Flyers sign former first-round pick Ryan Poehling to a one-year deal

General manager Danny Brière acknowledged this past week that the rebuilding Flyers weren’t going to be major players in free agency.

But the Flyers didn’t completely sit out the opening day of the NHL’s free-agent frenzy Saturday, signing center Ryan Poehling to a one-year, $1.4 million contract. Poehling, 24, lands in Philadelphia after playing across the state last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I think it’s a no brainer to bring in a guy like Ryan Poehling, a guy who wants to prove himself, who’s willing to put in the work and bet on himself on a one-year deal,” Brière said. “He wants to earn it, and I think he’ll have that chance with [coach John Tortorella]. Torts is fair, and [Poehling’s] a guy who’s not afraid to work.”

The addition of Poehling as a bargain fills the need for a bottom-six center after former general manager Chuck Fletcher traded Patrick Brown last season at the trade deadline. Poehling has played primarily as a depth center during his three NHL seasons, but he does have some pedigree as a former first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens (No. 25 overall, 2017).

Last season with the Penguins, Poehling posted seven goals and 14 points in 53 games. He played 11 minutes, 36 seconds of ice time per game, making significant strides defensively and establishing himself as an elite penalty killer. Poehling graded out extremely well defensively in Evolving Hockey’s total defense model (even strength defense goals above replacement + shorthanded defensive goals above replacement), ranking 21st in the league among centers at 3.7 goals above replacement last season.

While he evolved into more of a defensive role last season, Poehling still has some intriguing tools. He has good size at 6-foot-2, 196 pounds, possesses a dangerous wrist shoot, and can absolutely fly. Poehling’s top speed of 24.32 mph last season was actually the fastest time tracked by the NHL last season.

“What I like with him is he can kill penalties, he can play the middle, he brings speed, an area that we wanted to improve on also when in our bottom six,” Brière said. “So he hits a lot of points. And obviously the age factor made it a no brainer.”

Prior to joining the Penguins, Poehling played two seasons (and one game in a third) with the Canadiens. Poehling’s best career game came on April 6, 2019, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, as he notched a hat trick — and scored the shootout winner — to become the ninth player in NHL history to score a hat trick in his pro debut. In 138 career NHL games, Poehling has registered 20 goals and 36 points.

A native of Lakeville, Minn., Poehling played college hockey at St. Cloud State, and also represented Team USA at two World Junior Championships.

With the Flyers, Poehling figures to slot in as the team’s fourth-line center behind Sean Couturier, Morgan Frost, and Noah Cates. A sensible depth signing, the Flyers are getting a player with speed who can both help on the forecheck and the penalty kill. There’s also a chance, Poehling rediscovers some of his offensive ability and pops a little bit in that regard given his skill set and pedigree.

In his first go-round as a general manager leading an organization through free agency, Brière had to hold himself in check.

“You see some of the names that come your way, and then you start thinking it’s really easy to get excited about adding them to your lineup,” Brière said with a laugh. “I’m not gonna lie about that. But restraint was the key for us.”

Maybe someday the Flyers will be in a position to chase talented veterans, and maybe Brière will be around to acquire them. But at this point, the Flyers are trying to build from the bottom up, only adding veterans who can help teach young players for a bargain.

With that being said, Brière believes they are done or close to it now that they’ve fulfilled their need for a depth center. They’d like to add another veteran presence in the defensive corps. But he can’t say for sure there will or won’t be another signing down the line.

“You never know,” Brière said. “Things can come last minute, but I don’t expect it.”

When free agency commenced, defenseman Travis Sanheim’s new contract kicked in.

A key feature of the eight-year, $50 million deal? A no-trade clause for the next four seasons.

With that now in effect, it will be much harder to move Sanheim if the Flyers wanted to. It’s not impossible, but he’d have to agree to wherever they wanted to trade him.

Rumors were flying for the past week about all the potential trades for Sanheim in the works. Brière confirmed he received calls despite Sanheim’s “rollercoaster of a season” because it’s hard to find a top-four defenseman like him. He listened because “it’s my duty to listen.”

“I don’t imagine him being moved at this point,” Brière said. “And even going into it, I didn’t think he would get moved. But, at the same time, you listen. ... Just nothing really made sense at this point.”

There are a lot of names to look forward to at the Flyers development camp, but Cutter Gauthier isn’t one of them.

Gauthier, the Flyers’ first-round pick last year, was invited to camp but declined. The Flyers weren’t given an explanation, but Brière said they’re assuming it’s because he’s played a lot of hockey recently.

After being drafted, Gauthier started at Boston College as a freshman. He led his team in goals and points, scoring 16 goals and 21 assists in 32 games. His season ended March 11.

In the middle of his college season, Gauthier missed games to participate in the U20 World Juniors Championship where he played seven games. Following his season, Gauthier was named to Team USA’s team for the IIHF Men’s World Championship. In May, he participated in 10 games, and he scored seven goals with two assists.

Brière said it would have been fun for fans to see Gauthier play with the other prospects at development camp, but they’re OK with his decision.

“We’re trying to figure out why he didn’t want to come,” Brière said. “But at this point, I’m not too worried about that.”