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Philadelphia Flyers Sign Alexei Kolosov

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Just one day after one of their organization’s goalies, Ivan Fedotov, had his KHL contract registered despite holding a valid NHL contract, the Flyers have made another move regarding a KHL goalie. They’ve signed one of their organization’s top goalie prospects, Alexei Kolosov, to a three-year entry-level deal.

According to CapFriendly, the contract carries a $925k cap hit and a $80k AHL salary for its three-year duration. Kolosov’s agent, Aljoša Pilko, wrote on Twitter that his client would “start and finish the season with Dinamo Minsk,” meaning even with the signing of this entry-level deal he’ll be staying in the KHL for another season.

Despite being just 21 years old, Kolosov led the goalie tandem in Minsk last season, playing in 42 regular season games. He played better than the team’s other netminder, 23-year-old Konstantin Shostak, posting a .912 save percentage and 2.55 goals-against-average in that time frame.

While Kolosov’s numbers aren’t quite up to the standard set by some elite KHL prospects in years past (such as Igor Shesterkin or Ilya Sorokin) they are quite impressive for a goalie his age, especially on a team that only barely managed to reach the KHL playoffs.

The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor reports that the “Flyers are very high” on Kolosov, who they drafted 78th overall at the 2021 draft, and “see him as a big part of their goaltending future.” With this entry-level deal signed, the Flyers have set in stone Kolosov’s eventual crossing of the Atlantic to play for their organization in North America.

The hope for this season will be for Kolosov to have another strong season in his native Belarus before likely seeing some time the year after with the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

KHL Registers Contract For Ivan Fedotov

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Last summer, the Flyers thought they were getting top prospect Ivan Fedotov to play for them, inking him to a one-year deal.  Instead, he wound up spending the season fulfilling his military obligations and did not suit up in a game.  That permitted Philadelphia to toll the netminder’s contract, rolling it over to next season.  However, in the meantime, Fedotov agreed to terms on a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow a while back on a deal beginning in 2023-24, hoping to stay overseas.

Earlier this week, Sport-Express in Russia reached out to the KHL for more information and they indicated that they asked the NHL to get clarification on Fedotov’s status.  At that time, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly indicated that it is their opinion that Fedotov has a valid contract with the Flyers for the upcoming season.  The NHL and KHL have previously operated with a Memorandum of Understanding between the two leagues, meaning one league can’t poach a signed player away from the other.  The NHL suspended that agreement last year.  Meanwhile, the KHL announced today that they disagree with the NHL’s assertion and have registered the contract for Fedotov with CSKA Moscow.

For the first time now, both leagues believe they have a legitimately-registered contract with Fedotov for the upcoming season, meaning they’re entering some uncharted territory when it comes to determining who is correct.  The KHL’s announcement indicates that Fedotov’s clearly-stated preference is to remain in Russia.

The 26-year-old was drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round back in 2015 (188th overall) and has emerged as one of the top goalies in the KHL while putting up a stellar 1.61 GAA with a .943 SV% in the 2022 Olympics.  Last summer, the plan was for him to serve as the backup to Carter Hart and when that option fell through, they turned to internal options Felix Sandstrom and Samuel Ersson.

Now, veteran Cal Petersen is also in the mix after the team took on his contract in a pre-draft three-way trade involving Los Angeles and Columbus.  However, with two years and $10MM left on his contract, it’s safe to say that he would pass through waivers successfully next season if they needed to open up a roster spot for Fedotov should the NHL and Flyers prove successful in any hypothetical hearing to determine his fate and get him to North America for 2023-24.

Notably, Fedotov is only one year away from reaching NHL unrestricted free agency so if his long-term intention is to remain in Russia, if the NHL is able to enforce his contract with them, he could simply play out the season in North America and then head back to the KHL for 2024-25 and beyond.  Alternatively, Fedotov’s camp may ask Philadelphia to simply do a mutual termination of his contract although doing so would mean that the Flyers would relinquish his NHL rights immediately.

The KHL’s decision today to register Fedotov’s contract is an important next step in the process of determining where the netminder will play next season.  But with relations between the two leagues not at their best at the moment, it’d be surprising if this announcement was the end of the discussion as it relates to where Fedotov plays in 2023-24.

Elliot Desnoyers Injured At Development Camp

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  • Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers prospect Elliot Desnoyers was injured yesterday at development camp after crashing into the boards hard during a battle drill with a teammate. Desnoyers was unable to put weight on his right leg but appears to have avoided serious injury. The 21-year-old was a fifth-round selection of the Flyers in 2020 and is coming off his first professional season in the AHL where he posted 23 goals and 21 assists in 65 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He dressed in four additional games with the Flyers but was held pointless. Desnoyers wasn’t drafted for his offense, but the Flyers have to be pleased with his development on the offensive side of the puck.

