On Monday the Flyers made a blockbuster deal when they sent the rights to former fifth overall pick Cutter Gauthier to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Jamie Drysdale and a second round pick.
From a prospect perspective, it leaves the Flyers in a serious position of weakness. They added another young right-handed defenseman to the team, but Gauthier, along with Matvei Michkov were basically the only notable forward prospects in the system. They were going to be the ones tasked with carrying the organization on their back for years to come. Now they’ve just got Michkov, who is still behind enemy lines and his ETA isn’t for another two years.
It puts a significant amount of pressure on the front office to address the team’s lack of offensive firepower, a rather large looming problem that was easily dispelled by the fact Gauthier was supposed to show up this season after his collegiate season came to an end.
Now? With Michkov’s arrival still years away and no immediate high-end forwards making the jump, they will need Danny Briere and Keith Jones to to do some serious legwork to find a suitable young player to carry the torch moving forward. Addressing the lack of forward depth with some kind of legitimacy is going to put Briere’s GM skills to the test.
Considering the Flyers are still clinging on to the playoff spot in the East and Florida is very much entrenched in a postseason battle as well, they’re not exactly in prime position to add a new cornerstone via the draft. Two pick hovering around (at least) 20th overall isn’t quite the home run additions they now need. And it doesn’t help that William Nylander just re-signed with the Maple Leafs, in the off chance they were looking to buy their way out of trouble.
The only internal prospects who are even close to NHL ready in the organization are Olle Lycksell and Samu Tuomaala, both of whom will probably settle in nicely in the middle six in the near future but more than likely aren’t first line players. to further complicate this, they’re both wingers, not the center the Flyers should be looking for.
Their best bet is attempting to craft a trade for a restricted free agent on another team, but even that option is rather limited. Elias Pettersen in Vancouver highlights the RFAs still left on the market, with Matty Beniers, Lucas Raymond and Quinton Byfield the other notable names, but there’s a good chance all four re-sign with their current teams.
They could always get creative when it comes to trading draft picks. They’ve got two in the first and second round this year, two is the second round in 2025, and they still have Sean Walker to trade plus whatever else they scrounge up at the trade deadline. Trading up to get back around the 10th overall pick in 2024 may not provide the bonafide star they need, but it’s a good place to start.
The Flyers are slowly but surely attempting to fix their defense. If Drysdale and Oliver Bonk pan out, that’s a decent 1-2 punch on the right side for years to come. But now without Gauthier in the picture, their offense needs to be overhauled and taken far more seriously that it has in recent years. And quite frankly there’s no easy solution. There’s no painless way to add stars in the league these days. They either suffer for them through the draft or pay through the nose to acquire them via trade. What will Briere do to fix this new hole? Time will tell, but it better be taken care of soon.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Getty Images
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