Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Flyers Rumors

Scott Laughton Signs Extension In Philadelphia

at CDT | by 8 Comments

One name that has been thrown around in recent weeks is Scott Laughton, a physical forward for the Philadelphia Flyers who was getting closer to free agency. As it turns out, free agency will have to wait. Laughton has signed a five-year extension with the Flyers which will carry an average annual value of $3MM.

Laughton, 26, hasn’t ever been a huge offensive producer, but there’s a lot of other positives in his game. Able to capably play the center position and line up against the other team’s best, he brings size, speed and physicality to the ice every night. In 38 games this season he has seven goals and 17 points, while recording 99 hits and averaging more than 15 minutes a night.

There was some speculation that Laughton might even bring a first-round pick back to Philadelphia if he were traded today, as the interest was high from around the league. Whether a pick that high was ever actually offered isn’t at all clear, but it won’t matter anyway as Laughton is staying in Philadelphia for another huge chunk of his career.

At just $3MM, he can fit into the bottom-six without impacting the salary cap negatively for Philadelphia and continue to anchor the team’s penalty kill. Getting fie years is a huge win for Laughton, who will now be under contract through his age-31 season.

Robert Hagg A Couple Of Days Away From Returning

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg is a couple of days away from returning to the lineup, relays Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has been out for the last three weeks with a shoulder injury and is averaging three hits a game in 21 appearances so far this season.

Trade Deadline Primer: Philadelphia Flyers

at CDT | by 2 Comments

We are now less than two weeks away from the NHL Trade Deadline and talks are heating up. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Philadelphia Flyers.

After the first ten games of the season, the Flyers were 7-2-1. Another ten made it 12-5-3. This seemed like the year they would really compete for an East Division crown and step into the limelight as a Stanley Cup contender. But over the last month, things have continued to trend downwards and after being the team to finally break the Buffalo Sabres losing streak, the Flyers deadline position isn’t at all clear.

Record

17-14-4, 5th in East Division

Deadline Status

Hesitant buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$4.94MM in full-season space ($6.84MM at the trade deadline), 0/3 retention slots used, 50/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: PHI 1st, PHI 2nd, PHI 3rd, PHI 4th, PHI 6th, PHI 7th
2022: PHI 1st, PHI 2nd, PHI 3rd, PHI 4th, PHI 5th, PHI 6th, PHI 7th

Trade Chips

The first name that will be brought up is Shayne Gostisbehere, the recently-waived defenseman that still excites the imagination of hockey fans everywhere other than Philadelphia. The 2016 Calder Trophy runner-up set a career-high with 65 points in 2017-18 but has seen his effectiveness and role plummet ever since. There are still flashes of absolute brilliance from the 27-year-old defenseman but his contract, which carries a $4.5MM cap hit through the 2022-23 season makes it hard to live with his turnovers and poor defensive decisions. That contract also got him through waivers, but perhaps if the Flyers retained some salary he could still be a valuable trade piece.

Still, it seems more likely that teams would be after different players on the Flyers roster, including rental forward Scott Laughton. The 26-year-old Laughton is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, has just a $2.3MM cap hit, and is starting to generate some interest among the deadline speculators.

If the struggles continue for another week and they end up selling (a strategy that our Brian La Rose would already be taking), Erik Gustafsson is an easy flip to a contender that is looking for a little more depth on the back end.

Others to watch for: F Michael Raffl ($1.6MM, UFA), D Derrick Pouliot ($700K, UFA), F Nicolas Aube-Kubel ($1.075MM through 2021-22)

Team Needs:

1) Top-4 Defenseman: There’s no getting around it, when Matt Niskanen retired suddenly before the season began, Philadelphia’s plans were disrupted. The team has never really been able to fill his spot in the lineup and desperately needs a partner for Ivan Provorov. Those kinds of defensemen are not available very often, especially if they come with any term on their contract. That’s why the Flyers were immediately linked to Mattias Ekholm when his name started being thrown around, but with another Nashville Predators win today it’s hard to see them selling their talented defenseman.

Even if the Flyers believe in their team, a real fix in that top-four spot will be difficult to find at the deadline and may have to wait for the offseason.

2) Middle-six scorer: With Oskar Lindblom and Nolan Patrick both still trying to find their way after long absences, the Flyers haven’t been able to find that consistent goal-scoring from their third line. Adding a player that can put the puck in the net at even-strength and help on one of the powerplay units would certainly make them more dangerous. With prospects coming, a rental is probably the play here if the Flyers are buying at the deadline.

