Mar 9, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Pius Suter (24) shoots during warm up prior to a game against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Free agency kicks off in the NHL tomorrow, and there are sure to be a flurry of signings right away,
The Flyers will be in the mix for free agents, but likely not the biggest names.
They have about $15 million available in cap space, but that doesn't mean they can go after high-priced players.
They have a laundry list of things they need to get done within that space.
Let's take a look at each one, and how they might play out:
The Flyers goaltending last season was pretty abysmal. Sam Ersson had some nice stretches, but was way too inconsistent as the No. 1 guy and dealt with a recurring injury that caused him to miss time.
Thinking about last night’s second star.
(That would be Sam Ersson.) #4Nations | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/ioEFLAmwxU
Ivan Fedotov disappointed, but the Flyers still see value in him as a No.3 option. They'll take the chance that putting him on waivers won't result in a claim from another team as teams will shy away from his $3.275 million salary.
That will allow the Flyers to send him to the AHL and be the guy they call on to come up and play in case of injury or illness.
The Aleksei Kolosov situation is murkier than ever and both sides appear to be digging in. Kolosov has told the Flyers that he does not want to play in the AHL, and he has privately indicated to several people that he'd like to go back to the KHL and play for Minsk again.
Flyers G.M. Danny Briere is adamant that he expects Kolosov to report to camp because he is under contract.
It's a game of chicken, and the Flyers are willing to wait him out and have things play out on their terms.
Regardless, Kolosov can't be considered a reliable option at this point.
So, who could the Flyers look to bring in?
They'd certainly be interested in Carolina goalie Pyotr Kochetkov if he was made available via trade, but the price would have to be palatable, and sources indicate the price right now being asked for by the Hurricanes is nowhere close to palatable.
Another trade possibility could be Ville Husso, who is under contract with Anaheim. They just traded for Petr Mrazek from Detroit to be the tandem guy with Lukas Dostal.
Husso, 30, is under contract for two more seasons with a cap AAV of $2.2 million.
If they go the free agent route, there are two names I have heard they could be looking at - Ilya Samsonov and Jake Allen.
Their hope is to sign a guy in the $2 million range, which could take them out of the Allen race quickly, as he is coming off a $3.8 million deal. Even though he's older at nearly 35, he's probably looking for a similar AAV, even if it's short-term.
Ville HusSO! 🙅♂️
A 24-save performance by Ville Husso earns him his fourth @pepsi shutout of the season! pic.twitter.com/Qqb5hK5K94
Samsonov, 28, has had a few solid seasons in the past for Washington and Toronto, but they haven't been consistent.
He served as the backup in Vegas last year and had a 2.82 GAA and an .891 save percentage in 29 games.
The Flyers could fill this role from in house if they decide to pull a surprise on Tuesday (more on that later). Rodrigo Abols was re-signed to a one year deal and Karsen Dorwart could be given a look in training camp.
But if the Flyers decide to add here, a name that you could see is Pius Suter.
The 29-year-old Swiss center had his best NHL season last year playing in 81 games and posting 25 goals and 21 assists for 46 points while playing for Rick Tocchet in Vancouver.
He's likely due a nice raise from the $1.6 million he was making with the Canucks.
🗣️ PIUS SUTER WITH THE SHOT! pic.twitter.com/tiFVDQrB08
Another name that could come into play if the Flyers go down this external path is Nick Bjugstad.
The soon-to-be 33-year-old had a down year in Utah last season, but it was just two seasons ago that he scored 22 goals and had 23 assists when the team was in Arizona.
His previous AAV was $2.1 million.
This might seem like a weird one, but with Rasmus Ristolainen likely to miss the start of the season and Emil Andrae not quite being where they'd like him yet (he took steps backward toward the end of the season), the Flyers would like to add a veteran defenseman who could help solidify the lineup toward the back end.
This is the one place I have not heard a name, so anything I give you would be purely speculative. But I have heard it's a target.
One name that I think could be interesting, especially in the range they are looking, is Nate Schmidt, who just had a really successful one-year run with the Florida Panthers.
He was solid as a third pair guy for the Cup champs and was a steal for Florida on a one-year deal at just $800,000.
Schmidt, 33, probably played well enough (especially in the playoffs where he posted three goals and nine assists in 23 games) to get a nice raise - likely something like two years at about $3 million per. It might be slightly high for the Flyers, but they could get creative with some roster gymnastics to make it work.
The Flyers qualified Cam York on Monday (they didn't qualify Jakob Pelletier, or AHLers Zayde Wisdom and Elliot Desnoyers making them all free agents), but they aren't any closer to signing him to a new deal.
One team source told me that they he feels that the two sides are close in what they are looking for, but there has not been much movement lately and that the expectation is it will go on the backburner, for now.
That means the Flyers will likely sign him after the free agency frenzy dies down.
This is turning into the worst-kept secret. The closer we get to Tuesday the more I'm hearing a one-year, entry-level contract is coming for him with the Flyers for $950,000. There will be bonuses as well, and the question is, just how much?
I would expect we hear something on Shabanov signing with the Flyers on Tuesday.
I mentioned earlier that maybe the Flyers fill in the fourth line internally if they decide to do something a little bigger on Tuesday.
They have been keeping some stuff really close to the vest, but some of what I'm hearing is they could be looking to add some more scoring on Tuesday.
There aren't many goal scorers out there, so the Flyers would have to be really creative if it's someone with bigger contract expectations, or be really convincing to another player who maybe has some cache in the league that it would be worth it to sign with the Flyers as a competitive team.
Not sure if they are able to pull that off, but we'll find out soon enough.
