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Flyers Sign Adam Ginning To Two-Year Extension

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The Flyers have re-signed defenseman Adam Ginning to a two-year contract extension with a cap hit of $787.5K, according to a team announcement Monday. It’s a two-way deal in 2024-25 ($775K NHL/$200K AHL) before converting to a one-way deal paying him $800K for 2025-26, per PuckPedia.

Ginning, 24, saw a bit of extended NHL action near the end of the season. After his NHL debut was his lone appearance for the Flyers in 2022-23, he suited up nine times for the big-league club this season. His late-season call-ups saw him record his first NHL point, a goal in a 6-2 loss to the Blue Jackets on April 6.

Averaging 14:09 per game, the Swedish shutdown prospect put up good possession metrics in his sheltered minutes, controlling 55.7% of shot attempts and 59.4% of expected goals when on the ice at even strength, per Hockey Reference. Both were above the team average. That, plus his +24 rating with AHL Lehigh Valley one year ago, indicates the 2018 second-round pick still has NHL upside.

It was an important end to the season for both parties, with Ginning earning himself a fair chunk of guaranteed cash in this deal, even if he does end up playing most of it in the minors. The Flyers also avoid the threat of losing the pending restricted free agent to a Swedish Hockey League contract, something Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports reports he was considering before his recall.

The left-shot blue liner will remain waiver-exempt throughout next season unless he plays more than 60 games. No matter what, though, he loses his waiver exemption in the second year of the deal. He’ll likely be a restricted free agent again at the end of this contract, but if he fails to get into 80 NHL games by the time it expires, he’ll qualify for unrestricted free agency via Group VI status.

Ginning was the third pick of a 2018 class that’s paid some dividends for the Flyers, including first-rounder Joel Farabee selecting goaltender Samuel Ersson in the fifth round. Their first selection, Jay O’Brien at 13th overall, was never signed and yielded them a compensatory second-round selection in the draft later this month. Their only other selection that year to play NHL games so far is defenseman Jack St. Ivany, who they didn’t sign coming out of college and lost in free agency to the cross-state rival Penguins.

He’ll enter training camp this fall as a candidate to crack the opening night roster. The Flyers now have 40 players signed to standard contracts next season, with Bobby Brink and Yegor Zamula still left as notable RFAs.

Flyers Sign Rodrigo Abols

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The Flyers have added some depth up front as the team announced today that they’ve signed Rodrigo Abols to a one-year contract.  It’s a two-way agreement that will pay the league minimum salary of $775K in the NHL; the AHL portion of the agreement was not disclosed.

The 28-year-old was originally drafted in the seventh round by Vancouver back in 2016 but never signed with them.  However, after a strong showing in Sweden, he inked a two-year deal with Florida back in 2019 to return to North America.  However, he wound up being back on loan to SHL Orebro in the second year of that agreement, eventually reaching an agreement on a contract termination in early 2021.

Since then, Abols has exclusively played in Sweden, spending two more years in Orebro before moving to Rogle for the 2023-24 campaign.  The change of scenery didn’t help his offensive numbers during the regular season as he went from 19 goals and 22 assists the year before to 14 and 12, respectively this season.  However, he was much more impactful in the playoffs, notching five goals and seven helpers in 15 contests to finish second in SHL playoff scoring (to Jere Innala who signed with Colorado earlier this week).  It’s fair to suggest Abols’ playoff performance got him back on the NHL radar.

Abols will likely be given a chance to push for a spot at the bottom of Philadelphia’s depth chart in training camp although the likelier outcome is that he starts with AHL Lehigh Valley (pending waiver clearance) and tries to play his way into an NHL recall from there for his first taste of action at the top level.  It’s worth noting that he had two years left on his deal with Rogle so if he winds up with an extended stint in the minors and things aren’t going well, it’s quite possible that he could ask for a termination again and return to Sweden.

East Notes: Couturier, Alfredsson, Panthers

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Kevin Kurz of The Athletic is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers forward Sean Couturier had surgery after the season to repair a sports hernia. Couturier had a very eventful 2023-24 season after missing the previous season due to a back issue that required multiple surgeries.

