The Philadelphia Flyers’ 0-7 start has not pushed Rick Tocchet to the edge. Elliotte Friedman said he would be surprised if the team fired him one year after hiring him, a sign that the first major change in Philadelphia may come on the roster instead of behind the bench.
That is why Travis Konecny is suddenly part of the conversation. The Flyers were still looking for their first win on October 13, 2026, and the spotlight has shifted toward players who could be moved if the skid deepens. Konecny signed an eight-year, $70 million extension in 2024 and is now the second-longest-tenured player on the team behind Sean Couturier, which makes the speculation around him all the more striking.
Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff identified Noah Cates, Owen Tippett and Konecny as eligible trade candidates, but Konecny sits at the center of the noise because the doubts are no longer only about performance. Di Marco wrote that there is a growing sense of frustration from within the Flyers organization with Konecny, and that concern is feeding into the idea that the club could ask him to waive his no-movement clause if the losing continues.
That would be a hard ask for any team to make of a player with Konecny’s contract and status, and it is part of why the story has moved well beyond ordinary early-season frustration. The Flyers broke a five-year postseason drought last season, so this start has reopened questions about whether the roster can be fixed quickly enough to protect the season before the gap grows wider.
There is also a practical hurdle if Philadelphia ever decides to explore a deal. Di Marco described the Utah Mammoth as an obvious destination if Konecny waived his no-movement clause, but said Utah would need to clear salary to make such a trade work. He also noted that the Flyers have had interest in Utah prospect Caleb Desnoyers since the 2025 NHL Draft, a detail that suggests any future conversation would be shaped by more than just Konecny’s value on the ice.
For now, the clearest read is that Tocchet is safer than the record might suggest, while Konecny is the player most exposed if the Flyers keep sliding. The next step is not a coaching change. It is whether Philadelphia turns its frustration into a direct conversation with one of its most established forwards.
