The 2023-24 Philadelphia Flyers season is on the horizon and that means we’ll finally get some clarity as to what exactly the roster is going to look like. There’s plenty of youth that could push for a spot, but there’s also many veterans who are gatekeeping those spots. It leaves a handful of players stuck in the in-between; the players who may not be main roster locks but are no longer waiver eligible either. If worse comes to worse and they ultimately don’t make the opening night roster, would these names clear waivers and get sent to the AHL or would they get claimed by another team?
Wade Allison
Wade Allison found himself entrenched in John Tortorella’s doghouse during a bulk of the 2022-23 season and with the logjam at right wing, he’s far from a lock to make the opening night lineup. He could ultimately serve as the 13th forward this season, which may not be the worst thing in the world as it limits his workload thus reducing the injury risk, but he may get sent down to Lehigh if he’s deemed the odd man out.
His injury track record isn’t great and he’s got just 22 points in 75 NHL games, but if there’s a team out there whose pro scouting department is up to snuff, they would realize Allison is absolutely worth taking a gamble on. One year left on his contract with a $785,000 and a sizable offensive ceiling if deployed properly would be an enticing snag on the waiver wire.
Tanner Laczynski
It’s no secret John Tortorella doesn’t like Tanner Laczynski. The Flyers signed Ryan Poehling during the offseason to fill his 4C role, meaning he no longer has a guaranteed main roster spot.
Laczynski does have one last ace up his sleeve, and that’s the fact he plays center in what is still a very shallow spot on the organizational depth chart. Though with Elliot Desnoyers’ stock on the rise, he may be the one to serve as the next man up if, or when, injuries occur and he’s also wavier exempt so calling him up and sending him down is a much easier process.
Would Laczynski clear waivers? He turned 26 in June and doesn’t have much of an much of an established NHL track record. Every team sends through a least one of two of very similar players every year during the preseason, so it’s very unlikely Laczynski would get claimed. Which is actually good news for the Phantoms as they could use an extra center in Lehigh Valley.
Egor Zamula
Egor Zamula signed a new one-year, $775,000 contract theoretically meaning he’s going to make the NHL roster, but with a so many defenseman fighting for roles and Zamula working back from late-season shoulder surgery, he himself may struggle to find a spot among the veterans.
the Flyers hopefully wouldn’t do something stupid like putting Zamula in waivers in favor of icing someone like Nick Seeler or Marc Staal, but dumber things have happened and that’d be a move right up John Tortorella’s alley.
Would he clear waivers? This one seems 50/50. A young defensive prospect who has an unknown ceiling at the NHL level should peak the curiosity of follow rebuilding squads, but considering he’s not necessarily projected to be a top guy in the NHL either, the Flyers may be able to sneak him through. Given the rebuilding stips the organization is supposed to be working under, there’s no reason to put him on waivers in the first place, but it’s the Flyers, so anything is possible.
Felix Sandstrom
The Flyers are in an interesting predicament when to comes to their goaltending, as they have no idea who is going to be available to them on opening night. With Carter Hart’s name potentially still involved in the ongoing Team Canada investigation, and the still-unknown status of whether or not Ivan Fedotov will make his way to Philadelphia this season after the Flyers were awarded his services by the IIHF, there could be various different scenarios to play out in the crease, and Sandstrom’s fate is highly dependent on the outcome.
Samuel Ersson is still on his entry-level deal, meaning he’s waiver expempt, and according to CapFriendly, Fedotov is waiver exempt as well, whereas Hart, Cal Petersen and Felix Sandstrom are not.
Let’s say Fedotov isn’t in the picture. They have Hart, Sandstrom, Ersson and Petersen at their disposal to at least open the season. If Hart goes away and Petersen isn’t a factor in the NHL, they still need Sandstrom to ride out the year. It’s a big mess until some clarity is brought to the various situations working against the Flyers.
Sometimes the NHL/AHL tweener goaltenders get through no problem. Other times, teams swoop in and pick them up to fill a hole, either through talent or injury, so it all depends on how some injury situations break down during the preseason, but Sandstrom doesn’t feel like a guarantee to make it through waivers. He still has upside as a goaltender and may be able to establish himself on a team thats more defensively sound than the Flyers. It could be a worthwhile gamble teams would take.
Cal Petersen
Speaking of goaltending, who remembered Cal Petersen even existed? He carries a $5 million cap hit for two more years and has an .881 save percentage over his last two NHL seasons. There’s almost no chance a team would be desperate enough to claim Petersen on waivers. The Flyers are stuck with their own questionable decision on this one. Unless he’s got some kind of career renaissance up his sleeve, he’s more than likely starting in the AHL and is a worst-case option to play in the NHL.
Nick Seeler
Nick Seeler is on the second year of his two-year contract, which happens to be a two-way deal (it doesn’t actually mean anything for his waiver status) but typically that indicates what players are headed to the minors versus expected to be on the main roster. He was a Tortorella favorite last season, which probably indicates that he’s going to get preferential treatment when it comes to earning a roster spot this year, but if they decide to play the kids and Seeler isn’t making the cut, would he clear waivers?
Seeler may be the most interesting scenario on this list. Considering he has the potential to be one of the better number six defenseman in the league, he may have some interest, but it’s a value that would be much more likely to be cashed in on around the trade deadline when teams are gearing up for the playoffs and need an extra body, rather than during the preseason when every team should’ve addressed their needs during the summer. Much like Laczynski’s case, there’s going to be at least a handful of very similar players passed through waivers, so it just depends if any team finds value in adding a hot-and-cold depth defenseman this early in the season.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
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