Monday afternoon was the deadline for NHL teams to extend qualifying offers to restricted free agents under their control, and the Philadelphia Flyers did just that with five players: Brayden Schenn, Nick Cousins, Brandon Manning, Petr Straka and Jordan Weal.
That leaves two RFAs without qualifying offers: Derek Mathers and Brandon Alderson. Both will now become unrestricted free agents, and it’s unlikely that they return to the organization — although sometimes it does happen.
Mathers was drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Draft. He played 98 games with the Phantoms, scoring just three goals and two assists over that time. He also compiled 314 penalty minutes, largely playing an enforcer-type role for the team during his time there. Alderson was signed in 2012 after a successful junior career alongside Flyers prospect Nick Cousins. Alderson bounced around between the AHL and ECHL during his time in the organization, and he spent the majority of his final season here with the Reading Royals.
As for the other five, all the qualifying offer means is that the Flyers still hold their rights. The qualifying offer is based off of their previous salary, but it’s common for deals to ultimately be signed that differ from the qualifying offer. Schenn, for example, will likely sign a contract worth more than the $2.75 million he’s due under the qualifying offer.
Schenn, Cousins and Manning all have significant NHL experience and were basically locks to earn qualifying offers. Straka and Weal were question marks since neither appears to have much of an NHL future here, although the Flyers likely see both as players who can contribute on a good Lehigh Valley Phantoms team.
