Flyers Offseason: UFA Targets
The Flyers can also get better by acquiring some players and bringing them into the organization. Outside help can change a culture and overall energy in a locker room. The Flyers need to change this culture which was a losing one and a team that was just okay. With Chuck Fletcher having a blank check to do what he needs to do, here are some UFAs that can be ripe for the Flyers picking.
UFA Targets
Johnny Gaudreau
It has been rumored and wished by so many people in the hockey community to have Johnny Gaudreau play for the team he rooted for growing up. Well, the rumors may just be coming true. There have reportedly been sightings of the superstar at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees with a Flyers practice jersey on. This could mean Gaudreau feels as though he paid his dues to Calgary for drafting him and is going to come home.
Like Mike Trout, if you talk to the locals, you will hear a lot of stories about Gaudreau living at home during the offseason with his parents. Gaudreau’s father also used to own the Hollydell Ice Arena in Sewell and there were always sightings of Gaudreau during the offseason.
I for one, would love to bring Gaudreau here because he would potentially attract other superstar players to Philadelphia. Right now, there is not much that would make someone want to play here, but bringing in superstars tends to spike your value to those guys. If you are able to sign Gaudreau, he may take a discount so that you can sign other guys. In fact, his linemate, Matthew Tkachuk, is an RFA and and could be persuaded to come.
Everyone should realize that the Flyers would be getting a true sniper in Gaudreau. He had some down years, but the word flying around was that he didn’t like his coach. Sutter came and changed everything. Gaudreau was back to his 2018-19 form, scoring 40 goals and assisting on 75 for 115 points. This would be a huge move for the Flyers.
Gaudreau is currently making 6.75 AAV. Signing him here for seven or eight years may make him sign for cheaper but he most likely won’t go under 6.25M AAV.
Filip Forsberg
Another big scoring stud available is Filip Forsberg. He might be a little harder to get, though. Forsberg most likely will want to get paid and I am not quite sure if he wants to leave Nashville after they seemed to get things on track. He most likely will want to go to a contender, but money talks.
While he didn’t play all 82 games this season, he still scored 42 times while also notching 42 assists. If you could somehow trade a Provorov or JVR, or even both, and get little to nothing in return in order to pick him up, this could solidify your scoring woes.
Coming off a career year asks the question on if he can do this again. Last season he was hurt and only played 39 games, scoring 12 goals. The season before he scored 21. There was a big dip in goal scoring for him, but it clearly shot back up this season. The biggest question is does he deserve a contract worth more than 6.5M AAV or will he begin to decline scoring wise again?
Nino Niederreiter
Niederreiter is not the flashy pick up, but a great depth move. Scoring 24 goals this past season, he already has ties to Fletcher. Niederreiter would be a perfect linemate alongside Scott Laughton. Depending who is on your roster, he would be a great fit alongside Oskar Lindblom as well.
A big physical forward with a good nose for the net, Niederreiter would bring size into a smaller lineup. His playstyle would be perfect in either DeBoer or Trotz’s system. His forecheck game is one of his best attributes as well. He had 119 hits this season, along with four power play goals and one power play assist. He may be a good piece to throw on what is a terrible power play unit.
You can most likely get Niederreiter for around 5.25M for three or four years. Especially with him being an easily replaceable piece, I could see the Hurricanes moving on if they find a better option.
Andre Burakovsky
Another great player who can play in any situation is Andre Burakovsky. He is a good piece who won’t cost you the bank but would have to slightly overpay to pull him away from Colorado. While he isn’t a bonafide goal scorer, Burakovsky can help fix the defensive woes on the penalty kill.
He is one of those players you want to have when retooling. Playoff experience isn’t something this current team has a ton of. Bringing in some young veterans under 30 would help get this team younger, and help them grow together as well.
Burakovsky would be bringing an extra 20 goals to this team as he averaged about 20 goals per season over the last three years. This past season he had a career high in assists and points, tallying 39 assists and 22 goals for a total of 61 points.
Burakovsky would help the depth and allow one of the top six forwards to move to the third line in order to spread out the scoring. This isn’t a glamorous move but a great one to start to sure up your back-end talent and add a piece that can be here for years.
Vincent Trocheck
Trocheck is a guy who can help sure up the center position. Having him, Kevin Hayes and Sean Couturier down the middle would make the center position one of the most complete in the NHL. The Flyers biggest flaw this past season was the lack of depth at at that position.
Last season, Trocheck scored 21 goals and tallied 30 assists. This was also his first season since 2015-2016 to have a positive +/- and he did it with style with a +21. Anytime you can get a center like this for your team, you need to jump on the opportunity. You may need to overpay for Trocheck in order to convince him.
