The Philadelphia Flyers have not really been busy at all this offseason, which was to be expected after general manager Danny Briere said as much after the 2023-24 season. But, despite that, it's been an exciting one for Philly fans. Matvei Michkov, who was selected No. 7 overall in the 2023 NHL Draft and not expected to come to North America for a couple of years — at least — touched down at the Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday, where he was met by Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones.
Michkov is without a doubt the best prospect the Flyers have seen in years — maybe even decades — and the young Russian is an early contender for the Calder Trophy as the National Hockey League's Rookie of the Year. The kid is that good. It will be intriguing to see how he fares in North American next season and beyond, but just the fact that he's in the United States is a massive win for this club. He was inked to his entry-level contract recently, and should be a big part of the equation come October.
Of course, Michkov's arrival isn't enough to earn Philadelphia a good free agency grade — Briere and the front office barely did anything else. But they now boast one of the most exciting young talents in the league, and the Flyers will be appointment viewing for a lot of hockey fans due to the 19-year-olds presence alone. Let's break down Philly's free agency.
All eyes are on Matvei Michkov in Philadelphia — and for good reason
And we're already back to Michkov. The youngster will have a ton of responsibility on his shoulders right off the bat as the team looks to rectify a horrific late-season collapse in 2023-24. Under John Tortorella's leadership, the Flyers were a playoff team all season, basically occupying the No. 3 slot in the Metropolitan Division from start to finish — almost.
Philadelphia finished the campaign by losing nine of their last 11 games, not only falling out of a guaranteed spot in the Metro but also failing to secure one of the two wildcard berths in the Eastern Conference. It was a heartbreaking ending for Flyers fans, but also an extremely promising sign that the rebuild is working and that this squad can be back to competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in due time.
After scoring 19 goals and 41 points in 47 games for HC Sochi in the KHL — a ridiculous pace for a teenager in Russia's highest league — there's hope that this player knows what it takes to be successful against men. Of course, the KHL and NHL are very different leagues, but the skill is undeniable. Pencil Michkov into a top-six role along with a spot on the top powerplay group, and you have a recipe for success. It'll be intriguing to see if the forward can help this team get back to the postseason next April.
Cam Atkinson buyout made sense for salary-cap reasons
Besides witnessing Michkov's first steps into North America, there hasn't been much going on in The City of Brotherly Love this summer. The Flyers bought out Cam Atkinson, who just slogged through the worst season of his professional career. Once a star player, the 35-year-old managed just 28 points in 70 games last year, and it became more and more clear that a buyout was necessary to get his hefty $5.875 million AAV off the books.
Philly will still be on the hook for a couple million of that contract, but a buyout seemed like the inevitable conclusion to the veteran's tenure. Atkinson still has some game, and he'll look to bounce back with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who he inked a one-year, $900,000 pact with on July 2.
Erik Johnson, Egor Zamula signings round out defensive unit
Besides Atkinson's buyout, the only other moves made were the re-signings of depth defenseman Erik Johnson and youngster Egor Zamula. The former came over in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres at the deadline, and the former No. 1 overall pick is not even expected to crack any of the three defensive pairings in 2024-25, per Daily Faceoff. Those slots belong to Cam York, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Jamie Drysdale, Rasmus Ristolainen and Zamula. Still, he's a strong veteran voice who has a Stanley Cup under his belt with the Colorado Avalanche, and costing just $1 million next season, he'll be around the lineup for injury relief, or if things don't go to plan early on.
Zamula is a more exciting D-man, being signed by the Flyers ahead of the 2020-21 campaign and bouncing between the big league club and the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He made the transition to the NHL full time last season, performing relatively well with 21 points in 66 games and looking NHL-ready. And the 24-year-old was rewarded, earning a two-year, $3.4 million contract extension earlier in July.
Zamula made the Flyers out of training camp last season and started off strong, but his form began to dip as the year went on. It ended up being an inconsistent campaign, but the hope is that the young Russian can be an effective third-pairing defenseman — or better — in Philadelphia over the next two years.
Overall, it wasn't a busy or very productive free agent period for the Flyers, hence the relatively low grade. Still, that won't matter if the young core can take another step forward next year, and Matvei Michkov figures to be an integral part of that in 2024-25 and beyond.
FINAL GRADE: C+
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