It’s been over a month since the Flyers last played a game. They still do not have a coach. They still have plenty of questions that need answering. Outside of re-signing a few depth pieces and a Russian goalie who could be a valuable backup next year.
They also have the fifth overall pick in this year’s draft. Will they get someone who can contribute now or someone who will be groomed in the minors and show up in a few years?
With the offseason in full swing, what exactly do the Flyers need? There are plenty of free agents to choose from and not a whole lot of internal free agents they need to worry about. But where do they need to focus? Where do they need to maximize their efforts? Where do they really need an upgrade? Let’s look at where the Flyers stand as we enter June of 2022.
New Coach
First and foremost, this team needs a new coach. A new coach with a system that will make sense with the players the have. OR go out and get players that will fit the system the new coach wants to install. A new coach could attract free agents or help improve the core group the team already has. But until the Flyers get a new coach who can work with Chuck Fletcher, it’s all a moot point. Speaking of which…
Navigate the Salary Cap
The Flyers do not have a lot of salary cap space to play around with; only about $6 – $8 million. That’s the worst in the division and on the same level as the Caps. Columbus and Pittsburgh both are in the top 10 in available cap space (both over $20 million).
The Flyers will have to get the right free agent pieces, but stay under the cap. They may have to move some players, but the returns on some of those might not be high if they are trading for cap space. But, if moving an expensive forward for cap relief, like a JVR, means getting a Johnny Gaudreau…then do it.
Forwards
Konecny had a decent bounce back season. Cam Atkinson put up numbers that are fairly comparable to what Jakub Voracek would’ve done. JVR had a good year, compared to what he’s done lately. Joel Farabee, Oskar Lindbolm, Morgan Frost, Cam York, and Noah Cates had flashes of what could be a bright future.
Sean Couturier and Scott Laughton battled injuries all season. When healthy, this could be a solid group. Adding a power center or a sniper on the wing in free agency or trade will help. A lot of this will also depend on if the team keeps van Riemsdyk or not.
After Couturier and Laughton, the centers on this team get pretty thin. Some, like Frost, are young and unproven in a larger role. Others like Konecny have played a lot of time at wing. Many of the current players who have played center have faceoff percentages around 55% or lower. Former Flyer, Claude Giroux had won 60.9% of faceoffs. That is an underrated but very vital stat. Either way, this team could use another strong center. Taking a cue from the Hurricanes, having three solid centers will go a long way with this team.
Defense
A healthy Ryan Ellis would be a major addition to this team. He missed the whole season with injuries. His arrival would be a big help. Rasmus Ristolainen had an up and down season, but that may also be due to the flurry of injuries the team had as a whole. Ivan Provorov had a steady year. Travis Sanheim showed some scoring promise.
The other defenders are young, but showed some promise. Adding a veteran defender via trade or free agency would bolster a decent young core. Either this defensive corps just needs a year of seasoning or they really need to be revamped. A good offseason can tell us a lot where this group stands.
Goalies
Carter Hart is pretty well entrenched as the starting goalie. He does struggle, as some younger goalies tend to do, but he has been the best goalie the Flyers have had since a young Brian Boucher and the best overall since Ron Hextall.
Unless you can swing him for a major trade to land a major player, you need to keep him. A good backup would be good to get, if Martin Jones can’t stay. But if Ivan Fedotov is worth the hype, then maybe the33 set. Jones could be signed and then flipped mid season while Fedotov puts time in the AHL or you can let Jones walk and trust in Fedotov. The salary cap savings can be used to plug other holes.
If the Flyers can make the right moves this summer, especially at the expense of their divisional rivals (Hurricanes could be ripe with Max Domi, Vincent Trocheck, and Nino Niederreiter all free agents). This offseason will be crucial and could make or break the team for a while. Chuck Fletcher could also find his job in jeopardy if he can’t turn this ship around soon.