The Philadelphia Flyers certainly haven’t made any big splashes in free agency. Instead, they’ve made a handful of smaller moves that could produce short- and long-term dividends.
Daniel Briere’s first order of business was giving a one-year deal to a former first-round pick. Ryan Poehling, 24, was the 25th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. At $1.4 million, Poehling is a low-risk signing with plenty of upside. He wasn’t able to stick around in Montreal or Pittsburgh, but he could push for a home in the Flyers’ bottom six.
Then Briere turned to a pair of veterans to give the Flyers some depth.
Garnet Hathaway signed a two-year contract ($2.375M AAV) on Saturday night with Marc Staal joining the club on a one-year deal ($1.1M) on Monday morning. While Hathaway and Staal may take a roster spot or two away from some of the younger players, there’s the other side of that where those two will help push and mentor some of the prospects. John Tortorella may favor the veterans but at the same time he’s still going to ice the best roster he can.
Who knows, maybe Briere has something else in the works as well. Having two more experienced veterans on the roster could allow the Flyers to be more flexible and open to trading the Scott Laughtons, Travis Konecnys, and Travis Sanheims of the world.
Hathaway and Staal are two veterans that can help out the Flyers in a variety of ways. Sure, they may bring some sort of a “veteran presence” to a younger, rebuilding team, but that’s not where the true value lies.
Both players should be sought after by contending teams at the trade deadline.
Hathaway has a two-year contract so it’ll be more of a decision, but the record-setting Bruins team felt the need to add him (along with Dmitry Orlov) last deadline. There will be a handful of contenders looking to add a defensive-minded pest like Hathaway.
The winger has played in 31 playoff games in his career, averaging over 11 minutes a night. In fact, Hathaway has played in each of the last five NHL postseason.
As long as Staal plays competent hockey in Philadelphia, he has to be moved at the deadline. He’s on a one-year contract, so unless the 36-year-old defenseman shows that he can grow some roots in Philadelphia – which is highly unlikely –, Briere should do all he can to bring back a mid-round draft pick (or better) for Staal.
Like Hathaway, Staal also has quite a bit of playoff experience. He’s played in 128 career playoff games – 107 with the Rangers and 21 last season with the Panthers. He’s getting up there in age but still averaged nearly 21 minutes per game (20:56) for Florida in the playoffs.
Even if it’s an underwhelming return, it’ll be refreshing to see a general manager move his expiring contracts. Chuck Fletcher was unable to move James van Riemsdyk, Justin Braun, or Nick Seeler despite the Flyers being in a full-on rebuild.
Actually, it’s refreshing to simply see a general manager with a plan. Briere has taken over with a clear vision in place. Drafting Matvei Michkov gives the Flyers a timeline of when their star player should be able to join the NHL roster.
For now, Briere and the rest of the Flyers brass are doing what they should be at this stage of the rebuild. They’re moving out contracts and in pieces that can help build a culture and then be moved for some future assets as well.
