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Flyers Sign RFA’s Taylor Leier And Tyrell Goulbourne

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The Philadelphia Flyers have had a busy morning, announcing new one-year contracts for both Taylor Leier and Tyrell Goulbourne and confirming the signing of Danick Martel, also to a one-year deal which had been previously reported. While Martel simply accepted his qualifying offer, the other two contracts were negotiated. No salary terms were revealed by the team, but CapFriendly reports that Leier will make $720K on a one-way deal, while Goulbourne will likely play on a two-way deal similar to Martel’s.

Leier’s contract is interesting for many reasons. The first, and most pressing, is that it negates an August 3rd arbitration hearing date. Leier had filed for salary arbitration after spending the entire 2017-18 season in Philadelphia. While Leier only played in 39 games, it is easy to see why he might not be agreeable to a two-way deal after avoiding the AHL for an entire campaign. However, Leier’s qualifying offer was of a two-way nature. Rather than agree to that deal, the two sides worked out a contract that actually comes in below the qualifying offer value, but with a one-way status. Leier, 24, collected five points last season and will be looking to improve his production in the coming season.

Goulbourne finally cracked the NHL last season after his first two pro years were spent entirely in the minors, including half a season in the ECHL. The 24-year-old managed to get into nine games with the Flyers, though he was held scoreless and saw under six minutes of ice time per night in a fill-in role. Goulbourne wasn’t super productive with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms either, recording just 19 points in 63 games. Although Goulbourne is a more defensive-minded forward, he’ll need to show a more well-rounded offensive game if he wants to earn another long stay in Philadelphia.

With these three forwards locked up, Philadelphia has just two more restricted free agents to deal with. Defenseman Robert Hagg, who was very reliable in 70 games as a rookie on the Flyers’ blue line, is a interesting case to follow, as the team needs to be careful about the length and value of the contracts they hand out to their many promising young defenseman, as setting a bad precedent could bury them. The situation with goaltender Anthony Stolarz is also curious, as the young keeper missed most of last season due to injury after previously looking like a future star in seven starts with Philly in 2016-17. He now has to compete with Alex Lyon and Carter Hart for the honor of “heir apparent” and the Flyers might be wondering if that is one goalie too many to compete or at least how much they are willing to pay to keep another young backstop around.

Flyers Re-Sign Alex Lyon To A Two-Year Contract

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Sunday: Sam Carchidi of Philly.com reports that Lyon signed a two-year deal worth $750K per year.

Saturday: The Flyers have locked up one of their goaltending prospects, announcing that they’ve inked Alex Lyon to a two-year deal. Lyon had filed for salary arbitration earlier this week.

The 25-year-old spent most of last season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, posting a 2.75 GAA and a .913 SV% in 27 regular season games.  He followed that up with a stellar showing in the postseason, highlighted by an AHL record 94 saves in a game that went to five overtimes in the Atlantic Division Finals.

Lyon also got into 11 games with the Flyers in 2017-18, his first NHL action.  He put up decent numbers for his inaugural stint with a 2.75 GAA and a .905 SV% although the team still opted to add Petr Mrazek down the stretch rather than count on Lyon to play as a starter when both Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth were injured.

As things stand, Lyon is set to battle for playing time in what should be a very crowded crease in Lehigh Valley.  Anthony Stolarz (also an RFA) is now healthy after missing most of last season with knee issues while top prospect Carter Hart is set to make his professional debut as well.  (Felix Sandstrom, while also signed and AHL eligible, is expected to play in the SHL next season.)  Although there are certainly question marks surrounding the viability of Philadelphia’s current goalie tandem on a long-term basis, they’re certainly not lacking prospects at that position.

Philadelphia’s Mrazek Will Not Be Given Qualifying Offer

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With a backlog of goalies in their system, the Philadelphia Flyers have taken their first step to pare down that number as The Hockey News’ Ken Campbell reports that the Flyers will not be offering goaltender Petr Mrazek a qualifying offer tomorrow, which will make him an unrestricted free agent.

Mrazek, who was finishing up a two-year bridge deal worth $8MM total at an AAV of $4MM could generate some interest as a backup in the league at a much cheaper pricetag. Despite recent struggles, the goaltender was at one time considered to be a front-line goalie.

