Kieth Yandle:

The aquistion of Yandle solidfies the third pairing which looks like it will be Yans and Braun. Yandle will bring strong offensive presents not only at 5 on 5 but on the powerplay as well. He is mostly known for his offensive abilities but he can also hold his own defesively as well if need be. The big story behind Yandle though is his iron man streak of 922 games straight only 43 games away from tying the long standing record set by Doug Jarvis at 964 games. But thats not all Yandle brings to the table as he is a locker room guy who can be a voice of reason at times. he also comes in with relationships that have all ready been built with guys like Hayes, Atkinson, and Giroux. It will be very intersting see how well He meshes with AV’s system on the ice.

Nate Thompson:

Guess whos back, back again, yes its him Nate Thompson. Hes here for his second stint with the team to most likely be The Flyers 4C and centre one of the PK units. hopefully this will free up Coots and allow Coots to be able to hold down the 5v5 and even work the power play some more. Thompson should slot right in the line up with no issues and gel especially with already knowing AV’s system after being here with The Flyers back during their playoff run 2019-20 playoff bubble.

Derrick Brassard

Heres a familiar face that most of us know from his time with the Penguins, Rangers, Islanders, and Bruins. Brassard has lots of playoff experience with 117 games played in the post season. Brassard will most likely compete for the 3C spot with his competition being Scott Laughton and Morgan Frost. it will be intersting to see how well Brassard can play and maybe even drive Frost to step up and have a huge training camp. The other upside to him is the fact that brassard is a great 2 way hockey player who can also play on the PK as a centre or a winger. which opens up either Coots or Giroux and allows them to be able to rest and focus on the 5v5 and the powerplay just like Thompson.

Martin Jones:

The new back up goalie will be looking to rebound from a lackluster couple of seasons that did not look good while in San Jose. While yes the defense infront of Jones was not good, he did not do himself any favors with his own play. we will see in the near future if Martin Jones can re-capture his good style of play and become the once solid goaltender he used to be so that he can be a formitable back up for Carter Hart.

Rasmus Ristolainen:

If you are fan of analytics then you will most likley not be a fan of this trade to start, but if you look at what he brings physically and then encompassthat with the fact that he was on an awful team with no real defensive partners to back him up i truly believe that Ristolainen will be a huge pick up for the Flyers. Especially considering he will be playing a reduced role in the 2nd pairing as well as one of the key guys for the penalty kill moving forward. Risto allows the team to have the options throughout the line up for the 5v5, PP, and PK. It will be extremely intersting to see what kind of player and the physicality that Risto brings to this Flyers blue line.

Cam Atkinson:

Another familiar face that has always been a thorn in the Flyers side, Atkinson is know for lighting the lamp and being a tenacious penalty killer. Atkinson will be looking to continue his goal scoring ways and hopefully reach the 40 goal club again this season. Atkinson plays a 200 foot game and will help with not only the offesive side of the game but also in the nuetral zone during transition to the defensive zone with a fundemental back check. It will be very interseting to see what grouping he will line up with but expect no mater what he will be a fun player to watch.

Ryan Ellis:

I would say that Ryan Ellis is the most important aquistion The Flyers made this offseason as this will give Provy a steady pairing with consistant defensive help that allows Provorov to not have to 26 minutes a game. This also fills the void of a powerplay specialist that was left in the Ghost trade, while also being able to kill penalties as well. Ellis is an all around defensman and can create multiple options for AV throughout the line up. This also adds another veteran voice in the locker room to hold everyone accountable at all times. Another thing to note is if you look at all the players that were brought in this season it appears that leadership was a big factor as all of these aquistions have worn letters for other franchises at some point in their career.

The Contract Extentions:

Travis Sanheim

Sanheim like most of the other younger players had a lackluster disappointing season. But with the addition of Risto, the hopes are that he will have a bounce back season and be fully worth the 4.675 Mil a year over the next 2 years. This is a bridge deal though and fully expect that the Flyers may not have him in their long term plans especially if he does not play to his contract value.

Cater Hart

At this point and time Carter Hart set the market for all the other young goaltenders and it is looking like at this time that The Flyers have gotten away with a steal. 3.979 mil a year for 3 years for possibly one of the top 10 goalies in the league is by all accounts a slam dunk. But it is up to Hart to prove that he is worth this contract and that he is a top 10 goalie.

Joel Farabee

Joel got an early extention as this wont kick in until next season but by all accounts this deal may be very similar to the one that Coots signed back in 2015 and end up being the best value contract in the NHL as long as Farabee continues to produce and progress in his development. Farabee proved his worth by scoring at a 30 goal and 60 point pace per 82 games. We will see if he can continue his point production this season and prove he is worth every penny of this extention.

Sean Couturier

COOOOOTTTTSSSSS…. there it is the extention that came as little to no surprise to anyone the best defensive player in the league in my opinion took a team freindly deal coming in way less then anyone projected him to at 7.75 mil a year over 8 seasons that goes into affect next season. Coots is a Selke trophy winner and always brought up around the league for his great 2 way play. Coots does more then just defend as he has seen an increase in point production over the last 4 seasons being just shy of a point per game player. This contract gets Coots paid while also leaving the team some money to work with and keeps the door open to bringing in outside help in the future to hopefully bring this team a Stanley Cup.

Restructuring of Lehigh Valley:

By sending Lappy to be the Phantoms head coach, the Flyers front office has garanteed that at both minor and the pro levels will be playing within the same 200 foot system with minimal dispartity between the two. Doing this should make the transition much smoother for call ups this way young players do not need to learn whole new system and can just come up and play already knowing the role they will be stepping into. Lappy and AV have stated they will be in open communication through the entirety of the season to include player development meetings and potential call ups.

It will be incredibly fun season to watch and I cant wait to break itall down for you right here all season long. Please stay tuned and subcribe for email notifications everytime one of these goes up. As always cheers and have a great rest of your day.