Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim is striving to end season on a high note by being more aggressive

During the Flyers’ 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 7, coach John Tortorella expressed frustration with the play of defenseman Travis Sanheim, benching him for the second period after he was called for a defensive-zone tripping penalty in the first.

It was the second time in almost as many weeks that Tortorella sent a message to the 26-year-old Sanheim, having healthy-scratched him against his hometown Calgary Flames on Feb. 20. He treated formerly struggling winger Joel Farabee similarly, limiting him to 3 minutes, 52 seconds of ice time against the Flames and benching him for the second period against the Lightning.

“Yeah,” an exasperated Tortorella said after the Lightning game. “I don’t know where I go there.”

Sanheim, however, knew exactly where he wanted to go.

Before the Flyers’ next game on March 9 against the Carolina Hurricanes, Sanheim said he wanted to get back to what he’s been trying to do all season: playing his offensive style while incorporating the aggressive defensive mindset that Tortorella has been longing to see from him. Sanheim emphasized that drastic change wouldn’t happen overnight, but he was determined to stick with it in the midst of a down individual year (four goals, 12 assists, minus-9 in 65 games before the current homestand).

» READ MORE: NHL draft prospect Adam Fantilli is lighting up the NCAA. Where would he fit in with the Flyers?

After all, Sanheim showed a glimpse of his offensive capabilities from Nov. 19 to Dec. 5, when he picked up nine points (three goals, six assists) in nine games. It was just a matter of figuring out how to find that spark once again, and Tortorella was going to do everything he could to pull it out of Sanheim.

“You guys think we’re fighting,” Tortorella said Thursday. “We’re not. I want more. It’s my job to ask for more. And I’m going to continue to ask for more, because I saw it. And when I see it, I’m going to ask for it.”

More than two weeks after his benching, Sanheim has started to rediscover his game. In his last six contests, he has tallied three goals and an assist and is plus-3. Sanheim was especially productive Tuesday night in the Flyers’ 6-3 victory over the Florida Panthers. He scored twice, marking his first multi-goal game since Jan. 13, 2020 (two goals in a 6-5 win over the Boston Bruins). Both goals came when he was getting involved in the offense low in the the zone.

Sanheim picked up his 100th-career assist the following game against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. He created a 2-on-1, starting with strong defensive play in his own zone and moving the puck through the neutral zone, setting up forward Scott Laughton for a goal. Sanheim led the Flyers with 22:59 of ice time that night. With production and responsibility comes confidence, and Sanheim is playing with much more of it.

“Obviously, confidence is probably the main key for me,” Sanheim said postgame. “You notice when I have it and when I don’t. Hopefully, I can continue this throughout the last stretch here and I just got to find more ways to be more consistent and not letting my downs get too down and trying to get right back to it and just understanding that there’s going to be mistakes in every game. Put those past me and try to move forward.”

In the Flyers’ 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, Sanheim continued to flash offensively and close plays out defensively. He was ready right from the moment the puck dropped, using his legs to carry the puck up the ice from the defensive zone all the way to the right circle of the offensive zone, where he fired a shot toward goalie Alex Nedeljkovic that was blocked up front.

In the second period, Sanheim forced a turnover from Red Wings winger David Perron in the neutral zone and skated the puck into the offensive zone. He sent the puck around the boards for Laughton behind the net. Laughton centered a pass through multiple defenders to Sanheim at the right circle, then Sanheim walked the puck into the slot before getting a shot off. Nedeljkovic used his blocker to swat the puck aside.

Sanheim finished the night with three shot attempts, two shots, and two scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. In this most recent stretch of games, Sanheim believes he’s making smart decisions and harnessing the aggressive mindset that Tortorella aspires to see him play with.

“I think it’s something that I got to slowly continue to work on in my game,” Sanheim said. “I’m just trying to be more aggressive in all areas, using my feet to close more, jumping down low on pinches, stepping up on guys in the neutral zone, little things like that, that I think I’ve gotten better at and used more. I think it’s helping me on the offensive side and creating more turnovers.”

» READ MORE: ‘It’s asinine’: John Tortorella laments fans’ calls to tank for the rest of the season

Next season marks the first of Sanheim’s eight-year, $50 million extension that he signed on Oct. 13. While Tortorella acknowledged that there will be some “addition by subtraction” happening among the Flyers’ roster in the offseason, realistically, Sanheim’s contract would be a challenging one to move.

Now, it’s imperative that Sanheim uses the final 10 games of the season to continue to build trust with Tortorella and confidence within himself.

“I’m hoping he ends on a good note here so we can feel good about it during the summer,” Tortorella said on Thursday. “I think him and I, we’ve got to adjust ourselves as we start next year and how we’re going to go about it. But I just want him to feel good about himself before he leaves this year.”