Philadelphia Flyers: A (Realistic) Ideal Off-Season

The Philadelphia Flyers were not supposed to be in the playoffs last season.

It was a middle year of a rebuild, featuring a rookie head coach and aging veterans at the end of their careers. Yet 82 games later they were there, pushing the President’s Trophy winner Washington Capitals to a six-game series. How do you follow up such a successful year in the off-season? Get even better.

Free Agency

The Philadelphia Flyers have 18 players who will become free agents this off-season (11 RFA, 7 UFA), leaving them with around $11.5 million in cap space. 8 of those free agents recorded at least a point in the 2015-16 regular season, and only 3 of them are considered must re-signs.

Restricted free agent Brayden Schenn had his long-awaited breakout year, scoring 59 points in 80 games. The most likely extension at this point is a 2 or 3-year “bridge contract” worth $5-6 million average annual value. Radko Gudas is also an RFA, coming off an inconsistent season but a very impressive post-season in a bigger role.

A bridge deal will likely be coming for him as well, although for less money, landing somewhere around $3.5 million AAV. Nick Cousins was a smaller role player this season, registering only 11 points in 36 games. However, he was very impressive on the defensive side of the puck and showed that he could grind with the best of them despite little NHL experience. Expect a 2-year deal at around $2 million AAV.

If those players have re-signed to contracts similar to the ones listed before, the team should have around $4 million in cap space (provided they buyout the contract of R.J. Umberger, which would save them $3 million in the upcoming season).

Trading aging defenseman Mark Streit and underperforming forward Matt Read would provide additional cap relief instantly. For the sake of this exercise, let’s say Streit and Read are both traded for low draft picks, leaving over $10 million in cap room.

Prospects

Rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere was undoubtedly the MVP for the Philadelphia Flyers last season. Filling in for Mark Streit due to an injury, he started the season with an assist to send his first game to overtime and never looked back, including a record-setting 15 game point streak. With a Calder Trophy nomination and multiple game-winning goals already under his belt, he will be one of the main difference makers on the ice this upcoming season.

Despite all of that, Gostisbehere isn’t even the best prospect on the team. That title belongs to 19-year-old phenom Ivan Provorov. In 122 games for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings between 2014 and 2016, Provorov scored an incredible 1.10 points per game as a defenseman.

He has nothing left to prove in juniors and since per NHL rules, he can’t be called up to the AHL, look for him to crack the roster for the upcoming season. On the offensive side of the ice, fellow 19-year-old right winger Travis Konecny is the prospect to watch. Renowned for his skating and hard-nosed play style, look for him to impress in camp and fight hard for a roster spot.

The Roster

Forwards

Schenn – Giroux – Voracek

Raffl – Couturier – Simmonds

McGinn – Cousins – Konecny

VandeVelde – Bellemare – Laughton

Defense

Del Zotto – Gudas

Gostisbehere – Demers

Provorov – Schultz

Goaltenders

Mason

Neuvirth

Next: Where the Flyers Stand this Offseason

Overall, that appears to be an instant upgrade compared to last year’s team, although the rookies might suffer some growing pains early on. A deeper playoff run would be likely especially if the goalies were to play up to their potential towards the final stretch of the season. Now all we can do is wait for the season to start and see what moves GM Ron Hextall pulls off along the way.

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