3) Veteran goalie: This is a bit of a tough spot given how much faith the team still has in Carter Hart to be a franchise starter, but no team is going to compete in the NHL with an .877 save percentage from their goaltenders. That’s the number Hart and Brian Elliott have combined for this season, meaning the team could certainly afford to bring in someone else to stabilize the crease down the stretch.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Flyers Sign Cam York

at CDT | by 3 Comments

It has been a day where several NCAA players have signed their entry-level contracts.  The Flyers have joined in on the action, announcing the signing of defenseman Cam York to a three-year, entry-level deal.  Financial terms of the pact were not released but the contract will begin this season.  GM Chuck Fletcher released the following statement about the move;

We are pleased with Cam’s development and believe he is ready to take the next step with our organization. He was one of the top collegiate defensemen at the University of Michigan and was instrumental in helping lead the United States to the gold medal at this year’s World Junior Championships.

York was Philadelphia’s first-round pick (14th overall) back in 2019 out of the U.S. National Development Team where he averaged more than a point a game which is quite impressive for a blueliner.  While he wasn’t able to maintain that production in his two years at Michigan, he was still quite productive and notched 20 points (4-16-20) in just 24 games for the Wolverines this season which was enough to show Fletcher that he was ready to make the jump to the professional ranks.

As a result of the contract starting this season, York will be eligible to play for the Flyers down the stretch and into the playoffs if they’re able to get back into a top-four spot in the East Division.  More likely, however, is that he gets his feet wet with AHL Lehigh Valley.

It has been a busy few days for players picked in the middle of the first round in that 2019 draft.  All five selections from 12 through 16 played in college this season and have signed entry-level deals since Saturday.  Joining York out of that group are Cole Caufield (Montreal) who signed Saturday, Matt Boldy (Minnesota) who signed yesterday, as well as Spencer Knight (Florida) and Alex Newhook (Colorado) who all inked their first deals earlier today.

Philadelphia Flyers’ Shayne Gostisbehere Clears Waivers

at CDT | by 20 Comments

March 31: Gostisbehere has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the taxi squad or AHL.

March 30: The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have placed defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on waivers. While the career of the blueliner has been derailed in recent years due to injuries and on-ice struggles, Gostisbehere is still young at 27 years and only a few years away from his 65-point season in 2017-18.

With many teams successfully attempting to ease cap concerns by placing large contracts on waivers, this might seem to be something similar with Philadelphia hoping that Gostisbehere’s $4.5MM contract might dissuade most teams from claiming the defenseman. While that still might be the case, there are plenty of teams in desperate need of defensive help and while many of those teams are capped out, it wouldn’t be hard to suggest that a change of scenery away from Philadelphia could alter the career of Gostisbehere.

In fact, Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Philadelphia is trying to free up some cap room to make a major trade, perhaps even hoping a team might claim Gostisbehere.

His big season in 2017-18 (13 goals & 65 points) had many believing at the time that Gostisbehere would develop into a superstar, cornerstone blueliner. Instead, he struggled after that, posting just nine goals and 37 points the following year with injuries affecting his game as well. He scored just five goals and 12 points last season in 42 games and while Gostisbehere has been slightly better this year with five goals and 11 points in 25 games, the defenseman has not been able to come close to the star that Philadelphia thought he would be.

Of course, with the Flyers struggling significantly, which includes almost losing to the hapless Sabres Monday, general manager Chuck Fletcher might also be looking to just shake up the team. Moving out a player like Gostisbehere could send a significant message to the team.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that even non-playoff teams might be interested in Gostisbehere and could claim him. He is still just 27 years old and while he carries a $4.5MM AAV for the next two years, he is only actually drawing $3.25MM in salary. That could be attractive to teams like Ottawa, Buffalo, Detroit and the Los Angeles Kings who have the cap space to bring in Gostisbehere. Another possibility could be the Florida Panthers, who are in need of defensive help after the injury to Aaron Ekblad. In fact, Gostisbehere is from Pembroke Pines, Florida, not far from the Panthers’ home.

Any team interested in claiming him would have be required to have $1.525MM in projected cap space or $4.5MM in salary pool relief for clubs currently in LTIR, according to CapFriendly.

