The Philadelphia Flyers are entering a summer where their moves as an organization are expected to be scarce. But they’ll inevitably dip their toe in the free agent pool at some point during the offseason, yet instead of coming up with a big fish, their catch will more than likely be disappointing. So who are some free agents the Flyers should avoid this summer?
Number 5: Jack Johnson
A 37-year-old depth defenseman that isn’t very good is going to be enticing for the John Tortorella-led Flyers. They added Marc Staal last summer and Erik Johnson at the trade deadline, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility they’re in the market for a replacement in that role this year (if they don’t bring Erik back first.)
They don’t need bodies at the position and they don’t need the player. They’ll push his 1,187 NHL games and 2022 Stanley Cup win as “veteran leadership” and propped up as a trade deadline asset, but he’ll be over-utilized and do far more harm than good when it comes to his deployment on the roster and the long-term goals of a supposedly rebuilding team.
Number 4: Max Domi
It feels like just yesterday Max Domi broke into the league, but he’s a nine-year veteran and already 29 years old. The Flyers, believe it or not, are rumored to be looking for another mucker and grinder this summer and Domi fits that role perfectly. Domi’s career offensive production is better than you might think scoring 417 points in 661 NHL games, with a whopping 630 penalty minutes to boot.
The problem doesn’t necessarily lie with the player himself on this one. With Nic Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway still under contract and more that a couple other players not brining much to the table, the team doesn’t need yet another depth face puncher on the roster. If they clear some of the bodies already here out, then maybe adding Domi can be discussed, but otherwise they need to aim significantly higher when it comes to potential forward additions.
Number 3: Jack Roslovic
Roslovic was a former first round pick back in 2017. He’s now 27 years old and the pedigree his draft position had didn’t really carry with him through his career. He’s technically a center, but played all three forward positions up and down the lineup after being acquired by the Rangers at the trade deadline.
Roslovic is best served as a plugin on a good team rather than a pillar on a team like the Flyers. They’ve got big problems when it comes to producing offense, and even if Roslovic lines up down the middle permanently, there just isn’t a big enough track record there to separate him from disappointing producers already here like Morgan Frost and Noah Cates.
Number 2: Tyson Barrie
It’s more than believable the Flyers make a random depth move to address a perceived hole, but that addition doesn’t actually do much. In this case, it’s an attempt to fix their god-awful power play. Soon-to-be 33-year-old Tyson Barrie has had some ebbs and flows of his career and at one point may have been a decent option for the team’s top offensive defenseman spot, but he scored just a single goal and 15 points in 41 games for the Predators this season. He had been openly angry at his usage and requested a trade in December.
The Flyers have way too many random dudes on their blue line, and adding one more, whose glory days may be behind him and he may not actually help in the role they brought him in for, is just a waste of time.
Number 1: Elias Lindholm
There’s a good likelihood the Flyers don’t address their center depth with any kind of legitimacy, but if they did, the one guy on the radar that could fit the mold of the kind of player they look for is 29-year-old veteran Elias Lindholm. He’s been in four Selke races, featuring three top 10 finishes including a runner up spot in 2021-22. Sound familiar? A 30-year-old center destined to sign a big contract who had previous Selke aspirations and his two best seasons are otherwise an outlier of his career? The Flyers already have their hands full with the degradation of Sean Couturier, they really don’t need another similar player (or contract) on the roster forever right now.
Honorable Mention
Jonathan Drouin
Former third overall pick in 2013 Jonathan Drouin just had his career breakout season in 2023-24. He posted 56 points, a career-best, with the Colorado Avalanche. He’ll turn 30 early next season and his career average of less than 10 goals and about 20 points is still the player he is when he’s not on a Stanley Cup contender. This is not the kind of “rehab project” or lightning in a bottle add the Flyers should be looking towards for offensive solutions.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
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