Flyers’ Travis Sanheim emerging as sleeper to make Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off team

Anthony Di Marco
Anthony Di Marco
Oct 29, 2024, 14:40 EDT
Flyers’ Travis Sanheim emerging as sleeper to make Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off team
Credit: © Eric Hartline

With the 4 Nations Face-Off a little more than three months away, the mock drafts of team lineups are being tossed out everywhere. From line combinations, to defensive pairings to goaltending depth charts, every pundit and fan is giving their two cents on who will be donning their country’s colors come February 2025. 

In the case of Team Canada, forwards aside, this may be the most unpredictable and shallow roster we’ve seen in a best on best tournament since NHL players began participating nearly 30 years ago. The goaltending’s question marks have been discussed at length; the days of Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Carey Price have long passed, with the current starer’s position seemingly still up in the air.

On the back end, Colorado Avalanche superstar defenseman Cale Makar has already been announced. It’s safe to assume his Avalanche partner, Devon Toews, will make the team to play alongside Makar; another safe bet to return to Team Canada for his third “best on best” appearance is Vegas Golden Knights defender Alex Pietrangelo. Other names expected to get attention are Evan Bouchard (Edmonton Oilers), Noah Dobson (New York Islanders), Drew Doughty if healthy by then (Los Angeles Kings), Dougie Hamilton (New Jersey Devils), Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets), Morgan Rielly (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Shea Theodore (Golden Knights). 

One name that has not been brought up but should be kept in mind is Travis Sanheim of the Philadelphia Flyers. St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong, who is Canada’s 4 Nations management team leader, took in the Flyers game versus the Montreal Canadiens Sunday night in preparation for the upcoming international tournament. While names like Travis Konecny and Nick Suzuki – we could’ve included goaltender Samuel Montembeault had he been starting for the Canadiens that night, too – have been tied to Team Canada and were likely on Armstrong’s radar, Sanheim’s name is one to keep in mind as an off the radar possibility, according to those I’ve spoken with. 

Sanheim, 28, had a career year last season in both goals (10) and points (44) for the Flyers; he has picked up where he left off, with three goals and five points through the first nine contests in this campaign. After a rocky first season under head coach John Tortorella – which included a healthy scratch in Calgary, where Sanheim played junior hockey – Sanheim emerged as the Flyers’ top defenseman last season. After almost being dealt to the Blues in June 2023, Sanheim entered last season with something to prove and certainly delivered. 

A big reason for Sanheim’s emergence was the opportunity to be the top dog on Philadelphia’s blueline with the departure of Ivan Provorov. Since Sanheim’s rookie season in 2017-18, he was deployed behind Provorov as the team’s go-to left-shot defenseman in all situations. The trade of Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets freed up a spot for Sanheim on the top pair (both even strength and on the penalty kill), a role in which he has excelled; he has proven to be a much more reliable “No. 1” than Provorov had been in his final three seasons with the Flyers.

One must ask, with so many talented blueliners in the hunt to make Team Canada, what makes Sanheim stand out from the rest?

More than one person has pointed out Sanheim’s style of play and how it is different from the others vying for the same role. Should Sanheim make the cut, it would be in a third pair, penalty kill role – a role that (left-shot) defensemen like Thomas Chabot, Morrissey and Rielly would not be suited for. With only so many power play (and offensive) minutes to go around for defensemen – and we can be sure that Makar will be anchoring the top power play unit along with premium offensive situations – there is, theoretically, only one more spot available on the man advantage. For argument’s sake, Makar could man the top power play unit, and the seventh defenseman (let’s say Morrissey, for the sake of argument) could be used primarily for the second unit. 

Sanheim averaged 23:48 of ice time last season; he is averaging nearly the same this year with 23:35. These are not easy minutes, either, as Sanheim virtually never sees power play time and is consistently deployed in a matchup role against other teams’ best forward lines. Sanheim has proven the ability to play both sides – a left shot who has primarily played on the right since the beginning of 2023-24 – which would give Team Canada’s coaching staff more versatility in mixing up the pairs for specific situations. 

In addition to Sanheim, I’ve heard that Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse has been under consideration for a similar third pair role for Team Canada. 

_____

Morgan Frost Struggling

It has not been a strong start for Morgan Frost, and not for a lack of opportunity. Despite being on the top power play unit and getting reps centering rookie sensation Matvei Michkov, Frost has just four assists through the first nine games. His struggles (especially away from the puck) landed him on the team’s fourth line Sunday night vs the Canadiens; he is expected to be back in the top-six for Tuesday’s game versus the Boston Bruins, per Jackie Spiegel. 

Based on conversations I’ve had the past few days, the future of Frost is still very much up in the air with the Flyers. While he does have offensive talent, several NHL executives have alluded to Frost’s timid style and weak defensive play being a cause for concern long term. He’s a (team worst) -12 on the season (and yes, plus/minus doesn’t tell the whole story), and his offense has not come nearly close to compensating for his defensive shortcomings. Even if the Flyers looked to explore a trade – though I think it’s premature to have that discussion – I don’t get the sense that there is much of a market for him. Speaking with one Western Conference executive, Frost’s suspect play in his own zone could cause matchups to be difficult.

Frost, 25, is in the final season of a two-year contract he signed last September that carries an AAV of $2.1 million. He is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season and is eligible for arbitration.

Flyers will use three-goalie rotation…for now

The Flyers have continued to have goaltender woes this season, and it appears that they will try to solve the issue by committee – at least for the time being. 

I’ve been told the Flyers do plan to ride with Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov for the immediate future. While not an ideal situation, the Flyers still need to figure out which duo is the best option, along with the starter’s job up for grabs. Kolosov debuted on Sunday and while the score may not be indicative of it, he had a decent first outing. Ersson (.872 save percentage) has been disappointing to start the year, while Fedotov (.821 SV%) has been downright dreadful. 

As has been reported by several pundits (including myself), it doesn’t sound like Kolosov will be going back to the AHL; either he will remain with the Flyers or return to the KHL. I do think this opens the door for a possible waiving of Fedotov, despite his $3.275 million AAV. As I wrote about last week, the Flyers will have, more or less, the same cap hit with Ersson and Kolosov as they would with Ersson and Fedotov, even if they’d be paying Fedotov a healthy amount to play in the minors. There is also a strong sense that his AAV would keep him safe from a waiver claim, according to more than one NHL executive. 

I assume Kolosov will get at least one more start for the Flyers; my sense is that his play will directly impact the future of Fedotov, who may have no more grasp on determining his own fate. Either way, Ersson will be one of the two Flyers goaltenders. 

_____

POST SPONSORED BY bet365

_____

Recently by Anthony Di Marco

Keep scrolling for more content!