The Flyers reportedly knew about the sports hernia as Couturier played through the ailment for much of the season and it clearly had an impact on his play as the 31-year-old managed just a goal and eight assists in his final 34 games. Couturier was named the Flyers captain back in February and is expected to be back to full health by the time training camp rolls around in September.

In other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia is reporting that Ottawa Senators assistant coach Daniel Alfredsson wants to put in serious time as an assistant before becoming an NHL head coach. The Senators reportedly talked to their former long-time captain about the head coach position, but Alfredsson told management that he wanted to learn the ropes before taking on the job. Alfredsson will be joined behind the Senators bench by new head coach Travis Green as well as assistants Mike Yeo, Nolan Baumgartner, and Ben Sexton.
  • The Florida Panthers and their ECHL affiliate the Florida Everblades have reportedly ended their affiliation agreement. The agreement between the ECHL and NHL franchises began in 2022-23 and included the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. While the partnership was short lived it was incredibly successful as the Everblades won the Kelly Cup in both years of the deal, while the Panthers are in their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final. The Everblades have previously been the affiliate for Nashville, Carolina and Tampa Bay and will announce a new affiliation in the coming weeks.

Free Agent Focus: Philadelphia Flyers

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Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Flyers.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Bobby Brink – Brink finally found consistent playing time in the NHL, dressing in 57 games, potting 11 goals and 12 assists. The former second-round pick competes hard despite being an undersized, below-average skater and has good hands and vision around the net. Brink showed he can be part of the Flyers core going forward and is a good bet to get a bridge contract for 2-3 years with an AAV between $1MM-$2M.

G Carter Hart – Carter Hart is owed a $4.479MM qualifying offer and given his legal status it is unlikely that he will receive an offer, which the league hasn’t yet. The Flyers already have Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov under contract for next season, and it was reported in April that Hart’s trial likely won’t begin until the end of 2025.

D Yegor Zamula – Zamula enjoyed his first full season in the NHL in 2023-24 after spending parts of the previous three years with the Flyers. The 24-year-old showed good mobility and poise in the defensive zone and moves the puck well with a confident first pass, however, he is not an offensive playmaker and lacks consistency. He will also need to find a way to use his 6’3” frame more effectively when defending the net. Zamula also figures to receive a bridge contract from the Flyers in the range of $1MM – $2MM.

Other RFAs:  D Adam Ginning, D Mason Millman, D Will Zmolek

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Denis Gurianov – Gurianov is an intriguing free agent as he has a good pedigree having been drafted 12th overall back in 2015, however, the 27-year-old hasn’t been able to put his skillset together at the NHL despite being given ample opportunities. He played just four games for the Flyers last season after coming over in a mid-season trade from Nashville and posted zero points while dominating on the possession front (60% CF% as per Hockey Reference). Gurianov has a 20-season to his credit but has bounced between four organizations the last two years and seems destined for a new one this summer.

D Erik Johnson – Johnson is a former first-overall pick that brings almost no offense but handles his duty in the defensive zone with physicality. There is no flash to Johnson’s game, but he can still provide a good safety blanket if paired on a third pairing with an offensively-minded defensive partner. Johnson made $3.25MM last season on a one-year deal but is unlikely to duplicate that number this offseason. Another one-year contract is in order for the 36-year-old, but it seems unlikely that the Flyers will be a fit for him.

D Marc Staal –Staal is nearing the end of his career, but he remains an NHL player at this stage, albeit in the role of a sixth or seventh defenseman. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native remains a good shot blocker and battler along the boards and in front of his own net, but he is very limited with his skating and the puck on his stick. Staal has trouble playing against teams with speed as he has issues containing the puck carrier and finding space to make plays with the puck. Staal is likely to get another one-year contract in the $1MM range, although it seems unlikely it will be with the Flyers.

Other UFAs: C Adam Brooks, F Tanner Laczynski, F Cooper Marody, D Victor Mete, G Felix Sandstrom

Projected Cap Space

The Flyers have precious little in the way of cap space as they head into the offseason. As of right now, they have just a tick above $500K in room under the cap. That number will grow closer to $7MM when the club accounts for LTIR candidates. Philadelphia has a laundry list of needs and very little room to maneuver which is why the team is considering buyouts for several overpriced veterans. The Flyers will also have the pending free agency of Travis Konecny to consider as he is just a year away from unrestricted free agency. The team will need to get creative if they want to address some of their needs which could make for a busy summer for general manager Daniel Briere.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Flyers Considering Buying Out Cal Petersen And Cam Atkinson

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This past season was a tough one for Flyers winger Cam Atkinson who found himself a healthy scratch on several occasions while underachieving offensively.  Meanwhile, it was even worse for goaltender Cal Petersen who spent most of the season in the minors and struggled in his brief action with Philadelphia.

