The Philadelphia Flyers will spend the offseason strengthening their roster in preparation for their rebuild. All eyes were on the extremely gifted forward Matvei Michkov in their most recent draft, the one in which they selected the star potential.
The Flyers may want to add a pure offensive defenseman with a ton of talent next, based on some themes from this season. Although it deviates from the conventional notion of what a defender ought to be, it might be appropriate under Philadelphia’s circumstances.
The Flyers are among the finest teams in the NHL at getting almost any defender to perform, which is an important fact to acknowledge. Basically, it has been applied to all those who have regularly played defense. They have often played decent minutes, ranging from American Hockey League (AHL) guys to previously struggling NHL players. When the Flyers become real contenders, that might still be the case.
Before the season, there wasn’t much to like about the Flyers’ defense, save perhaps Travis Sanheim and Cam York. Even so, a lot has changed since the latter team’s harsh 2022–2023 campaign. The depth has proven to be an asset rather than a liability.
First among the regulars on the roster, the late Sean Walker was a standout player for the Flyers. In just a few months after being acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings during the offseason, he went from being viewed as a depth piece to a second-pairing defenseman who brought back a first-round draft pick.
Nick Seeler has also experienced this. He was a regular AHL player and didn’t play hockey at all in 2020–21, but after the Flyers gave him a chance in 2021–22, he hasn’t looked back. This season, he not only played the most minutes of his career but also performed admirably in them, setting new records.
Though his name is more well-known, Rasmus Ristolainen was largely ineffective during his first two seasons with the Flyers. Prior to his 2023–24 season, he had a difficult time as a whole and was more dependable for his big hits than his on-ice defense. That has altered once more this season.
Moving on to some AHL players who are full-time, Adam Ginning and Ronnie Attard have done a fantastic job of filling in for the Flyers in place of the three defenders mentioned above. Those two have held down the fort, but none of them have played in a game after the trade deadline. Their on-ice defense has been excellent, which is impressive for players who haven’t had much time to get used to the new situation. It’s especially noteworthy given that all but one of the teams they’ve played may actually win the Stanley Cup.
While head coach John Tortorella deserves some of the credit for these outstanding performances, associate coach Brad Shaw also merits recognition. In his previous two seasons with the Orange and Black, he has essentially been the defensive coordinator. However, why is that significant?
According to reports, Tortorella resigned from his position with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2020–21 campaign in order to pursue a managerial position. With the Flyers and a young management team in need of some seasoned leadership, it is quite reasonable for him to attempt to achieve that. It doesn’t take a genius to see two plus two. That might happen because they are rebuilding and have Shaw ready to take over as head coach.
These patterns may hold if Shaw stays with the Flyers for an extended period of time. As long as they have enough players to make it work, the Flyers won’t have to worry too much about who plays defense. He and the Flyers are experts at drawing out the finest performance possible from defenseman.
The problem with these substitutes, though, is that they lack elite attacking ability. If the Flyers can get decent to excellent depth minutes from nearly every player, their offensively gifted defenders will make up for any on-ice inadequacies in defense. The Flyers are at a situation where they need to make compromises in order to achieve their goal because their defensemen currently don’t offer a lot of offensive potency.
Spending large sums of money on guys who are skilled but lack a full game—like Jamie Drysdale at this point—is typically a big risk, big return approach, but the risk is mitigated by the Flyers’ circumstances. They are in a rare position where they can afford a couple of defensive “liabilities.” There wouldn’t be enough goals scored if the entire squad consisted of defensive and two-way defensemen. Having excellent depth allows a defender to step in instead of adding a standout striker, regardless of who plays.
Flyers Will Probably Need Two Good Defensemen in the Future
In terms of what lies ahead, the Flyers have made progress in their reconstruction, but there is still work to be done. One thing is evident when considering their defense going forward: they don’t have a legitimate number-one defender. While it’s not a must, every Stanley Cup team must have multiple outstanding players in addition to one of the top defenseman in the game.
Both York and Drysdale may wind up being that for the Flyers. The latter is more of what the Flyers lack on the offensive side of the ball, while the former plays a more responsible all-around game. Either way, it appears that two top-four defenseman are necessary in the long run. This is illustrated below:
Oliver Bonk and Emil Andrae are both known more for their offensive prowess than their defensive prowess, but neither player possesses the elite talent the Flyers should be seeking. There’s a reason why defenseman like Shea Theodore, Cale Makar, and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, and Vegas Golden Knights, respectively, won Stanley Cups in the 2020s: they can all have seasons where they score one point per game. Several of the teams had several defenders who were in their sixties. There’s a bit when the Flyers fall short.
Players with the ability to create opportunities are the primary distinction between many Stanley Cup teams and others that aren’t. Although they aren’t typically considered in this context, defensemen can rank among a team’s greatest offensive players if they possess superior stretch passes, the ability to score frequently from the blue line, and sheer end-to-end speed. Makar of the Avalanche does all of these tasks at a very high caliber, which is why their squad is so successful.
The idea here is that skilled defensemen cover for forwards when necessary. Someone like Drysdale may be that for the Flyers if he fulfills his potential. However, having another could be quite beneficial. The Flyers aren’t a particularly formidable offensive club these days. They don’t have a top player who can consistently create opportunities, and they don’t finish on their opportunities too frequently. Someone can be that defenseman.
It might not be a bad idea for another Flyers defenseman in the future to have an offensive counterpart. Referring back to the Avalanche as an example, their defense had three exceptionally gifted offensive players: Makar, Sam Girard, and Bowen Byram, who helped them win the Cup in 2022. Their roster’s talent was what made them unique. It was truly impossible for them to have too much of a good thing. They adopted it as their guiding principle, and the Flyers ought to think about doing the same.
The Flyers might acquire additional first-round selections by trading a few experienced players and their four first-round draft picks over the following two draft classes. The Flyers are in desperate need of skill now and in the future. As they look to challenge for the Stanley Cup, they might take a major swing at some scoring defensemen.
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