Philadelphia Flyers Offseason Primer 2024
The Philadelphia Flyers enter the 2024 NHL offseason over one year into their announced organizational rebuild. Danny Briere spurred a significant jump in the standings during his first full season…
Photo by Colin Newby | BBGI Philadelphia
Photo by Colin Newby | BBGI PhiladelphiaThe Philadelphia Flyers enter the 2024 NHL offseason over one year into their announced organizational rebuild.
Danny Briere spurred a significant jump in the standings during his first full season as general manager. The newly constructed leadership group with Keith Jones and Dan Hilferty settled in to help the fan base move past the ugliest three-year stretch in the history of a storied franchise.
“Across the board, people feel better about where we are. They feel that the things that Keith and Danny in his role as GM have done over the course of this year are about building for the long haul and doing it in a way that is as transparent as possible in an environment where not everything can be transparent.” -Dan Hilferty
Flyers Enter 2024 Offseason
The 2023-24 season ended with a loss in the 82nd and final regular-season game to finally eliminate the Flyers from postseason contention. A team without incredible talent exceeded expectations on the ice, but they have plenty of room for improvement.
John Tortorella maximized the talent on the roster and still failed to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs. How will Briere and the Flyers address the talent deficiencies?
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The front office hopes to execute their draft picks to restock the organization with talent for years down the road. They currently own 10 picks in the 2024 NHL Draft. However, they could also pursue trades that would shake up the NHL roster immediately.
The Flyers must also navigate difficult salary cap circumstances that will heavily impact their offseason decisions in 2024.
NHL Draft
| Round | Acquired |
| 1 | Flyers pick |
| 1 | From the Florida Panthers (Claude Giroux trade in March 2022) |
| 2* | From the Columbus Blue Jackets (Ivan Provorov trade in June 2023) |
| 2 | Compensatory pick for losing the rights to Jay O'Brien |
| 3 | Flyers pick |
| 5 | From the Vegas Golden Knights (three-team trade with Calgary Flames for Noah Hanifin in March 2024) |
| 5 | From the Los Angeles Kings (Zack MacEwen trade in March 2023) |
| 6 | From the St. Louis Blues (Kevin Hayes trade in June 2023) |
| 6 | Flyers pick |
| 7 | Flyers pick |
Free Agency
NHL Free Agency begins at 12pm EST on Monday, July 1
Danny Briere and Keith Jones have both explicitly pointed out the salary cap challenges since the season ended. The Flyers face paying lucrative long-term salaries to Travis Sanheim, Sean Couturier, and Rasmus Ristolainen relative to their on-ice production.
However, it’s players that won’t contribute to the NHL roster that will weigh down the 2024-25 Flyers.
It will take drastically unforeseen circumstances for Ryan Ellis or Ryan Johansen to play a game in orange and black. The organization expects Cal Petersen to play at the AHL level until his contract expires after 2024-25.
The Flyers will also carry the dead cap charges of Kevin Hayes at $3.57 million for two more seasons and Tony DeAngelo at $1.67 million for one more season.
Cam Atkinson could join the two departed veterans if the Flyers buy out the final season of his contract.
It’s easy to see why the Flyers don’t perceive flexibility to sign free agents.
They did enter free agency last offseason with similarly low expectations, but they ended up signing one solid veteran contributor in Garnet Hathaway to a two-year, $4.75 million deal.
“We don't expect to do much on free agency day. The reality is, we have a lot of dead money going into year two of my tenure. But that was the plan also. We acquire assets to help us for the future, like picks and stuff. So, this summer is going to be tough. Next summer (it) should ease up a little bit, but we're still going to be in a little bit of a crunch. But looking further towards the future, I think it's going to hopefully get easier. And as the cap rises, hopefully again next summer, know that that's going to help us.” -Danny Briere
Trade Market
The Flyers won’t aggressively pursue free agents. The players they select in the 2024 NHL Draft won’t likely debut in the NHL for at least one more season. What’s to look forward to?
The trade market could heat up around the NHL, especially with a salary cap that rose from $83.5 million to $87.5 million. Briere made it known last summer the Flyers were open for business to begin the rebuild. He doubled down on his statement entering the 2024 offseason.
“Yes, absolutely. And, you know, it hasn't changed for us. We're still looking to acquire assets that are going to help us in the future.” -Danny Briere
The Flyers will attempt to trade Cam Atkinson, although they won’t get a significant return even if they find a taker. However, three other players on the roster could factor into bigger trades.
Scott Laughton lands in the headlines seemingly every trade deadline and offseason. The Flyers value his leadership and intangible strengths, but they won’t be able to ignore a potential lucrative trade offer that plays a significant factor in their long-term future.
Rasmus Ristolainen might not factor into the long-term plans on the blue line. He drew some interest leading up to the trade deadline but ended up staying put in Philadelphia. Could the trade talks rekindle?
Joel Farabee is the most enticing name that could realistically be on the move. The right winger plays the only position with a depth logjam in the organization.
He disappointingly faded down the stretch in 2023-24. Could a change of scenery help him regain the form that made him one of the top young wingers in the NHL in 2020-21?
The NHL trade market has plenty of big names that could help solve the lack of high-end skill on Philadelphia’s top lines.
An aggressive approach from Briere could excite Flyers fans desperate for a splashy move.
97.5 The Fanatic NHL Offseason Trade Targets
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty ImagesMatvei Michkov
One variable could throw off the entire Flyers offseason. The organization still doesn’t know if Matvei Michkov will emigrate to North America before the 2024-25 season.
The Russian phenom would presumably join the NHL roster immediately if he did leave the KHL.
The timeline of the rebuild would change. The offseason plans would shift in order to gear the NHL roster to help his development. Flyers fans would lose their minds.
It’s all up in the air.
“We have no update on it. We would welcome him with open arms. We absolutely love what he is going to bring to the Flyers. If that timeline is sped up, that would be wonderful, but we don’t know. So we’ll watch along closely like you guys are as well, and when he arrives, our fan base is going to be pretty excited about getting a highly-talented player that is different from what we have right now.” -Danny Briere