On top of that, cap space is at a premium for the Flyers as CapFriendly projects them to have barely $500K in regular cap room this summer which isn’t enough to try to make any sort of upgrade to their roster.  Accordingly, GM Daniel Briere acknowledged to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman that the team is considering all of its options when it comes to opening up cap space, including buying out the veterans when the window to do so opens up later this month.  However, no decision has been made at this time.

Atkinson is coming off the quietest full season of his career.  The 35-year-old notched just 13 goals and 15 assists in 70 games while seeing his ice time drop to a little under 16 minutes a night.  While he was a legitimate top-line threat earlier in his career, he has become a secondary scorer but one that carries a hefty price tag with a $5.875MM AAV.  That would be a difficult contract to move without incentivizing a team to take it on which makes the idea of a buyout more palatable.  They’d save a little over $3.5MM for 2024-25 if they went this route with Atkinson but would add a $1.76MM dead cap charge to their books in 2025-26.

As for Petersen, he was acquired in a salary dump from Los Angeles this summer.  At one point, it looked like he could start as the backup and allow Samuel Ersson to spend more time in the minors but instead, the 29-year-old was waived and spent most of the year in Lehigh Valley.  He didn’t have a particularly strong campaign there either, posting a 2.71 GAA and a .902 SV% in 28 regular season appearances.  Meanwhile, in five games with the Flyers, Petersen notched a .864 SV% while allowing 18 goals in five games.  A buyout for him would reduce his cap charge from $5MM to just $1MM for 2024-25 but add $2MM onto the 2025-26 books.

It’s worth noting that Philadelphia does have other cap room available to them as Ryan Ellis is set to remain on LTIR for next season, freeing up a potential $6.25MM in extra flexibility.  However, going deep into that would prevent them from banking any in-season cap room so ideally, they’d like to try to avoid it.

There’s also the uncertainty with Ryan Johansen’s situation.  Briere indicated to Kimelman that there’s no clarity yet when it comes to the center:

He’s going through some kind of rehab. He had an injection; claims he has a hip injury. At this point, honestly I’m not too sure where it’s at. We’re not sure if he’s going to need surgery, or if he’s going to be ready for camp. We don’t really know at this point.

Johansen has one year left on his deal with the Flyers being responsible for a $4MM cap charge.  If he’s unavailable to play at all, he would then be LTIR-eligible, giving them more wiggle room if they opted to use that.  However, the fact there is some lingering uncertainty about Johansen’s health takes a buyout off the table as injured players can’t be bought out, making Petersen and Atkinson the potentially viable options on that front.

The first buyout window will open up two days after the Stanley Cup ends and run through June 30th so while there is still time for Briere to make a decision on what to do with Atkinson and Petersen, he’ll have to move quickly once the window opens if they do indeed decide to part with one or both of them.

Evening Notes: Drysdale, Summer Showcase, Young Stars Classic

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Adam Kimelman of NHL.com is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale should be ready for training camp in September after undergoing significant surgery in April. While the exact procedure is unknown, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere had said back on April 18th that Drysdale might need to have a procedure on his lower body.

Drysdale was acquired by the Flyers from the Anaheim Ducks along with a second-round pick in early January in exchange for Cutter Gauthier. He struggled after the trade, posting just two goals and three assists in 24 games, however, he suffered a significant injury in late February that looked to affect his left shoulder and caused him to miss 16 games. Briere did add that the former sixth overall pick would be better able to show his skillset after the most recent surgery and the latest ailment was in no way related to the previous shoulder injury

In other evening notes:

  • The World Junior Summer Showcase has officially been announced by USA Hockey (as per Steven Ellis of DailyFaceoff). The games will be held in Plymouth, Michigan between July 26th and August 3rd and will feature Team USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland. Teams will practice daily during the event and a total of nine international games will be played as part of the showcase. The event is a precursor that will offer players the opportunity to showcase themselves for their national teams prior to the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Ottawa, Ontario. That tournament will be played from December 26th, 2024, through January 5th, 2025.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have formally announced that they will host the Young Stars Classic rookie tournament in Penticton, British Columbia beginning on September 13th. The four-day tournament will feature four teams as the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Winnipeg Jets will participate alongside Vancouver in a six-game round-robin format. The tournament began in 2010 and regularly features players who get into NHL games the following season.

