The Philadelphia Flyers participated in some business July 1. They got in the mud of free agency, wiggled around, and came out with five additions to their organization.
All five players are not the most exciting acquisitions, but for the Flyers, they addressed a need. We needed to figure out for ourselves, in written form, why these signings were made beyond just what position they played.
So, enjoy our process.as we give plenty of reasons why these specific players were signed by the Flyers and why Danny Briere didn’t really mess up with getting these talents on board.
Christian Dvorak
Sure, the $5.4 million AAV is a little hefty for a player that is best used as a bottom-six center, but adding Dvorak in the mix gives Flyers plenty of options and flexibility in their lineup. It’s just one single year, so there is almost no commitment tied to the player, and he could be a nice little piece to sell at the trade deadline if the Flyers stink again and if Dvorak isn’t absolutely terrible.
So, the contract and the potential outcome makes sense, but does the player? Dvorak has had some down years and has settled into being someone that can score roughly 35 points in a season, but provide some fantastic faceoff numbers (has averaged a 55.2 percent win rate in his last four seasons) and isn’t a mess defensively. Basically, worst-case scenario he is an expensive fourth-line center.
But, we think the Flyers see more in him. During his last four years in Montreal, Dvorak has started 61.3 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone and just this past season, it rocketed up to 69 percent. His usage is just to try and snuff out the play and then head off the ice for the other players to try and score some goals, but he still has scored at a mid-rate clip. Maybe, the Flyers are thinking if they use him in a more balanced role they could pry out some more offence, and they have right man behind the bench.
It just so happens, that Dvorak had his best offensive years while he was being coached by Rick Tocchet on the Arizona Coyotes, and that was also the only years of his career where he started more shifts in the offensive zone than the defensive.
And when it comes to how adding Dvorak affects the entire organization, it’s just to give some younger players more time. Suddenly, Jett Luchanko isn’t solely relied upon to make the Flyers and Philadelphia can be comfortable having a center depth consisting of Trevor Zegras, Sean Couturier, Noah Cates, and Dvorak, heading into the season. Of course, a very good training camp from the 19-year-old Guelph Storm center can change things, but there is no desperate need for him to take that next step.
If a scenario plays out that Tocchet likes Zegras as a wing and Luchanko has a bad training camp, without Dvorak being signed we would be talking about Abols and Jacob Gaucher or Karsen Dorwart making up half of this team’s centers. Not great!
Plus, having Dvorak on the roster frees up the possibility for Rick Tocchet to be more creative with his lineups with players that can play the position. Maybe, he thinks Cates should play more wing (because he was forced to be a center out of necessity anyways) and then Abols is comfortable as a fourth-line center and Dvorak and Cates can solidify a third line with some punch. Again, just more and more flexibility.
It’s not the perfect signing but considering it is just for one year and Dvorak is not some terrible player, there are benefits bringing him in. And, it doesn’t hurt having someone around who has worked under Tocchet before.
Dan Vladar
Well, he’s a goalie. Vladar might not be the solution to the Flyers’ goaltending problem, but he’s someone that can steady that position more than enough to not have it be a detriment to the entire team’s results.
Sure, Vladar’s career average is just a .895 save percentage and that isn’t the most confident-building statistic in the world, but considering the Flyers’ team-wide save percentage last season was a historically awful .872, this would be a considerable improvement.
The Flyers were fairly willing to admit that they didn’t want to offer term to a netminder. With Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin incoming as viable candidates to take over one of the spots in the tandem in a few years, the maximum Briere was willing to go was two years for a goalie. And, he did exactly that. A two-year deal that carries a $3.35 million AAV for the former Calgary Flame.
Vladar doesn’t have the most exciting results, but he is an improvement. The Flyers limited themselves to the goalies that didn’t care too much about term on their contract, and then went in on the 27-year-old with maybe hopes that he could be something more. Vladar just started a career-high 29 games last season, and if he can maybe increase that to 35-38 games, then it provides a very solid fallback option in tandem with Sam Ersson and you’re not asking a veteran to try and stay motivated in between the pipes.
The only true comparable goaltenders who were signed to similar deals on July 1 all have reasons why they would choose their current team to the Flyers. Anton Forsberg signed with the Kings, a much better team; Alex Lyon signed with the Sabres and might not want to come back to Philadelphia; and Vitek Vanecek will be the Mammoth’s new backup and will win so many more games. Those three are the only netminders who come close to Vladar in ability but also signed short-term deals. The Flyers got the guy they could get and potentially have a longer future with.
Noah Juulsen
Noah Juulsen was the first signing announcement of the day and we all immediately knew the connection. The former Vancouver Canuck is just one of Rick Tocchet’s guys. He is a physical, 6-foot-2, right-handed defenseman that scored zero points last season. A guy.
The Flyers have always had a veteran presence on the blue line to serve as the seventh defenseman and only play games if needed, but just instill some knowledge and vibes for the group. Marc Staal and Erik Johnson, the most recent examples. Now, it appears that the Flyers are turning into a younger-but-still-experience Juulsen to be that seventh blueliner and be the benchmark others would have to clear to get a spot on this roster.
He is signed for one year at $900,000; which is also important considering that the entirety of his contract is able to be buried in the AHL, if he is an abject failure on the ice.
Lane Pederson/Dennis Gilbert
Organizational depth. It’s really as simple as that. Some warm bodies to have at training camp to motivate and push some players trying to battle for a spot on the final roster, but then ultimately will be veterans in the AHL.
With the departure of Olle Lycksell and Louie Belpedio, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms will need some people other than key prospects playing tough minutes, and Pederson and Gilbert can do that. Nothing further to complicate things.