Alain Vigneault Announces Retirement From Coaching

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After a 19-season head coaching career spanning four teams, seasoned NHL bench boss Alain Vigneault has declared his retirement from coaching in an interview with the Journal de Québec, according to a report from French-Canadian outlet RDS.

Vigneault, still under contract with the Flyers after being fired in December of 2021, made it clear that his last contract would be his final one and that he has no intention of returning to coaching. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported last summer that Philadelphia was likely Vigneault’s final stop as an NHL head coach.

The 62-year-old Canadian coach leaves behind a rather illustrious coaching career – Vigneault’s 1,363 games behind an NHL bench places him 15th in NHL history for most games coached. He accumulated over 700 wins throughout his coaching journey, a feat achieved by only nine other coaches in NHL history.

However, he didn’t quite reach hockey’s pinnacle, never getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Although he made the playoffs in 12 of his 19 seasons, he advanced twice to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in both tries.

Vigneault’s coaching tenure in the NHL began in the 1997-98 season when he took the helm of the Montreal Canadiens. He then went on to coach the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and finally, the Philadelphia Flyers.

Vigneault’s primary piece of individual hardware came in 2006-07, winning the Jack Adams Award in his first season with the Canucks after guiding the team to a 49-26-7 record and Northwest Division title. Vancouver would bow out in the second round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, thanks to a relatively innocuous double-overtime winner in Game 5 from Ducks defender Scott Niedermayer (video link).

Vancouver was undoubtedly Vigneault’s most successful stop, as he would win back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies with the team in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The Canucks made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in nearly two decades in 2011 but fell to the Boston Bruins in seven games after taking a 2-0 lead in the series.

Vigneault made it back to the Final three seasons later with the New York Rangers but lost all three overtime games in the series en route to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings.

Before starting his coaching career, Vigneault had a brief playing stint as an NHLer. He played 42 games as a defenseman for the St. Louis Blues in the 1980s before transitioning to coaching at just 25 years old.

He does boast an all-time playoff record of 78-77, a rare mark above .500 for a coach without a Cup victory. With his longevity placing him in the upper echelon of all-time NHL coaches, as well as a Jack Adams and two conference championships, it wouldn’t surprise many to see a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame in his future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Flyers Sign Defenseman Ronnie Attard

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The Philadelphia Flyers have signed defenseman Ronnie Attard to a two-year, two-way/one-way, $1.7MM contract that carries an average annual value of $850K per season. The contract structure is a bit complicated, but it signals that Attard will likely spend the 2023-24 season in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He will make a guaranteed salary of $275K while in the AHL and $775K in the NHL. For the second year of the deal, he will make $925K regardless of where he plays.

The 24-year-old Attard was drafted by the Flyers in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and spent three years in the NCAA at Western Michigan University. In 94 career games with the Broncos, Attard put up 27 goals and 45 assists.

Last year was Attard’s first season with the Flyers AHL affiliate, he posted 12 goals and 20 assists while dressing in 68 games. His numbers placed him seventh in rookie scoring for defensemen and T-10 in assists for all defensemen. The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Attard was aggressive with the puck as he racked up 158 shots, putting him second among all defensemen.

Attard has seen some time with the Flyers in the NHL netting two goals and two assists in 17 career games. He dressed in just two games last season going scoreless, which must have been a disappointment given that he put up four points in 15 games the year prior. In his first run with the Flyers in 2021-22 Attard handled himself well and had encouraging underlying numbers while being effective on the penalty kill. However, in the two games he dressed for in April of this year, Attard struggled to make much of an impact as the Flyers were badly outplayed when he was on the ice. Although they were playing with a very underwhelming lineup.

It will be interesting to see when Attard can make the jump to the NHL, he should have plenty of opportunities to impress as the Flyers embark on their first real rebuild in recent memory. Right-shot defensemen are always in demand, especially ones with Attard’s size and skating ability.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Victor Mete

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The Philadelphia Flyers are signing defenseman Victor Mete, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The deal is reportedly a one-year, two-way pact with a $775k AAV, $450k AHL salary, and a $500k total guarantee.

The Flyers bolstered their defensive depth with the signing of veteran Marc Staal two days ago, and now they’ve added another veteran to their mix with this deal. Mete, 25, spent last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, skating in 11 NHL games and six games in the AHL.

An undersized five-foot-nine left-shot defenseman, Mete received some hype as a Montreal Canadiens prospect.

While he was immediately stapled to Shea Weber on the Canadiens’ top pairing to start his rookie season, his strong skating and transitional abilities were never built upon, and he stagnated as the Canadiens turned to other young blueliners.

He was eventually claimed on waivers by the Ottawa Senators, who then non-tendered him, leading to his signing with the Maple Leafs. Mete doesn’t offer exceptional talent on either side of the ice, but he has nearly 250 games of NHL experience and is decent in transition. While the Flyers intend on keeping lineup spots open for their young blueliners to grab in training camp, GM Daniel Briere isn’t going to simply hand NHL jobs to youngsters.

