Philadelphia Flyers: Tyler Pitlick’s departure creates opportunity
Tyler Pitlick’s departure opens up a spot in the Philadelphia Flyers’ bottom six.
As NHL free agency opened at noon on Friday, there were a plethora of moves being made around the league. One of which was now-former Philadelphia Flyers forward Tyler Pitlick‘s decision to head out west – as he agreed to a two-year contract with the Arizona Coyotes. Now that Pitlick is on his way to the desert, the Orange and Black have a hole that needs to be filled in their lineup.
While Pitlick was certainly not a superstar, he was a nice player in the bottom six who skated hard and seemingly gave everything he had on every shift he took. He was always noticeable on the ice, and in the postseason, he played his butt off night in and night out. His energy was at times unmatched by anybody else wearing a Flyers orange sweater.
The hole created by Pitlick’s departure is one the Flyers’ will need to address, whether that be from within or from an outside source. The good thing is, the Flyers’ have guys in their system who do appear to be ready to make the jump to being a full-time NHL player.
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Two guys I expect to get an extended look at in Philadelphia next season are Morgan Frost and Connor Bunnaman. Both of these players made their debuts this past season, and as is the case with a lot of young players, there were some mixed results.
Frost is the player of these two that has a much higher upside, as he has much more of an offensive game and projects potentially as a future top-six forward. Of course, this is expected as the Flyers did use a first-round pick on Frost (27th overall) back in the 2017 NHL Draft. In 20 games this past season, Frost generated two goals and five assists (seven points) and flashed some serious offensive skill.
Bunnaman, on the other hand, projects as a bottom-six forward, as he is a bit limited in his offensive upside and relies much more on being an energy guy and playing a more defensive style game. With that said, that certainly is not a bad thing as every team needs these kind of players on their roster.
Selected in the fourth round (109th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft, Bunnaman appeared in 21 games this past season, generating a goal and an assist (two points.) Again, this is not overly alarming as his style of play is not to generate a ton of points. Bunnaman did throw in 29 hits last season, and as he continues to grow into his frame, I would expect this number to continue to rise.
One concern I do have about his game is he seems to struggle in the face-off circle as he only won 37 percent of his draws with the Flyers. He may be better suited to eventually make the transition to the wing, where he will not have to worry about the face-off dot much. Also, he did appear in four playoff games as well, which speaks volumes of what the team thinks of him.
Between these two players, I do believe the guy who has the better chance to stick in the bottom six next season would be Bunnaman. Yes, I am aware that Frost has a MUCH higher upside, but his game would fit much much better in the top-six forward group, which there may be no room for at the moment. Some more time in the AHL to continue to tune his game and get bigger and stronger could work wonders for Frost as his career continues to develop.
That extra time with the Phantoms could be crucial for Frost, as he needs to get more comfortable with the speed of the game and understand he is not going to have the same time with the puck that he is used to from junior hockey; and sometimes the simple play is the best play.
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Of course, there is always the option for the Philadelphia Flyers to look elsewhere to address their bottom six, and I would certainly expect a marginal move to be made to address this area of their roster. Even so, the young guys will continue to get their looks and will need to make the most of their opportunities.