Trade Rumors: Hall, Flyers, Panthers

at CDT | by 9 Comments

While he stopped short of stating that there is a lot of interest in Buffalo Sabres winger Taylor Hall, TSN’s Darren Dreger noted on “Insider Trading” this evening that the team is receiving different varieties of offers for the former MVP. While some teams see Hall strictly as a rental, Dreger reports that GM Kevyn Adams has also received calls from teams with interest in a trade-and-sign potential. Despite Hall’s struggles this season, it seems that there are clubs who still believe in his long-term value once he escapes Buffalo. Normally, these teams would not necessarily need to inform the opposing GM of their post-trade intentions. However, given Hall’s No-Movement Clause there seems to be more transparency from suitors in hopes that Hall would waive to come to their team. Dreger relays that Adams and Hall’s agent, Darren Ferris, recently met to discuss these offers as well as those from teams who have not yet expressed interest in an extended relationship with Hall.

GM, agent, and player will all need to be on the same page for a deal to get done, but Hall has already stated that he is open to waiving his NMC for the right move, so it seems likely that he will end up traded. Yet, don’t be surprised if the deal doesn’t happen until deadline day. Dreger believes that Adams could hold on to Hall as long as he can, allowing Hall’s pro-rated cap hit to decrease as much as possible, as a tactic to improve or at least maintain his trade value. With so many team’s facing a salary cap crunch, a cheaper Hall is a more valuable Hall. To this point, it seems teams have balked at Buffalo’s first-round price tag for Hall, but their best chance of netting that return will likely be on deadline day.

  • As young Carter Hart continues to struggle this season, it is becoming more and more likely that the Philadelphia Flyers will have to add another goalie if they want to compete for a playoff spot down the stretch. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that they are certainly considering a move, but have not made a decision yet. While the numbers for Hart as well as Brian Elliott are not appealing so far this season, bringing in a third netminder is not a simple decision. The Flyers would need to have the cap flexibility to carry three goalies and would also need to consider the mental status of Hart if they were to essentially bump the season-opening starter to a third-string role. LeBrun believes that Philadelphia will wait as long as possible to make a deal, hoping that their current tandem improves but also in order to take a realistic look at their playoff chances at the deadline and weigh whether a move in worth it. If the Flyers do opt to seek another goalie, LeBrun notes that the name they are being linked to is Detroit Red Wings veteran Jonathan Bernier.
  • It would surprise no one to hear that the Florida Panthers are looking for a defenseman in light of the season-ending injury suffered by stalwart Aaron Ekblad. However, Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards reports that the team was actually scouring the market for a top-four blue liner even before Ekblad’s injury, which only served to up their efforts. The Panthers had enjoyed strong seasons from Ekblad, MacKenzie Weegar, and Keith Yandle and had not hesitated to give considerable play time to Anton Stralman, Gustav Forsling, and Radko Gudas as well. However, the team recently waived Stralman, which just goes to show how much they value his contribution so far this season. And while Yandle and Gudas have played well, the two are somewhat of specialists, only excelling at one end of the ice. With Ekblad gone, the Panthers will have to rely on Weegar and Forsling as their most complete defensemen and neither has the experience needed to lead a contender on a deep playoff run. It is likely this concern that prompted a search even before Ekblad went down.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Max Willman

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Philadelphia Flyers have rewarded a player that has been grinding for years, signing Max Willman to a two-year two-way contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $750K and begins in the 2021-22 season.

Originally selected by the Buffalo Sabres way back in 2014, Willman played four years at Brown University, one at Boston University and then spent last season splitting time between the ECHL and AHL in the Flyers system. An incredibly hard worker, the 26-year-old forward has finally landed the NHL contract that seemed out of reach and can now compete for a role with Philadelphia next season.

There’s no guarantee he sees time at that level, but it’s been a great start for Willman in 2020-21 as he plays on an AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In 11 games he has six goals and eight points, earning Player of the Week honors in early March. Because of his age, Willman isn’t limited by the entry-level system and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Michael Raffl (Hand) Could Return Monday

at CDT | by 1 Comment

  • Flyers winger Michael Raffl could return for tomorrow’s contest against the Rangers, relays Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). Raffl has missed the last four games due to a swollen right hand and was off to a decent start to his season before the injury with three goals and four assists in 21 games.

