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Some Quality UFA’s that Will Not Land the Flyers Right Back in Cap Purgatory
Photo Credit: https://floridahockeynow.com/
Well, after yet another season going by where the Flyers failed to make the playoffs (for the fifth straight season, mind you), there was finally some good news to come out of Voorhees, NJ, this past weekend in that the team’s General Manager Danny Briere came out and said that he thinks that it’s time to move on from the subtraction phase to the addition phase of the rebuild.
And I would say it’s about time! For after shipping out Erik Johnson, Scott Laughton, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Wade Allison, Cutter Gauthier, Kevin Hayes, and Ivan Provorov, there just isn’t a lot of fat left that he could trim off the bone as far as the roster goes.
Lucky for us, Danny wasn’t done there. After having exit interviews with the players, it was time to evaluate the coaching staff. Or at least what was left after the much-needed firing of John Tortorella, who more than wore out his welcome with how he went about treating the younger players. And as it turns out, after the evaluations were complete, it was found that the Power Play Coach Rocky Thompson (who oddly enough was a career fighter and tough guy who never spent a second on the ice during a power play in his career) was given his pink slip after having completed multiple seasons with the Philadelphia finishing as or among the league’s worst power-play unit. And while Danny was cleaning house, he also sent Assistant Coach Darryl Williams and Skills Coach Angelo Ricci packing.
Although, as happy as I was to hear that news, it left me to wonder why Briere did not keep going and fire Goaltending Coach Kim Dillabaugh as well. Seeing that the Flyers’ netminders collectively finished last season with the league’s worst save percentage .879%, and a goals-against-average among the league’s worst, with them letting in 3.45 goals a game.
But I guess we can’t have everything, so let us focus on the task at hand. That being the additions that Danny was talking about. Now, while there is still the need for new coaching staff for the purposes of this article, let us focus on possible free-agent additions. With all the aforementioned transactions Dealing Danny has done since he assumed the role as the Flyers GM, the team finally has some cap space, especially since Cal Petersen’s $5,000,000 salary is now off the books, and the cap is supposed to rise next season to $95.5 million, $104 million for the 2026-2027 season, and then $113.5 million in 2027-2028.
However, this doesn’t mean that the team should go out this summer and spend frivolously and put themselves right back into the cap purgatory that they just worked so hard to crawl out of.
Let’s not forget the Flyers currently have some of the early fruits of Briere’s labor playing in the Playoffs right now up in Lehigh Valley with names like Alex Bump, Jett Luchanko, and Nikita Grebyonkin leading the team to victory last night against their rival the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
As nice as making a huge free agency signing like Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs would be, I’d stay away. For one, he’s coming off a contract for which he got paid nearly $11 million a season. For two, he played on a line with perhaps the league’s best goal scorer of the last ten years, who is not named Alex Ovechkin, in Auston Matthews, who has netted over 400 goals over the past nine seasons. So, I think it’s fair to say that Marner’s numbers may be inflated. Plus, if the idea is to get someone to help Michkov, Mitch would not be the guy because they both play right wing. The exact position, mind you, that Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, Garnett Hathaway, Nikita Grebyonkin, and the newly signed Devin Kaplan play. And we already have to ask some of them to play their off-wing just to fill out the roster.
We need Centers and Defense! Because after Sean Couturier and Ryan Poehling have nothing. Jett Luchanko and Denver Barkey (C/LW) look promising, but at the end of the day, we don’t know if they are going to be NHL-ready next season or if they will still need more time to develop at the AHL level.
So, with that being said, let’s look at some reasonable unrestricted free agents that could help the Flyers next season.
Sam Bennett
Now, Sam, who is a 28-year-old pending UFA center that plays for the Florida Panthers, is certainly not on the level of a guy like Elias Pettersson, that plays for the Vancouver Canucks that is rumored to be on the move this offseason but acquiring him wouldn’t cost the team $11.6 million in salary over the next seven seasons either. Let’s not forget the Flyers now hold the fourth pick in this summer’s draft, meaning they could potentially draft centers James Hagens from Boston College, Anton Frondell from Sweden, Caleb Desnoyers from the Moncton Wildcats, or Roger McQueen from the Brandon Wheat Kings. Not to mention two other first-round picks and four selections in the second round. So, I would try to save the money to be able to pay them long-term and grab a guy with Stanley Cup-winning experience to assist you for a couple of seasons until Philly’s soon-to-be youthful core is ready.
