Five offseason priorities for the Flyers as they embark on Year 1 of their rebuild

The Flyers have said all the right things in recent months as the organization has made major front-office changes and proclaimed a “new era of orange.” But words are one thing. Now the Flyers have to prove they are truly turning over a new leaf as an organization.

The first step is the offseason, where the Flyers have made several costly missteps in recent years.

New general manager Danny Brière has promised a rebuild but not a “fire sale.” It is refreshing to hear “rebuild” instead of last season’s “aggressive retool,” but will Brière have the patience to carry it out and not make the same shortsighted mistakes his predecessor, Chuck Fletcher, made during his tenure? The Flyers certainly have several key decisions to make over the next few months as the offseason kicks into full gear with the NHL draft combine, draft, and free agency.

Here are five priorities for the Flyers as they embark on Year 1 of their rebuild:

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With the No. 7 overall pick, the Flyers will miss out on the two clear game-breakers in this draft: Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli. Instead of landing a player who will make an instant impact, they’ll likely be selecting a building block for the future, as they did last year when they selected Cutter Gauthier at No. 5.

From there, the Flyers have nine picks across the seven rounds of what they consider to be a strong draft (one first, two thirds, two fourths, a fifth, two sixths, and a seventh). They’ve stocked up the picks — it’s now down to talent evaluation. Playmaking winger Zach Benson, rugged U.S. National Team Development Program goal scorer Ryan Leonard, and Slovak center Dalibor Dvorský could be among the top players remaining on the board at No. 7 for the Flyers.

The conclusion of James van Riemsdyk’s five-year, $35 million contract clears up $7 million for the Flyers, but the team still has several veterans attached to hefty contracts. Kevin Hayes’ seven-year, $50 million deal comes to mind, particularly given his age (31), the team’s direction, and his personal standing with head coach John Tortorella.

The Flyers likely will need to retain salary to move Hayes, but the veteran would have value for a contender as a middle-six center with genuine playmaking ability. (Forty-five of his 54 points came in the first 50 games before Tortorella buried him further down the lineup). Trading Hayes, who no longer fits the team’s contention timeline, would free up a few million dollars for each of the next three years.

Cam Atkinson, who missed the entire 2022-23 season with a neck injury, is another veteran with a lucrative contract. The Flyers could elect to buy him out. That would spread Atkinson’s cap hit — $5.875 million for each of the next two seasons — over four years and save the Flyers around $3.5 million total, according to CapFriendly.

However, the Flyers may determine that the almost-34-year-old’s leadership is worth keeping around. Tortorella also may advocate to keep him because of their strong personal relationship. If the Flyers don’t move any of their larger contracts, they’ll likely have only about $2 million to $3 million available after they sign their restricted free agents.

The Flyers have four remaining NHL restricted free agents, and one of them, Kieffer Bellows, probably won’t be re-signed. However, the Flyers need to extend the other three: Noah Cates, Cam York, and Morgan Frost. Cates (13 goals, 38 points) established himself as a talented two-way center as a rookie, and York contributed on the top defensive pair for a significant portion of the season. Finally, Frost (19 goals, 46 points) got off to a rocky start with Tortorella but impressed him with his improvement down the stretch.

» READ MORE: NHL draft: Could U.S. NTDP winger Ryan Leonard be the answer for the Flyers?

They’re all 24 or younger, have upside, and are all relatively cheap at this point. Evolving Hockey projects Frost will sign for an annual average value of $2.5 million and Cates and York to get around $2.2 million-per-year deals. Prospects Ronnie Attard and Olle Lycksell also are RFAs who likely will return.

In Section 1, you may have noticed the Flyers don’t possess a second-round draft pick. That’s because the Flyers traded it away for Rasmus Ristolainen two summers ago. While Ristolainen found some defensive consistency last season, he has not played like someone on a five-year $25.5 million contract, never mind someone who was acquired for first- and second-round picks.

Performing below their contracts is a common theme for Flyers defensemen (outside of Nick Seeler and York). Ivan Provorov has two seasons left on his contract ($6.75 AAV), and has yet to deliver on the Flyers’ bet that he would develop into a true No. 1 defenseman. He eats up a lot of minutes and plays hard, but he hasn’t delivered the offensive impact or overall consistency the Flyers projected.

The Flyers also just committed eight years and $50 million to Travis Sanheim, which kicks in this season. Sanheim earned the contract with a solid 2021-22 season, but struggled under Tortorella.

And then there’s Tony DeAngelo, for whom the Flyers gave up three draft picks last July and are committed to for another year. He finished last season as a healthy scratch. Trading DeAngelo would be difficult, as the Flyers would have to find a team willing to put up with his glaring defensive deficiencies and behavioral baggage, and pay him $5 million.

While the Flyers have some young defensemen they’re hopeful about — Egor Zamula, Attard, Emil Andrae — they have a lot of money committed to underperforming veterans. Brière will have to untangle the mess to get the defensive corps on track.

The Flyers said they were trying to get younger last offseason — and then committed resources to 27-year-old DeAngelo and 31-year-old Nicolas Deslauriers. If they’re serious about rebuilding, they can’t go chasing veteran free agents, even if they might help them in the short term.

It’s all about the long game, and the front office and ownership are going to have to be patient. While there’s merit to giving the young players confidence by winning in the now, the Flyers can’t go around giving up draft picks and recklessly wasting cap space if they want long-term success.