The NHL draft is in the rearview, but there’s no rest for the Flyers, as we’re now just 24 hours away from the start of free agency. The Flyers have had a decent summer thus far, but what should we be asking heading into the most fun day of the offseason?
Number 5: Do the Flyers Actually Land Shabanov?
The Flyers have been linked to 24-year-old Russian star Maxim Shabanov for most of the calendar year now, with things occasionally heating up over the last few weeks as the offseason festivities draw near, but nothing is set in stone yet.
The latest rumors seem to indicate the he and his agent are weighing their options based on where he’ll have the best chance to win and succeed individually. That is a scary thought if you’re the Flyers because they don’t win and historically don’t set their prospects up to succeed, but getting the chance to play with fellow countryman Matvei Michkov is hopefully too much to
Number 4: Cam York’s Future
York is the last big name the Flyers have on their in-house to-do list before free agency, and there really han’t been much talk about the 24-year-old defenseman one way or the other.
After some late-season fireworks between he and the coaching staff, and the fact most young minute-munching defenseman look to get paid, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if he ultimately gets traded this summer. But moving on from him with no real option to fill his shoes may not be all that smart either.
His BFF Trevor Zegras is here now, he’s already besties with Jamie Drysdale and Tortorella retreated to whatever circle of hell he came from, so unless the Flyers have a blockbuster trade up their sleeve, York should feel fine returning to Philly, it’s probably about the cap hit of his next contract.
Number 3: Risto Replacement?
The Flyers should be far more focused on other positions than defense this summer, but with Rasmus Ristolainen slated to start the season on IR and the unknown state his repeated injury will leave him up upon return, do they attempt to find a half-decent replacement to hold down the fort?
They no longer have Brad Shaw to squeeze blood from a stone here. They idea seems to be Helge Grans getting the first kick at the can, with Oliver Bonk the ideal long-term replacement. But that isn’t exactly a confidence-breeding answer for the immediate need. The Flyers have an ungodly amount of defensemen on the roser, but not many that are truly irreplaceable at the moment. They don’t need more random dudes, they need solutions, but is it high enough on the priority list to see change this summer?
Number 2: More than Zegras at C?
Body-wise, the Flyers have a full center group- Zegras, Cates, Couturier, and Abols.
Talent wise, they’re lacking quite a bit. They’ve got a hope and a prayer Zegras can stand in as a top six center. On a good days, Cates can be a solid middle-six center, but has also struggled to elevate his game above a fourth line grinder. Couturier is older than the dinosaurs. Abols is a fine plug, but probably not an NHL regular.
Adding Zegras is more than we would’ve expected going into the offseason, but it certainly doesn’t fix everything. Do they address center further or hope the Zegras bandage holds for this season and keep the priority open for either the trade deadline or 2026 offseason?
Number 1: Do They Address G Weakness?
This is one of those questions that make you realize just how screwed up everything about the Flyers is. “Will this be the year the Flyers attempt to put a band-aid on the biggest hole on their roster that has set them up to fail every year that they’ve been ignoring forever?”
Ersson and Fedotov have the collective worst save percentage for the last two seasons and Kolosov had a disastrous rookie year. No matter what else they do to the roster, they’re dead in the water if they don’t make an attempt to fix things. And it won’t be a good look for Briere and the front office if the team struggles again because they didn’t attempt to patch the goaltending.
That staleness would only be compacted by the fact they didn’t draft a goalie in 2024 or 2025. They gotta have an ace up their sleeve, or ignoring such a glaring problem could be the beginning of the end of Briere, just as it was with Ron Hextall years ago.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
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