Does Martin Jones to the Flyers Make Sense?

Currently, two former Flyers are free agents and could still offer something to another team. One is James van Riemsdyk, who could bring a savvy veteran presence to a bottom-six role for most teams. The other is former Flyers' goalie Martin Jones. Jones is someone that the Flyers could consider reuniting with.

Before we get all in a tizzy, let me assure you I am not advocating that the Flyers go out and re-sign Jones to be their starting goalie. At least not initially. But it is not unreasonable for Flyers general manager Daniel Briere to have Jones' agent on his speed dial. Here's why.

You can never have too many goalies around. Remember 2018-19 when the Flyers went through eight goalies? Eight! Can you name them all?

Sam Ersson is the starting goalie for this season, barring either an injury or some stellar hockey by Ivan Fedotov in training camp. However, there's that word there: "barring".

Could Martin Jones make sense if Flyers have goaltending issues?

God forbid it, and I hope I haven't spoken it into existence, but what if Ersson gets hurt and is done for an extended period or even the season? Now what? Fedotov is the next man up. He doesn't have a lot of NHL experience yet. Can he handle the load? What if he isn't good or can't adjust from the KHL to the NHL level? Even then, who'd be his backup? Cal Petersen? Yikes!

Of course, there is also Alexei Kolosov to consider. Perhaps with fellow Russians Fedotov and Matvei Michkov, he'd feel more comfy here in the USA. Maybe not. Carson Bjarnason is not quite ready to make the NHL jump. Ditto for Yegor Zavragin and, most likely, Eetu Makiniemi.

So, in the very, very, very worst possible scenario that Ersson (and possibly others) are hurt and or not performing up to par, where could the Flyers turn? This is where Jones comes in.

Jones was a backup for Toronto last year. He appeared in 22 games, started 19, and won 11 of them. He had a GAA of 2.87 with a save percentage of .902 with two shutouts. That's good for a backup. He's not what he once was in San Jose, but for $1.67 million, you could do a heck of a lot worse.

Plus, if Ersson or Fedotov are injured for the whole season, it might not be a bad idea to bring him on as a mentor to work with and help out the other non-injured goalie. After all, if you've been in the NHL for 11 years and won 236 games, you've probably picked up a thing or two along the way that you could pass down to others.

So, should the Flyers go out and get him now? No. Let's see what the team has and see who is healthy. However, if goalies start dropping like flies, it might not be a bad idea to see if he is still available. In his one season in Philly, he performed well. If things get apocalyptically bad, a call to him might not be a bad decision.