The Philadelphia Flyers are in quite the predicament heading into the 2022 offseason. With approximately 101 things to fix, the fear is they can’t get to everything in one summer, or even worse, they cheap out in a failed attempt to spread the upgrade wealth. Whether it’s washed up vets past their prime or potential problems in the locker room, here are five players the Flyers should avoid this summer.
Number 5: P.K. Subban
The Flyers will be searching for a bottom pair right-handed defenseman this summer and the free agent market is relatively shallow. P.K. Subban’s contract with the Devils is coming to an and and he’ll hit the free agent market, but the Flyers can’t be enticed by his past performances. Now 33 years old, he’s nine years removed from his Norris Trophy-winning season. He didn’t even register a single powerplay point during 2021-22, a role that used to be his bread and butter. It’s just best to admit than Subban isn’t anywhere close to the player he once was and let some other team take on the assignment of giving him one last kick at the can, especially after the Keith Yandle experiment failed as bad as it did.
Number 4: Martin Jones
Now that the Flyers have secured Ivan Fedotov, Jones’ return seems less likely, but he ain’t gone until he’s gone. The crease is getting a bit crowded in Philly right now, but until free agency comes and goes and the fates of Martin Jones and Felix Sandstrom are official, they may still value his veteran presence over a younger option. Jones wasn’t nearly as bad as expected during his first season in Philly, but he wasn’t exactly great either. He started the season strong, but when the calendar flipped to 2022, he was a bottom-five goaltender in the league in save percentage for the first two months of the year, but a late season resurgence boosted his numbers back to pedestrian level. He finished with a 3.42 goals against average and and .900 save percentage.
Number 3: Tony DeAngelo
Don’t know if there’s been any official rumors about DeAngelo, but his name has appeared more than once in different fan theories. After the atrocious season the Flyers just had where they chased away their fanbase in droves, it’s probably best to not add insult to injury and sign a piece of human shit like DeAngelo. He posted 10 goals and 52 points in Carolina this season, with 20 of those points coming on the powerplay, but his defensive game is still weak. Considering the Flyers ditched Shayne Gostisbehere for the same reasons, hopefully they don’t make that mistake again, but for a team that struggled to produce as much as the Flyers, a defenseman with that kind of production will at least make them take a second look. Did we mention he’s a piece of human shit?
Number 2: Claude Giroux
Giroux returning to Philadelphia during the 2022 offseason once seemed like a sure thing, but after a little while for both sides to heal, it seems more and more unlikely by the day. Even though Giroux is still a really good player at 34 years old, the leadership role he held within the Flyers could be a sticky situation if he just returns. Would he re-take the “C?” Would he stifle some of the younger voices in the room, or just throw the new chemistry off in general? The way Giroux’s tenure ended here sucks, but at this point it’s just best to not revisit the past in fear of disturbing the fragile future.
Number 1: Nazem Kadri
A name that continues to be attached to the Flyers is Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri. He had a career year playing on a stacked Colorado team, scoring 28 goals and 87 points including 29 powerplay points. The issue is he’ll be 32 years old on the eve of the 2022-23 season, and having a breakout year at 31 on one of the best teams in the league is suspect at best. The Avalanche will probably be priced out of his services, and the Flyers are desperate for a center that can produce offensively. If the Flyers were a little closer to competing for a Cup, or their top two centers currently on the roster weren’t already overpaid 30-year-olds maybe Kadri would be more enticing on a gamble, but given the current situation the Flyers have worked themselves into, a big contract to Kadri would just further compact already massive problems on the current roster.
.
By:Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
brotherlypuck.com 