The Florida Panthers have been putting everything into winning now, and it worked out for them last season and potentially again this season. However, with that being said, a considerable portion of their team is due to become either unrestricted free agents or restricted free agents this summer.
That list includes the hard-working Sam Bennett. Since joining the Panthers some five years ago, he has scored nearly 100 goals and 200 points. All while being able to sustain a +46 average during that time. It should be noted that this season was one of his best offensively, with him netting 25 goals and 26 assists for 51 points.
Sam has all the same qualities that the beloved Scott Laughton had while playing here in Philly, but Bennett does them better. He is a hard-nosed player who is willing to do whatever it takes for his team to win. He forechecks, back-checks, lays huge body checks, and is willing to drop his gloves with anybody if he thinks they did anyone on his team an injustice.
Overall, I think Bennett’s style of play would make him an instant fan favorite, and with him coming off a contract that paid him under $4.5 million to play top-six minutes, signing him for a couple of seasons to do the same thing here in Philly would not be a bad thing at all.
Pius Suter
Keeping that same mindset, if Bennett and his team have another long playoff run, his price might go up, so another name Danny should be calling about is 28-year-old Swiss-born center Pius Suter from the Vancouver Canucks.
Pius is a monster around the net. He plays a lot tougher than his 5’11 and 179 pounds frame should allow, but I think that is because he plays with a lot of heart. Suter loves to pick passes off in the neutral zone and turn them into scoring chances. He does not mind getting into the dirty areas and taking a beating in order to be able to redirect a puck or knock home a nice juicy rebound.
This season was kind of a breakout year for Suter in that he went from scoring around 14-15 goals consistently every year to lighting the lamp 25 times this season. Therefore, since he has not done it for multiple seasons in a row yet, the Flyers might be able to offer Pius (who made just $1.6 million last season) an offer he can’t refuse. Because, despite the fact that he is rumored to want to stay with the Canucks, there has been minimal talk between the team and his agent thus far.
Dante Fabbro
Moving on to defense, there are going to be a couple of really intriguing names available in free agency, like Carolina’s Dmitry Orlov and Florida’s Aaron Ekblad, but they are all over or soon to be 30 years old and make nearly $8 million a season; which I don’t know about you, but they seem too old and too rich for my blood.
So, instead of them, I would like to see the Flyers pursue a guy like 26-year-old Dante Fabbro. A right-hand-shot defender who was initially drafted by Nashville in the first round back in 2016 but was claimed off waivers this season by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
After being swiped off the waiver wire, Dante was able to come in and take over 1st pairing minutes from ex-Flyer Ivan Provorov to afford himself the chance to play with Zach Werenski. One team’s trash is another team’s treasure, I guess. Along with that, Fabbro was able to put up a career-high in goals with nine, points with 26, and plus-minus with him posting a +23 this season. Now, you may not think that the plus-minus stat is not that important, but I’m here to tell you that there’s a reason why our goaltenders averaged some of the worst numbers in the league this year. Drysdale a -32, Zamula a -14, Cam York a -8, Sanheim a -6.
Fabbro, a puck-moving defenseman who can really lay some big hits, is coming off a one-year deal that paid him just $2.5 million this season. If brought in by the Flyers this off-season, Dante could prove to be a brilliant signing since Rasmus Ristolainen just had surgery to repair his right triceps tendon and is due to be out for at least six months.
Now, although these players I suggested above are not the face of the franchise-type signings, we fans are all hoping for the Flyers to make. Keep in mind that free agency is rarely the place where you get those types of players, especially since guys are not even eligible to reach unrestricted status until they are 28 years old. By then, most true stars of the game had already been signed to long-term deals by their respective teams. Free agency is where you get role players who can come in and be a piece in what you’re already building.
The draft is where you get those game-changing players that you see on billboards all around town, and the Flyers have a lot of picks in this upcoming draft to make that dream a reality. So, let’s just wait and see if that comes true.
A Method to Try and Resolve the Flyers’ Long-Standing Problems in Net
Photo Credit: https://denverpioneers.com/
Well, it is official: the Philadelphia Flyers have missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, with this tying the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
But while there is a long list of things like the lack of scoring on the power play that needs to be addressed in the off-season, perhaps the longest-standing issue that management and coaching just can’t seem to right is, you guessed it, “GOALTENDING.”
This seemingly perpetual issue dates back to the end of the 1998-1999 season when Ron Hextall, Philadelphia’s long-standing guardian of the blue paint, retired. And, as crazy as that sounds, what might blow your mind more is the fact that over that now 26-year time span, the Flyers have started an astounding 34 different netminders!
