In one week, the Philadelphia Flyers begin training camp, ending a five-month off-season following a surprisingly competitive 2023-24 season. Though the Flyers project to have a very similar roster to last season and made the default number of selections at the NHL Draft (seven), it was hardly a quiet summer.
The Flyers have long held the reputation as one of the NHL’s top headline-making teams, and they lived up to it over the last few months. From signing one of the biggest extensions of the summer to several status changes among the team’s prospect pool, here’s a review of what you missed if you’re returning from a hockey hibernation.
Flyers Had a Busy Draft
The Flyers entered Sphere on June 28 with a lot of possibilities. Philadelphia held the No. 13 pick, which originally belonged to them, and the No. 32 pick, acquired two years ago from the Florida Panthers as part of the Claude Giroux trade. They also had the chance to have a second second-round pick, as the Columbus Blue Jackets had to decide whether to give the Flyers their 2024 or 2025 second-rounder from last summer’s three-team trade centered around Ivan Provorov.
The Flyers only made two instead of a possible four picks inside the top 50. Columbus kept its 2024 second-round pick (No. 36 overall). However, the team added another high 2025 pick by moving pick No. 32 to the Edmonton Oilers for their first-round pick next year. It’s top-12 protected, so don’t get any big ideas, but unless the Oilers win the Stanley Cup, the Flyers will at least get a higher selection.
The Flyers didn’t make the 13th pick either, moving down one spot with the Minnesota Wild to add a third-round pick (which they used to move up later in the draft). The Wild made out well by selecting defenseman Zeev Buium, while the Flyers addressed a need at center by adding Jett Luchanko one pick later. Buium is a higher-upside swing, but there’s a lot of time to learn who the better pick truly is.
Free Agency: Hathway Extended, Johnson Re-Signed
Few teams spent less on July 1 than the Flyers, which is to be expected for a team not pushing for short-term success. They didn’t have a lot of cap space anyway, even after buying out Cam Atkinson. But general manager Daniel Brière did come to terms with two familiar faces.
Garnet Hathaway was the team’s biggest free-agent signing a year ago, providing physicality and driving play as the primary fourth-line right-winger. Though it took a while for his offense to get going, a strong finish to the season (11 of his 17 points came after Feb. 1) earned him another two-year deal at a nearly identical cap hit ($2.4 million) to his current contract ($2.375 million).
Unlike Hathaway, veteran defenseman Eric Johnson was set to hit the open market this summer before he re-upped. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers were outscored 16-7 at 5-on-5 with Johnson on the ice after he arrived at the trade deadline from the Buffalo Sabres, but a team-worst .847% on-ice save percentage goes a long way to explaining that. Johnson’s underlying numbers in Philadelphia were solid, and the 36-year-old is trusted to mentor the team’s young defensemen. As long as John Tortorella doesn’t overplay him (a trap he avoided with Marc Staal, who started last season in a similar role), it’s a pretty low-risk move.
Michkov Arrives, Kolosov May Not
The Flyers have had a lot happen with Russian prospects over the last few years. It started when Ivan Fedotov was prevented from coming to the NHL as planned in 2022 due to military obligations, only to eventually arrive late last season (a few days before free agency, he signed a two-year, $6.55 million deal to avoid free agency).
Brière took a risk by drafting the hyper-talented Matvei Michkov with his first pick as general manager in 2023. Michkov had a three-year contract in the Kontinental Hockey League, which, combined with Russia’s war with Ukraine, created uncertainty that heavily contributed to Michkov being available to the Flyers at No. 7 overall.
In terms of getting to North America, the gamble paid off. Michkov’s KHL team, SKA St. Petersburg (which loaned him to HK Sochi for essentially all of last season), terminated his contract. Instead of adding an established talent on July 1, the Flyers inked Michkov to his entry-level contract, officially securing some of the high-end talent they desperately needed.
However, things aren’t as positive with goaltender Alexei Kolosov. The 22-year-old was drafted by the team in 2021 and has put up good numbers in Russia. But after a brief stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the end of last season, reports started trickling out that Kolosov was unhappy and reportedly wanted to stay back in Russia. Those have continued throughout the summer, and considering Kolosov isn’t on the team’s rookie camp roster, things aren’t looking good.
The Flyers could loan him back to the KHL, but the organization prefers he learn the North American game this season (from ‘Philadelphia Flyers Top 20 Prospects: AGM Brent Flahr on the defensemen and goalies,’ PHLY, Sept. 4). He would also presumably be No. 3 on the team’s depth chart, putting Kolsov an injury or an extended cold streak from Fedotov or Samuel Ersson away from reaching the NHL. However, with the NHL-KHL memorandum of understanding (mutual recognition of contracts across the leagues) suspended, there’s no guarantee of a simple solution.
Konecny Here to Stay
One player who won’t be leaving the Flyers organization anytime soon is Travis Konecny. Brière took care of business with restricted free agents Egor Zamula (two years, $3.4 million) and Bobby Brink (two years, $3 million) early in the offseason, then got to work with Konecny, who was set to hit unrestricted free agency in 2025. The 27-year-old has taken another step in the last two seasons, setting career-highs in goals (33) and assists (35) while leading the NHL with six short-handed tallies.
Re-signing Konecny wasn’t a total slam dunk. The Flyers could have gotten a significant return if they decided to move him, as he may be starting to decline just when the team’s current prospect group hits its stride. But given the team’s focus on culture and Konecny’s desire to stay, it wasn’t much of a shock when both sides put pen to paper on an eight-year, $70 million contract. It’s the largest contract in team history, a testament to the team’s belief in him as a player and leader.
Johansen’s Uncertain Future
This final storyline won’t affect the Flyers on the ice this season but is important for the team’s salary cap picture. Ryan Johansen was acquired as a pure cap dump to pry a first-round pick out of the Colorado Avalanche for Sean Walker. After being unable to trade him, the Flyers planned to send Johansen to the American Hockey League, but he informed the team he had a hip injury, which prevented him from being demoted.
It also prevented the Flyers from being able to buy him out during the offseason. However, on Aug. 20, the Flyers announced they were placing Johansen on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract for a “material breach.” Elliotte Friedman reported the Flyers had the NHL’s backing on the decision, while Johansen’s agent Kurt Overhardt strongly denied Johansen was in the wrong.
As of now, Johansen is still a member of the organization, although it’s clear he will never play for the Flyers. Somewhat similar situations in recent years with Evander Kane and Corey Perry have ended in settlements, which is a possible outcome here as well.
What’s Next for the Flyers?
Everyone’s attention will be on Michkov as the next potential face of the franchise gets his first taste of what being a Flyer is like. There will probably be some growing pains for the 19-year-old, as there are for most rookies. Figuring out his linemates will be an intriguing subplot, as will seeing how Tortorella handles the highly-skilled youngster.
Related: Flyers’ Matvei Michkov Could Soar in 2024-25 Based on Historical Trends
Beyond the typical tracking of prospects, keep an eye on the team’s goaltending situation. The Ersson-Fedotov tandem is one of the league’s least experienced. Ersson showed promise last season but ran out of gas by the end of the year. A healthy Jamie Drysdale should be fun to watch, and his development is arguably more important than anyone’s outside of Michkov.
