Tippet's season opening galllop has slowed to barely a trot for the Flyers

VOORHEES, N.J. -- In horse racing parlance, Owen Tippett was a speed horse for the Flyers this season. 

He burst out of the gates with five goals in his first six games. It was never a pace he could keep up for an entire 82 games, but it was a heck of a start. He was also a plus four in those six games. 

Since then, though, the rest of the horses in the race have blown past him. 

He hasn't scored a goal in the last nine games. He has just one assist. He's also a minus-8. 

"He's been getting chances," coach Rick Tocchet said. "He's had a couple breakaways in those nine games. He's had 2-on-1s. He's had some slap shots. 

"But there's parts of his game ... he kind of gets in and out of his game. He's got to stay a little more focused in the game. I think that'll help him. He knows it, and he's working on that part - the mental part of it."

Matvei Michkov has been playing very well since the ~5th game of the season. His expected goals and actual goals share are both positive at five on five. Owen Tippett had a great streak early in the season, but since then? Not so good. https://t.co/3R3VaFWhsV pic.twitter.com/WVhCTfrtSZ

— Rono (@RonoAnalyst) November 10, 2025

Tippett has had his most success playing with Trevor Zegras, but at times, with injuries to other guys, first Sean Couturier missing a game and later Tyson Foerster missing a few games with an ankle injury, he's been forced elsewhere in the lineup. 

Tocchet said that Tippett has been with Zegras and Christian Dvorak 70% of the time, but that he has been juggled elsewhere as needed by the team's circumstances. 

"Good players adjust to that," Tocchet said. "But I don't think that's an issue."

Tippett wasn't available in the locker room after practice on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Foerster was a full participant in practice. Tocchet remained reluctant to commit to him playing Wednesday against Edmonton. He said they'll talk about it and do the smart thing for Foerster's health. Either way, if he doesn't play Wednesday, he will likely be back in the lineup Friday in St. Louis. So, his return is rapidly approaching.

In practice, Foerster returned to his spot alongside Noah Cates and Bobby Brink. With that line being back together, Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov needed a new winger. For practice, at least, it was Zegras, which means Tippett would play with Dvorak and Travis Konecny. 

Couturier said not to read too much into that line combination in practice, as it was just practice, but that's a testing ground for coaches, as it should be.

So, if the test is applied to an actual game, Tippett will no longer be with either of the Flyers two best playmakers. He'd have to create some of his own offense. 

As we know with the drought Michkov went through, a long stretch of games like this without scoring can weigh on you - especially if you are considered a guy who is supposed to provide offense. 

NHL GameScore Impact Card for Philadelphia Flyers on 2025-11-06 pic.twitter.com/v2G07jsm8L

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) November 7, 2025

Tippett's name has started to circulate in some trade rumors. Nothing is imminent, and sources with both the Flyers and in the NHL say all of the rumors are pure speculation. The reality is they likely stemmed from feeling out conversations between general managers that often occurs at this time of year, which is where a lot of November rumors are born. 

Tippett, 26, is in the second year of an eight-year, $49.6 million contract extension that he signed prior to last season. His AAV is $6.2 million. 

That's a big contract to trade, but, it will become harder on July 1 when Tippett has a modified no-trade clause kick in for the following four seasons that would allow him to block a trade to 10-teams per season. 

As such, the Flyers need Tippett to find his footing. It will be good for the player, the team's present-day success, and gives G.M. Danny Briere some options down the line either as a critical member of the team's core, that found consistency, or as an asset to be flipped to another team to improve elsewhere. 

But Tippett being a non-factor isn't helping anyone. Something positive soon would help everyone - including Tippett - breath a little easier.

Don't miss Snow The Goalie, live at Chickie's and Pete's every Wednesday at 6PM. The show will broadcast from a different Chickie's and Pete's location every week throughout the Flyers season. The next show is Wednesday (11/12) and will be at Chickie's and Pete's of South Philadelphia with a special start time of 5PM because of the Flyers game at 7:30pm.