5 Bargain RFAs Philadelphia Flyers Should Trade For

I already named Alex Newhook as a potential trade option when the Kevin Hayes trade rumors started to take off, but time is starting to tick off of the clock for teams trying to get draft picks for their assets ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft. While Hayes isn’t a draft pick, he might come with one, especially considering that it seems his trade market seems to have cooled substantially between then and now. In addition to his report on Yegor Sharangovich on his 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Elliotte Friedman added that the Columbus Blue Jackets are starting to pull out of the race for Kevin Hayes, and to state the obvious, that there is no way back for Hayes in Philly.

The Colorado Avalanche certainly underachieved in the playoffs when they were eliminated by the Seattle Kraken in the first round. This is certainly not to blame Newhook, but his performance didn’t help their bid for a title defense all that much. In his playoff career, Newhook has just one goal and six assists in 27 games, and has a plus-minus of -3. His regular season numbers aren’t much better, as he posted 30 points in 82 games this year and regressed on the 33 he had in 71 games last year. Newhook is fast, has all the tools, and brings some moxie to the offensive zone, but it’s just not all there yet. The Avalanche’s bottom-six is barren as far as playmakers and scorers go, so it’s not all Newhook’s fault all the time.

The Avalanche only recently drafted Newhook 16th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, and it might behoove them to try and maximize the performances they get out of their youth instead of recycling them for veterans that might better compliment Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, and Nathan MacKinnon. It comes down to a toss-up on what the Avs front office feels is best for their team, and whether or not committing to another Cup run so soon will be worth the hassle. It’s entirely possible that Newhook never thrives as a third-liner and flames out as a Morgan Frost-type. We’ll never know unless he gets a run with real minutes, which is unlikely in Colorado. If the Avalanche are unwilling to continue to try and bring Newhook further along, that’ll be a red flag to teams aspiring to be as successful as the Avs. But, if I’m Daniel Briere, I’m at least considering putting some feelers out there. Kevin Hayes and a draft pick aren’t massive wagers to gamble away on an NHL talent.

Former Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Zac Rinaldo recently tweeted that the Flyers need a player that will electrify Wells Fargo Center. Fortunately for Rinaldo, Briere, and the Flyers, they might have the opportunity to scoop a guy that will do the trick for the low. The Boston Bruins are in what some might call “cap hell” right now. They have under $5 million in cap space to sign David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Bertuzzi, Trent Frederic, Dmitry Orlov, Connor Clifton, Jeremy Swayman, Garnet Hathaway, and Tomas Nosek, among others. That is a rather hefty portion of a record-breaking squad heading towards the exit signs after a monumental first round collapse against the Florida Panthers. Bergeron and Krejci calling it quits looks increasingly more likely, and the two Bruins legends earned a combined $3.5 million this year. That’s a lot more than a hometown discount.

Trent Frederic was instrumental in the Bruins’ record-breaking season. As a role player, he played his part and played it well. Frederic fights, hits, scores, and has some skill to boot. He just feels like a Flyer. Frederic is arbitration-eligible, and if he leaves, the Bruins will have Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle as their only two centers under contract. Conveniently, the Bruins do not have picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft, and are also absent of their picks in the first three rounds of next year’s draft. Boston has bigger fish to fry than a bottom-sixer that had a good year, and they might need to make even more sacrifices to get their roster back in order. That may come in the form of another salary dump headed to Philadelphia.

Trent Frederic is what he is: a grinder who is fun to watch but not to play against. On the heels of a breakout year that included 17 goals and 31 points, the Bs cannot afford to keep him over a player like Jeremy Swayman. To make matters even worse for the Bruins, almost all of the aforementioned free agents have expressed a desire to test free agency, and the opportunity to reunite Bertuzzi and Frederic might be too good to pass up. The possibility of that hinges solely on the potential cost for Frederic, but as the famous saying goes, “beggars can’t be choosers”. The former 2016 first round pick Frederic should not cost the Flyers much at all, but it remains to be seen how many teams will be bidding for the Bruins’ agitator. If the Flyers don’t need to take another salary dump, adding Frederic and signing Bertuzzi would instantly inject life back into Wells Fargo Center.

Much like the Boston Bruins, the New York Rangers are up against the cap, but in a slightly better position overall. The Rangers have $11.7 million in cap space, but need to sign K’Andre Miller, Alexis Lafreniere, Tyler Motte, Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola, and Jaroslav Halak or another backup goaltender for Igor Shesterkin. It is not entirely out of the question that the Rangers sign all of these players, but that would hinge on the contractual demands of Miller, as well as Tarasenko. Kane will be out for several months following hip surgery, and Lafreniere remains unproven. If the Rangers commit a large amount of money to any of these players, they’ll be back to square one next summer when Kaapo Kakko, Braden Schneider, and Ryan Lindgren will be in need of new contracts as well.

While Lafreniere might come at a relatively cheap cost to teams seeking to take a flier on him, the same cannot be said for Miller, who can and likely will demand to be paid a figure close to that of a number one defender. Of course, as is the purpose of this article, a “bargain” is relative to what you’re getting and what you pay for it. The Flyers do not have a true number one defender on their roster at this moment in time. I recently said that Cam York could very well be that for the Flyers, but he (York) also talked extensively about his experience playing off-handed at exit interviews. That could be mighty handy for a situation like this. Starting to connect the dots?

For the Philadelphia Flyers, the fastest way to start to build a team is to make at least one area of the team a strength and build from there. For example, the New Jersey Devils added Nico Hischier, then they added Jack Hughes. Now they have two of the best centers in the NHL. They had Damon Severson, and then they added Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, Ryan Graves, and John Marino. Then they had the biggest season-to-season turnaround in NHL history. This is not to say that drastic turnarounds are the new norm, and that every bad team has to become the 2022-23 New Jersey Devils at some point, because that just isn’t realistic. But great GMs continue to add, even when it isn’t particularly necessary.

This isn’t just about K’Andre Miller, either. The Flyers have very few players with upside like Alexis Lafreniere has. Lafreniere barely played in New York, and barely got power-play time, but he has a dominant skill set that can truly take form in the right environment. Lafreniere’s salary demands are unclear, but anything north of $2 million probably spells trouble for the Rangers. Even with his lack of production and factoring in age, $2 million is completely reasonable. Provided the Flyers don’t part ways with their seventh overall pick in any of these hypotheticals, Lafreniere could find himself playing on the Flyers’ top line regularly rather than endlessly bouncing around the Rangers’ top-nine.

One or both of these players will cost a pretty penny to bring down to Philadelphia, but risks are a necessary part of this game. It’s highly unlikely the Flyers strike a deal for Miller, or any of the previously mentioned players, but these are all avenues worth exploring. And if you’re a team with very limited cap space, exploiting.