Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Free Agency: The Good, Bad, and Ugly
As the NHL free agency frenzy dies down, it’s clear the Philadelphia Flyers are still looking at the years after this coming season as when they will truly be competitive.
Flyers GM Danny Briere absolutely killed the NHL Draft. Philly came away from Los Angeles/Atlantic City looking like one of the true winners of the draft. They cannot say the same about free agency.
The Flyers missed out on someone who was linked to them for what has felt like months. They were able to fill some big needs, but at what cost? Briere was also unable to follow up on his fantastic Trevor Zegras trade by adding any more immediate talent.
So, what gives?
The Flyers are clearly looking at another middling season. There are still too many holes on Philadelphia’s roster that must be filled before it can truly compete. Unless they address those needs with one of the remaining RFAs, the Flyers seem to have their path.
That said, let’s address the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Flyers’ free agency.
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The Good: The Flyers Filled Big Needs
The basic principle of using free agency to fill your big needs is good, right? The Flyers had numerous needs heading into free agency, and each was addressed.
They needed a goalie, so the Flyers signed one. Oh, you need help at the blueline? Well, Briere went out and got two new options. They need scoring help at the wing or bottom-six center, so Briere went out and got someone who could fill both of those needs.
From the sound of that, it seems pretty good. However, that is about where the good from the Flyers’ free agency ends, and the bad and ugly begin.
The Bad: Signing Dan Vladar a $3.35M AAV Deal, & Christian Dvorak to a $5.4M AAV Contract
Look, the Flyers desperately needed a stop-gap goalie, and they got one in Dan Vladar. You cannot be mad at addressing the goaltending position in free agency. However, there were no really “team-changing” names available.
So, the Flyers were basically looking at giving a career backup goalie a chance to be better than Ivan Fedotov or Aleksei Kolosov. Dan Vladar, in all likelihood, will be better than both. But is he worth $3.35 million a year?
I say no.
By signing Vladar to such an AAV, the Flyers became increasingly handicapped in what they could do for the rest of the offseason.
The Flyers also needed to fill the 4C position. I fully understand being aggressive and getting the guy you want for the spot. But in no world should Philly be paying $5.4 million for a fourth-line center–even on a one-year deal.
I like Christian Dvorak. He is a helluva player, and can certainly be a key contributor. Sure, you can slide him up and down the lineup, or even push him to the wing. The versatility is nice, and with Tyson Foerster out, he surely will be getting more time. But for $5.4 million, I would have signed pretty much anybody else.
That was a ridiculous allocation of funds.
The Flyers came into the offseason with a very good amount of cap space, but after the team signed Dvorak, that space quickly dwindled.
Depending on what the team decides is best for Jett Luchanko’s development, there is a real possibility that both Dvorak and Noah Cates play on the Flyers’ fourth line, meaning they would have $9.4 million tied up in two fourth-line guys. Garnet Hathaway has a $2.4 million cap hit, making that expected fourth line worth $11.6 million, or 12% of the cap.
Again, I do like Dvorak as a player, but at what cost was the signing worth it?
Read More: Flyers Busy to Open Free Agency; Agree on Two One-Year Deals
The Ugly: Flyers Cap Space Disappeared
The Flyers entered the offseason with approximately $26 million in cap space. Extensions of Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster brought them right around $19 million, and the acquisition of Trevor Zegras had them right around $14 million entering free agency.
So, with Cam York still yet to resign, Philly had ~some~ money to spend with multiple major needs remaining.
Instead, the Flyers gave way too much money to a backup goaltender and a 4C, and have yet to sign York to an extension. They now have $5,520,238 remaining in cap space, according to PuckPedia.
Making matters worse, York did not want to go to arbitration, meaning he is still offer sheet eligible. Some teams could make things very difficult for the Flyers.
Returning to the topic of filling significant needs. Even if they make the roster, Dennis Gilbert and Noah Juulsen don’t fill any gaps. I don’t think I can honestly tell you either is better than Emil Andrae/Egor Zamula.
So, the Flyers, still having needs and key contributors to resign, invested their FA funds in a backup goalie, two depth-defenders, and a 4C. Not great, especially after getting off to such an ideal start.
Read More: Updated Flyers Prospect Rankings After the NHL Draft (+)
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Juulsen and Gilbert are a total waste of funds. They will be playing in Allentown and will only be with the big club in an emergency situation. Combining their salaries and getting a veteran 7th/8th man would have been more prudent.
Pius Suter, who signed for 8.25 over two years and Alex Lyon, who signed for 3 million over two years would also have been much better signings than what the team ended up with. It seemed like the first depth forward and first goalie they talked to they decided to throw ridiculous money at to guarantee the signings.
DB makes a great deal with the Zegras trade after making a good deal shedding the salaries of Farabee and Frost. Then he mismanages these free agent signings. Luckily three of them are only for a year.
