Grading the Philadelphia Flyers 2023 Offseason, Thus Far

Although things can change at any moment, it appears the Philadelphia Flyers are done for the offseason after an eventful draft and free agency. 

The Philadelphia Flyers jumpstarted their offseason proceedings with a blockbuster Ivan Provorov trade, involving both the Los Angeles Kings and the Columbus Blue Jackets. After some uneventful seasons in Philadelphia, Provorov was still able to fetch a rather large return for the Flyers.

Going into the trade, it seemed like the Philadelphia Flyers had identified an organizational need that they wanted to address. Although they need to take on some unhealthy contracts from the Kings to do so, the Flyers came away with Sean Walker and Helge Grans – two right-handed defensemen who can be of value in the short and long-term.

The Philadelphia Flyers also acquired Cal Petersen from the Los Angeles Kings, and there’s not much that goes into this facet of the Provorov trade aside from it being a salary dump. Cal Petersen was OK in a small sample size a few years back, but after signing his current contract, he’s been one of the worst goalies in the NHL. The good news for the Flyers is that, if he doesn’t turn it around, he’s only under contract for this season and next season.

In their last bit of business from the Ivan Provorov trade, the Philadelphia Flyers acquired three draft picks – a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 second-round pick, and a conditional 2024 second-round pick. The first-round pick was used to select Oliver Bonk, and the second-round pick sans conditions was sent to the Chicago Blackhawks in a play to move up and select Carson Bjarnason.

All in all, the Flyers acquired two potential top-four right-handed defenders, a future starting goaltender, and a second-rounder for an underperforming defenseman. Sean Walker and Cal Petersen likely won’t have their stays extended beyond what their current contracts entail, and the Philadelphia Flyers are probably better for that.

Grade: A

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-

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-