Niskanen retirement shakes up Philadelphia Flyers’ defense
Thanks to the surprise retirement of defenseman Matt Niskanen, the Philadelphia Flyers will have to adjust their plans.
Matt Niskanen, we hardly knew ye, but I can’t say that I’ll fault the former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman for his decision to retire from the NHL at age 33. The guy dressed in over 1,000 games when you factor in playoffs, hoisted a Stanley Cup, and made somewhere north of $40 million playing the game. We should all wish him a happy retirement.
Still, one wonders about the impact it will have on his former club.
For this season at least, Niskanen’s departure will reverberate all up and down the team’s defense corps. And we’ve already seen the impact in the form of the team bringing back Justin Braun on a two-year, $3.6 million pact.
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Braun was fine in his first year on the team, but he seemed destined to move on this offseason. With Niskanen leaving, the situation changed, and Chuck Fletcher deserves credit for pivoting swiftly to Braun, getting him at less than half of what he made in 2019-20. The second year was a sacrifice the team had to make, and perhaps Braun doesn’t last that long, but it essentially had to be done.
On to the rest of the defense…
Ivan Provorov will greatly miss his defense partner. Niskanen’s steadying influence allowed Provy to play the best hockey of his career last season, and the two of them together created a nearly ideal pairing. One can only hope that Provorov has reached this high level for good, due in no small part to Niskanen, and will continue to excel no matter who he finds himself paired with going forward. At the very least, we have Niskanen to thank for helping to unlock Provorov’s full potential.
As for a future partner, would the Flyers dare to break up the successful second unit of Travis Sanheim/Philippe Myers by promoting Myers to the top pair with Provorov? It shouldn’t be ruled out, but there is a catch. Myers is a restricted free agent in need of a new contract. His camp can easily point to the Flyers’ newfound cap room thanks to Niskanen retiring and use it to extract maximum dollars for Myers, especially if the Flyers indicate any notions of bumping him up to pair with Provorov. This situation is worth monitoring closely to see if the Flyers can come to a reasonable deal with Myers or if they seem to end up overpaying for a burgeoning but not yet proven commodity.
You also have to wonder if this in any way affects the Flyers’ likelihood of trading Shayne Gostisbehere this offseason. I’d have to say “no”, as the team probably assumed it was already losing one defenseman (Braun, not Niskanen) yet still already had Ghost on the trading block. Gostisbehere also plays on the left side and doesn’t bring the same elements to the table that Niskanen did, so I’m going to put his chances of leaving town in the same realm they were before.
This may, however, create the need and cap room necessary for the Flyers to try and land a bigger fish. Alex Pietrangelo would look nice in orange and black, I’d have to say, especially on a rock-solid pairing with Provorov. It could be wishful thinking, but the cap relief from Niskanen’s retirement has opened the door for the Flyers to be real players in the market for him or potentially some other free agent D-men.
There are also rumors that Wild D Matt Dumba might be on the move, and he just so happens to have been a Chuck Fletcher draft pick. It remains to be seen if the Flyers could put together an enticing enough package for Minnesota, but the newfound cap flexibility alone makes this a much more realistic possibility than it was before.
Or the Flyers could just roll out the same unit they had last year, plus an extra dose of a youngster like Mark Friedman. Maybe they’ll want to see what they have, then potentially adjust in-season. It’s not the worst strategy, but it sure is boring.
Next. Niskanen has been an excellent addition to the Flyers. dark
At this point, we have Matt Niskanen’s retirement to thank for the new Justin Braun deal, possible impacts to Philippe Myers, and a whole new round of free agency and trade speculation. And so, thank you, Matt Niskanen, for your service with the team. And for giving us something to talk about during this Flyers offseason.