Before Dave Hakstol can start coaching the team, he needs to know what players he has to work with on the roster.
Ron Hextall continues to add to the many decisions the Flyers will have to make this offseason.
Last week, Hextall tapped into the KHL for two free agents – defenseman Yevgeni Medvedev and forward Aaron Palushaj. Both were primarily depth signing in the event of unforeseen injuries in the best interest of practicing continued patience with prospects.
That said, there are four top defensive prospects waiting in the wings and potentially competing for a job with the likes of NHL veterans and players who have barely reached the NHL level but have played there before.
Something's gotta give eventually for the Flyers defensive group.
Take a full look at the Flyers defensive roster. Expect the following names back with the team next season: Mark Streit, Nick Schultz, Michael Del Zotto and Andrew MacDonald. Add in one of Luke Schenn and Nick Grossmann. The Flyers will try to – and likely – trade one of them. They won't trade both.
And don't forget about the forgotten piece of the Braydon Coburn trade with Tampa: Radko Gudas.
Now add in a host of players with minimal NHL exposure: Brandon Manning, Oliver Lauridsen and Mark Alt. Now throw Medvedev into that mix and don't forget that in addition to them, there's a good chance three of the four prospects – Robert Hagg, Sam Morin and Shayne Gostisbehere – will enter camp with aspirations of making the team.
For Morin and Gostisbehere, the AHL seems like the right destination, but things do change. Hagg also seems poised for another year in the AHL, but is also probably the closest of the four at this moment – yes, even with Gostisbehere playing as an emergency call-up last season.
But it still creates this mess of defensemen – 16 in all between the Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms – that will have to be resolved by the start of training camp.
There will only be room for maybe 10 or 11 of these defensemen to truly stick. That means at least four have uncertain futures.
Travis Sanheim will go back to juniors for another year. The Flyers will probably try to trade another defensemen or two – the draft will be a prime time to do it – before the season begins.
But that still leaves a lot of work for Hextall and we're not even talking about the offense and forwards yet.
Hextall knew he would be busy. And by all standards, he has been. New coach, a couple of new signings from the KHL. But what he didn't realize is that these signings actually create more work rather than easing the problem.
Depth is a good thing and the Flyers certainly seem to have it. But trying to figure out where to put the rest of the players that don't make the cut in training camp and the preseason will be a task in and of itself.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
