Flyers Offseason: UFA Targets

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.