The 26-year-old netminder was acquired at the trade deadline for a third-round pick in the 2018 draft, but wasn’t of much help to the Flyers as inconsistency plagued him there as well as in Detroit. Once considered to be the heir-apparent in Detroit, Mrazek took over the starting reigns in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, but lost his job to veteran Jimmy Howard by the end of that year. He was exposed in the expansion draft last year with many believing that the Vegas Golden Knights might select him, but they passed. As Howard’s backup this year, Mrazek had some great moments, but had just as many, if not more, terrible games. He posted just eight wins in 22 games with a 2.89 GAA and a .910 save percentage before being traded. In Philadelphia, he was given a new chance as the team was dealing with injuries to both Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth, but Mrazek struggled immensely. In 17 games he had a 3.22 GAA and a .891 save percentage.

The Flyers have both Elliott and Neuvirth locked up for one more season, making Mrazek expendable. While the team could attempt to qualify him and hope to pass him through waivers to play in the AHL as emergency insurance, the team will have star goaltending prospect Carter Hart expected to make his pro debut in the AHL, so they don’t want a veteran goalie taking valuable playing time away from Hart. On top of that, the team also has restricted free agents Alex Lyon and Anthony Stolarz on their roster, so moving on from Mrazek might be the best thing.

Philadelphia also saves itself a third-round pick in the 2019 draft by not signing Mrazek. The trade deadline deal had a conditional third-round pick for next season if the team signed him.

 

Free Agent Focus: Philadelphia Flyers

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Free agency opens less than three weeks from today and teams are well on their way to evaluating both their own impending free agents and those likely to reach the open market. There are quite a few prominent players expected to be available as unrestricted free agents, while many key restricted free agents will be looking to sign new contracts with their current squads.  Here is a breakdown of the Philadelphia Flyers’ free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: G Petr Mrazek – As soon as the Flyers acquired Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Trade Deadline, it was anticipated that there could be some confusion this off-season. The 26-year-old goalie needs a new contract, but the team holding his exclusive negotiating rights doesn’t have a place for him right now. Philadelphia still has their 2017-18 tandem of Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth under contract for another season and that won’t change unless they find a trade partner for one or the other. They also have to deal with the restricted free agency of Alex Lyon and Anthony Stolarz, both of whom are younger than Mrazek and have gotten more than a taste of the NHL level over the past two seasons. There is also Carter Hart to worry about. The CHL Goaltender of the Year and arguably the best goalie prospect in hockey is already under contract and seems to have proven he is beyond the major junior level already. Hart is likely to turn pro next season and needs starts. That’s five other goalies to consider already, so where does Mrazek fit in to the Flyers’ plans?

Not only does he seemingly not have a place in the organization right now, but Mrazek’s performance over the last two seasons also raises serious questions about his ceiling and long-term role in the NHL. After a hot start to his pro career that included two seasons of AHL domination and strong NHL spot starts, followed by two more seasons of impressive play sharing the net in Detroit with Jimmy Howard, things were looking up for Mrazek. He had essentially won the starting job heading into the 2016-17 despite being just 24 years old and seemed to be the Red Wings’ long-term answer in net. That idea fell apart quickly as Mrazek’s play became sporadic and the more consistent Howard took his job back. Mrazek has now posted two straight seasons of 3.00+ goals against averages and save percentages just narrowly in the .900’s. The 17 appearances that Mrazek made in Philadelphia after the trade were even worse than his games played in Detroit early last season, including one singular, disastrous playoff appearance, negating the thought that he needed a change of scenery.

So what to expect for negotiations with a young goalie, formerly considered a rising star, who has struggled for two years, even more so with his current team, and has no role carved out for him moving forward? In all likelihood, the answer is a trade. The Flyers gave away two conditional mid-round picks to get Mrazek when they were desperate for a goalie down the stretch. They would be lucky to get that back for his RFA rights in an off-season deal. Mrazek may also end up simply not receiving a qualifying offer. If, against the odds, Philadelphia decides they want to extend Mrazek, expect just a cheap, one-year deal- nowhere near his expired $4MM cap hit – and another move or two by the organization to make some space for yet another goalie.

D Robert Hagg – One of a number of young, up-and-coming Flyers defenseman, Hagg skated in 70 games and averaged over 18 minutes a night in his rookie season. While Hagg only registered nine points on the year, he showed good two-way ability and a solid checking game. He was one of only three Philadelphia defensemen with a positive rating and played a clean game despite leading the team in hits by a wide margin with 238. There is a lot to like about the young defender.

