As the Flyers rebuild continues, here are four things fans can look forward to in 2024

Amid a new era of Orange and Black, Monday marks the start of a new year.

After an up-and-down 2023 that saw the Flyers go through front-office upheaval — Chuck Fletcher fired and Danny Briere hired as interim GM in March before being given the title full-time in May, when Keith Jones was hired as president — they’re ending the calendar year in a good place.

The team is riding a nine-game road points streak after amassing a nine-game points streak a few weeks ago. Travis Konecny has been a spark plug, the goalie tandem of Carter Hart and Sam Ersson has been stellar, and the additions of Garnet Hathaway and Ryan Poehling coupled with the returns of a healthy Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson have helped to balance the roster.

Under coach John Tortorella for a second season, the guys in the room have bought into his game plan and the Flyers — a team many thought would finish around their 2022-23 final standing (26th in the NHL) — are sitting at 19-11-5 and tied for 11th in the league in percentage points with one more game before the year comes to an end.

There’s a lot to be positive right now in Philly when it comes to the Orange and Black. And one thing to — possibly — look forward to is some playoff hockey at the Wells Fargo Center. But that has a big TBD stamped across it before the calendar even thinks about flipping to January.

With that, here are four more things Flyers fans can look forward to in the new year.

» READ MORE: New Year’s predictions: Bryce Harper MVP? Joel Embiid title? Jalen Hurts on top? Tiger’s chances? And Torts

After Cutter Gauthier returned to Boston College for another season, all signs point to the Flyers’ top prospect signing his entry-level contract once the Eagles’ season is done. Now representing USA Hockey at the World Juniors, the sophomore has 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 17 games for BC.

“His shot is different, let’s just say. ... It gets on the goalie in a hurry. To me, it’s an NHL-plus kind of shot,” Harvard coach and former NHLer Ted Donato told the New England Hockey Journal after Gauthier scored the game-winner against his team on Nov. 26.

The Flyers power play certainly needs a boost, and that guy could be Gauthier. But it also wouldn’t hurt if the help came from outside the organization. Entering play on Saturday, the team’s power play was ranked 31st in the NHL at 10.9% effectiveness.

Whether it means a pickup at the deadline or a free-agent signee over the summer, the Flyers need an elite shooter who can snipe the puck with reckless abandon from the flank and a true quarterback on the point for each unit. Tyson Foerster can be a sniper, but he hasn’t been put into too many positions to be that guy. Egor Zamula and Cam York have done admirably in the point spot and may grow into that role, but only time will tell if they’re the right guys.

The biggest question is: What will the Flyers’ brass do at the deadline, especially if this team is still in the playoff picture?

Some may say the rebuild is over with how the Flyers are playing. Some may say it isn’t something to look forward to. Here’s the thing: The rebuild must continue for this new era to keep rolling.

But what the next step in the rebuild looks like is anyone’s guess. Will the rebuild include more of the young guys in Lehigh Valley and the college ranks suiting up? And what happens to the current nucleus as those guys push for NHL ice time?

Either way, the Flyers should stay the course. Yes, the brass ring of the playoffs is within reach as of now, but as Tortorella likes to say, the team cannot get too far ahead of itself as the season is a long and winding one.

» READ MORE: ‘It’s an adjustment’: Several Flyers excelling while playing their ‘off-side’

The wait for Matvei Michkov continues, but once the door shuts on 2024, it’s another year closer to “The Mad Russian,” as Tortorella anointed him, gets to Philadelphia. When he will actually wear the Orange and Black is uncertain with him still under contract in the KHL. But with every clip that gets posted on social media, the hope is it’ll be much sooner than later.