May 31, 2023 | 9:05am ET
By Anthony Di Marco, TheFourthPeriod.com
FLYERS MAKE CHANGES TO PLAYER DEVELOPMENT STAFF
Flyers GM Danny Briere
As the off-season of change continues in Philadelphia, another part of the Flyers’ organization is being augmented going into the summer.
According to several sources, the Flyers have made significant changes to the personnel in Player Development. Among the names let go are Mike O’Connell (Player Development, Senior Advisor) and John Riley.
In addition, I’m told that Riley Armstrong, who currently serves as an Assistant Coach for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, will be taking over as Director of Player Development.
There may be other movements – both additions and subtractions – in the coming days and weeks. It is also important to note that O’Connell, age 67, was considering retirement for the last year.
The Flyers’ Players Development department has taken a lot of heat over the last number of years, going back to Ron Hextall’s time as General Manager. The team invested heavily into drafting and developing during Hextall’s time as GM – the system was at one time ranked atop the NHL – but ultimately saw a lot of promising young players not pan out.
With the Flyers now set to embark on a rebuild, the next couple of years will be crucial for the Flyers and the next wave of players to come up through the system. The Flyers do not expect a lot of graduation this season from Junior/College this season (Jon-Randall Avon being one of the few expected to make the jump), so they’ll have some time for the new staff to get settled in. The club expects more of a movement in internal graduations following the 2023-24 season.
Among other front office movements, there’s an expectation that Alyn McCauley will have an official title change later in the summer. As I reported a few months back, one of McCauley’s new responsibilities entering next season will be overseeing the Phantoms and is expected to operate as their GM.
There has been a lot of smoke surrounding the job security of Executive Vice President and AGM Barry Hanrahan, but I’ve still received some pushback. Several people have told me that Hanrahan “could be in trouble,” while others have said that he still has the support of General Manager Danny Briere. But even if he does have the support of his direct boss, there could be those “above” Briere and Hockey Ops who may feel differently about Hanrahan and his body of work.
Hanrahan has been in charge of the Flyers’ contracts for over 15 years and the salary cap has often been a point of concern – no matter who the GM has been. I heard over the club’s search for a President of Hockey Ops that the salary cap was a point of concern for Comcast and they wanted the team to be run like a “good business.” If this concern continues to be true, there may be pressure from those close to ownership to make a personnel change as to the club’s capologist.
On the coaching front, Associate Coach Brad Shaw has garnered attention around the league. He was one of the finalists in Washington (who hired Spencer Carbery on Tuesday) and could still be in the mix in Anaheim. There is a sense that he may end up staying in Philadelphia for the time being, but the interest is definitely increasing around the league.
I’ve heard some whispers that former Columbus Blues Jackets Head Coach Larsen could be on the Flyers radar to be added to the coaching staff, though I wouldn’t expect that to be imminent or in the immediate future. Larsen has a history with both Head Coach John Tortorella and Shaw going back to their days in Columbus. Bringing in Larsen would result in some shuffling behind the bench, which could see Rocky Thompson and/or Darryl Williams have their roles changed.
Roster Rumblings
Things have been quiet on the player movement front, but here are a few tidbits I’ve caught wind of recently:
Briere made headlines this week during an interview on WIP when he said he would listen on goaltender Carter Hart. While Hart (as every player) is not untouchable, the Flyers are not yet fielding offers for the 24-year-old.
Getting fair value for goaltenders via trade has never been easy, with the most significant goaltender deal in recent history being when Darcy Kuemper (31 at the time) was traded to the Colorado Avalanche from the Arizona Coyotes for Conor Timmins, a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Given Hart’s age and pedigree, I’d imagine the Flyers would be looking for more than that.
Teams have been calling on defenseman Ivan Provorov, but it has been nothing more than “tire kicking” at this point. No official offer has been submitted for the 26-year-old blueliner, as teams have been gauging what it will take to pry him out of Philadelphia.
As I’ve reported, the Flyers are using the Jakob Chychrun and Mattias Ekholm deals as a benchmark for what they want in return for Provorov. I have been told several times, however, that the Flyers do not feel like they’re in a position where they have to trade him and are comfortable hanging onto Provorov should they not get a fair offer.
The St. Louis Blues are among the teams who have kicked tires on Provorov, who has two years remaining on his contract with an AAV of $6.75 million.
It’s no secret at this point that defenseman Tony DeAngelo and Tortorella had their differences this past season, which resulted in the former sitting out as a healthy scratch towards the end of the year. With the Flyers looking to establish a good culture, DeAngelo could be on his way out should the right deal come along.
I’ve heard that the Flyers will explore ways to move DeAngelo and may be willing to retain money on the final year of his contract ($5 million AAV) to help facilitate a deal. Right hand shot defenseman are always a hot commodity in the NHL, so there may be a market for DeAngelo despite his overall poor season; he finished the year with 11 goals and 42 points in 70 games, which will help his value.
The ideal situation would be for both sides (player and coach) to mend the relationship just enough until the Trade Deadline next season, as a return would likely be higher with a prorated salary and would give DeAngelo a chance to recoup his value. That said, I wonder if the relationship is too strained for even that.
The Flyers expect Ronnie Attard and Egor Zamula (waiver eligible) to challenge for NHL jobs out of the gate next season, so liberating spots on the back end may be a priority ahead of training camp. The stars seem to be aligning for a DeAngelo exit, though I don’t get the sense a buyout or attaching assets to move on from the player is in the cards.
DeAngelo, 27, was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes at last year’s NHL Draft for three draft picks spread over three years.
