The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that Nolan Patrick, Mikhail Vorobyev and Philippe Myers have received qualifying offers, keeping their negotiating rights in the organization. Nathan Noel, the team’s only other pending restricted free agent, did not receive an offer and will become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.
The decisions made today shouldn’t surprise anyone, but that doesn’t mean the work is finished for GM Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers front office. Patrick in particular is a very interesting case to follow as he becomes a restricted free agent this offseason. Because he has been limited so much by injuries, Patrick is not actually eligible to sign an offer sheet and without arbitration rights is at the mercy of the Flyers. They don’t need to necessarily work out a multi-year deal with the top draft pick, though perhaps they could get some savings if they do.
If Patrick is healthy, he has already proven his worth in the NHL. The second overall pick in 2017 played in the NHL as a teenager, scoring 13 goals and 30 points in his rookie season. While that certainly didn’t blow the doors off the building, holding your own as a center in the league at that age is still impressive. Patrick returned in 2018-19 and once again posted 13 goals and 31 points in 72 games, but unfortunately, those would be the last games he played to this point. All of 2019-20 was lost to a migraine issue, and though Patrick has been skating for months it’s still hard to know if he’ll actually be ready to start next season.
If he is, perhaps the Flyers could try to lock up several of his RFA years right now at a bargain bin price. If there is still doubt in his ability to stay on the ice, a one-year deal makes a lot more sense.