Will The Flyers Make A Big Splash This Offseason Or Should They Wait Till Next Offseason?

The Flyers have been one of the most average teams over the past 6-8 years. Ever since the Flyers long playoff run in 2010, that led to a Stanley Cup loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Flyers haven’t made it past the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.




But, why is that? Is it because of poor teams? Is it because of poor coaching or front office mishaps?

Well, a little mixture of all of that has led to these average years by the Flyers. However, the good times of Flyers hockey should be returning in the near future for the Flyers and their fans. A very bright future lies a head for this young core group of Flyers.

After the Flyers lost to the Blackhawks, they went through a whole slew of changes. Changes ranging from 3 different new coaches, new front office staff, and trading away some of the franchises best players to start a rebuild.




Well, now after 5 years of rebuild, building through the draft, and getting out of cap purgatory, the Flyers are ready to add to this young core to insert themselves as a power in the Metro Division and Eastern Conference.

First, lets see what the Flyers have first.

The Flyers have one of the best defensive prospect pools and possibly the best goalie prospect in the whole entire NHL. However, other than the gift from God, Nolan Patrick, the Flyers lack high profile forward prospects. Especially on the wing.  But, they do have a chance to change that in this years draft. With two picks inside the top 20, the Flyers have the ability to trade up to get one of the drafts best forwards.




If the Flyers trade up in the draft, it may hint that GM Ron Hextall is ready to go and flip his thinking from build through the draft to lets add to the young core. If that is the case, should the Flyers add this offseason or next offseason?

Well, this year’s free agent class is very average behind the two standouts, John Carlson & John Tavares. Both would be a tremendous upgrade to the Flyers on multiple fronts. Each would bring veteran leadership and help vault the Flyers to a team to watch out for in the Eastern Conference.

But, after them, is their anybody that warrants a good look by the Flyers?




Would you mind a return of former Flyer James Van Riemsdyk? Or future Flyer hater James Neal?. These two are apart of the secondary talent available this offseason. But, if the Flyers want high profile talent, besides Carlson or Tavares, they will have to make a trade to acquire said talent. Making a trade is an interesting topic among itself due to the talent that maybe available.

If the Flyers go the trade route to acquire a high profile player, there are some pretty interesting names rumored to be available this offseason. Some names rumored to be available this offseason are Hurricanes winger Jeff Skinner, Senators winger Mike Hoffman, Coyotes winger Max Domi, and Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton. If the Flyers could work a trade with one of those teams, all four of those would bring the same talent and upgrade that Carlson or Tavares would bring. But, they would come at a cost due to a trade.

In any trade the Flyers would possibly make with anyone of those teams, they would have to give up at least one of their high quality defense prospects and picks. It is the price you have to pay to acquire talent of that level.




So, a trade may not be the best option if you don’t want the Flyers to possibly trade away one of their high quality defense prospects. But, what if they wait a year? What does the free agent class of 2019-2020 look like?

Well, at the moment, the 2019-2020 class looks to be very powerful. However, that can all change. The year before a player becomes a free agent, the team he plays for will look to lock them up long-term. But, if a player is willing to bet on himself and try to improve his number, he will most certainly hit free agency next offseason.

A few names that remain unsigned in 2019-2020 are Logan Couture, Artemi Panarin, Tyler Seguin, Jeff Skinner, Blake Wheeler, Drew Doughty, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, just to name a few.




Therefore, is it better for the Flyers to wait until next offseason to make a big splash? With the possibilities of a much deeper class, should they wait? Or would you be fine with one of those names mentioned above? Or possibly making a trade for a high profile guy.

Anyway the Flyers can improve for the future, I am very sure GM Ron Hextall will take a long serious look at. But, the possibilities are endless for the Flyers to add and improve now with a deep prospect pool and a ton of cap space.