Grading the Philadelphia Flyers 2023 Offseason, Thus Far

The Kevin Hayes trade to the St. Louis Blues ended up being a lot less eventful than most expected. Prior to the day of the official trade, speculation was flying about the move involving multiple roster players, Travis Sanheim and Scott Laughton among them. Then it was rumored that Jordan Kyrou could have been involved. After that, it came down to a Blues defenseman’s no-trade clause holding things up; that was eventually revealed to be Torey Krug. The end result of all of this? A 2024 sixth-round pick for three years of 50% retention.

Although Hayes was signed to a bloated contract relative to his actual abilities, it’s hard not to feel like the Philadelphia Flyers should have gotten more. After the Nashville Predators sent Ryan Johansen at retained money to the Colorado Avalanche for Alex Galchenyuk, who was subsequently let go, Daniel Briere’s hands were tied.

This is a classic case of failing upwards, though. This is a move that the Philadelphia Flyers really should have had done the minute the offseason started, and as a result, they let other teams (Nashville and Colorado) determine the market. The NHL didn’t raise the cap ceiling all that much this year, and John Tortorella continues to fail to keep his beef with players away from the public eye.

In short, it was a recipe for disaster for Philly as the Flyers lost all leverage they might have had in a trade months ago. This wouldn’t be the last time Tortorella would cost the Flyers trade value this offseason, either.

Grade: D-

Chuck Fletcher signing Tony DeAngelo never made much since, so it’s fitting their tenures with the Philadelphia Flyers ended the way they did.

Fletcher was relieved of his duties on March 10, two days after DeAngelo got suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety for spearing Corey Perry. Then, on July 14, Tony DeAngelo became the first player in NHL history to have been bought out more than once.

Tony DeAngelo was reasonably productive from an offensive standpoint, playing on a Flyers team that was pretty bad for most of the 2022-23 season. The only reason he didn’t return to the Carolina Hurricanes, with whom he set a career-high in points with in the 2021-22 season, was because of money. It’s safe to say that the two-year, $5 million contract he received from Chuck Fletcher was too much if the Hurricanes weren’t willing to come near that figure.

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DeAngelo’s trade value tanked because he, like Kevin Hayes, ended up in grumpy John Tortorella’s doghouse more than once because of defensive issues, and created an irreparable rift between the two. Any prospective trader knows they wouldn’t have had to offer much to get DeAngelo, even at 50% retained salary, as a result of his point of no return within the Flyers organization. As it turns out, no team offered the Flyers literally anything at all, so DeAngelo was bought out and let go for free.

At one point, the Philadelphia Flyers were expected to receive prospect Massimo Rizzo from the Carolina Hurricanes for Tony DeAngelo at 50% retention, but obviously that never came to fruition. The Hurricanes really want Erik Karlsson, and Tony DeAngelo is not three-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson.

Grade: F+

The 2023 NHL Draft went about as well as the Philadelphia Flyers could have hoped, and that was in large part due to two of the draft picks acquired in the Ivan Provorov trade.

Matvei Michkov, Oliver Bonk, Carson Bjarnason, Denver Barkey, Yegor Zavragin, and Alex Ciernik all have legitimate NHL upside. Cole Knuble and Carter Sotheran figure to be toss-ups at the NHL level, but have a bunch of translatable tools. Only the Philadelphia Flyers’ last two picks – Ryan MacPherson and Matteo Mann – look like long shots. That’s impressive in a draft class of 10 players.

Bjarnason and Zavragin, alongside Alexei Kolosov and Sam Ersson, make Carter Hart expendable in the long run. It would be a stroke of genius by Daniel Briere if he can then convert Hart into another Provorov-esque trade during the season, or next offseason. Barkey and Ciernik can become really difficult players to play against in the Philadelphia Flyers’ middle-six, and Michkov and Bonk figure to be staples of the top of the Flyers lineup for a long time.

Michkov’s selection was appropriately seen as a risk, but Briere and the Flyers were comfortable with it and the player himself seems to be keen on the organization. The Flyers undeniably got the second-most talented player in the draft with the seventh pick.

Bonk was more of a reach, but has a high floor as a hockey player. He already has the size and does a lot of things well defensively. With further improvement offensively, Bonk can evolve into a top-pairing defenseman alongside Cam York in the future.

Grade: A+

After taking on even more salary in the Ivan Provorov trade with Cal Petersen and Sean Walker, and their commitment to letting their young guns get more playing time, the Philadelphia Flyers never felt like they would be big players in free agency this year.

So far, the Philadelphia Flyers have signed three players: Garnet Hathaway, Ryan Poehling, and Marc Staal. Out of the three, Hathaway is the biggest fish, and he’s a career fourth-liner.

Hathaway is one of the best at what he does in the entire National Hockey League, which is why his signing doesn’t make a lot of sense for him or the Flyers. Sure he’s a veteran and a leader, but there were teams out there with a better chance of winning that could have used Hathaway’s services. Conversely, the Flyers need to get younger and they don’t necessarily need players who will help them win and overachieve.

Similarly, Marc Staal probably could’ve have signed an equally cheap deal somewhere else to try to win a Stanley Cup. As a member of the Florida Panthers, he fell just short of that. Staal is familiar with head coach John Tortorella dating back to his New York Rangers days, but he just isn’t good anymore. The Flyers have a ton of prospects vying for spots on defense, and Staal’s presence makes it that much harder to claim one, for no good reason.

Ryan Poehling is a high-upside signing at the center position, where the Philadelphia Flyers lack depth in the worst way. After scoring a hat-trick in his first NHL game, Poehling has done a whole lot of nothing at the top level. He’s been fairly productive at the AHL level, and maybe he produces more with a bigger opportunity in Philly. He could be something, or he could be nothing.

Grade: C- 

Overall offseason grade: B-