The Flyers have made big moves this offseason. From hiring a new head coach in Rick Tocchet to the draft picks selected and the free agents signed, Daniel Briere and his team are making the moves necessary to make this team a powerhouse for the future. Sometimes, the future comes quicker than you can expect.
It's never too early to start thinking about next year's offseason. As of right now, the Flyers will have five unrestricted free agents and 19 restricted ones. Most of the RFAs are stashed away in the AHL, but many are significant guys.
With the salary cap expected to be at $104 million next year and big name players heading to the market, what will players Flyers do? Which Flyers could they re-sign, which ones are trade bait, and who will be left to walk away?
The Forwards
Recent trade addition Trevor Zegras is slated to be an RFA. Since he is expected to be a team's center "of the future", it can be reasonably surmised that he will sign an extension. Plenty of that will depend on his play. If he can hold up and play the way they think he can, it's almost a guarantee. This will probably happen sometime around Christmas. Let him get his feet wet here, let him connect with the guys, and then work on the extension.
Bobby Brink will be an RFA. If he continues his upward trend, he could be re-signed. However, he is young, cheap, and controllable and if the Flyers need to make a trade at the deadline, he could be tossed into the deal. This one could go either way. He's a hard worker and coachable, but teams like cheap, talented players at the deadline. He'll either be signed long-term or dealt away.
Christian Dvorak signed a one year "prove it deal" and the Flyers needed a solid center. He's older and the Flyers want to go young. However, he could outperform everyone's expectations. I firmly believe he'll be a trade deadline gut, but you never know. If the young centers aren't ready to come up and Dvorak is a good fit here, he could stick around longer.
Nicoas Deslauriers will likely be dealt away at the deadline. He was used sparingly last year. He was a lot of fun while he was here, but his time is up.
Rodrigo Abols is an interesting case. He is a hardnosed, gritty worker. He's a bit older, but has experience. He's also cheap. If he can build on what he did last year, he might be worth a one or two year extension. As a fourth line guy, he's not bad. We'll see how he does.
The Defense
Noah Juulsen and Dennis Gilbert are the only unrestricted free agents. The are both depth defenders. They'll probably play most of their time in the AHL this year. We'll see.
As for RFAs, Jamie Drysdale is the biggest name on that list. The seemingly talented, oft injured defender needs to prove he is worth hanging onto. If he can play healthy for most of the year with anything close to the hype he came here with, he can and should be given a nice bridge contract.
If not, he could be moved at the trade deadline and allow some young defender to take his place on the roster. This year could be the beginning of a great career here in Philly on the end of it.
Egor Zamula is also an RFA. As an undrafted player, he's done well for himself. Has it been well enough to stick around? He's young and inconsistent, but has improved. If he falters, a younger guy like Helge Grans will unseat him. If he plays better, he'll be extended with a short term deal.
The Goalies
Fun fact: every goalie on the roster not named Dan Vladar is a free agent next year. Sam Ersson is in the driver's seat for keeping his job. The question is for how long and for how much?
Next up are the Russians: Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov. Both should start the year in the minors. For them to stick around in the Flyers organization, we are going to have to see a vast improvement in play. Also with Kolosov, we need to see a better team-oriented attitude.
A lot of what happens with them will depend on the development of young Carson Bjarnason as well. One or both of the Russian goalies could be cast aside at the end of this season.
Other RFAs
Then you have the prospects that are going to become RFAs. Some are players like Nikita Grebenkin that the Flyers will have for a whole season for the first time. Others are guys like Massimo Rizzo and Samu Tuomaala, who have been in the organization for a while, need a chance to see if they’re worth holding onto. On defense, Hunter McDonald, Adam Ginning, and Grans also fit into this spot.
A lot of what happens with will be determined on injuries, how they fill a spot on the NHL roster, and how they grow in Lehigh Valley. Some guys may be on their way out to make room for new prospects. Some are worth holding onto.
So, what’s going to happen?
That is yet to be seen. The Flyers have locked in some players on fairly team friendly deals. Cam York and Noah Cates will be around for a while. The core of this team will be around for three or four more seasons. If they can stay healthy, respond to the new coach, and improve, that's a great thing.
With the next crop of UFAs and RFAs, it comes down to two things: health and consistency. If these players can stay healthy, The Flyers will see what they truly bring to the table. A Zegras or a Drysdale who spends 30-40 games recovering from injuries isn't worth much to this team. A young prospect who keeps making fundamental mistakes and can't produce is also not very likely to stick around as well.
If these players will be extended, you can probably expect to see movement on them after a third of the season is over; say December to early January. Once team management can get a good look at where these guys fit in (or don't fit in, conversely) to the long term plans for the organization, things will become much more clear.