Philadelphia Flyers Offseason: Potential Targets

Philadelphia Flyers Offseason: Potential Targets

556. That is the number of current free agents as of today. As you can see, there are plenty of options for the Flyers to investigate. Now, some of those free agents are Restricted Free Agents, meaning that their current team has majority rights to the players’ contract. Also meaning that team has the opportunity to match any offer accepted by such player. Do not get discouraged though, as the best target options will be talked about within this article.

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As I am looking at the Philadelphia Flyers roster, I can’t help but notice the amount of players that are either free agents, or are about to be in their contract season. Now, the Flyers are going to have to look at some of the mid-range and cheaper options, as they only have roughly $6.5 million in cap space.

First and foremost, the recent signing of Evgeny Medvedev shows that they are using a strategy that most have found successful: “Defense wins Championships.” Their six defensemen for the upcoming season should be: Streit, MacDonald, Schenn, Medvedev, and Del Zotto once he is signed. That is only five, meaning there is room for one more defenseman.

This defenseman should indeed be Dougie Hamilton. I get that every team would love to have Mike Green, but realistically, his $6 million+ per year just wouldn’t work with the Flyer cap situation. Hamilton is cheap (for now), young, and most importantly, a right-handed shot, which the Philly defense desperately needs. The only active defenseman that shoots righty is Luke Schenn.

Feb 16, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Boston Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton (27) and Calgary Flames left wing Jiri Hudler (24) fight for position during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

The only issue with trying to lure Dougie to Philly is his “RFA” status. Not only will they be competing with other teams around the league for Hamilton’s services, they would also be against the Bruins. If Hamilton were to accept a deal from Philadelphia, the Bruins would have seven days to decide whether or not they will match the terms.

After signing Hamilton, the Flyers next move should be looking into acquiring Phil Kessel. I’m not necessarily saying that they absolutely need to get him. I’m only implying Philadelphia doesn’t throw the idea out the window. According to The Toronto Star, Leafs interim Co-GM Kyle Dubas said: “We need to be acquiring as many draft pick assets as we can, as many prospects as we can.”

Apr 8, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Phil Kessel (81) skates with the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third period at Nationwide Arena. The Jackets won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The fact that the Flyers currently have two first-round, a second round, and two third-round draft picks would work in their advantage. Note that second part of Dubas’ quote references prospects. I think Petr Straka might be an exciting offer for Toronto. He’s four years younger than Kessel, much cheaper, and also plays right wing. This gives the Maple Leafs the flexability of putting him into the lineup right away. In order to complete the deal, Philly would have to throw in at least one active roster player. Knowing that Kessel has an $8 million cap hit, this skater would have an expensive one. The way I see it, everyone except Claude Giroux should be considered.

—All stats and numbers recorded from GeneralFanager.com

Next: Stay Away From Kessel!

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