It has already been an eventful offseason for the Flyers and the offseason is only really just beginning.
True to their word, the Flyers and GM Ron Hextall sent Craig Berube packing not long after the conclusion of the season and made the new hire official prior to the NHL Draft.
Enter Dave Hakstol, the newest Flyers head coach.
Between Hextall in the front office and Hakstol behind the bench, are there really any major surprises left in the Flyers offseason? Chances are more of this team is already in place than you may think.
There are certainly the untouchables – the players that make up the top line and beyond that the Flyers will retain. Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek, Wayne Simmonds and Steve Mason instantly come to mind. It’s hard to see this team without Michael Raffl or Sean Couturier.
It’s going to be difficult for the Flyers to rid themselves of Vincent Lecavalier, no matter how much they may want to. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare will also return after signing a contract extension near the end of last season.
One pending free agent who seems destined to return is Chris VandeVelde. The Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Award winner from last season was one of the Flyers best role players. And now, his college head coach is at the helm.
As a Hakstol product at North Dakota, it’s hard to see Hextall putting faith in his new coach and not taking the chance on VandeVelde for at least one more season.
The two forwards that seem to hang in the balance are Brayden Schenn and Matt Read. Both carry some trade value and could be moved in a package deal at the draft.
If Schenn and Read do stay with the team, that leaves one open position at forward. It could go to one of the kids the Flyers took a chance on last season – Scott Laughton, Nick Cousins, Petr Straka or it could go to the newest Flyer come June 26 – assuming the Flyers draft a forward with the seventh overall pick. But that would take a strong preseason.
The piece that is easy to forget is R.J. Umberger. Umberger see-sawed between a healthy scratch and a limited role before an injury ended his season.
Noticeably absent from this list is Zac Rinaldo – rejoice, Flyers fans, your long nightmare is over. Also absent is Ryan White – who while putting up solid numbers in limited playing time last season is still a free agent the Flyers likely won’t be able to retain.
Defensively, the Flyers will continue to roll out with Mark Streit, Andrew MacDonald and have Nick Schultz under contract. Radko Gudas has yet to suit up with the Flyers after being acquired in the trade that sent Braydon Coburn to Tampa Bay. One of Luke Schenn or Nick Grossmann will still be with the team as well. And at his season-ending press conference, Hextall said Michael Del Zotto would be re-signed. That doesn’t even include Brandon Manning’s one-year NHL deal with the team.
So after all of that, the only hole in the Flyers roster – pending trades – is a back-up goaltender, assuming that Ray Emery will no longer be with the team.
Interestingly enough, perhaps the two biggest moves the Flyers could make are retaining Del Zotto and VandeVelde. Both were excellent last season and have earned the chance to return.
But this really leaves almost no flexibility for Hextall to make changes unless he gets creative. If nothing else, players like Del Zotto and VandeVelde will fit in with Hakstol, only confirming they have a place with the 2015-16 Flyers.
But the rest of the team, average at best in 2014-15, will either need to completely adjust to the new style Hakstol brings and improve or it will lead to more scrutiny as Hextall, Hakstol and the rest of the Flyers faithful await the arrival of the kids.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