Signing a player like Mete to this contract not only provides the Flyers’ young defensemen with an experienced pro to compete against, it also gives Philadelphia some quality depth should the team decide to keep Mete with their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Mete could join second-round prospects Emil Andrae and Adam Ginning on the left side of Lehigh Valley’s defense, and he could be their most experienced blueliner besides Louie Belpedio, who is 27 and has played in over 300 games in the AHL.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Yegor Zamula Traded In KHL

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  • Flyers prospect Yegor Zamula is on the move…in the KHL, that is as Torpedo announced that they’ve acquired his KHL rights from SKA St. Petersburg. The 23-year-old split last season between Philadelphia and AHL Lehigh Valley.  With the Flyers, Zamula had four assists in 14 games while logging a little over 13 minutes per night.  However, he was more productive with the Phantoms, notching 19 points in 44 contests.  Zamula is already under contract for the upcoming season on a one-way deal worth the NHL minimum.  Coyotes unsigned prospect Ilya Fedotov was also part of the four-player swap.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Marc Staal

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The Philadelphia Flyers are signing veteran defenseman Marc Staal to a one-year, $1.1MM contract, the team announced.

The signing reunites Staal, 36, with his former coach John Tortorella, who coached Staal during the entirety of Tortorella’s tenure coaching the New York Rangers. Now, he’ll join a rebuilding Flyers club to likely be one of Tortorella’s most trusted veteran leaders.

Flyers GM Daniel Briere told the media, including The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor, that his team would “like to add a little bit more of a veteran presence ” while also keeping spots open for some of the organization’s younger players to make their mark. (subscription link)

Staal joins a left side of Philadelphia’s defense that already includes Travis Sanheim and Cam York, two players likely to play major roles for the club moving forward.

As a result, Staal is likely to compete for third-pairing minutes with fellow veteran Nick Seeler, as well as younger names such as Yegor Zamula, Emil Andrae, and Adam Ginning.

Now well past his prime years, Staal clearly isn’t the player he once was. The longtime Ranger was a steady presence in New York’s top four for over a decade, and he even made it to an All-Star Game earlier in his career. Now the most valuable things Staal brings to the table are his 1,101 games of experience and the guidance he can offer to the Flyers’ younger players.

Staal has extensive playoff experience as well, most recently in the Florida Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final. He played in all 82 games for Florida last year and averaged over 18 minutes of ice time per night, with over two-and-a-half minutes per night spent killing penalties.

Staal’s role as a defensive specialist on the Eastern Conference Champions has earned him a nice pay raise from the $750k he earned last season. Now he’ll shift from playing in high-leverage defensive moments for a Stanley Cup contender to more of a mentorship role with a rebuilding club, where his off-ice contributions will be just as important as what he brings on the ice.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Morgan Frost Contract Talks

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With fewer and fewer of the top unrestricted free agents still left on the open market, the focus in some markets has shifted from who teams will be bringing in this offseason to what sort of contracts their restricted free agents might receive. The Philadelphia Flyers are one of those teams, and The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported today on Twitter that contract talks with restricted free agent center Morgan Frost “are ’positive’ and progressing.”

Frost, 24, set himself up extremely well for this summer’s negotiations with a breakout 2022-23 campaign. He flew past his career-highs to post 19 goals and 46 points in 81 games, and he could end up a long-term middle-six center for Philadelphia. The Flyers still have more than enough cap space to entertain all possible forms of a Frost extension, whether bridge contract or long-term pact, so the main issue will likely be how the Flyers evaluate Frost’s long-term future and how comfortable they are making a long-term financial commitment to that future.

Flyers Sign Garnet Hathaway

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The Flyers have added some more grit to their forward group, announcing the signing of winger Garnet Hathaway to a two-year contract.  The deal will carry an AAV of $2.375MM.

Hathaway’s garnered a well-deserved reputation as one of the more effective fourth-line players in the league, backing up being an annoyance on the ice with some offensive production and solid all-around play. The cap hit on this deal is perfectly fair, although it’s fair to wonder if the acquisition blocks a young player from making an impact in the Philadelphia lineup next year.

Nevertheless, he and Nicolas Deslauriers on the same line should help the latter become more effective too, actually providing a positive offensive impact via a heavy forecheck. After scoring 13 goals last year, Hathaway’s shown he can put the puck in the net with some frequency, and he’ll be an underrated offensive boost to the Flyers’ bottom six. They’ll likely be centered by Ryan Poehling, another UFA signing by the Flyers today.

Hathaway joins Cam Atkinson, Travis Konecny, and Calvin Petersen as notable members of the Flyers’ UFA class in 2025. He’ll be 33 years old at the end of the deal, and this was likely his best option to cash in on a $2MM-plus cap hit.

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