The Impact of Matt Niskanen’s Retirement for the Flyers

Originally published earlier this week on Kate Formica’s personal blog here.

The Philadelphia Flyers offseason went from what should have been a dull one to being a potentially intriguing one in the drop of a hat. 

Pierre LeBrun broke the news of Flyers veteran defenseman Matt Niskanen possibly retiring. Normally, a veteran defenseman retiring wouldn’t be a big deal in the NHL, but this is 2020.  Niskanen decided to retire even though he still had one year left on his current contract at a $5.75 million cap hit. Sure, with Niskanen retiring it frees up that cap space that almost every team will be looking for with a flat cap for the next few years. The Flyers have also re-signed veteran defenseman Justin Braun. Braun was an unrestricted free agent, the Flyers would have had to let go, but with Niskanen retiring, the team didn’t want to lose another piece of the penalty kill. Braun signed a new two-year contract worth $3.6 million to go with a $1.8 million cap hit. Niskanen’s leadership and experience will also be missed on the back end. 

Niskanen’s retirement may have a bigger impact in the long run than fans may think. The team was in a much better position for the expansion draft, but now that could change. If the team does acquire or sign a free agent to a longer term deal, it may force them to have to make a tough decision as to which blue liners to protect come the expansion draft. The biggest question in all of this is who will be Ivan Provorov’s partner in the 2020-21 season? Can Provorov have the same success he did in the coming season without Niskanen as his partner? 

Who is Ivan Provorov’s Defense Partner Next Season?

This is one of the longer term and bigger questions that Niskanen’s retirement brings to the table. Do Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers go out and sign someone like Alex Pietrangelo, who will definitely not be returning to the Blues now that they have signed Torey Krug, or maybe try to acquire someone like Matt Dumba? This blue line will be young next season, but there is experience there. I feel like if the Flyers do anything at all, it will be to acquire a top pairing veteran defenseman. This can either be done via trade or free agency. The team should go after someone who is a decent defender so Provorov doesn’t have to worry about defending all the time, and can maybe pick up some points in the offensive zone.

Sure, the Flyers very well could stand pat and go with who they have on the current roster. The defensemen on the current roster are: Provorov, Braun, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, Travis Sanheim and Phil Myers. They could bring up a guy like Mark Friedman, who could rotate in and out as the seventh defenseman, but I’d rather have Friedman getting some ice time with their AHL club, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, than being the seventh for the Flyers.  If everything stands pat, who moves up to play with Provorov? Sanheim played with him for a bit during the 2018-19 season, but that breaks up the Sanheim-Myers pairing. I don’t even think Gostisbehere would be an option to play top pairing minutes at this point since he’s been so inconsistent and injury prone the past few seasons. 

Can the Flyers still package Shayne Gostisbehere in a Deal?

Another impact of Niskanen’s retirement is can the Flyers afford to trade Shayne Gostisbehere or is he too valuable to the team? The Flyers definitely have some defensive prospects in the system like Egor Zamula and Cam York, but those guys likely won’t see the NHL for another few years. With this being the case and Niskanen no longer a place holder, should the Flyers still see if there are any takers out there for Gostisbehere? My answer to this is yes because they still need some kind of scorer, and it wouldn’t hurt to see what a package with Gostisbehere could bring the team in return.

Gostisbehere has had one good NHL season and that was his rookie one. Granted, the injuries have started to pile up the last few years. It seems like even when he is healthy, he is a risk on the ice. And yes, I get that those fakes and moves he makes at the offensive blue line are something that most defensemen can’t do, but he is unreliable in his own zone. He takes chances with the puck, when he should just clear it or get it to a teammate to clear.  

What Impact Could This Have on the Expansion Draft?

If Niskanen decided to play out the season and not retire, the Flyers would have been in good shape going into the NHL Expansion Draft for the Seattle Kraken. The decision on which defensemen to protect would have been an easy one with Provorov, Sanheim and Myers. But now, if the Flyers have to sign or acquire a defenseman with some term to his contract, this will make it more difficult for the team. Yes, they could protect four defensemen, but then that would only leave four forwards to protect. 

Two of those forwards, Claude Giroux and Kevin Hayes, have no movement clauses, which means the Flyers are required to protect them. That leaves two forwards to protect and they would likely be Sean Couturier and Travis Konecncy. If the Flyers had to go this way then they risk losing Oskar Lindblom. Another option would be for the Flyers to make a deal with the Kraken to take James van Riemsdyk off its hands, but at what cost? It still may cost them either some draft picks or a young prospect or player that is NHL ready.

Niskanen’s retirement doesn’t just have short-term affects, but results in some longer term ones, but I’m sure Fletcher and the Flyers will figure it out. And if they don’t, well the fans will have some younger players to look forward to seeing in the future.