The problem though is that they won’t make the playoffs again, and won’t be bad enough to have enough ping pong balls for Gavin McKenna. If they hope to entice top notch free agent talent next year, DB can’t afford to drop the ball again like he did in free agency and not drafting another goalie for the pipeline.
The idea that Juulsen & Gilbert are wastes and that their salaries should have been combined for one player is off base. At least one, probably both, will spend time in the regular season in LHV where their low salaries will NOT count against the Flyers salary cap. They are depth 7D/8D signings whose low cap hits are almost totally inconsequential. Signing one player with a salary of those two combined would result in a higher cap hit that couldn’t be totally buried. Additionally, Juulsen & Gilbert shoot from opposite sides giving flexibility of RD/LD depth that one player shooting from one side doesn’t provide without playing him on his offside.
Wonder if Jonesy and Brier have an aversion wiihdealing with KO Sports’ (Kurt Overhardt) Agency players…after getting screwed by Cutter G and Ryan Johansen….they passed over Perreault, Bieum and Hagens in recent drafts..
Worries about York getting an offer sheet are way, Way, WAY overstated. In the past 15 years, there have been a grand total of 7 NHL offer sheets that were signed and just 3 that weren’t matched. That’s a ridiculously low percentage across the hundreds of RFA’s during this period. And 2 of those were under an extremely odd alignment of circumstances: The Oilers being really cap strapped (which the Flyers are NOT right now – especially with Ellis eligible to be put on LTIR), and the two players both being offer sheet eligible RFA’s simultaneously. Additionally, while the cap going up makes more room for a team to add an RFA via offer sheet, it also adds the exact same cap space for a team to match it. And the prospect of the cap going up significantly over the next several years means an RFA player could see a substantially higher salary in a contract just a few years from now, so there’s good reason for players to avoid any long term offer sheets…making matching one much more likely.
Exactly, Jonathan. Part of the reason the Flyers are where they are is because they haven’t figured out how to manage the salary cap and they make stupid signings. It continues under the current regime. Briere could have done better, yet I’ll be told to continue being patient and wait until next summer when they’ll have more money. (Everyone else will, too, by the way when the cap rises to $95.5 million). No, this was not a good free agency for the “New Era of Orange”.
There will also be the extra $6.8M in cap space next year from buyout/retention costs that go away.
Out of curiosity: Who’s Jonathan? Also, while every team is likely to have more cap room next offseason with the cap likely expanding, the Flyers will be set to have a TON of cap space with the Atkinson/Kevin Hayes/Laughton retention/buyout money falling off the board. Add to that the expiring contracts for the unlikely to be resigned Dvorak, DLO, and Feddy and the Flyers will be in position to offer even a true “max contract cap hit” contract in the $20 million AAV range to a player without having to do ANY major roster juggling (only would make sense for McJesus).
Apologies to William James. I don’t look at bylines and was thinking of the previous writer, Jonathan Bailey.
I like your optimism about the future and, yes, a lot of dead money will be freed up next year which may entice some standout players to sign. Still, I am disappointed for the reasons cited above. I thought he could have done better. Some of my pessimism comes from the futility of the last couple decades and the poor drafting and FA signings we’ve seen. Perhaps this front office regime will end up righting the ship, but I find myself getting tired of waiting and waiting.
The Flyers wasted 2 first round picks on Nesbitt. 2! I hardly think that they “killed” the draft.
Nesbitt’s skating is atrocious – he makes Coururier look like McKinnon out there. To make matters worse, the Flyers passed on 2 prospects whom they will regret doing so in 3 years: Victor Eklund and Jackson Smith. Both of those kids have a much higher ceiling than Nesbitt, aka Frankenstein.
Last year the Flyers reached for Luchanko and this year they reached for Nesbitt. I would give the team the benefit of the doubt but their drafting history is so bad that I am presently left shaking my head and hoping that they win the 2026 draft lottery.
You are spot on!!!! Two first rounders for Nesbitt was insane. Even worse was giving EDM a swap of firsts for no additional scratch. In any league ever, have you seen a team trade up to the first round and not give any other compensation? That’s beyond comprehension.
Moving away from Blake Fiddler this year just like moving away from Zeev Buium last year will prove to bite them in the loins. The rose coloured glasses of the author is something to behold.
Some franchises build division winning teams by realizing they’re awful on draft day and trade those assets (picks) away for established NHLers. I’m praying for the lightbulb to go off on the top of Flyer managements’ heads, but it hasn’t and likely won’t. This false sense of hope has become tiresome.
Overpaying for Dvorak, getting hardly zip in return for Laughton, Frost and Farabee are simply more insults to the fans.
Every effort should have been put into acquiring Byram and / or Dobson, a 1C and a capable 1G. Briere & Co. think they are the smartest men in the room. They’re not.