Flyers will try to improve with trades over free agency, GM says

The Philadelphia Flyers likely will look to use trades rather than free agency in any attempt to upgrade the team, general manager Chuck Fletcher said Thursday.

"We're going to have to make sure we manage the [NHL salary] cap properly and make sure we have the resources that we need to keep the good young players that are here," Fletcher said. "Having said that, you're always looking to add pieces if you can that help your team. We will do that, but I don't expect us to be a major player in free agency over the next couple years. I do expect us to aggressively try keep our own players. We'll be working the phones to see what we can find on the trade front."
One target could be a top-end goal-scorer. The Flyers averaged 2.08 goals in 13 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, third fewest among the 16 teams that advanced to the first round. Their regular top line of center Sean Couturier (two goals) and forwards Claude Giroux (one) and Jakub Voracek (four) combined for seven goals, three in their seven-game loss to the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference Second Round.
Philadelphia went 4-for-41 (9.8 percent) on the power play during the first and second rounds.
"We'd all love another goal-scorer," Fletcher said. "I look at the top line and they didn't produce. ... I can tell you from watching the games I thought they had a lot of zone time, generated a lot of chances. Their shot share and expected goal numbers were really quite good. We did a lot of good things, we had a lot of zone time when they were on the ice, but for whatever reason the goals didn't go in.
"In the playoffs, they weren't finishing and the power play wasn't finishing, but they were getting looks. I think our top guys played hard, the goals didn't go in for a lot of our group. We didn't have a lot of guys that were really finishing. Could we use another goal-scorer? Sure."
Accomplishing that could involve Philadelphia utilizing its deep pool of young players and prospects as pieces in potential trades. Its leading scorer this season was 23-year-old forward Travis Konecny (61 points; 24 goals, 37 assists), and 24-year-old forward Oskar Lindblom was tied with Konecny for the Philadelphia lead with 11 goals when he was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer in December. Lindblom returned to the lineup in Game 6 against the Islanders and should be ready to resume a larger role next season.
Joel Farabee, a 20-year-old forward, led Flyers rookies with eight goals in 52 games this season. And defensemen Ivan Provorov, 23, Travis Sanheim, 24, and Philippe Myers, 23, emerged as building blocks, along with 22-year-old goalie Carter Hart.

There also are top prospects, including defenseman Egor Zamula and forwards Morgan Frost, Wade Allison, Isaac Ratcliffe and Tanner Laczynski, who could push for roster spots next season. Frost and Zamula were on the postseason roster but did not play.
"We have a lot of young players that are either on the team or trying to push their way on to the team," Fletcher said. "... We'll be working the phones to see what we can find on the trade front. We have a lot of good young players that still have their best days ahead of them."
One of the more intriguing young players is center
Nolan Patrick
, who turns 22 on Sept. 19. The No. 2 pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, Patrick did not play this season because of a migraine disorder.
Fletcher said he's optimistic Patrick will play for Philadelphia next season.
"He continues to get better and make progress," Fletcher said. "That's the good thing; at this stage it looks like he's going to get his quality of life back and hopefully he'll be able to come back and play hockey for us. He's a real important part. As we saw in the playoffs, the ability to have three quality centermen that can play 200 feet and produce offensively is incredibly important, and he's a big part of that future for us."
Patrick has scored 61 points (26 goals, 35 assists) in 145 NHL games and can become a restricted free agent on Oct. 9. Fletcher said contract negotiations have not yet begun.

"His situation is a little bit unique and we'll have to work through that with the agent," Fletcher said. "We haven't started that process. ... Every contract has its own challenges when you're doing a negotiation. That (injury situation) certainly makes it tougher."
The NHL free agent market traditionally opens at 12 p.m. ET on July 1, but was pushed back this year because of the pause in the 2019-20 season due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
Besides Patrick, Myers and forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel each can become a restricted free agent. Among the pending unrestricted free agents are goalie Brian Elliott, defenseman Justin Braun and forwards Nate Thompson, Derek Grant and Tyler Pitlick. Fletcher said he told each of those players that a determination on his future with the Flyers would be made in the next week or two after organizational meetings.
Elliott could be a priority in part because of the quality relationship he has developed with Hart. In 31 games (27 starts), Elliott was 16-7-4 with a 2.87 goals-against average, an .899 save percentage and two shutouts, and was 2-1-1 with a 2.15 GAA and .911 save percentage in three postseason games (two starts).
"He's a guy that has the respect of his teammates and the organization," Fletcher said. "We'll have a chance to sit down and talk to his agent. We've had a couple general conversations about it and we'll continue to communicate and see what the future brings."