Now, with you reading that inflated number, it’s easy to see that it most certainly is not for lack of trying.
Over the years, the team has tried bringing in countless established veterans, the best of whom was John Vanbiesbrouck, who had two great seasons with the Flyers. Still, after the completion of his second season in Philly, the Flyers thought it best to trade away this soon-to-be 37-year-old netminder.
Some years later, the team decided to take another route and take a chance on a young Russian goaltender who was at the time a virtual unknown to anyone over here in the States. That player turned out to be none other than future Hall of Famer Sergei Bobrovsky. Who after just two seasons played with the team, management succeeded in pissing him off by making the impatient long-term signing of Ilya Bryzgalov, which resulted in Bobrovsky wanting out of the City of Brotherly Love. Once he left, Sergei only went on to win multiple Vezina Trophies and a Stanley Cup. After this season is complete (and Marc Andre Fleury retires), Bob will become the NHL’s active wins leader with 427 victories already under his belt.
Of course, we already alluded to when the team tried throwing massive amounts of money at the problem when they signed free agent Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year, $51 million contract in 2011, but that did not work out quite the way they had planned seeing that the Flyers then decided to turn around and buy out the remaining seven years of his contract in 2013, resulting in a 14-year buyout agreement, that requires the team to still have to pay him roughly $1.643 million per year until the year 2027.
Then, in 2013, the Flyers decided to try their hand at a little “reclamation project” when they traded for a 24-year-old goaltender in, Steve Mason. Mason was a goalie who seemed like the next big thing after winning such awards as the OHL Goaltender of the Year, an OHL Championship, a World Junior Championship, and eventually the NHL’s Calder Trophy (given to the player deemed the Rookie of the Year) just to name a few. But in Columbus, he never really developed into the player they thought he would, so the Flyers traded for him, hoping that he just needed a fresh start somewhere new.
But, after playing five outstanding seasons with the Flyers, where during that time Steve managed to win 104 games, maintain a 2.47 goals-against-average, a .918 save percentage, and post 14 shutouts, the team just let this still young 28-year-old sign with another team in free agency.
Then, of course, the Flyers thought Carter Hart was going to be our savior, but we won’t even go into his atrocious stat line or the debauchery that he has been implicated in.
So, to this point, it would appear they have tried just about every way they know how to resolve this outstanding issue, but to date, they have failed to solve the problem. And, with the current crop of netminders in town combining for a league’s worst .879 save percentage and allowing 3.42 goals a game, they don’t look destined to get any better any time soon.
So, what else is there to try? Well, for one thing, they should try like hell to get out of having to pay Ivan Fedotov another $3.275 million for next season after he has only managed to win 0.25% of the games he’s started over the last two seasons. Whether it be a trade, a buyout, whatever it takes, just do it.
Then I think they should try to bring in multiple undrafted free agent goalies to camp in an effort to hopefully find one that can hold down the fort until reinforcements arrive in the form of Carson Bjarnason, who the Flyers drafted with their 2023 second-round pick, or an actually good goaltender in Yegor Zavragin who the Flyers took with their third-round pick that same year.
And those netminders that they should be taking a look at and either signing to an entry-level contract now or wait and see if they will be willing to attend their camp this summer are.
Austin Elliott-London Knights
Austin is a 20-year-old netminder who has attended NHL camps in the past but has yet to be offered a professional contract. This season, Elliott started the year with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. Still, he was dealt (despite winning all three of his starts this season) to the London Knights, where he finished the regular season with a record of 32 wins and one loss while being able to maintain a 2.10 goals-against-average and a .924 save percentage.
Now, seeing that he somehow went undrafted and has not been offered a professional contract to this point, Austin recently decided to take his talents to the collegiate ranks next season, committing to play for UMass-Lowell.
But the good thing is I’m pretty sure he would negate heading there if it meant signing a pro deal.
Matt Davis-University of Denver
Next up is a 23-year-old shot blocker who is still in contention for a shot at winning his THIRD NCAA National Championship for the University of Denver, and that is goaltender Matt Davis.
Now, I’ll admit Denver has a ton of quality players, most of whom have already been drafted by one NHL team or another. Still, perhaps no player has been more impressive over the last few seasons than this undrafted free agent. For Davis, over the course of the previous four seasons out in the Mile High City, has been able to win over 70% of the 89 games that he has played in.
With this season being no different, seeing that Matt managed to accumulate a league-leading 29 wins this season while posting an impressive 2.07 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.