Philadelphia To Begin Negotiations With Yegor Zamula

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  • Late last night, the agency group for defenseman Yegor Zamula of the Philadelphia Flyers, Shumi Babaev Agency, indicated that the player and team would commence contract negotiation talks shortly. Zamula, hitting restricted free agency for the second time in his career, has earned arbitration rights this summer, giving him and his agency more leverage in negotiating salary. Furthermore, Zamula’s play over the 2023-24 NHL season has also increased the defenseman’s leverage this summer, scoring five goals and 21 points over 66 games, which is far and away the best production of his career up to this point.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Latest On Martin Necas’ Trade Market

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Martin Nečas’ availability in a potential trade has been one of the dominant early storylines of the 2024 offseason. The Hurricanes have been considering moving his signing rights as contract negotiations with the pending restricted free agent remain in a stalemate, and while there was a sense they may make one last pass at re-signing him with interim GM Eric Tulsky now at the helm temporarily, that seems unlikelier with each passing day.

To that end, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli said on the site’s podcast today that a Nečas trade may come over the wire as soon as this week. Previously, we’ve covered reports that the Canucks, Flames and Canadiens have displayed some level of interest in his services. Recently, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period confirmed that at least 12 teams have Nečas “on their radar” and added the Flyers, Kraken and Predators to the existing list of teams that have dictated their interest to Carolina.

Notably, no single team has been named a frontrunner throughout the reporting process over the last few weeks. It’s also been quiet about what the Hurricanes might be able to get in return for their 2017 12th-overall pick, who has 52 goals and 124 points in 159 games since the 2022-23 season.

Nečas, 25, still has another offseason of RFA status ahead of him, but it’s clear he wants to ink a long-term deal this summer. Contract projection models indicate his value is likely in the $7.5MM area on a max-term deal, a figure the Hurricanes don’t seem willing to oblige with the younger Seth Jarvis surpassing him on the depth chart and also needing a new deal this summer. They have a multitude of UFAs to try to retain this summer as well, including one of the best forwards available in Jake Guentzel, who Pagnotta also reported Monday will likely test the market next month before deciding whether to return to Carolina.

Extension Comparable For Konecny

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  • In a little over 13 months, forward for the Philadelphia Flyers, Travis Konecny will become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. With Philadelphia already adamant about their desire to extend Konecny, the look of his next contract has come into question. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic mentions that the best extension comparable for Konecny would be the eight-year, $70.4MM extension Timo Meier signed with the New Jersey Devils last offseason. At similar ages and production throughout their careers, Meier’s extension appears to be a good place to start for Konecny’s camp and the Flyers’ brass.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Offseason Checklist: Philadelphia Flyers

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The offseason has arrived for all but a handful of teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Philadelphia.

It was a season of extremes for the Flyers. Expected to be a bottom-five team in the league at the beginning of the year, they were well above .500 and in solid playoff position come mid-January. A 13-14-5 stretch after the All-Star break ultimately cost them their first postseason berth since 2020, though. It was still a step forward overall under head coach John Tortorella, who ended up getting some outside consideration for the Jack Adams Award and helped the Flyers to an over-.500 season after two seasons below the demarcation line. They played good defensive hockey for most of the season, helping support overmatched and overworked rookie Samuel Ersson between the pipes after he was forced into starting action in January with Carter Hart facing sexual assault charges. Now, they need to figure out how to keep the forward momentum in the rebuild going.

Make A Call On Konecny

Travis Konecny currently projects to be one of the better right wings available on the unrestricted free-agent market in 2025 after leading the Flyers in scoring for three straight seasons. He didn’t hit the point-per-game mark in 2023-24 like he did last season, but he did up his scoring with a career-high 33 goals. The 2015 24th overall pick has now spent eight seasons in a Philly jersey, giving them 400 points in 564 appearances.

