The Philadelphia Flyers have signed center Ryan Poehling to a one-year deal worth $1.4MM per season, reports Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek. They’ve also signed forward Rhett Gardner to a two-year, two-way $775k AAV deal.
For Poehling, this represents another change of scenery opportunity for the young forward. In 53 games played for the Penguins last year, he only managed seven goals and seven assists, not exactly great numbers for a former-25th overall selection. Unfortunately for Poehling, whether it be in Pittsburgh or with the Montreal Canadiens, no team has given him adequate ice time to grow. In Philadelphia, however, Poehling should get the chance to play in the 13-14 minute range on average, growing his offensive game under head coach John Tortorella.
The Gardner signing represents a good piece of organizational offensive depth if nothing else. Gardner hasn’t played much at the NHL level so far, only managing 40 total games in the last three seasons. At the AHL level, Gardner has been much better, scoring 10 goals and 30 assists for the Texas Stars, showing that he can hold his own at the minor league level. In Philadelphia, Gardner should be considered primarily an AHL player but may see a callup in case of an injury to the NHL roster.
Hope he gets an opportunity in Philly. Might be a late bloomer.
I agree with your take Josh. Poehling’s microstats are actually very solid and deserving of an expanded role.
Hope he fluorishes in Philly