Seattle Kraken Among Teams Restricted In College Free Agency

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The college free agent market has yet to really kick into high gear. Some NCAA teams have already finished their seasons, some of the names attached to those teams are now available, and some have even signed minor league deal. Yet, to date there has not been an NHL signing by a college free agent just yet.

That will all change soon, though. As conference tournaments continue through this weekend and next week, many more seasons will come to an end shortly. For those programs who aren’t a realistic candidate for at-large bid, ranked at least in the top-20 nationally, the next loss will be the final one of the season. This will continue until next Sunday – “Selection Sunday” – when the 16-team field for the NCAA Tournament will be revealed. Any fringe teams holding out hope will learn their fates and those on the outside looking in will join the teams that have already been eliminated in saying goodbye to the 2020-21 season. A week later, all but four of the tourney teams will also be done. By the end of the month, at the latest, college free agency will be in full swing and after the Frozen Four concludes and a National Champion is named on April 10, it is safe to assume that the free agent market will have been picked clean within days. Although college free agency has not yet made its mark this year, by this time next month the majority of the NCAA player rush could be over.

This poses a problem for the NHL’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken. As Darren Brown writes for Sound of Hockey, the Kraken have yet to make their final expansion payment to the league and as such still lack official standing. This means that they cannot yet sign any free agents to contracts for next season. When the Vegas Golden Knights entered the league, they made their inaugural signing, undrafted junior free agent Reid Duke, on March 6. Already beyond that date this year, Seattle is behind on their payment schedule compared to Vegas and it will impact their ability to add prospects. It is believed that the Kraken are on track to make their final payment next month, presumably before the April 12 trade deadline, but by that time it may be too late to cash in on college free agency. If at all possible, Seattle would be best-served to make their final payment as soon as possible.

The delayed trade deadline date could cause some difficulty with college free agent decisions for a number of other teams, too. Normally, the deadline falls two weeks earlier than it will this season and much of the college free agent frenzy takes place after that date. Following the deadline, teams know for sure where they sit in terms of roster limits for the season, which has taken on even more importance in recent years as a key negotiating tactic for young free agents has been the opportunity to sign right away and burn a year off of their entry-level contract. For the Anaheim Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitals, all of whom currently have 49 of their maximum 50 contract slots filled, they won’t have that assurance when the market begins to heat up this year. While the Ducks, a seller, have more certainty that they can move a current contract or two to make room for any college free agent signings, the Flyers and Capitals are expected to be buyers and risk leverage in deal-making above all else if they hit the 50-contract maximum by signing a college free agent and sellers know that they must shed a contract to add one at the deadline. The Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues, all at 48 contracts, will also have to be careful with the college free agent market if they plan to add multiple pieces at the deadline. This could all make for an intriguing period of NCAA additions, with some of the usual top suitors potentially playing it safe while teams with more flexibility and opportunity swoop in.

Flyers Believed To Have Some Interest In Alex Goligoski

at CDT | by 6 Comments

With the trade deadline now a month away, teams are starting to set their list of potential targets.  For the Flyers, that list is believed to include Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski, reports Pierre LeBrun in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link).

That Philadelphia is looking to add help on the back end should come as no surprise.  Matt Niskanen’s retirement came as a surprise last offseason and the team never really properly replaced that role.  They added Erik Gustafsson but he is more of an offensive-minded blueliner with a much different skill set than what Niskanen brought to the table.

Goligoski isn’t quite the same type of player as Niskanen either but he’d be able to replace some elements, particularly on the penalty kill front.  The 35-year-old is logging 3:25 per night on Arizona’s back end when shorthanded, second-most on the team.  Considering that the Flyers have a success rate of 73.7% (25th in the league), adding someone that could conceivably jump onto their top penalty kill unit would be a nice addition.

However, Goligoski also isn’t someone who provides much in the way of offense like he used to.  He has averaged 35 points over the last seven seasons but this year, he has just two assists in 26 games despite still logging over 22 minutes a night.  He also carries a $5.475MM cap charge, something that the Flyers wouldn’t be able to afford right now without either sending money the other way or Arizona retaining some salary.

Those two factors will likely keep Goligoski’s trade value a little lower, presenting a situation where GM Chuck Fletcher could conceivably keep this on the back burner for the time being and turn back to it if more desirable options don’t pan out.  But at the very least, something like this – a small upgrade on a back end that’s in need of improvement at a reasonable acquisition cost – is something that Philadelphia would be wise do to over the next month.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top