February 6, 2023 | 11:30am ET
By Anthony Di Marco, TheFourthPeriod.com

FLYERS SHOWING PATIENCE WITH KIDS; WHAT LIES AHEAD?

Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher

MONTREAL, QC — Following a 10-4-2 stretch leading into the All Star break, the Philadelphia Flyers have turned heads towards the trade deadline as March 3 rapidly approaches.

As I reported two weeks ago, the Flyers still plan on selling off some pieces (most notably forward James van Riemsdyk). Staying consistent with this theme, the Flyers have several impressive prospects playing with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms and it doesn’t appear they are in a hurry to call them up to the NHL level.

Speaking to sources close to the situation, I’ve heard over the last couple of days that, barring injuries or trades, the Flyers do not intend to recall any of their young players from the Phantoms. The team feels they are gaining valuable experience playing big minutes and in a playoff push in the AHL and are best served to stay down there for the time being.

Forward Bobby Brink (2019 second-round pick), forward Elliotte Desnoyers (2020 fifth-round pick), winger Tyson Foerster (2020 first-round pick) and defenceman Egor Zamula (undrafted) are among the names fans and media have wondered about joining the team between now and the end of the regular-season.

Zamula, 22, started the year with the Flyers, dressing 11 games. He has been back down with the Phantoms 22 games now – playing primarily top pairing minutes – and has four assists.

Brink, 21, had a cup of coffee with the Flyers late last season after turning pro from the NCAA, playing in 10 games towards the end of the season; he registered four assists in those games. He missed the beginning of the year with injury but has now dressed in 11 games with the Phantoms, amassing five goals and two assists.

Foerster, 21, missed a large portion last season with a shoulder injury and has had to work his way back. I was told back in the summer they wanted him to spend an entire year of pro hockey in the AHL, something they clearly still feel strongly about. He has had a decent first full pro season, registering 16 goals and 13 assists through 42 games.

One source did mention that should the Flyers need bodies, they’d elect to recall some of their more experienced prospects, such as Zamula along with forward Olle Lycksell and goaltender Samuel Ersson, both of whom also have seen NHL action this year. The possibility of signing depth pieces to plug holes was not ruled out, either.

Lycksell, 23, was drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft. He spent three games with the Flyers earlier the year, going pointless. He currently leads the Phantoms in points with 32 through 31 games.

In the midst of a “stabilization” year, as coined by General Manager Chuck Fletcher, the Flyers’ sights are on the future as opposed to this season. All the aforementioned players figure to play roles in the Flyers’ long-term plans and the organization does not want to disrupt their long term development for moderate short term gain.

The Flyers have dressed numerous players under the age of 25 this season who are still on the roster, including forwards Kieffer Bellows, Noah Cates, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost & Owen Tippett, defenceman Cam York and goaltender Felix Sandstrom.

The look toward the future seems likely through the trade deadline but I wonder if things will change in the summer.

I’ve heard chatter over recent days from several people familiar with the situation that the Flyers could look to go shopping in free agency in July and Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin could be a name they target.

Larkin, who will turn 27 by the beginning of next season, is in the final year of his five-year, $30.5 million contract and is set to become a UFA July 1st. A three time 60-plus point scorer, Larkin has averaged 59-60 points per 82 games over his career; he has 43 in 47 games this season.

The belief is that the Red Wings and Larkin are still talking but are still not close to an agreement. If General Manager Steve Yzerman’s negotiations with Tampa Bay Lightning forward and captain Steven Stamkos are any indication, the contract discussions with Larkin may drag until the 11th hour.

If Larkin does hit free agency and the Flyers do ultimately pursue him, it’ll require the team freeing up cap space to do so. The Flyers project to have a little more than $8.88 million in salary cap space this summer; if recent history is any indication, Larkin will likely command an AAV in the $9 million range and may get closer to $10 million depending on the number of teams inquiring.

As TFP reported over the past month, the Flyers are willing to part with forward Kevin Hayes and are willing to retain salary if they can get a half decent return.

Hayes, 30, is enjoying a career year, having registered 15 goals and 45 points through 50 games and is on pace to shatter his former career high in points (54). The 2023 All Star has three years remaining on his deal beyond this season with an AAV of a little more than $7.14 million and a 12 team no-trade list. Going back to the beginning of last season, Hayes has 76 points in his last 98 games.

As I’ve said over the past two months, two separate league executives have told me there will be interest in Hayes as long as the Flyers retain – I’ve heard retaining $2 million to $3 million is likely the sweet spot to get teams interested. The question now is what type of compensation the Flyers will be seeking in order to make Hayes a $4 million to $5 million player and whether or not teams value him (and the three-year term on his contract) enough to pull the trigger.

I’ve heard from those within the Flyers that they worry the three-year term will be an obstacle for many teams given the current salary cap implications across the league. But it still appears the Flyers won’t retain significant money on Hayes unless it is made worth their while.

If $4 million to $5 million of Hayes’ cap hit is freed up by the summer it could pave the way for the Flyers to pursue Larkin, for example, on July 1st. But a lot can happen over the next five-to-six months.

It does appear that we may see a fair amount of activity in Flyerland between now and the summer, but the exact details – beyond ensuring that the future of the team’s youth isn’t affected – are still very much in flux at this point.