While I would love to have him, it would be a longshot to try to poach him from the Hurricanes. So if he decided to leave, it would have to be for the money.
Nazem Kadri
A gritty and hardworking player, Kadri would be perfect for the Flyers style of play. He is a great forechecker and defensive at that. He has had a rocky past, but with age comes maturity and it has shown with Kadri in this playoff run with the Avalanche.
In an interview recently, Kadri was asked about his play, and he said he realized how much he can impact the game on the ice rather than from the bench. Sometimes it takes a player a little bit of time to realize just how important they are to their team’s success and that taking bad penalties can hurt your team.
In 71 games, Kadri scored 28 goals along with 59 assists. He also brings a 49.7 FO%. He added eight power play goals and 21 assists. A player like him could fix your woes on both of special teams’ units.
Kadri currently makes 4.5M AAV. Having a solid head, he may command more money per year, but I still expect him to make about 5 to 5.5M AAV. I also believe he found his home in Colorado so poaching him will be a hard task.
Rickard Rakell
Rakell is a good depth piece. He had a decent season after being traded from the Anaheim Ducks to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now I don’t think he was worth what the Penguins gave up for him, but it was a typical Hextall move that makes you question what he was doing.
Rakell came to the Penguins and scored four goals and assisted on nine in 19 games. On the season in total, Rakell played 70 games and scored 20 goals and had 21 assists. Adding someone like him gives you someone who can forecheck effectively and is relentless. Rakell had 99 hits this season.
He is currently making 3.78M AAV. I think giving him a three-year contract for 3.85-4.25M AAV would get him to come down to the southern part of the state and trade in the gold and black for orange and black.
Ryan Donato
Another great story for another good athlete. Ryan Donato was an unsigned free agent who was brought into the league by the Boston Bruins after being a big piece to the US Men’s Olympic team in the 2018 Olympics. Since then, he’s played for Minnesota, San Jose and most recently Seattle. Donato is only 26 and has a lot to prove. Putting money on this kid to be something good for your franchise may be worth it.
Donato had his best season, scoring 16 goals and getting 15 assists in 74 games. To go with 17 blocks and 70 hits, Donato also had 39 takeaways. A good young forward who is also skilled with quick hands and speed, he is a piece you want to continue to build your depth with. Pairing him with Laughton and Lindblom would be a really good combo of guys who can forecheck, shoot and make plays with their great hands and abilities.
I would give the 26-year-old a 950k-1M AAV for two to three years as a prove it deal. Let him play in the same city for a couple of years to get a system down and let him develop into a good piece and maybe even more.
Kris Letang
This would be not only a great signing for a few years, but a Niskanen signing all over again. If Letang would sign, he becomes your top line power play quarterback and another great puck moving defensemen. Pairing him with either Cam York or Ivan Provorov would give you three really good pairings.
Stealing him from Pittsburgh would also be a move to help speed up the rebuilding process for the Penguins. Letang still has some solid years of hockey left. With his career high in assists, he had 58 assists and 10 goals in 78 games. Letang also had 122 blocked shots and 171 hits. He also had a +/- of 20 as well.
His previous contract saw him with a 7.5M AAV but at 35, I don’t think he is worth that because of the uncertainty with his career. Between 4-5.5M for three-four years could get him to sign up until he retires.
John Klingberg
The Flyers need some more puck movers and John Klingberg would be a great blueliner for this team. While is might be a poor man’s Ryan Ellis, he does not have the same defensive prowess as Ellis. His puck moving ability might be close, though. At 6’3″ and 190 Lbs., Klingberg was a risk when he was drafted because he wasn’t the same player at 5’11” and 150Lbs. Klingberg had a growth spurt, and his game really took off.
The Stars aren’t the same team they were when he was lighting it up, but he is still playing at an elite level. In 74 games, Klingberg had 41 assists and six goals to go alongside 77 blocks and 57 hits. Being the Stars best puck moving defenseman, going to a team where he isn’t the only one carrying the puck could bring his turnovers down and open his game up a lot more.
Klingberg will most likely be offered a 4.75-5M AAV for four years. He currently receives 4.25 and a big contract just wouldn’t find him because of his stats in general. On a better team, I see his stats moving up and him potentially taking a smaller year contract to bet on himself to get paid sooner.
Braden Holtby
A name I wanted as Hart’s backup for a while now is Braden Holtby. We saw Holtby go from being a Cup winner to being called washed up to this past season where he actually pulled out a decent season on a bad team. At 6’1″ and 215 Lbs., Holtby uses the butterfly style and has great speed post to post.
