The season of rumors, chaos, and excitement has arrived. Every general manager’s (GM’s) phone is ringing constantly. Smoke screens are flying all over the place, and every insider is talking about how rookie GM Danny Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers are at the heart of the NHL offseason.
Related: Flyers Would Regret Passing on Michkov
Under one week before the draft, veterans like Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, and Kevin Hayes have dominated the headlines as potential trade candidates. There are strong indicators of upcoming splashes from the Flyers, including the willingness to select the ultimate wild card of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Russian winger Matvei Michkov.
Flyers Highlight Trade Talks
Elliotte Friedman wrapped up what’s seemingly become his weekly Flyers segment on 32 Thoughts with a good summation of where Briere stands.
“I think teams know what Philly is and is not willing to do. On Hayes, they’re very flexible. Some of their other players, like their young players, they’re not doing. While players like Laughton and Konecny and (Travis) Sanheim, the prices are a little bit higher. I think everyone knows what Daniel Briere’s position is on all his various players, and I think he’s ready to do anything at any time. The question is: does he firmly have a trading partner yet?”
Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton
Briere is open for business, and it’s not exactly a secret. However, a realistic analysis of potential trades needs to include a big-picture perspective of how he views the Philadelphia roster. He doesn’t see the need for a “fire sale” to strip the roster of all valuable veterans. The organization will maintain a heavy emphasis on culture and a standard for performance on and off the ice under head coach John Tortorella during their rebuild.
Laughton and Konecny have made as much of an impression from a “culture” standpoint as any two players in the organization. The price to acquire either player will be high, and Briere will use every bit of leverage he can get. The Detroit Red Wings have interest in Konecny, according to Friedman. However, it’ll take a king’s ransom to pry him away considering Frank Seravalli believes the Flyers turned down an exorbitant package for an older and less productive player in Laughton.
“I’m told that the Flyers have been engaged with the Blues, among other teams, on Scott Laughton. Doug Armstrong had Scott Laughton at the Worlds (2023 World Championship) and really like him, and I know that the Blues put on the table one of their late first-round picks, 25 or 29, and I’m told also offered a second-round pick for Laughton,” he said on the DFO Rundown podcast.
Kevin Hayes
The 31-year-old will not play in Philadelphia next season. His $7.14 million average annual cap hit through 2025-26 coupled with a rocky relationship between him and Tortorella simply doesn’t fit the organization’s plans. Friedman believes the Columbus Blue Jackets will not be able to take on Hayes after adding Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson. The Colorado Avalanche could be another logical trade partner, but the Flyers won’t get too much in return even if they retain a significant amount of salary. Charlie O’Connor believes a buyout is unlikely (from The Athletic, What we’re hearing on the Philadelphia Flyers’ expected trade activity, 6/22/23).
Tony DeAngelo and Travis Sanheim
O’Connor also pointed to Philadelphia’s motivation to move Tony DeAngelo. The 27-year-old defenseman has one year of term remaining with a $5 million cap hit, and like Hayes, he might be hard to move without salary retention.
Any conversation about moving Sanheim starts and ends with his contract situation. The mobile blueliner will begin an eight-year, $50 million contract with a full no-trade clause on July 1. He hasn’t performed anywhere close to a defenseman worth that kind of cap investment in two of the past three seasons, and it’d be tough for Briere to find another team willing to take on such a substantial long-term contract.
Briere on Michkov, Draft
Briere spoke on June 22 about Philadelphia’s plan ahead of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He poured cold water on previous indicators that the Flyers would pick up at least one more first-round pick before the draft kicks off in Nashville on Wednesday, June 28. It makes a move involving Laughton, Konecny, or Carter Hart look less likely to happen within the next week.
“If someone wants to give us another pick, we’d gladly take it. We’re having discussions with different teams. I’d probably say it’s not likely, but we’re definitely looking at every avenue, and I would love to give another jolt to our amateur scouts to dive in even deeper in our list. We’re trying, no doubt about it, but you need a dancing partner, as well, so I don’t know if it’s realistic,” he said.