He becomes eligible to sign an extension on July 1, but it hasn’t always been the smoothest ride for Konecny with the Flyers. While he’s largely remained in Tortorella’s good graces, he was pushed down the lineup at times earlier in his career despite being one of their better producers. Has two seasons of roughly 20 minutes per game of ice time erased those memories?

Philly isn’t a bonafide playoff team next season, but they’re expected to be in the conversation again. General manager Daniel Brière needs to make a call on whether to begin extension talks with Konecny this summer or if he wants to wait until further into the 2024-25 season to handle it. If things go off the rails early, Konecny could net them quite a favorable trade haul, even as a rental.

Entering his age-27 season, Konecny likely is what he is at this point. Evolving Hockey projects him to receive an eight-year deal at roughly $8.75MM per season if he signs an extension upon becoming eligible this summer. It would make him their highest-paid player and seems to be fair dollar value for his recent point production, but if he feels he may be able to land more on the open market with the salary cap set to increase again in 2025, he may bet on himself and wait until further into the season to sign or reject an extension offer.

Add Defensive Depth

The Flyers got some of their offseason work done closer to the trade deadline, inking serviceable shutdown man Nick Seeler to a four-year, $10.8MM extension. But elder statesmen Erik Johnson and Marc Staal are both set to be UFAs and unlikely to be back.

Even with RFA Yegor Zamula penciled in for a spot next year, that leaves a couple of openings on the Flyers’ roster for defensive adds. One of them could be filled internally – both Emil Andrae and Ronald Attard had strong seasons with AHL Lehigh Valley and will be in consideration for spots on next year’s opening night list.

A big UFA splash is unlikely, given where they’re at in their rebuild, but a decent second or third-pairing depth add should be expected. They have their puck-moving core set up well for the present with Jamie Drysdale, Travis Sanheim and Cameron York, but a defensive depth name like Calvin de Haan, Jani Hakanpää or Ilya Lyubushkin could make sense to help round out their D-corps.

Get Johansen Clarity

Brière was likely planning on buying out the final season of Ryan Johansen’s albatross contract when he took it off the hands of the Avalanche in the Sean Walker trade at the deadline, but that likely won’t be possible. Medical testing after the trade (which wasn’t made contingent on Johansen passing a physical) confirmed he was dealing with a hip injury, and he didn’t play for the Flyers or their AHL affiliate after the trade while rehabbing.

There’s no indication he’s recovered from the ailment, and he can’t be bought out if he’s not cleared to play. Expect them to maintain contact with Johansen and have him undergo testing in the coming weeks so they can attempt to buy him out during the first available window, which opens 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ends (or June 15, whichever is later).

Otherwise, they’ll be on the hook for half of his $8MM cap hit – the Predators retained $4MM when trading him to Colorado last summer. Ideally, if he can’t be bought out, he won’t be cleared to play in the fall either and can be placed on long-term injured reserve to begin the season. After the acquisition, Brière confirmed he didn’t envision Johansen ever suiting up for the squad. The 13-year vet had just 23 points in 63 games for the Avs prior to the trade, not missing any time with his proclaimed hip injury.

Don’t Backslide

After exceeding expectations last year, 2024-25 will be key in proving the Brière/Tortorella rebuild doesn’t involve a “one step forward, two steps back” path back to contention.

Continued playoff contention next season could be made much easier by the arrival of 2023 seventh-overall pick Matvei Michkov. Underdrafted largely due to concerns about his contract in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League – he was signed through the 2025-26 season with SKA St. Petersburg – there’s now talk of him buying out the remainder of his contract and joining the Flyers this summer.

Michkov, 19, is likely NHL-ready. He had 41 points in 47 games last season while loaned out to KHL bottom-feeder HK Sochi, finishing second on the team in scoring despite only playing about two-thirds of the season.

A season with a record similar to this year is likely acceptable, given where most of the Flyers’ prospects are in their development, but steps forward from hopeful long-term ancillary pieces like Drysdale on defense and Ivan Fedotov in the crease will be major boxes to check off.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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