The drought hasn’t been nearly as long as scoring 50 goals, but the Flyers have been bone dry for almost a decade regarding a player scoring 100 points in a season. Is the next Flyer that will hit the century mark on the current roster, or are we still waiting for that high performer?

The last Flyer to do it was Claude Giroux, who had a huge, bounce-back, Hart-nomination-worthy season in 2017-18 when he scored 102 points. But since then, nobody has really come close. Had Travis Konecny continued his scoring pace the last half of last season to equal the opening half he might have had a decent chance. It wasn’t to be.

In their history Philadelphia had nine different seasons where a player achieved 100 points. Bobby Clarke leads all Flyers having hit the mark three times: 104 in 1972-73, 116 in 1974-75 and 119 in 1975-76. The other two Flyers from that vintage cracking the century mark are Rick MacLeish who scored 100 in 1972-73 and Bill Barber who had 112 points in 1975-76. Mark Recchi holds the Flyers record for most points in a season (123 in 1992-93) but has hit 100 points twice. Recchi also got 107 points in 1993-94. And of course, Eric Lindros who had a 115-point season in 1995-96.

Since 2018-19, Giroux’s magical season, the 100-point mark has been cracked 41 times in the National Hockey League, including six times each by Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Flyers haven’t really come close, with Konecny’s 76 points last season the closest since Giroux headed for Florida. But that doesn’t mean the streak will continue. So, while not breaking down every single player’s chances, let’s bunch them into different categories.

Never: Travis Sanheim, Jamie Drysdale, Egor Zamula, Dennis Gilbert, Noah Juulsen, Cam York, Nick Seeler, Rasmus Ristolainen, Garnet Hathaway, Nic Deslauriers, Emil Andrae.

Unless Tocchet decides to use the defensive corps as rovers with no responsibility in their own end, none of these players will come close to 100 points. Sanheim led all Flyers defensemen with 30 points. A long way from 100. Sanheim, Drysdale, Seeler, Ristolainen, York, Zamula, and Andrae combined for 128 points last year. Meanwhile Deslauriers and Hathaway won’t probably score 100 points combined the remainder of their careers.

Highly unlikely: Bobby Brink, Noah Cates, Sean Couturier

Sean Couturier’s finest season was one where he asked to be used more offensively. And it paid off. Big time. Couturier is now six (going on seven) seasons removed from his consecutive 76-point seasons. He has clearly lost a step, and primarily a good season for him now is one where he’s healthy and contributing to the middle-six or bottom-six lines. If Couturier caught fire with Michkov or the power play somehow began clicking at 25 per cent to 30 per cent, he could see seasons where 55 to 60 points are possible. But as it stands now, he’s probably beyond his best years.

As for Brink and Cates, both were solid performers last season. But neither seem to be at the level of 100-points. Great seasons for both would probably be in the 50-point realm, particularly if Tocchet decides to keep Foerster, Brink and Cates together to start the season. So 100 points combined between both Cates and Brink should be considered a successful year.

If the stars aligned: Tyson Foerster, Owen Tippett

Tippet and Foerster would need to have mammoth seasons to end up with 100-point seasons. Foerster’s 43 points last year was a career high in year three. He’d have to see top line minutes and have Trevor Zegras as his center for the points to add up. The power play would have to be at an Oilers-esque level for the additional points to get him close. And he’d have to remain healthy and have a boatload of 3-point to 4-point games throughout 2025-26.

The story is similar for Owen Tippett. Tippet at times looks like he can put his speed into another gear and simply blow by opponents at will. On those occasions or stretches of games one wonders how he’s never come close to 70 to 75 points. His career high 53 points in 2023-24 is miles away from 100. But with the right center and a power play that is purring it’s so good might get him into the 75-point range. A lot of things would have to go right for Tippett to get there.

Boxer’s chance: Trevor Zegras

Zegras hasn’t said anything about coming to Philadelphia and get 100 points this year. It would be foolish or sheer arrogance to utter such things. The former Anaheim forward had two seasons of 60 or more points, with the last few years being injury-prone and just a bad situation all around. Zegras should provide a boost to the power play woes that have killed Philadelphia the last few years. And he’ll also be able to play a position (center) he wants to, with Tocchet probably giving him every opportunity to succeed at the spot possible. If Zegras and Michkov team up, it could be one of the more dominating combinations in recent memory for the Flyers. This writer believes he will help a current Flyer get to the century mark before he possibly gets there himself. But he has the talent to be in the conversation.

Doable: Travis Konecny, Matvei Michkov

Outside of Michkov, Travis Konecny had very little offensive or high-end talent near him since Giroux left. Konecny has managed to scrounge up 60-point seasons all by his lonesome while getting over three-quarters of the way there last year with 76 points. An increase in goals to somewhere around 35 goals definitely puts him in the running for 100 points. And, not to beat a dead horse or sound like a broken record, more points on the man advantage should be a given. Especially considering he earned 17 points on a terrible power play. A middle-of-the-road effectiveness would possible come close to doubling those 17 points. So a bump in goals and a bump five-on-four makes Konecny the most probable this season to hit 100 points.

That’s not to downplay the talent of Matvei Michkov. He is coming into this season on a mission to fix his mistakes and become a better player. Michkov might hit bumps as a lot of NHL players do in their second year. But if any player is going to overcome these, it sounds like Michkov is one of the guys to do just that. In his rookie year he had 63 points (17 on the power play). WIth Zegras joining the Flyers, that additional high-end talent should provide Michkov with more opportunities (including maybe one or two Michigans) to get more points. He would have to get off to a tremendous start to have a chance at 100 as it’s possible the rigors of the schedule and demands on the body would make him hit a bit of a wall at some point.

Again, if there’s a 100-point player this season on the Flyers, they will be a shoo-in to make the playoffs (if not be one of the three seeds in the Metropolitan). My guess is if anyone gets there this season it’s Konecny. The following season onward is probably Michkov’s to achieve.