However, there is also a lot to take into account when quantifying his next contract. The Flyers already have overpaid bruisers Andrew MacDonald and Radko Gudas signed for two more years as well as Shayne Gostisbehere on a long-term deal. Ivan Provorov will surely land an expensive, long-term deal next summer and Travis Sanheim will need an extension as well. Additionally, the gifted but unproven Samuel Morin is an RFA alongside Hagg this summer. The Flyers need to be careful with how they handle this crowded blue line. As solid as Hagg looked in his rookie year, don’t be surprised to see him sign a shorter bridge deal for only a marginal pay increase while the team waits out some of its veteran contracts.

Other RFAs: F Taylor Leier, F Danick Martel, F Tyrell Goulbourne, D Samuel Morin, D Reece Willcox, G Alex Lyon, G Anthony Stolarz

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Valtteri Filppula – The 34-year-old Filppula is seeking a multi-year deal. There are many who doubt that the Flyers will be the team to give it to him. The veteran center has had a long and successful career as a complementary top-nine player, but the price tag for that support-level production on his last contract was $5MM. Since coming over from the Tampa Bay Lightning two years ago, Filppula’s offense has been in decline. He has still played an important role in Philadelphia, including that of a penalty kill specialist, but with 41 points in 101 regular season games in orange and black, Filppula hasn’t earned the right to command that kind of money again. If he is willing to give up salary in exchange for term, he could still play a key bottom-six role for the Flyers. However, the open market could pull him towards a team in greater need who would be willing to better compensate him.

D Brandon Manning – Like Mrazek, Philadelphia needs to first find a place for Manning before committing to re-signing him. A career Flyer, Manning hit career highs on offense in his sixth season with the team. He also bounced back from a down 2016-17 season mentally with a safer game and more well-thought out approach. Yet, Manning’s numbers on both sides of the puck are still very pedestrian. Although there could be concerns that letting Manning walk and replacing him internally would add more inexperience to a young blue line, there is no doubt that Manning’s minutes could be easily replicated. The 28-year-old only made $975K in each of the last two years, but if he looks for a substantial raise he will likely price himself out of Philadephia’s consideration. Manning will return on a short-term, low money deal or – more likely – he will sign a similar deal for only marginally more elsewhere.

Other UFAs: F Matt Read, F Colin McDonald, D Johnny Oduya, D Will O’Neill, G Dustin Tokarski, G John Muse 

Projected Cap Space: The Flyers are not in any cap trouble right now, but things can change quickly. Currently, they have over $17MM in cap space based on this year’s cap limit of $75MM. That is expected to increase to somewhere between $78-82MM, likely giving Philly somewhere closer to $22MM in space. First things first, they need to figure out their free agency situation this year, which includes new deals for many on the long list of pro-ready RFA’s above and perhaps another one or two of their own UFA’s. This is where GM Ron Hextall will need to be careful. He doesn’t want to use up too much of his space on luxuries like unnecessary extra goalies and defenseman or overpaying an aging forward. He also doesn’t need to give a player like Hagg an expensive extension right now, especially when he is the type of player with a limited ceiling who will likely command a similar amount after a few years on a bridge deal. Next, the team needs to keep in mind that next season they will have to hand pricey extensions to Wayne Simmonds and Provorov and could very likely be on the hunt again for a starting-caliber goalie to pair with Hart moving forward. None of those transactions will come cheap and the team can’t expect another major cap jump. Instead, they will have to account for those moves this off-season. At the end of the day, $22MM or so can only get you so far when you have a complete roster and many long-term contracts. Expect the Flyers to hit the free agent market with a pretty limited budget of no more than $7-8MM, likely in search of an upgrade to Filppula and/or Manning.

Philadelphia Flyers Assign Dustin Tokarski To AHL

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The Philadelphia Flyers were unable to find an answer in goal last night, allowing seven goals on 33 shots between Brian Elliott and Petr Mrazek. Today, they’ve sent their third goaltender back to the minors by assigning Dustin Tokarski to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Tokarski’s assignment could be as simple as a paper transaction between games, with him coming back up for tomorrow’s matchup, or could signal a bigger plan. While head coach Dave Hakstol hinted that Elliott would start again in game two, there is always the option of bringing up Alex Lyon and throwing him into the fire.

