The ultimate checklist for the Philadelphia Flyers 2024 offseason
The Philadelphia Flyers couldn’t keep their playoff hopes alive down the stretch, but will their overall success this year change the course of the 2024 offseason?
The Philadelphia Flyers may not be making the playoffs, but they nonetheless enjoyed a 2023-24 season that kept their fans engaged until those final few games. An eight-game losing streak hurt this team more than anything else, and groups like the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, and Pittsburgh Penguins overtook them.
Still, for a team that was supposed to rank near the bottom of the NHL, the Flyers enjoyed an above-average year. Finishing just a few points shy of the playoffs could even motivate general manager Daniel Briere to refrain from ‘selling’ when the summer months roll around and instead look to keep the team more competitive for when October arrives.
But how should Briere ultimately approach the upcoming offseason? Would it be appropriate for him to trade those who may have another year or two left on their contracts, or should he keep them in town and keep focusing on building through the prospects pool before letting those older players walk?
Philadelphia Flyers will have an interesting offseason in the summer of 2024
This season, it’s hard to say the Flyers were as good as their points total. Before their eight-game losing streak, Philadelphia was a healthy 36-26-9, but they also had a minus-5 goal differential. Their power play was awful, and the team as a whole never seemed to click for any prolonged period.
They had their winning streaks, but the Flyers also struggled one too many times throughout the season. The eight-game losing streak marked the third time this year that Philadelphia had gone for a lengthy stretch without playing good hockey.
It’s easy to claim that if the Flyers find a missing piece or two, they will once again remain relevant and even clinch a playoff berth next season. But if more retooling is the better way to go, that gives the team more potential to be successful for a longer timeframe.
Make the trades
Briere must buckle down and make the trades, as doing so will give the Flyers much more cap space than what they currently have. He also needs to ask himself how far the likes of some of these players, like Scott Laughton, Cam Atkinson, Garnet Hathaway, and Nicolas Deslauriers, can honestly bring to this team next year and whether they would ever legitimately help them make a deep playoff run.
Judging from this season, the answer is no, and Briere can trade every one of them - even those with modified no-trade clauses - elsewhere for prospects and draft picks. He has a great prospects pipeline, but it can improve further. By trading the players listed above, Briere would also make room for anyone he deems ready to make the jump.
It’s also worth noting that Ryan Johansen is also in the system and remains under contract for next season, so he, too, would make for a sensible trade if Briere doesn’t plan on using him with the big club next season. Not that he would get much for Johansen, but still, if there’s no role for him in the system, move him.
Whether the Flyers made a deeper playoff run or not this season wouldn’t be relevant unless they had lasted to within one series of the Stanley Cup Final. There was no way he shouldn’t be trading these players away, especially while some may still hold more value this summer.
Be reasonable in free agency
Trading away those listed in the previous slide will give the Flyers more cap space, but it would still keep them in the mid-to-low-tier portion of the league overall. Since this would be a “retool,” it also makes little sense for the Flyers to make any big signings unless it’s a young player they could figure to keep for quite some time.
The same thing would apply if they wished to acquire anyone via a trade. A big-name player who is nearing 30 wouldn’t make much sense for this organization, but suppose someone like Trevor Zegras became available. Trading for Zegras would be more logical for what the Flyers are trying to build.
Pending extensions for key players is another reason Briere must be reasonable with acquisitions. The team’s leading scorer this season, Travis Konecny, will be up for an extension, and signing him to a lengthy deal should be a priority if Briere was interested in keeping him around.
He has several other youngsters due for extensions either this offseason or by the time the following offseason arrives. Briere must also look to extend Bobby Brink, Adam Ginning, Yegor Zamula, and Ivan Fedotov in 2024, while the others can wait until either some point during the season or in the summer of 2025.
Land the two best players available in the draft
The Flyers will have two first-round picks in 2024 since the Florida Panthers will not be picking in the top 10 this season. Therefore, Florida’s pick will transfer to Philadelphia, and it will give the Flyers a chance to draft a pair of future game-changers this summer.
With one of the better prospect pools out there, Briere has a chance to parlay the system into one of the league’s best, if not the best, if he strikes on these two picks. Players like Emil Hemming, Aron Kiviharju, Cole Hutson, and Nikita Artamonov will be available toward the back end of the first round.
With their own pick, potential game-changers involve Tij Iginla, Zeev Buium, Konsta Helenius, Liam Greentree, and Anton Silayev. Other prospects could see their respective stocks rise, but if Briere lands any of the names mentioned either with his own or Florida’s pick, this prospects pool will be in outstanding shape.
As you can probably tell, it’s all about this team looking toward the future in the summer of 2024. No, none of the moves recommended in this checklist will give the Flyers a chance to win the Cup next season, but it should be a building year for Daniel Briere and company, and an exciting one.
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