Flying Forward: Grading the Flyers Offseason

The Philadelphia Flyers general manager, Chuck Fletcher, has had one of the busier offseasons around the NHL. There was some work to be done after a disappointing season last year. He worked both the trade and free agency angles to fill the team’s needs. Those needs included a top-pairing defenseman, a second-pairing defenseman, some penalty killers, and veterans to help in the locker room. Fletcher had players in mind to fill those holes and started working the phones to acquire those players.

There were a few players on the roster who were restricted free agents and needed new contracts. The team was going to have to part with some players for trade and cap space purposes. While trying to improve the team, there was also the daunting task of figuring out who would be left unprotected for the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. Somehow, Fletcher managed to get things done and improve the roster for the upcoming season.

The first splash of the offseason for Fletcher came with the acquisition of defenseman Ryan Ellis from the Nashville Predators in a three-team trade. The Flyers lost Philippe Myers and Nolan Patrick, two young players with potential, in the deal. Myers and Patrick both struggled last season, a change of scenery could be a good thing for both players. A team needs to give up pieces to get a top-pairing defenseman who can play in all situations. Ellis has six seasons left on his contract, which has a $6.25 million cap hit per season. He is 30 years old, but defensemen were getting paid this offseason, and by paid, I mean between $8-$9 million per season over seven to eight seasons. Ellis will likely play beside Ivan Provorov, on the top-pairing, and hopefully, bring steadiness and leadership as Matt Niskanen did a few seasons ago.

The NHL froze rosters so teams could decide on what players were left unprotected for the Kraken Expansion Draft, so Fletcher’s next move had to wait a few days. In the meantime, the team left some big names and contracts unprotected including Shayne Gostisbehere and Jakub Voracek. The Kraken decided to take Carsen Twarynski off the Flyers’ hands instead of going for a big-name, veteran player. Dave Hakstol, the Kraken head coach, was familiar with Twarynski from being the Flyers head coach. Since the Kraken didn’t take the bait, Fletcher went to work to clear cap space.

They say it takes two to tango, so Fletcher found a partner and cleared more cap space. He traded Shayne Gostisbehere along with two 2022 draft picks to the Arizona Coyotes for no return. He gained $4.5 million in cap space over the next two seasons. This was an overpayment, but Fletcher had to sweeten the pot for a team to take a chance on the defenseman. Gostisbehere hit the waiver wire last season, and not one of the other 30 teams claimed him. Injuries and the defensive depth led to the team being able to make the trade.

Next on the agenda was to find a defenseman who could play top-four minutes. The Buffalo Sabres were willing to part with Rasmus Ristolainen, and Fletcher took the bait. He overpaid to get Ristolainen, giving up the 13th overall pick in the 2021 Entry Draft, a 2023 second-round pick, and defenseman Robert Hagg. Ristolainen played for a horrible Sabres team, and was put in situations he should never have been in, but his underlying stats were worth what the Flyers gave up for him. He only has one year left on his contract with a lot to prove. This is one of those trades that I’m willing to take a wait-and-see approach.

There was still more cap space to shed, and that came from Jakub Voracek’s contract going to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Cam Atkinson. Voracek did a lot for the Flyers the past decade, but the team never got him and Claude Giroux much support. The Blue Jackets are going in a different direction and have lost players the past few offseasons. It was a swap of veteran players that gave the Flyers more cap space and flexibility down the line. Atkinson will help the Flyers penalty kill and is familiar with Kevin Hayes from his college days. This was another good trade by Fletcher since it brings cap flexibility, a veteran leader, and a shorthanded threat. Atkinson has scored 15 or more goals in seven of the last eight seasons played.

In free agency, Fletcher addressed veteran leadership, bottom pairing defenseman, the penalty kill, backup goalie, and got some roster depth. The Flyers signed Keith Yandle, Nate Thompson, Martin Jones, and Derick Brassard to one-year contracts. Yandle, Thompson, and Brassard are all making under $900,000 for the year. I can live with those contracts, but if Morgan Frost or Cam York earns a roster spot out of camp, he better be playing over the vet. Martin Jones, at $2 million after the past three seasons he’s had, worries me. Hart should bounce back and the defense is improved, but I’m not sure I trust Jones in net for 30 to 35 games this season.

There was some in-house business to handle with res-signing some of the restricted and unrestricted free agents to new contracts. Samuel Morin signed a new one-year deal that he earned after battling back from serious injuries the past few seasons. Carter Hart got a new three-year contract with a $3.979 million cap hit per season, a substantial raise over his entry-level contract. Travis Sanheim and the Flyers avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms on a new two-year contract with a $4.675 million cap hit. Sean Couturier signed a new eight-year extension with a cap hit of $7.75 million per season.

I’m giving Fletcher an A- for his offseason moves. If there weren’t some head-scratching moves like giving up so much for Ristolainen and signing Jones, then the Flyers offseason grade would have been an A. He saw the weaknesses on this team and set out to fill those holes to improve the team. He is banking on some players having bounce-back seasons, but the fact that he signed Couturier to a new contract and the cap hit was under $8 million per season was another reason for the grade that Flyers received for the offseason moves.