April 10, 2023 | 10:25am ET
By Anthony Di Marco, TheFourthPeriod.com
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM FLYERS AS SEASON ENDS
Ivan Provorov, defenceman
MONTREAL, QC — As the end of the 2022-23 NHL regular-season draws closer, the season of major change in Philadelphia is expected to spill into the summer months.
Interim General Manager (and soon to be full time GM) Danny Briere is now at the helm of Hockey Ops and a President has yet to be named; the sweeping changes running up and down the organization will continue to play out into the summer. The organizational movement will take place in the front office and on the roster, with very few completely safe from having their jobs heavily evaluated.
Let’s take a look at the latest I’ve heard around the Flyers over the last number of weeks:
President of Hockey Operations and Ray Shero
For weeks now I’ve heard one consistent name listed at the top of the Flyers’ list of candidates for the President of Hockey Ops role: Ray Shero. This was echoed by Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo in an article he wrote last week.
Shero, 60, currently serves as the Special Advisor to Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin. He has previously served as the GM of the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins, winning the Stanley Cup as the architect of the ladder.
The chatter of Shero being atop the Flyers’ list has been going on for weeks; I’ve even heard whispers of the entire search will run through him. All this being said, I have heard some talk of Shero potentially looking to seek out a full time GM gig – especially with the Devils’ impressive season and his fingerprints being all over it. If that is the case, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Shero’s name attached to the Calgary Flames should the team look to move on from Brad Treliving as GM.
I contacted a source close to the situation with the Wild two weeks ago to get a sense on whether or not the Flyers had reached out to speak with Shero. The source neither confirmed, nor denied, the chatter.
Aside from Shero, former Flyers’ captain Dave Poulin was a name I had brought to my attention last week as a potential candidate for the President role.
Poulin, 64, currently works for TSN as an on-screen analyst and color commentator for regional broadcasts of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators. He formerly served as the Executive Vice President of Hockey Ops for the Toronto Maples Leafs under then President and GM Brian Burke in the early 2010s.
Poulin’s name is at the very least loosely in the hat as a list of candidates, but I don’t get the sense he is a serious contender for the position. Based on the chatter I’ve heard through the grapevine, it appears the interest is much more from Poulin’s desire for the position than it is from Comcast to bring in the former Flyers’ captain. I wouldn’t be shocked for Poulin to get an interview (perhaps out of courtesy), but I think that the possibility of him ending up in the role is a long shot, at this point.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes is another name that was brought to my attention late last week. Weekes was tied to the GM role of the San Jose Sharks last spring before it was ultimately given to Mike Grier.
Based on some discussions, it appears Weekes may have let the Flyers know that he has interest in the President of Hockey Ops role – almost lobbying for himself, as one person put it. I haven’t been able to get it direct confirmed from the team, but there has been chatter surrounding it.
As SanFilippo mentioned in his story, Scott Mellanby and Robert Esche are also names that have been tied to the position.
Alyn McCauley
As part of the organizational restructuring, the Flyers will be putting a full time GM for their AHL affiliate in place.
As I tweeted two weeks ago, there is a strong sense that Alyn McCauley will be named GM of the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms at some point. While still not official, it appears as though things are trending in that direction.
Previously a scout, McCauley has served as the Flyers’ Director of Player Personnel for 14 months now. It is believed Briere thinks very highly of McCauley and will be vouching for him to Comcast to land the latter the spot full time.
The role is currently held by Assistant GM Brent Flahr in an unofficial capacity, while officially being held by GM (now Briere and Chuck Fletcher before). Flahr has handled the day-to-day duties unless traveling, in which case the responsibilities have fallen on the GM of the Flyers.
The new restructuring will see McCauley hold the role in an official capacity for the first time since John Paddock under the Paul Holmgren regime.
Ivan Provorov
Among roster players who have been rumored to be on the block, Ivan Provorov’s name has continued to be attached to trade speculation. While a trade is very much a real possibility, it’s still not definitive that the 2015 seventh-overall selection will be moved this off-season.
I mentioned in a story a few weeks back that Provorov was more likely than not to be back with the team next season. I don’t get the sense that this is because of an unwillingness to move the player, but rather whether or not the Flyers will be able to find fair value for him. Provorov plays too important of a role to simply move him for pennies on the dollar; it will take time to evaluate what kind of market there is for the player.
Once thought to be on the brink of Norris Trophy contention, Provorov’s game has been sputtering for three straight seasons. He has decently rebounded this year, but the Russian rearguard has yet to elevate his game back to where it was in 2019-20 playing alongside Matt Niskanen. Even with his game not to where it once was, Provorov has continued to be the top dog for Head Coach John Tortorella, averaging the most overall ice time per game (22:56) and on the penalty kill (2:45). I’ve heard several times that Tortorella respects Provorov’s game, compete and effort level, which will certainly play a factor in the player’s future.
Provorov, 26, has two years remaining on his contract that carries an AAV of $6.75 million.
Morgan Frost
In a season concentrated primarily on figuring out what they had in young players, it was imperative that 2017 first-round pick Morgan Frost stepped up if he hoped to have a future with the team. After an inconsistent and rocky first few months of the season, the former OHL stand out has really found his game over the last month or so.
The question is, with Frost set to become an RFA this summer after signing a one year “show me” extension last year, what does the future hold for him?
According to a well-placed source, Frost is considered as a part of the future and the expectation is for him to sign an extension this summer. I initially thought a two- or three-year bridge deal would be a likely avenue, but I’ve heard that a long-term deal is not completely out of the question if the price is right. I’ve been told there have been no contract discussions between the Flyers and Frost, to this point.
While it has been believed for a while that Briere was a fan of the Aurora, Ontario native, there was some speculation that there was a disconnect between the interim GM and Tortorella on Frost and his role with the team beyond this season. Speaking with someone close to the situation, I was told that Torts views Frost as a part of the solution beyond this year and is very happy with the player’s progression throughout the season. He challenged Frost early – both physically and mentally – and is very happy with the way he responded. There are still areas that Frost can improve, but the team is very happy with him overall.
Frost, who will turn 24 next month, has 19 goals and 43 points through 79 games this season.
Kevin Hayes
As I first reported back in early January, the Flyers have been exploring ways to move on from Kevin Hayes and the remaining three years of his contract.
As noted by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets were engaged in discussions regarding the soon to be 31-year-old native. Asking around about this, I was told that, while there were discussions between the sides, Fletcher (who was the GM at the time) kept his cards tight to the vest and it’s unclear what an exact deal was going to look like. The Jackets are believed to really like Hayes as a player and would welcome him as an addition but must also be mindful of who they add given where they’re at organizationally, one person said to me.
It’s widely been believed that the Flyers were going to have to eat between $2 million and $3 million to help facilitate a deal. While that may still end up being the case, I’ve heard some whispers that Fletcher was considering eating up to 50% of Hayes’ salary in order to execute a trade. I’ve heard chatter that the Flyers want to do right by Hayes and may be willing to retain more cash in order to do so.
Hayes, 30, has tied his career high in point totals with 54 this season, although he just recently snapped the longest goal drought of his career last week. Originally signed in 2019 to a seven-year, $50 million contract, Hayes has three years remaining on his deal that carries an AAV of $7.14 million.
