3 main off-season needs for the Philadelphia Flyers this summer

With the Stanley Cup Playoffs going on, it's a good idea to start seeing what the Philadelphia Flyers need so they can join the party next year. They came so close this year to making the playoffs but fell short at the end. What will they have to do to make it the next time around?

This is a team that won't have too much on their end to clean up. We're pretty much guaranteed to see Bobby Brink, Adam Ginning, and Egor Zamula re-signed. Carter Hart will most likely not be. Marc Staal will probably retire but there is an outside chance he'd come back.

Tanner Laczynski is probably about 50/50 on returning while Erik Johnson and Felix Sandstrom are gone.

Still, there are some moves the Flyers could make. Yes, they are in a youth movement but they can make some additions that wouldn't hinder that.

These are the three moves that the Philadelphia Flyers need to make

A Third Goalie

As of right now, Sam Ersson is the starting goalie for next season. Ivan Fedotov has just been extended, so he's most likely backup. Alexei Kolosov has been called in as well.

Is that going to be enough? This was, technically, Ersson's rookie year. Fedotov is older but played in just three games. Kolosov is only 22 years old as well.

It might not be a bad idea to kick the tires on a veteran goalie like Antti Raanta or Martin Jones. An older vet could provide some great insights to one of our younger netminders. Maybe the Flyers won't need one but it wouldn't hurt.

A Power Forward

The Flyers have a strong corps of young guys who have potential. They have some young guns coming up that can add to that. They play hard and are gritty. Every game they play in, you feel that they may have a chance. For a young team, that is good.

The team lacks an elite sniper, especially on the power play. Ask me which team in the NHL doesn't need that. Because of that, this could get pricey.

The salary cap is expected to go up this year to over $88 million and any new addition here would end up being a good chunk of that. You'd also have to consider what it will cost to re-sign Travis Konecny and others in the years to come.

A strong veteran like Steven Stamkos, Sam Reinhart, Jake Guentzel, or Sean Monahan could fill that role well. If the Flyers want to explore the RFA market, Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis, Lucas Raymond, and/or Kirill Marchenko could be intriguing players.

A Veteran Defender

If Staal retires or doesn't return, the Flyers' 2024-25 defense looks like this: Nick Seeler, Travis Sanheim, Egor Zamula, and Cam York.

It is hoped that Ramus Ristolainen and Jamie Drysdale will be healthy and ready to go by the start of the new season. If not, Emil Andrae, Ronnie Attard, Helge Grans, and maybe Oliver Bonk could be ready to step up.

However, you may want to bring a solid veteran defender, someone to shore up the team and help the youngsters out. A reunion with Sean Walker might not be out of the question.

The Flyers could also take a look at someone like Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, Matt Grzelcyk, or Shayne Gostisbehere. Even on a short one or two-year deal, they could be a bridge until someone like Bonk or Andrae is ready to take over full-time.