The press conference held by Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere last week sent some shockwaves through the Flyers’ fan base and media. Briere did not say anything overly enlightening or shocking, but he more or less hedged his bets on just about every move the team could make between now and the NHL trade deadline.
Fans clearly want action in Philadelphia, whether it’s clearing out veterans like Scott Laughton or Rasmus Ristolainen for assets or making additions to further along the rebuild.
We know where the club stands as sellers: Laughton and Ristolainen will be highlighted down to the wire of the deadline. But what about the Flyers exploring the market as buyers?
Do I think the Flyers are going to be the most active team leading up to the deadline in the way of buying? I’m not sure, and it’s for a myriad of reasons. Before I go any further, this is not to say that I think the Flyers will simply sit on their hands, but there are several contributing factors to suggest that the Flyers may not be quite yet ready to be big-game players.
The first thing is the salary cap. Despite having a projected $6 million plus in cap space by the deadline, the Flyers need to be mindful of taking on salary beyond this season. The cap is rising, yes, but the Flyers need to prepare for the looming contract extensions to Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, Morgan Frost (maybe?) and Cam York. All players, with the exception of Frost, are in line for raises on their next deals.
With the dead money of Cam Atkinson and Kevin Hayes still on the books until 2026, the Flyers may have to wait another summer before fully taking advantage of the salary cap. Speaking with one person close to the situation Monday, it does sound like the Flyers have an 18-month outlook for truly looking to go big game hunting in the way of making additions.
But this is not to say that if the right player were to come along the Flyers wouldn’t seriously explore it.
Elias Petterson of the Vancouver Canucks has had his name in trade talks the last number of weeks. With trade winds blowing like never before in Vancouver, many have wondered about the availability of the 2017 first-round pick. According to one person, the Canucks have told Petterson and his camp that they are not looking to move him.
But what if he were made available?
I think Petterson is a very interesting player for the Flyers. He is uber talented, a center and fits the timeline of the Flyers. But which Petterson would you be getting? As we know, the playoffs have not gone well for Petterson over the last number of years. If you’re bringing on a player with a $11.6 million cap hit, you have to make sure you know what to expect, to say nothing of the haul it would take to get him out of Vancouver. For the time being it all seems like a moot point, though, as the Canucks appear to have bigger fish to fry.
Which brings us to J.T. Miller.
Briere did catch some attention at his presser when he mentioned bringing on veteran players to help bridge the gap to the younger core. Miller is a guy that, stylistically, is the exact type of veteran the Flyers would be looking at. While the $8 million AAV is more than fair for the Flyers, the three years beyond this one is something a little tougher to digest. The term remaining on Miller’s deal seems too lengthy for the Flyers to absorb at this time. A player of Miller’s style and caliber but with a more reasonable contract term is something the Flyers are open to.
So which centers do make sense?
One name that absolutely fits the Flyers’ timeline and would make sense to bring into the fold is Dylan Cozens of the Buffalo Sabres. The 23-year-old has been at the center of trade talks all season long; the Flyers were one of the teams who reached out to Buffalo regarding him. At this time, it appears Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has no appetite to move on from Cozens. Despite his team free falling in the standings, Adams is said to be “gun shy” to move off his current players after so many of the Sabres’ pieces of their past core went on to win Stanley Cups.
There was at least a conversation regarding Marco Rossi between the Minnesota Wild and the Flyers, but those talks have not been had in months and ultimately went nowhere. I do think the pending next contract for Rossi is a bit of a concern for the Flyers, along with not truly knowing what the player will be playing away from Kirill Kaprizov.
The Flyers are looking for centers, like much of the rest of the league, but the prices are high and the pickings are slim.
There has been some talk about potentially bolstering the goaltender position, with John Gibson’s name being thrown out there as a fit for the Flyers. From what I’ve heard, trading for Gibson and the two years remaining on his contract doesn’t seem to be in the cards at this time. The Flyers want to figure out what they have with Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov this season and next, and Gibson’s insertion would only complicate things. Yes, the Flyers goaltending has been the biggest issue for the team this year, but figuring out exactly what they’re dealing with in their three current goaltenders is part of the rebuilding plan.
Speaking of Flyers’ goaltending, the expectation is for Kolosov to return to the Flyers during the AHL All-Star break to keep him fresh and ready in case he’s needed. It’s unclear when he will head back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after that; they will “go from there” once he is recalled.
The Flyers are looking to add to their roster, but the piece has to be right and the salary cap is something that needs to be kept in mind. The team is playing well right now, so it may be tempting to make a trigger happy addition, but the vision to make impact additions seems to be in a 18 month window. The Flyers will continue to evaluate pieces that make sense – if Adams ever budges off not wanting to move Cozens I think the Flyers will be right in on it – but the salary cap, player and trade haul will need to be taken into consideration with all eyes on the future.
