Welcome to the 2025 NHL Free Agent Frenzy, home of both good and bad signings on the biggest day of the offseason. The Flyers were one of the first teams to strike, bringing in Christian Dvorak on a one-year deal.
And no, their fans weren't happy about this one, if Elliotte Friedman's (corrected) X post held any truth. Or, the thread below it, to be more accurate. While the deal wasn't a long one, the $5.4 million hit is what everyone's pointing at.
But hey, is this really a bad signing? I mean, let's pause and take a look at this before admitting defeat and castigating it. For one, look at where Dvorak came from - the Montreal Canadiens. A team that was supposed to do nothing last season, and they ended up in the playoffs.
Flyers fans are unhappy with the Christian Dvorak signing, but they don't need to be
To an extent, I get it. Christian Dvorak's not an exciting player, and he's not much more than a middle-six forward heading to what was a bad hockey team last year. Dvorak's also not much of a points producer, putting up just 33 of them last season with 12 goals, and a solid but unspectacular 11.5 shooting percentage.
No, there's nothing exciting to Dvorak's game, but sometimes, you need to bring in necessary players to make the next move. Dvorak knew what it was like to play for a bad hockey team that surprised everyone last year. Now, the Habs look like legitimate playoff contenders.
He can bring that experience to Philadelphia as the Flyers try to claw their way to relevancy. Dvorak's also a good defensive forward, finishing 2024-25 with 74 blocked shots, and he's an expert at winning defensive zone face-offs, snagging 591 wins at the dot and a 55.8 winning percentage.
Christian Dvorak won't be a star with the Flyers, but he'll win them games
A player like Christian Dvorak's not afraid to do the dirty work. He'll end sequences in the defensive zone when the Flyers don't have the puck. And winning face-off draws will get the puck on their sticks more often.
He'll get in front of shots, and act as a 'glue player' for a team that could use a few more. While he may be overpriced at $5.4 million, I'm not holding this one against the Flyers. They needed a player like Dvorak to reach another level, and they have enough talent at forward to capitalize on what he'll bring.
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