Davis is about as refined as you will find any goaltender who is not currently playing in the NHL because, as you can see in this video from the 2024 Men’s Frozen Four Tournament that I provided below, Matt looks as cool as the other side of the pillow when staring down current NHL Stars like the Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini, and the Canadiens’ Lane Hutson when they played for Boston University. As well as players like the Sharks’ Will Smith, the Ducks’ Cutter Gauthier, the Capitals’ Ryan Leonard, and the Rangers’ Gabe Perreault, who all suited up together against Davis for the Boston College Eagles in that same tournament.
If the Flyers signed either one of these goalies for next season, it would most certainly bring this fragile fan base a little reassurance. For far too long, this great city has been without a goalie that they can trust to stand on his head any given night and win them a game all by himself.
And, although the masses here in Philly understand that the team is going through a rebuild and the majority of them still trust in old #48 (Danny Briere) to lead the team in the right direction, they are going to need a little more than Matvei Michkov to keep them attending games. And the team is going to need someone (in net) who is a little more consistent and can keep them in games.
Prospect Watch: Undersized and Underappreciated
Photo Credit: fournie par Dany Germain/Foreurs de Val-d’Or
Cole Reschny, Victoria Royals (Photo Credit: Kevin Light Photo)
Jordan Gavin Contributed photo courtesy the Wheat Kings
For far too long, the NHL has sought out to find the largest/most physical players they could in order to beat their opponents into submission. You know, back when you would go to watch the fights, and on the rare occasion, a hockey game might break out.
But times have changed. So much, in fact, that now most teams are no longer looking to employ an abundance of those knuckle draggers of old because in today’s kindler/gentler NHL, they are sadly becoming all but obsolete.
The reason for this is that the league noticed they were falling behind in ratings compared to the big three (the NFL, the MLB, and the NBA), and they wanted to try something that would grow their fanbase. And, in order to do that, they felt they needed to increase goal scoring, so they shrunk down the size of the goaltender’s pads and no longer allowed defensemen to get away with all the clutching and man-handling that the refs previously would turn a blind eye to that vastly hindered teams’ star players point production for so long.
When these changes were implemented, certain innovative teams began shifting their focus as far as whom they wanted to employ, with those teams moving away from hiring the gargantuan slow but strong players of old to a more compact, elusive type of player who generally is more skilled and can thus offer them a lot more in terms of offense. The early beneficiaries of this change were guys like Theo Fleury (5’6), Martin St. Louis (5’8), and Brad Marchand (5’9) who broke into the game and had great success, which paved the way for players like the late great Johnny Gaurdreau who was (5’9), Tyler Johnson (5’9), Jonathan Marchessault (5’9) and Jared Spurgeon (5’9). Which you guessed led to more teams being willing to take a chance on the latest crop of diminutive stars like Alex DeBrincat (5’8), Cole Caufield (5’8), Adam Fox (5’11) and Logan Stankoven (5’8).
But, believe it or not, even after all the players’ success that I listed above, there are still some franchises out there that employ superannuated GMs who refuse to draft or sign these types of compact players.
That’s okay, though, because that just makes the teams that are with it and willing to take a chance on one of these young players that much more capable of making their teams better this off-season seeing that the 2025 NHL Draft Class is chalked full of diminutive talent.
With Guys Like:
Cameron Schmidt
Cam is a 5’7 157 pound draft eligible right winger who currently plays for the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL). This season, he has managed to amass an impressive 40 goals and 38 assists for 78 points. Not too shabby, right?
With those kinds of statistics, you can see that Schmidt does not let his size (or lack thereof) limit him. In fact, he uses it to his advantage. With great speed, Cameron manages to stretch the ice to the point that the opposition is going to be forced to converge on him, where he will make a move and skate on by them like they are standing still. Or pass it off early so he can then go set up for the chance to unload one of the most accurate and powerful one-timers of anyone in this draft.
Cameron is only now starting to get the respect he deserves after he recently finished the regular season tied with the Everett Silvertips’ Carter Bear for most goals scored by any WHL first-year draft-eligible player with 40 lamp lighters.
He is projected to go late in the first round, but for those of you who still have your doubts about him, watch this video; before you do, though, remember it’s hard to hit what you can’t catch!
Benjamin Kindel
Another undersized prospect who plays in the WHL, who I think should be on this list, is Benjamin Kindel from the Calgary Hitmen. Ben is a high-scoring forward who only stands at 5’10 and weighs 176 pounds. He is renowned around the league for his intelligent two-way play.
