In this edition of our Philadelphia Flyers news and rumors report, we take a look at some members of the Orange and Black who are still participating in the Memorial Cup, examine some rumors on Travis Konecny‘s next contract, and take a look at the Flyers that performed in the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship. Despite Philadelphia’s offseason being nearly a month and a half old, there are still some interesting things going on with them.
Barkey & Bonk Are a Win Away from Memorial Cup Final
In the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), the Memorial Cup tournament has two out of three games for each team finished in the round-robin. Both the London Knights and Saginaw Spirit have clinched a spot in at least the Semifinal with a 2-0 record, while the Moose Jaw Warriors and Drummondville Voltigeurs each need a win to have a chance, being 0-2.
There are a few Flyers prospects in this tournament that they should have some interest in. Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk, members of London, can reach the Final if they beat Saginaw in their final contest — both are having tremendous seasons for the Knights. The Voltigeurs have Alexis Gendron on their team, who is a seventh-round prospect from the 2022 NHL Draft. He started his 2023-24 campaign in the American Hockey League (AHL), but since coming to Drummondville he has been a vital piece for them. If they win against the Warriors, they move on to face the loser of the Knights-Spirit game in the Semifinal.
As far as Ontario Hockey League (OHL) scoring is concerned, both Barkey and Bonk are among the best for their position group. The former finished with 102 points as a forward, ranking fifth overall, while the latter was fifth in scoring among defenders at 67 points in the regular season. In the playoffs, Gendron is sixth among Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) players in goals per game with 11 in 15 contests, while Barkey and Bonk are fourth and second in overall scoring among their respective OHL position groups. All three of these youngsters could be in the NHL someday.
Unfortunately for Gendron, the talent gap between his club and the other teams who made it this far is pretty severe. Hopefully, they can overcome the odds and beat the Warriors to advance to the Semifinal and potentially set up an all-Flyers Memorial Cup Final. Roster-wise, the Knights and Spirit are the two best teams in the tournament — if they’re in the Final, which seems likely, it’s anyone’s game.
Konecny’s Extension Could Be Pricey
Konecny, eligible for an extension on July 1, could be extremely costly for the Flyers. Some less-than-concrete rumors say his camp is starting his price at $10 million, which likely won’t be the final average annual value (AAV) for his deal if it is true. However, it might not be too far off.
Anthony Di Marco of TFP Monday Mix Podcast stated, “These are how negotiations work. I think the Flyers are more comfortable in the $8-8.5 [million] AAV range, so one side is starting a bit too low, [and] the other side is starting a bit too high. I don’t think it’s anything to sound the alarm about — I’ve gotten no indication that these talks are going to go sideways,” he said.
“I just think that it’s going to come down to whether or not the Flyers can stomach going into the [$9 million range]. I feel internally they feel like the Timo Meier contract [$8.8 million AAV over eight years] is where the absolute limit should be,” Di Marco followed up with. “I do think, eventually, this is going to settle somewhere in the low [$9 million range],” he speculated.
Related: Philadelphia Flyers Cannot Give Travis Konecny a Long-Term Extension
Just because the Flyers and Konecny are discussing options doesn’t mean an extension is guaranteed. They reportedly had talks with Sean Walker, too, but he was dealt at the trade deadline before an extension was made. Still, this potential contract will be a polarizing one. If he earns anything above $69 million on his next deal (Meier got $70.4 million), then Konecny would break the franchise record for the biggest contract ever received.
If Konecny’s camp is asking for $10 million, then they’ll more or less settle in between the Flyers’ estimation and their own. With that in mind, even Philadelphia knows that they can’t start at anything less than the $5.5 million AAV he has held since the 2019-20 season. If his next deal were to be between those numbers, at the absolute lowest the AAV would be $7.75 million and likely for a full eight seasons.
Is general manager (GM) Danny Briere comfortable giving a long-term extension to someone who will be 28 when it kicks in, despite being in a rebuild? That question could be answered in the coming months — this could be Briere’s biggest test to date.
Farabee, Ersson Participate in IIHF World Championship
The IIHF completed its annual World Championship tournament between some great players from both the NHL and other leagues to compete for glory. The Orange and Black had two players participate: winger Joel Farabee for the United States and goaltender Sam Ersson for Sweden.
Overall, Farabee had a goal and an assist for two points in eight contests. As for Ersson, he played in four contests and had a .891 save percentage (SV%) and a 1.44 goals-against average (GAA), winning a Bronze medal in the process. He was the backup behind Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild.
In the end, Czechia was victorious in the tournament. The games were very competitive and high-end, so it was good practice for both Farabee and Ersson. They definitely weren’t standouts, but it was still good to have them play for their respective countries.
With the month of June very close, that should mean some moves for the Flyers are close, too. Whether or not they choose to completely revamp their 2023-24 roster for their next campaign is a mystery at this time. This offseason could be massive.