Breaking down the Flyers’ roster, salary cap situation, and potential targets before free agency begins

LAS VEGAS — Now that the draft is done, all eyes quickly turn to free agency.

Less than 48 hours after things ended in Sin City, the NHL begins its roster preparations for 2024-25 in earnest as Canada Day is spent wheeling and dealing to sign players.

Flyers general manager Danny Brière has said more than once he expects it to be a quiet day, but that’s not always what happens when the phones start buzzing. There are a lot of moving parts for the Flyers as they head into the new season. Who will they add — or subtract — and how will things look come puck drop in October?

Here is everything you need to know about the Flyers with free agency opening at noon Monday.

» READ MORE: Carter Hart becomes unrestricted free agent after Flyers decline to issue qualifying offer

As of June 30, Matvei Michkov had not signed his entry-level contract. Following Round 1 of the draft, Brière said “it’s looking very good” about his contract. So the expectation is an announcement will be coming soon.

Restricted free agents Bobby Brink and Egor Zamula have yet to be signed, though they received qualifying offers on Sunday. Carter Hart, who has not played since late January after taking a leave of absence and is awaiting trial for an alleged sexual assault in London, Ontario, did not receive a qualifying offer and is now an unrestricted free agent.

» READ MORE: Bobby Brink and Egor Zamula receive qualifying offers from the Flyers

Forwards (11): Noah Cates, Sean Couturier, Nic Deslauriers, Joel Farabee, Tyson Foerster, Morgan Frost, Garnet Hathaway, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Ryan Poehling, Owen Tippett

Defense (5): Jamie Drysdale, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Cam York, Rasmus Ristolainen*

Goalies (2): Sam Ersson, Ivan Fedotov

*Ristolainen is currently on injured reserve as he recovers from surgery on a ruptured triceps tendon.

As of now, Ryan Ellis is expected to be on long-term injured reserve for next season with a torn muscle in his back. He was on LTIR for the past two seasons.

The 33-year-old defenseman has not played since Nov. 13, 2021, and it is unlikely his career will resume. His contract does not expire until the end of 2026-27 and comes with a cap hit of $6.25 million per season.

There is a possibility forward Ryan Johansen could join him, but the Flyers do not need to decide anything as of today. Acquired from the Colorado Avalanche at the 2024 trade deadline in the deal that sent Sean Walker west, Johansen revealed a hip injury after the trade. Although he would have been a buyout candidate, the Flyers cannot do so while he is injured.

“It’s tough to tell,” Brière said when asked if he expects him to play for the Flyers after the draft. “We have no idea when he’s going to be healthy at this point. So, take it one day at a time. It’s a little bit bad of a surprise right now.”

» READ MORE: Flyers part with Cam Atkinson as the NHL draft and free agency begin

Johansen has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $4 million for the Flyers. The Nashville Predators retained part of his salary when they traded him to the Avalanche last summer and have the remaining $4 million on his $8 million salary.

Brière and president Keith Jones have consistently brought up the term “dead money” when discussing the Flyers’ limited offseason plans.

According to PuckPedia, dead money refers to any cap charge for players not on the active roster. This includes buyouts, retained salary, bonus overages, and buried cap hits. The Flyers will have $7,596,429 tied up in buyouts and retained salaries, and a cap hit of $3.85 million in buried salary with goalie Cal Petersen. PuckPedia also reports $245,000 in bonus overages.

Heading into the new season, the salary cap is set at $88 million. As of June 30, PuckPedia projects the Flyers to have a cap hit of $83,679,763, with $4,320,238 of cap space. When Ellis is officially added to LTIR, this will jump to $10,570,238.

The Flyers still have to sign Brink, Zamula, and Michkov. Brière told The Inquirer at the NHL Scouting Combine he also wants to re-sign Erik Johnson. The veteran blueliner will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. It is expected the combined quad will amount to around $4 million at minimum, and will not leave much additional room without LTIR and other potential moves.

The Flyers could make a hockey trade, and names like Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and, as always, Scott Laughton have floated around.

It’s already been made clear the Flyers value a veteran defenseman who can mentor a young blueline corps. Marc Staal fit that spot on the roster last season and Johnson, who was brought in at the trade deadline and fit in immediately in the room, is who Brière wants this season. If they cannot agree to terms, Kevin Shattenkirk, who made $1.05 million this past season, is a good backup, as he just served in a similar role for the Bruins.

Other possible positional needs for the Flyers are a high-end center who can play alongside the talented Michkov, and a veteran goalie.

The Flyers have two young netminders now in Ersson and Fedotov, with the latter only having three appearances under his belt in the NHL. They may want a veteran who has been in the trenches as an insurance policy. Possible candidates include Casey DeSmith ($1.8 million), Laurent Brossoit ($1.75 million cap hit in 2023-24) and Scott Wedgewood ($1 million), and former Flyers Martin Jones ($875,000) and Anthony Stolarz ($1.1 million).

As for centers, the Flyers won’t be getting that 1C or 2C in free agency due to the limited cap space, but could kick the tires on a reclamation project at a bargain price. Some possible names include Tyson Jost ($2 million), Blake Lizotte ($1.675 million), and Kevin Stenlund ($1 million).