To prove that statement, all you have to do is tune in for a game, and you’ll notice that his hard work and high hockey IQ are what allowed him to garner 35 goals and 64 assists for 99 regular season points. And, if that wasn’t impressive enough for a guy who has to look up to the masses, he finished second highest in plus-minus of any first-year draft-eligible player with a +39 on the year.
So, tell me why a player who was only outscored by one other draft-eligible prospect, Michael Misa, who finished with 134 points) is expected to go so late in the first round if it is not solely dependent on the fact that scouts are doubting his abilities at the next level because of his height?
Cole Reschny
Since we’re apparently taking an extended look at the WHL, I thought it wise to mention Victoria Royals forward Cole Reschny. Cole, who stands at 5’10 and 187 pounds, really opened a lot of people’s eyes this year at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup when we scored three goals and four assists for seven points in only five games played.
But what really convinced me that he could make it to the next level was Reschny’s competitive level. Whether he is forechecking, backchecking, playing on the power play, or the penalty kill, Cole simply never takes a shift off. Night after night, Reschny continues to outwork the competition, no matter how big or strong they are.
This kid has heart, and that’s why he was able to net 26 goals and 66 assists for 92 points in 62 games played. And he is currently scoring at a 2.40 points-per-game pace in the playoff posting four goals and eight assists for 12 points in only five games played.
Not to mention the fact that when you combine the regular season and the postseason, he has managed to maintain a +50 average on the season. I’m sorry, I don’t know why other forwards in this draft who only scored 50-60 points are still projected to be taken higher than him. And Cole somehow is still considered to have a late first-round or early second-round draft grade.
Adam Benak
Adam is a center from Czechia who only stands at 5’7 and 161 pounds. He came over this season to North America after dominating yet again at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where if you combine his totals from this year and last, he became the all-time point leader in Hlinka Gretzky Cup history when he finished with a total of 21 points; which to put that into perspective that means he scored over a two points-per-game in this tournament.
But getting back to what have you done for me lately. Benak wanted to prove that he could be more than just a kid with some international success, so he decided to join the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL) to prove he could produce while playing on the much smaller North American rinks.
Where this season, he was able to score 16 goals and 38 assists totaling 54 points in 54 games played. Not bad for someone who, besides just trying to score goals was tasked with having to figure out a new language as well.
Philippe Veilleux
Moving on now to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, we find an 18-year-old winger who only stands at 5’9 and 165 pounds playing for the Val-d’Or Foreurs. Now, I have to say, depending on where this young man actually ends up getting drafted, he just might be deemed the steal of the draft because while he still has some work to do defensively, he more than makes up for it with his work in the offensive zone.
Where this season, Veilleux has been able to light the lamp an astonishing 40 times during the regular season, and adding to that, he made sure to assist his teammates 47 other times this season, totaling 87 points on the year.
And, as far as the postseason goes, Philippe has shown no signs of letting up, as he has managed to put up three goals and three assists for six points in five games played.
Now, with him producing at that rate in the offensive zone, I would be more than willing to take a chance on him at the draft as long as I keep in mind that I am going to spend some time with him, teaching him how a professional is expected to play within his own zone.
Jordan Gavin
Finally, the last prospect I’ll leave you to ponder about is the 5’11 179 pound Jordan Gavin of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. To me, Gavin is a human highlight reel! He is a player who makes everyone who steps on the ice with him instantly better, as the game just seems to appear to slow down when the puck is on his stick.
Being that this is the case, it comes as a big surprise to me that Jordan’s stock has fallen with scouts ever since he was taken second overall by the Tri-City Americans in the WHL Prospects Draft.
Especially since he was able to score 68 points in 68 games last year and added another 57 points in 68 games played this year (this coming after he was traded mid-season, mind you). But my conundrum goes deeper than that still, considering Gavin managed to improve upon his plus-minus immensely this season and personified what it means to play a clean game, seeing he did not manage to obtain a single penalty minute for the second season in a row.
So, you see, lack of height should no longer really be considered an issue when teams are scouting players. For, these six players I just introduced to you are merely clones of the diminutive players that came before them and had success. These players have been told they are too small their whole lives and, because of that, have developed a pretty good “I’LL SHOW YOU” type of attitude that clearly works for them in their respective leagues. So, honestly, who are we to stand in their way? I don’t know about you, but I would rather see my favorite NHL team acquire one or more of these guys in the NHL draft this summer rather than spend the next ten years wishing they had!