The 25-year old Lyon posted a .905 save percentage in 11 games during this his rookie season, better than the .891 that Mrazek registered after coming over at the deadline. With Michal Neuvirth still out, Lyon might be one of the best options the Flyers have in net. Now down 1-0 against the reigning two-time Stanley Cup Champions, decisions have to be made quicker than ever.

Minor Transactions: 3/31/18

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Today’s slate of 12 games carries some serious weight, like most days this late in the season. The two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins can clinch a playoff spot with a win and a Florida Panthers regulation loss and their 2016 Cup competitors, the San Jose Sharks, can also get in with a win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Anything less than a regulation win for the Sharks will seal the Pacific Division for the Knights, while a Vegas loss and Winnipeg Jets regulation loss will give the Western Conference title to the Nashville Predators. On the other end of the spectrum, the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas stars are in action today with their tragic numbers down to one. Both teams must win and hope the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues respectively lose to keep their playoff hopes alive. There is a lot at stake; keep track of how the teams are preparing today right here:

  • Michal Neuvirth continues to struggle with his lower-body injuries and will be unable to go against the Boston Bruins tomorrow. As a result, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have recalled young Alex Lyon from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms on an emergency basis to serve as Petr Mrazek’s backup. Lyon has made 11 appearances for Philly in his rookie season as a dependable option to deal with the team’s many goaltending woes.
  • Another emergency recall is defenseman Chris Butler, per the St. Louis Blues. After Jordan Schmaltz left the Blues’ game last night with an upper-body injury and did not return, St. Louis needed a replacement and got one by bringing up Butler from the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. Butler has skated in just two NHL games this season, but is enjoying a career year in the minor leagues with 29 points and a +12 rating in 60 games.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have also made an emergency recall, adding Keegan Lowe to the blue line from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Despite multiple call-ups, Lowe has not yet debuted for the Oilers, but could get his chance against the Calgary Flames today.
  • The Calgary Flames announced they have recalled defenseman Oliver Kylington from the Stockton Heat of the AHL as an emergency call-up. He has been added as the extra defenseman in case one of their six defenseman are either injured or ill. Kylington, the team’s second-round pick in 2015, has been having a solid year in his third AHL season. He has five goals and 26 assists in 56 games this season. He has played one NHL game in his career, back in the 2015-16 season.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have assigned forward Kyle Criscuolo to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. The 25-year-old forward hasn’t played since Mar. 5 with a shoulder injury and now that he is skating, it is believed he will return to Rochester for their AHL playoff run. Criscuolo has played nine games for the Sabres this season, with no points. He has 15 goals in 50 games with the Americans this year.

Minor Transactions: 03/28/18

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Tonight’s games are the first time the NHL situation room will have control over goaltender interference reviews, which will undoubtedly come up at some point in the four games on tap. If it does, we’ll get to see the first instance of what should be a more consistent decision-making process. Hopefully, all the kinks will be ironed out before the playoffs start in a few weeks.

As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league heading into tonight’s action. Check back throughout the day for more updates.

How Flyers Can Deal With Injuries In Net

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Things have been going well for the Philadelphia Flyers. The team has won six of their past ten games and are firmly engaged in a battle for a Metropolitan Division playoff spot. However, the one shortcoming of the Flyers for years now has again reared its ugly head: goaltending. Philly’s goalies have performed well this season, with starter Brian Elliott holding 21 wins and backup Michal Neuvirth performing statistically even better as Elliott’s understudy. For the first time in years, goalie performance has not been a defining issue for the Flyers. However, Elliott is now out of the picture for the time being after suffering a core muscle injury earlier in the month which required surgery and could keep him sidelined through the end of March. Meanwhile, Neuvirth succumbed to a lower-body injury earlier today and had to leave the Flyers’ match-up with the rival New York Rangers. While young Alex Lyon performed admirably in relief, allowing only one goal en route to his first NHL win, the Flyers face a real possibility of being without their top two goalies for some time. So what do they do?

1) Stand Pat

It’s too early to know how long Neuvirth will be out, so the Flyers could let cooler heads prevail and wait to see what the prognosis is on his injury. If Neuvirth will simply miss a few games, the team could rely on Lyon and veteran journeyman Dustin Tokarski, acquired in October for this exact emergency situation, for the time being. Lyon, a former phenom at Yale University, has struggled in limited NHL action this season, but has been good for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms in each of the last two seasons. Now could be a good time to see what the 25-year-old brings to the table.