This would be the perfect back up and mentor to Hart. A goalie with Stanley Cup winning experience and also has experience under Trotz, if hired, may bring him back to the old goalie he was. On a bad Stars team, Holtby play 24 games and had a 10-10-1 record with a GAA of 2.78 and SV% of .913. The last time he did this was in 2018-2019 and we know what happened that season. Out of his 22 games started, Holtby had 13 Quality starts and that is so crucial when looking for a backup.
Holtby will be a cheap option at around 2M AAV for maybe a year or two. Not only is he a great mentor but his game seemed to return to him last year and Hart needs a good backup who can win games behind him.
Casey DeSmith
Another Pittsburgh goalie, but one who got a late start to his career, DeSmith would be a good backup for Hart. DeSmith earned his way into staying into the league and really played one heck of a season as a backup to Tristan Jarry. With a hybrid type of play style, DeSmith is well versed to play either standing up or in the butterfly.
DeSmith played in 26 games, starting 24 of them and going 11-6-5. DeSmith had a rough start but ended up with a .914 SV% and a GAA of 2.79 with three shutouts. DeSmith also had 12 quality starts. The Penguins were very up and down this season, but it was also on the goalies who did not pick up their play until midseason.
Currently DeSmith is making 1.25M AAV but his new contract will be somewhere between 2-3M AAV for two-three years. Stealing DeSmith from the Penguins would be a great move mainly because you stole him from your upstate rivals.
Tyler Pitlick
Since leaving the Flyers, Pitlick hasn’t had a consistent home. From Dallas, to Philly, to Arizona to Calgary and finally to Montreal, He has not had a minute to settle into a single city.
A hard playing forward who puts his body on the line, Pitlick was one of my favorite depth players during that 2019-2020 season. The Grant-Raffl-Pitlick line was one disruptive line and I think playing him with Zack MacEwen and either Scott Laughton or Patrick Brown at center would make a monstrous fourth line that would grind your opponent down. Especially if you get Barry Trotz, Pitlick would be the ideal player in this system.
With one goal and four assists in 39 games, Tyler Pitlick will come cheap, especially if you give him a multiyear contract. 1.5 to 1.75 AAV for three or four years secures you Pitlick and his tenacious game that he brings.
Nick Cousins
Nick Cousins was always a solid depth piece and needed more time develop, time he wasn’t given, mainly because of the strained relationship between him and Dave Hakstol. There were rumblings that Cousins did not get along with Hakstol. While this could be true, Cousins went on to become a valuable piece to different teams.
The Flyers have had issues at center and signing Cousins to be the fourth line center would help not only the depth but the PK unit as well. He is also a really cheap option to bring to town as well.
Cousins had 28 blocked shots and 66 hits this season. Offensively, he had nine goals and 13 assists as well. Playing DeBoer or Trotz’s system would be super ideal for Cousins. You could sign him to a two-year 1M AAV contract and have him until one of your prospects are ready to go.
Derick Brassard
I don’t have much of a reason to bring Brassard back except for the FAB line. I loved Brassard and love what he brings. A guy like him is usually brought in when a cup run is under way. While Brassard is cheap as well, he is a great option if you are strapped with the salary cap.
In his 31 games in Philly, Brassard scored six goals and tallied 10 assists for 16 points. He was also a +6, which was rare for this Flyers team. In 15 games with the Oilers, Brassard scored two goals and had 1 assist. With about a 50% FO% as well, the Flyers could use considering their faceoff loses after losing both Giroux and him to trades and Couturier to injury.
Brassard will most likely sign a veteran minimum contract in the NHL, and I would love for him to come back here. My only feeling with him is to recreate the Farabee-Atkinson-Brassard line and let them go to work on what we the most balanced line for the Flyers all last season.
Gerald Mayhew
We all know about Gerry Mayhew and his amazing story about working his way from the ECHL to playing with the Flyers. I like Mayhew and I think he is a great depth player to have. Not all your signings need to be glamorous but this one brings back a guy who works his tail off game after game to prove that he is an NHL talent.
A guy who plays the game the right way and approaches it the right way. Mayhew made the most out of the time he was given in the NHL. While he was on the Phantoms, he was tearing it up before he got the call and I felt like it came a little later then it should have.
The Flyers put him on waivers, and they knew he would be picked up, but these things happen in order for some of the young prospects to come in. Mayhew scored 11 goals and got one assist in 40 games while also throwing 58 hits. With some speed and skill, Mayhew comes equipped with a great shot as well. Adding him back to the depth of this team would go a long way, especially for cheap and for a couple years. I would say about 950K AAV for one years on a one-way contract would get him to sign.