Buzzer Beater: Grounded Flight [UFA Week 12, 2025]

Carolina misses the playoffs for the first time ever, and all 12 playoff spots are clinched.

July 14, 2025 by Alex Rubin in Rankings, Recap

Hi everyone, welcome back to my weekly Buzzer Beater column. Here I will focus on one major storyline each week. The column will also share some news and notes beyond that big story and will be the place to share our most up-to-date power rankings. If you have questions about the UFA, you can also write in to [email protected] to fill up the mailbag.

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Carolina Misses the Playoffs

For the first time since their inception in 2015, the Carolina Flyers will not participate in the UFA postseason. This was always going to be a transition year for Carolina, as the team saw stalwart players like Sol Yanuck, Ben Snell, Anders Juengst, and Henry Fisher take the season off and 2024’s first-year phenom Tobias Brooks signed with Colorado. Head Coach Mike DeNardis also transitioned out of a coaching role this year, with Michael Avila stepping in.

The Flyers, to be clear, have had a very good season. Allan Laviolette is playing at an MVP level. Grayson Sanner looks all the way back after missing the 2023 season with a knee injury. Jacob Fairfax is as dominant as ever downfield, and a full season of Rutledge Smith has been a positive development for Carolina, after he played just a single game as a rookie. However, a 5-5 record simply is not good enough for a playoff berth in an increasingly competitive landscape.

I’m going to give myself a bit of a pat on the back here. In April before the season started, I wrote the following:

What was once a three-team playoff race that essentially determined seeding suddenly has a fourth team now that San Diego is ready to crash the South’s playoff party.

And let me tell you, the Growlers beat the Flyers in Carolina, and only lost to the Hustle, Spiders, and Sol–all playoff teams. That’s pretty good for a Growlers team that has always been a competitive team and is looking for another breakthrough back to Championship Weekend after appearances while in the West Division in 2021 and 2022.

The schedule did the Flyers no favors. Carolina had the misfortune of a cross-division matchup with DC while San Diego did benefit from a game against Las Vegas and four against the Aviators. For comparison, Carolina needed to face off against the division-leading Hustle four times.

As the top 12 teams in the league prepare for the playoffs, the Carolina Flyers will prepare for 2026. Just as the Flyers transitioned from the Yanuck/Matt Gouchoe-Hanas teams of the early 2020s to the Laviolette/Fairfax teams of more recent years, the Flyers will once again need to find a winning formula with a new crop of young players. Carolina rostered a lot of first-year players this season, and the Flyers will build on this season’s experience and a re-growing hunger for success as they look to 2026.

The Playoffs Are Near

With just one week left in the regular season, all twelve playoff teams are decided. Here are some quick thoughts about each of them.

East Division

Boston – in the team’s fifth year, the Glory finally look like a championship contender. With full roster buy-in and a locked-in Tobe Decraene, Boston could add another trophy to a city that is no stranger to sports success.

DC – The Breeze are still figuring out their exact offensive identity in the post-Jonny Malks era, but they are actually figuring it out and letting stars like Christian Boxley and Jacques Nissen shine.

New York – The Empire looked shaky to start the season, and are surely dismayed by Calvin Brown’s most recent knee injury, but they fought back to put themselves in playoff position. Even with a middling regular season record, nobody is going to want to face New York in the playoffs.

Central Division

Chicago – The Union look like Championship contenders, and there’s not much more to say with a roster as loaded and motivated as they are.

Minnesota – The Wind Chill still have another gear that they can hit, and that’s scary given how successfully they managed the playoffs and Championship Weekend last year.

Madison – The Radicals deserve their playoff spot and are clearly a playoff-caliber team, but they will likely struggle to be too competitive with Chicago or Minnesota given the question marks around their depth.

South Division

Austin – The Sol bounced back well from a rough 2024 and look rejuvenated. They’ve put together stunning playoff performances before–is another one in the cards?

Atlanta – The Hustle look like title contenders, but they’ve never even won a division title. A first Championship Weekend appearance will be a great step for this team. With longtime nemesis Carolina out of the way, the Hustle should have their sights set on a late-August trip to Madison.

San Diego – The Growlers had their work cut out for them to get to the playoffs, and they did it! Now that they’re here, will they be happy to still be playing, or can they give a real scare to the two teams above them who they haven’t beaten yet this year?

West Division

Salt Lake – The Shred are back in the division’s drivers seat. With local youth and college programs blossoming, it’s no surprise to see the Shred back at the top of the division. Without the pressure of a home Championship Weekend looming, it’s possible that their playoff performance this year will be stronger than last year’s.

Oakland – The Spiders are having their best season in a decade and are having a ton of success integrating new players and a new coaching staff. We’ll see how they do once the pressure cooker of the playoffs turns on.

Colorado – The Summit are back in the playoffs after a stunning year away last summer. After an up-and-down season, Colorado will save its best for the games that matter most.

News and Notes

• In an incredibly clean game that featured just 20 turnovers and six total breaks between the two teams, Boston took down Philadelphia 15-14 with strong end-of-quarter and situational play.
• Houston needed overtime to beat LA, but the Havoc took home their second win of the season with a 22-20 takedown of the Aviators.
• Jordan Kerr’s five assists and Matt Russnogle’s five goals helped to lead Salt Lake to a 21-18 win over Colorado to cement the Shred’s place atop the West Division.
• Indianapolis took down Detroit 25-18 to remain out of the basement in the Central Division.
• Minnesota kept their season humming along with a professional 16-13 win over the Madison Radicals. These two teams will face each other again in the first round of the playoffs, so consider this one a capable preview. Josh Klane’s four assists and two goals led the way for the Wind Chill.
• Andrew Roy led the way with four assists and 485 total yards as DC beat Boston 20-16. The game was Boston’s second of the weekend after they beat Philadelphia the night before, and DC needed the win to clinch a playoff spot while Boston was already set in the top spot in the East Division. Boston rested some key starters including Jeff Babbitt.
• Atlanta beat Carolina 21-17. As I wrote above, the game knocked the Flyers out of the playoffs. Four assists and two goals from Adam Miller led the way for the Hustle, as Miller enjoyed another chapter in his breakout season.
• Austin beat LA 20-13. Mark Henke’s three assists and four goals guided the Sol: he’s enjoying a breakout campaign in his first season on the Sol O-line. Alex Janelle had five blocks to lead a strong defensive effort from Austin.
• Colorado crushed Las Vegas with a 33-13 drubbing that frankly was not even that close. The stats look like video game numbers: Noah Coolman played well both ways, finishing with seven assists and six blocks. Seth Farris tallied nine goals.
• New York found their way into the playoffs on Sunday afternoon with a comfortable 24-16 win over Philadelphia in a game that was effectively win-and-in. Four assists and two goals from Matt LeBar led a smooth offensive effort for the Empire. Oliver Fay tallied three assists and two goals for the D-line. Philly ultimately was unable to sustain a hot start to the season, going 1-5 against teams .500 or better.

UFA Power Rankings Week 12

• With key wins, the Empire and Sol move farther up our rankings.