2) Acquire a stopgap

Perhaps if Lyon had more than three NHL appearances or Tokarski had more than 10 minutes of NHL action in the past two years, the Flyers would be willing to stick with this tandem, even if Neuvirth remains out for a week or two. Maybe if Anthony Stolarz, shut down for the season after knee surgery in September, was available they would be fine with waiting for Elliott and Neuvirth to return to health. However, the Flyers are in the middle of a playoff race and cannot afford to stick with such inexperienced options for more than a handful of games nor wait on injury timelines with the NHL Trade Deadline a week away. Instead, they could turn to the trade market and look for a short-term option. There isn’t much goalie talk on the rumor mill right now, other than the fact that the Flyers turned down a recent offer from the Detroit Red Wings of Petr Mrazek for a third-round pick. They could certainly revisit bringing in the impending restricted free agent for a tryout down the stretch. The team could also look at trading for San Jose Sharks backup Aaron Dell, who’s having a breakout year and comes with a cheap price tag for the remainder of the season. However, the Sharks are a fellow playoff-chaser and might be hesitant to move their backup unless they were getting another in return, either Neuvirth or Elliott. Other options could include Michael Hutchinson from the Winnipeg Jets (though they too have injury issues in net), Andrew Hammond from the Colorado Avalanche, or one of the many minor league keepers from Toronto or Calgary, if those teams are willing to deal.

3) Acquire a starter

Of course, the Flyers could also take this opportunity to bring in a starting-caliber goalie; one who could eliminate the worry of whether Elliott will be healthy by playoff time. Philadelphia could look at short-term starter, such as impending free agents Antti Raanta from Arizona or Robin Lehner (RFA) from Buffalo. However, more interestingly, they could also look for a long-term fit. Both Elliott and Neuvirth are only signed through next season. If they could send one or the other back in a trade, they could look to acquire a starter with term on his contract. That could be as easy as bringing in Lehner or Mrazek with the intention of extending them. Either one could do the job for a few years, bridging the gap to star prospect Carter Hart. It could also open the door to Detroit’s other goalie, Jimmy Howard, who could benefit from a change of scenery with one year left on his deal. The Vancouver Canucks could entertain moving Jacob Markstrom during a down year, though he may not be much of an upgrade over Philly’s current stable and is signed for two more seasons. One possible dark horse candidate would be Colorado starter Semyon Varlamov, who has been outplayed by backup Jonathan Bernier this season and is signed through 2018-19 at an expensive $5.9MM cap hit. For those of you thinking Carey Price though, think again.

Injury Notes: Granlund, Hendricks, Hutchinson, Elliott

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The Vancouver Canucks took another injury hit when they announced that forward Markus Granlund will be out for a month with an ankle injury, which he suffered Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He landed awkwardly on his ankle after being bumped on the boards by Ryan Callahan.

The 24-year-old Granlund was expected to be a big contributor this season after a breakout season last year when he scored 19 goals. However, that hasn’t been the case this year. He has eight goals so far this year in 53 games and has seen less average ice time as he’s seeing almost a minute less than last year.

As reported earlier, the Canucks recalled Nikolay Goldobin from the Utica Comets of the AHL.

  • The Winnipeg Jets announced they have activated veteran center Matt Hendricks off of injured reserve and placed goaltender Michael Hutchinson on injured reserve to make room for him. Hendricks, who was signed to a one-year deal this offseason, was out with an upper body injury and has missed the past two games. The team’s fourth-line center, Hendricks has put up a solid season with four goals and eight assists. Hutchinson was placed on IR, retroactive to Feb. 6. He was called up to replace backup Steve Mason, who went down with a concussion. However, Hutchinson himself suffered a concussion in a pre-game skate on that date. Eric Comrie is filling in as an emergency backup.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers might be without starting goaltender Brian Elliott again after he had to leave Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi. He actually left the game after the overtime period against Arizona and was replaced by Michal Neuvirth for the shootout. The team only just got Elliott back on Monday from a lower-body injury. Carchidi suspects that the veteran pulled a groin muscle before going down. He will be re-evaluated after tonight’s game against Vegas. The team announced they have recalled Alex Lyons from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to serve as the backup.

Minor Transactions: 02/05/18

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After a light Sunday schedule because of the Super Bowl, the NHL has just four games on tap for Monday night. Despite the lack of on-ice action, there will be plenty of minor moves around the league. As always, we’ll keep track of all of them right here.

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