Matvei Michkov
Briere expects to be able to meet with Michkov after previous reports had added some doubt to the situation. Michkov will play the next three seasons under contract in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), and world politics will make the decision to draft him even more complicated.
“We’ll spend a little bit of time with him, and we’ll try to get as much information as we can and make our decision after that,” the former Flyers playoff hero said about Michkov.
Assistant GM Brent Flahr also added a statement of confidence in the ability of the organization to calculate the extent of the risk they’d be taking by selecting Michkov.
“We do a lot of background. We do talk to players on his team. We’ve talked to coaches – our staff have talked to – so we’ve done a lot of our background, and we’ll spend time with him and his family and get a comfort level and then make a decision appropriately.”
The two front office executives also emphasized the need to take the best available player on the board that can help the Flyers three or four years down the road as they come out of the rebuild and back into contention. While the philosophy wasn’t directly referencing Michkov, it certainly aligns with the logic of taking a major risk on an incredibly talented player whose NHL career won’t start until 2026 at the earliest.
Ryan Leonard
Flahr seemed particularly anxious to compliment Ryan Leonard of the United States National Team Development Program, which has become a major source of NHL prospect talent, especially for the Flyers. They drafted Cutter Gauthier and Devin Kaplan in 2022, and they previously spent first-round picks on Joel Farabee and Cam York.
“Leonard’s more of a power guy but drives. He’s got skill himself (and) speed,” Flahr said. “We’ve seen these kids for not just this year. These kids have been high-profile players for a few years now, so they’ve been on the radar. But again, you see when Leonard was playing with (Oliver) Moore, or you see him when (Gabe) Perrault’s on a different line. We’ve seen these guys. We have guys almost at every game there. It’s just one of the most overscouted teams in the history of hockey probably.”
Free Agent Targets
The chatter surrounding trades and the draft has pushed talk about free agency to the backburner just over a week away from the start of the new league year. While the Flyers will not be one of the big spenders when the market opens on July 1, Tortorella spoke late in the 2022-23 season about roster construction strategy during the rebuild.
“It’s not just getting young. We need to ‘backfill’ a little bit. There are going to be some players out there, hopefully, that can help us in that area, but it’s not going for the home run right now. We’re not ready because we still need to develop our foundation,” the veteran head coach said.
O’Connor mentioned two options that would fit the emphasis on culture (from The Athletic, Philadelphia Flyers free agency: 18 UFAs who could fit with the rebuild, 6/21/23). Wayne Simmonds would provide leadership, toughness, and an appreciation for the Flyers brand at a minimal salary. Nick Foligno wore the “C” for Tortorella in Columbus, and it’s practical to believe an organization that emphasizes character so frequently would bring him in on a cheap veteran contract.
More talented possibilities include Max Pacioretty, who could come to Philadelphia on a one-year deal with the expectation of moving to a contender ahead of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline if he stays healthy. Jesse Puljujarvi fits the mold of a reclamation project that needs a change of scenery and an opportunity to develop within a new system. The Carolina Hurricanes currently own the rights to sign the restricted free agent (RFA).
Loose Pucks: Jerseys, LeClair, Sharp
The Flyers introduced new uniforms amidst all the chaos. The jersey combines different elements of past variations of Flyers jerseys, including the burnt orange color they wore from 1982-2007.
Newly-hired special advisors John LeClair and Patrick Sharp met with the Philadelphia media on June 21. Leclair spoke about his role as another voice and another set of eyes that can help Briere in his mission to restore a winning culture in Philadelphia. Sharp spoke about bringing value to the player development side. His own playing experience adds some irony to the situation. He struggled to find his footing after the Flyers drafted him in 2001, but he hit his stride on the way to a key role for three Stanley Cup teams with the Chicago Blackhawks.
