Photo Credit: Katelynn Reiss
The Flyers shocked the hockey world with a season that was supposed to be nothing short of promise. Unfortunately, it became the season of disappointment with missing the playoffs, thus leaving the organization scratching their heads saying “What’s next”. With the upcoming expansion draft looming this may be a time to dump a high priced salary. Without further delay, let’s dive into whom the Flyers may expose and protect using the 7-3-1 method, with of course my guess or wish for the selection by the Seattle Kraken.
FORWARDS (7)- Claude Giroux (NMC- No Movement Clause), Kevin Hayes (NMC- No Movement Clause), Nolan Patrick, Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom
The 22-year old in Patrick should be protected to flush out a high priced forward like James van Riemsdyk or Jakub Voracek. Patrick still has upside, but his future with the club remains in limbo in terms of where he fits, whether it’s Center or Wing. With the Flyers deciding to protect Patrick over successful veterans such as Voracek or JvR. This should send a signal to the Flyers fan base that Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher means business this offseason.
According to Chuck Fletcher, he has had some conversations with some players about the possibility of exposing them for the expansion draft:
I’ve had conversations with a few of them. Several conversations with a couple of them about the likelihood of it, about what we’re trying to do and why. As we get closer to Saturday, whether it’s Friday or Saturday, I will reach out to some of the players for sure to give them a courtesy heads up. Things could still change, so I don’t want to jump the gun too much. I think a few of them are aware of what our position is, and we’ve had good conversations.” – Chuck Fletcher said at his presser to the media this week
Elliotte Friedman stated a week ago that the Flyers will indeed expose Voracek, and that the Flyers top brass has informed him of such. Not too shocking, but he also stated on a podcast that the Flyers could work on a deal for the Kraken to select Voracek from the Flyers. Whether or not this will happen remains to be seen, but Fletcher did have conversations of side deals with Kraken’s General Manager Ron Francis, “I’ve had several conversations with Ron going back a few months now,” Fletcher said this past week. “We’ll probably take guidance from them if there’s something that they think would make sense for them and would make sense for us.”
It seemed like a long shot that the Flyers would protect Patrick due to his lack of production However, he is still young and cheap enough to at the very least be an ideal 13th forward. The Kraken’s philosophy may be taking a high priced contract like JvR to get to the cap floor, and he is good for 20-25 goals a season.
Laughton of course is a slam dunk protection. He was a pending free agent, but he re-signed a new five year deal with the Flyers at the trade deadline. Couturier is a slam dunk protection, so there is nothing more to be written about him. He put forth a good year in 2021, even though it wasn’t as strong as his 2019-20 season. Konecny and Lindblom have become staples of the Flyers organization, and both players have a lot of upside, even with their dip in production from this past season. Lindblom was recovering from his unfortunate situation, so a dip in production should have been expected.
Defensemen (3)- Travis Sanheim, Ivan Provorov, and Philippe Myers
Sanheim and Provorov are slam dunks in terms of protection. Sanheim is a young 25-year-old defenseman that is a good skater, and logs minutes. These type of defenseman are hard to come by these days. He has a great shot, but had a bit of a down year in 2020-21. Sanheim overcame his battles about midway-3/4 through the season, and played well to end the season.
There is absolutely no way Provorov does not get protected, so onto Myers. Myers is a young undrafted 24-year-old defenseman. He has tons of offensive upside, but his ability to get back and back check cannot be understated. Myers is so good as he uses his long stick for poke checks to break up the play the other way. Unfortunately, he did not have a good year in 2020-21, however, the Flyers will not give up on him. He is still trying to find his niche, but it will come in time. Myers will rebound next year, as he will take the body more on his opponents, as Myers will use his big 6’5 frame to his advantage.
Goalie (1)- Carter Hart
Hart is a no brainer to protect as he is the cornerstone of the franchise. I’m very confident in his ability to rebound next season. This kid has electrified the fan base, and Hart has cemented himself as the main guy between the pipes for the orange and black for the foreseeable future. All this by wearing a unique number…#79.
With big contracts bring exposed such as Shayne Gostisbehere, JvR, and Voracek. The Kraken will select Ghost from the Flyers.
One can make a case for the Kraken to select JvR as he manages to pot 20-25 goals per year (In a normal season), and he still has a knack to be a net front presence on the power play. However, in the end the Kraken need to get to the cap floor, and selecting a quarterback of their power play will help their special teams immensely. They will obviously need to score goals with the man advantage, well Ghost can do this for them. The only question that remains, will Fletcher sweeten the pot for them to select Ghost?
