Over their past two offseasons, the Philadelphia Flyers have pursued semi-expensive depth options for their roster. It’s hard to blame them. For a while, a lot of their depth consisted of sub-replacement-level forwards and defensemen who actively cost the team games. An easy way to solve this problem was by opening up their wallets.
In the 2023 free agency period, the Flyers targeted forwards Garnet Hathaway and Ryan Poehling, with the two combining for a $3.775 million cap hit. This was on top of Scott Laughton, Noah Cates, and Nicolas Deslauriers, who were making $7.4 million together. This, as opposed to the several league-minimum-salaried depth players in years past, was a noticeable improvement. Philadelphia nearly made the playoffs in 2023-24 partially because of their approach.
The Flyers doubled down by extending Hathaway and Poehling to two-year contracts apiece worth slightly more than they originally signed for. They also gave third-pairing defenseman Nick Seeler a four-year deal worth $2.7 million annually, which came with a no-trade clause.
Now, we look ahead to the 2025 offseason festivities. As the Orange and Black prepare for them, one thing should be established: they have the talent to save some money on their depth this time. It may be somewhat of a necessity, too, considering their salary cap situation.
Let’s discuss some possible in-house depth options who could be deserving of an NHL roster spot. This can make the team’s more expensive depth players expendable, potentially helping the Flyers accumulate assets and cap space through trades.
Players in the System Who Could Make Good Depth Pieces
The Flyers will likely have some roster openings in 2025-26 regardless since it’s unlikely for every player on this season’s team to return. Here are three players, all from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL), who could be good depth players in Philadelphia if given the chance.
Olle Lycksell, Winger
Olle Lycksell, a 25-year-old left-handed winger, isn’t a stranger to the Flyers. The 2017 sixth-round pick has had a few contests of NHL hockey under his belt with the Orange and Black over the past few seasons, debuting in 2022-23. Since the start of that campaign, he has 108 AHL points in 116 games.
Being a valuable piece for the Phantoms scoring-wise hasn’t exactly translated to the NHL level. His six points in 27 games aren’t all that impressive, but his on-ice…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…