What Can Phantoms Fans Expect From Free Agency?
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With unrestricted free agents being able to sign with new teams starting on July 1st at noon ET, Monday afternoon will be a busy day of free agent signings across the NHL. In turn, the additions NHL clubs make will have direct implications on their AHL affiliate.
A quick look at what is penciled in on the AHL roster reveals that the Flyers will certainly be active at the AHL level in rounding out the organizations depth. They currently only have one veteran (a player entering the season with 320+ pro games experience) in T.J. Brennan and three total defensemen on the roster entering July 1st.
The oldest forward penciled in on the AHL roster will be 23-year-old restricted free agent Nicolas Aube-Kubel when he comes to terms with the Flyers, and while they have 11 young forward prospects already signed on for next season it's not unreasonable to believe that a veteran forward or two will be added this week to further bolster competition at the Flyers' main training camp come September.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms - Under Contract
Forwards: Connor Bunnaman, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, David Kase, Pascal Laberge, Isaac Ratcliffe, German Rubtsov, Matthew Strome, Maksim Sushko, Carsen Twarynski and Mikhail Vorobyev
Defensemen: T.J. Brennan (V), Mark Friedman and Reece Willcox
Goalies: Alex Lyon, Felix Sandstrom and Kirill Ustimenko
The Latest Inside AHL Hockey Is Hearing
Here's the latest I've heard about the Philadelphia Flyers and what Lehigh Valley Phantoms fans can expect to see in terms of free agent additions.
When Chuck Fletcher was asked about the AHL-level free agents this week, he chose his words carefully, smiling, and adding that there would be some 'roster tweaks'.
Multiple sources have told Inside AHL Hockey that the team's current pending free agents at the AHL level - goalie Mike McKenna and forwards Cole Bardreau, Greg Carey, Byron Froese, Tyrell Goulbourne and Mike Vecchione - will most likely all move on this summer with some players saying they were 99% sure they wouldn't be back.
A source close to the situation indicated months ago that defense was going to be the focal point, and it certainly has been revamped with the buyouts of Andrew MacDonald and David Schlemko, the trading of Radko Gudas and acquisitions of Justin Braun and Matt Niskanen.
The result of those moves have left just three defensemen under contract penciled in on the AHL roster - T.J. Brennan, Mark Friedman and Reece Willcox., so it's pretty safe to assume there will be some depth additions to fill out the organization's depth on the back end and supply the AHL club with a solid foundation.
The obvious starting point with potential free agent additions is a familiarity with Chuck Fletcher and it wasn't long before The Athletic's Michael Russo reported that there could be mutual interest between the Flyers and defenseman Nate Prosser - a player that certainly meets the criteria for what the organization needs.
With a plethora of young forwards penciled in on the AHL roster, it wouldn't be surprising to see a veteran addition or two to round out the forward core at the AHL level either.
Here's a list of names I would keep an eye on today for Flyers/Phantoms, as these are some of the free agents today that have been AHL-level depth signings by Chuck Fletcher when he was in Minnesota. And we all know that when a new regime comes in, they bring in "their guys".
RHD Nate Prosser
RHD Ryan Murphy
C Cal O'Reilly
C Tyler Graovac
F Zack Mitchell
F Landon Ferraro
