Pro Hockey Rumors

The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those that were eliminated early.  It’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Philadelphia.

The Flyers were hoping that John Tortorella would come in, shake things up, and help get them back into the playoff picture.  While the new bench boss made some waves, they dealt with several key veterans missing the season and they weren’t able to really get into the mix for a spot in the postseason, coming up short for the third straight year, the first time that has happened for them in nearly three decades.  One change of note was made late in the campaign and this offseason will likely bring more of those.

Finalize Front Office

When Chuck Fletcher was fired shortly after the trade deadline, it was decided that his job would be split into two positions, a GM and a team president.  Decisions will need to be made on both fronts for who will be in those roles.

On the GM side, Daniel Briere was named to the interim post when Fletcher was let go.  He is the presumptive favorite to remain in that role and considering he hasn’t been on the job that long, there isn’t much of a body of work to go off of.  However, Briere has been considered an up-and-coming executive for a few years now and it seems like only a matter of time before the interim tag is lifted.

As for who will be the president, that’s a search that’s likely to take some time.  Assuming Briere remains as GM, Philadelphia will likely want someone with front office experience to provide a complementary skill set.  Veteran GMs Ray Shero and Doug Wilson have been suggested as possible candidates while Dave Poulin, Scott Mellanby, and Emilie Castonguay are also believed to have been under consideration.  There are likely others involved as well.  Finding the right person to work with Briere to lead this new direction will be critical.

Start The Shakeup

For me, the next step with this organization is: You don’t start adding players until you subtract them. I think there needs to be some subtraction.

This isn’t a quote from a disgruntled fan or reporter, nor is it one from Briere or his predecessor.  No, it’s a quote from Tortorella about seven weeks ago.  Of course, that came after the trade deadline so there wasn’t anything that could be done on the subtraction front at that time.  Now, some of those moves can be made beyond letting free agents like James van Riemsdyk hit free agency this summer.

At the top of the list appears to be Kevin Hayes.  The veteran center got off to a strong start this season, hovering near the point-per-game mark which helped him make it to the All-Star Game.  However, he saw his playing time slip in the second half which also featured a change in position and the end result was a final few months that were rather unproductive.  Speaking with reporters after the season, Hayes indicated that he thinks he’ll be on the move in the near future.  He would certainly fit in on many teams but with three years remaining on a contract that carries an AAV of over $7.1MM, not many of those squads will have the cap space to take him on.  Accordingly, it seems likely that Philadelphia will have to pay down some of the deal, take back some matching money, or both to help facilitate a move.

Then there’s blueliner Anthony DeAngelo.   After a strong showing in Carolina in 2021-22, he received a two-year, $10MM deal from the Flyers to be a big part of their back end.  Instead, he languished defensively and was a healthy scratch for the final five games of the season.  The 27-year-old has made it clear that he wants to remain with the Flyers but he isn’t seeing eye-to-eye with Tortorella, it doesn’t do anyone any favors for him to be a high-priced scratch at times next season.  Speaking of underachieving blueliners, Rasmus Ristolainen is a contract they’d likely like to get out of but with four years left at $5.1MM, such a move might be hard to make.

There was some hope the coaching change last summer would help put Ivan Provorov back on an upward trajectory to get him back to the form he showed early in his career.  That didn’t happen, even with his playing time being dropped a bit to the lowest it had been since his rookie campaign.  Is he part of the long-term future on the back end still?  With two years left on his deal at $6.75MM, there should be interest in him if Briere looks to make a bigger shakeup.

Decide Hart’s Future

A few years ago, Carter Hart made an immediate impact in the pros and after his first two seasons, it looked as if the Flyers had their franchise cornerstone in place between the pipes.  But things haven’t gone as well since then over the past three seasons.  Accordingly, with a shakeup believed to be on the horizon, some have wondered if the 24-year-old could be included in that, especially in a relatively weak UFA market at the position.  Alternatively, is the time right to try to lock him up long-term when his asking price would likely be lower now compared to next summer if he has a better showing in 2023-24?

Hart has one year remaining on his bridge deal, one that carries a $3.979MM AAV with a qualifying offer of $4.479MM in the 2024 offseason.  For a starting goalie, that’s a more than reasonable rate.  A long-term agreement would likely push that price tag past the $5MM mark at a minimum, likely closer to $6MM.  Is that something that the Flyers are willing to pay?  If not, the idea of a trade starts to look a little more palatable.

The challenge with moving Hart is that there isn’t a clear-cut replacement in the system.  Samuel Ersson did alright in his first taste of NHL action but it’s a 10-start sample size.  Felix Sandstrom has underwhelmed in his 25 NHL contests.  They had high hopes for Ivan Fedotov but after required military service prevented him from coming to North America this season, it’s fair to wonder if he’s ever going to cross the pond.  Without a top-end prospect in place, moving Hart would carry some risk unless they’re getting another young goaltender in return.

With Hart being signed for another year, Briere (assuming he remains as GM) can kick the can down the road and defer this decision to next season.  But if it’s determined that Hart is going to remain Philadelphia’s goalie of the present and future, extension discussions should pick up soon; he’s eligible to sign one as of July 1st.  On the flip side, if they’re going to shop him, Hart with two years of control probably has more value than Hart with one year of control a year from now.  With that in mind, determining Hart’s future with the franchise becomes an important part of their summer.

Re-Sign Frost

A year ago, Morgan Frost was still looking to establish himself as a capable and consistent NHL forward.  That resulted in him taking a one-year, $800K bridge deal.  It’s safe to say that Philadelphia got good bang for their buck on that agreement as the 23-year-old finished fourth on the Flyers in scoring with 19 goals and 27 assists in 81 games.

Frost is now a restricted free agent once again but still does not have salary arbitration eligibility.  Since he played just two games in the 2020-21 campaign, that year doesn’t count toward the four years required to gain that eligibility.  That gives Philadelphia a little more leverage here.

Are they ready to give Frost a long-term deal?  That doesn’t seem likely at this point.  Instead, another bridge agreement makes sense here that buys both sides a longer look to see if he can become a consistent top-six fixture.  This time around, that deal should check in around three times his one from last year, even without arbitration rights.  Frost is three years away from UFA eligibility so they could opt for a two-year pact here as well which would push the cap hit a bit higher while giving both sides some certainty.  It’s not as pressing of an issue as some of the more prominent RFAs around the league but Frost is the most prominent player that the Flyers will want to re-sign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.