The key dates of the NHL offseason came and went without major action from the Philadelphia Flyers. They picked up seven prospects from the NHL Draft, but their quiet approach to free agency likely indicates they’re finished the majority of their offseason work.
Flyers Development Camp in Vorhees, NJ also gave fans to see the organization’s top prospects as part of an introduction to the organization.
Flyers Development Camp
The Flyers surprised some draft analysts by selecting Jett Luchanko in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft. They showed off their new prospect during three developmental practice days and a scrimmage on Saturday night.
News that the OHL speedster signed his entry-level contract came out just minutes after he left the ice following the scrimmage.
He’ll return to the Guelph Storm next season before beginning his pro career.
Matvei Michkov also signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers this week. However, he did not attend Flyers Development Camp because he hasn’t arrived in the United States yet.
The organization expects him to begin training camp on time in September.
97.5 The Fanatic, the flagship radio partner of the Philadelphia Flyers, provides a weekly roundup with news, analysis, and outlook on the 2024 offseason.
NHL Free Agency
Danny Briere and Keith Jones both publicly mentioned salary cap challenges before free agency began on July 1. The Flyers face significant cap allocation to players who won’t contribute on the NHL roster in 2024-25.
The dead money handcuffed their free agent budget. They bought out Cam Atkinson on June 28 to add another sunk cost to the list.
His contract will carry a $2.36 million dead cap hit in 2024-25 and $1.76 million in 2025-26. Atkinson signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning on a one-year deal worth $900K.
The Flyers qualified restricted free agents Bobby Brink and Egor Zamula. They later inked Brink to a two-year deal worth $1.5 million in AAV.
They also brought back veteran defenseman Erik Johnson on a one-year contract and extended Garnet Hathaway through 2027-28. Johnson played 17 games for the Flyers last season after moving from the Buffalo Sabres ahead of the trade deadline.
Briere emphasized his value as a veteran who can fill the role Marc Staal played last year helping the development of younger defensemen and likely moving in and out of the lineup.
Hathaway scored seven goals and added 10 assists in his first season in Philadelphia in 2023-24. He plays a bottom-six role that Briere considers important to the Flyers’ emphasis on becoming “harder to play against” during the rebuild.
His original free agent contract carries an annual cap hit of $2.375 million through 2024-25, and the extension carries a $2.4 million annual cap hit for two additional seasons. He’ll turn 33 just over a month into the 2024-25 season.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
NHL Schedule Release
The NHL also released its schedule for the 2024-25 season on July 2.
The Flyers will open the regular season against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, Oct. 11. It’ll kick off a four-game road trip to Western Canada and Seattle.
The home opener at the Wells Fargo Center will take place Saturday, Oct. 19 when the Canucks travel back to Philadelphia.
The highly-anticipated matchups against the Anaheim Ducks will fall just two weeks apart. The Flyers will (presumably) face Cutter Gauthier for the first time on Saturday, Dec. 28 for a 4pm (EST) puck drop.
The Ducks will travel east to face the Flyers on Saturday, Jan. 11. Expect the wrath of the Wells Fargo Center crowd to reflect the expectations Dan Hilferty spoke about after the trade.
The Flyers have a 13-day break in between games on Feb. 8 and Feb. 22 for the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off. They finish up the 2024-25 regular-season schedule in Buffalo on April 17.
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
