will be Tuesday night in Washington against the Capitals. Teams like to give the high-profile debuts on the road, to then come back home without the pressure of it being the first game. The Flyers host the Detroit Red Wings next Thursday.
