The Philadelphia Flyers had a pretty underwhelming offseason that they managed to sweep under the rug when they signed Matvei Michkov to his entry-level contract two years ahead of schedule. One of the stories that has emerged from his arrival in North America was that the front office showed him videos of veteran enforcer Nic Deslauriers fighting and called him his “new best friend” insinuating that the 33-year-old will be protecting the 19-year-old from any trouble that comes his way.
And while that’s any boomer’s fantasy of the “good ol’ days” of hockey, it’s not exactly a practical strategy these days.
Deslauriers played a minuscule role for the Flyers during the 2023-24 season. He averaged just 8:09 of ice time through 60 games, regularly struggling to break 5 minutes of TOI per game down the stretch. He carries a $1.75 cap hit for this season and next.
First and foremost, the Flyers’ cap situation is… well… not great.
They’re in negative cap dollars as the offseason winds down, and there’s not exactly an easy answer to get themselves in the green. Ryan Johansen and Rasmus Ristolainen will probably switch spots in (LT)IR, which is actually more money coming back into circulation on top of the mess they already have.
They could bury Nic Deslauriers in the AHL, or at least most of his current cap hit. The buried cap threshold in 2024-25 is $1,150,000, which means Deslauriers would only count for $600,000 against the Flyers’ cap. Not exactly Earth-shattering savings, but since the Flyers have put themselves in penny-pinching mode, they may ultimately have no choice but to send him down.
Would he clear waivers? The answer is most likely yes. Every team tries and usually succeeds squeezing players through waivers that they’d rather not during training camp. It’s usually because most teams aren’t really shopping, especially for a depth meathead. Could a Cup-caliber team look to beef up a bit? Sure, but Deslauriers having two years on his deal, even at a smaller cap hit, probably won’t be overly enticing to most squads in September.
And beyond money, the Flyers’ forward corps is pretty full these days.
If the opening night roster is (in some order)
Tippett – Couturier – Konecny
Foerster – Frost – Michkov
Farabee – Laughton – Brink
Cates – Poehling – Hathaway
There’s not exactly a lot of wiggle room for Deslauriers to be a regular. If he makes an appearance, it’ll be on the fourth line left wing role, and he isn’t taking that spot from Noah Cates anytime soon.
They could throw Cates back at 3C and demote Laughton if his downward trend continues and sit him, but are they eager to bench their pseudo-captain? John Tortorella has shown he doesn’t really care for Bobby Brink in the past, so they could bump Hathaway up a line and shift Deslauriers to the right side.
There are ways to get him in the lineup, sure, and Tortorella has never been afraid to make changes no matter how little sense they make, but the point is that Deslauriers is firmly the 13th forward at absolute best right now. It’s hard to ride shotgun for Matvei Michkov from the press box.
It really doesn’t help Deslauriers’ case that the Flyers have their new favorite toy in Garnet Hathaway, a depth enforcer who can actually play a semi-decent game of hockey as well. His presence last season was a big reason why Desluriers’ ice time dropped in the first place, and now with a brand new extension in tow, Hathaway isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
So where does Nic Deslauriers end up in 2024-25? Their overflowing forward group partnered with their empty bank account really ties their hands. While it’s a nice sentiment that Deslauriers will be “protecting” Michkov, it’s never been how enforcers work in the NHL. The two players will never be on the same line (although, in Tortorella’s world never say never) and any fight Deslauriers get in to support Michkov will be retaliatory instead of protective. It was true back in the days of Dan Kordic and Eric Lindros and it’s true today.
One dimensional players like Deslauriers are going the way of the dinosaurs. He’s one of the very few players left in the league whose only purpose is to fight. Especially as his 34th birthday nears there’s not much time left for a career resurgence. Maybe they find a way to keep him on the main roster financially and toss him into action during games they anticipate trouble, but barring injury, there’s just no way Desluriers is a regular on the Flyers anymore, so it may be someone else’s job to keep Matvei Michkov safe on a night-to-night basis.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Getty Images
brotherlypuck.com 