The Orange & Black Blueprint: What Two Veterans Can Make An Impact for the Flyers Next Year?

Mathew Barzal and John Carlson to Philly? We analyze the potential blockbuster summer moves that would fix the Flyers' power play and give the roster the elite veteran star power it needs. #LetsGoFlyers #PhiladelphiaFlyers #NHLonX

Transcript

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Welcome in, ladies and gentlemen, to another episode of the Six Ten Podcast. I'm your host, Jay Hollyhan. We're back here on this Tuesday afternoon as we're going to be discussing some major moves that the Flyers could be making coming up this summer. We're also going to be talking about the Stanley Cup finals. Obviously, we now know it'll be the Carolina Hurricanes meeting the Vegas Golden Knights for the Cup. And what a surprise that was, but we'll get into that later on. Now for the Flyers, as we tell peel back the layers of what situations can arise for them in this summer, there are obviously areas that the Flyers must improve on. You know, there's no way that you can believe that with the roster currently constructed the way it is, that the Flyers are going to be able to make an impactful move or find an impactful move from whether it's calling players up, signing players to an entry-level contract, and young guys like the player they just signed to a three-year-level entry contract, Ilya Powtoff. You know, I don't imagine that's going to be someone that's going to come in and have an immediate impact. Chet Lichchenko can't imagine him coming in as a center to be stepping in into that primary role for your team, or a player like a Jack Nesbitt, either. So for the Flyers, they need to add a veteran guy. Now, there is cap room that they can go out and do this now that they are freed from the Kevin Hayes, the Cam Atkinson contracts. Uh, there are opportunities that they can explore. There's also a potential that, and this has been reported for I don't know how many years, but they could move on from Rasmus Ristalinen. Now, Risto obviously we'll see if they end up doing that. Danny Breyer was very excited about how Risto performed in the playoffs, spoke about how that's a tough player to move on from and get value from. So we'll see if the Flyers do indeed part with that money in order to be able to add a player like what we are about to discuss. And Risto has a $5.1 million dollar cap hit, so there could be some serious, I think, legs to that. However, you are moving on from a guy that you know fits within this team. So that obviously would be a balancing act from the Flyers. Now they are expected to give extensions to Trevor Ziegris and Jamie Drysdale. Hopefully, you know, those resignings will uh happen, you know, very quickly, very swiftly, as has been reported. Now, what can the Flyers add? What could be out there that the Flyers can bring in and be a piece that could get them even closer to being a true contender? And it was reported by Yahoo Sports Jonathan Bailey, that the Flyers number one center could be within the same division. And it's the New York Islanders, Matt Barzall. Now, Barzall has been a player that obviously for years is one of the first guys you think about when you think of the New York Islanders. Uh Barzall was a guy they drafted back in twenty fifteen with the eighteenth or rather sixteenth overall pick. He's going to be twenty-nine for this upcoming season, has not turned thirty yet, has been a three-time All-Star, uh, as well as someone who has had a significant impact for this Islanders team. A, you know, on average, really, you know, when he's able to play 80 games a year, he's about a 65 to 70 point performer. He's had a couple years with the Isles where he's had and produced at an over 80-point clip. He's taken kind of a step back in his role with the Islanders. They have not used him as much as a center in recent seasons. He's kind of at times played along the wing. And obviously, if he was traded to the Flyers, they would look to move him back to playing more often as a centerpiece. Uh this past year, he produced 72 points, 19 goals, 53 assists. He's had seasons where he's had an 80-point year, like he had in the 23-24 season, 23 goals, 57 assists. Uh, that no doubt is the type of production that the Flyers would be looking to add. A type of player that can add that type of playmaking dynamic, a player that could no doubt result in hopefully uh production from the Flyers offense that you know we haven't seen here in recent seasons. Having a career best 23 goals in that 23-24 season with maybe some more playmakers, with a team that, in my opinion, feels a lot more connected, a lot more closer, like the Flyers ultimately do. He can come over from the Islanders and hopefully make an impact. The Isles signed him in October of 22 to an eight-year $73.2 million deal. So he would have obviously you'd be looking at, including next season, five years remaining on that deal, running until the 2030-2031 season, he's going to be owed $9.15 million. We'd obviously see how the Flyers would balance that out, how much money they would be spending, and compared to how much money the Islanders would be spending, if the Islanders were obviously to move on from him, we'd see from a money standpoint how the Flyers would attack that situation. But Matt Barzall could obviously be a player that is going to be for I think the entirety of the NHL. Now he also has the no trade clause, where there are 22 teams that he has put down as teams he does not want to go to, and that would be obviously a barrier in front of the flyers that they would need to move. But we'd see obviously if he would be willing to waive that. But Barzall is the type of player that naturally would be there for the Flyers to try and bring in to add a dynamic scorer, a dynamic playmaker to this Flyers team. Then there's the defensive side. So if you move on naturally from Rasmus Ristalinen, you do have guys in your system, like a bunk, like a player whom, you know, or what Emile Andre even who could I now I don't know if either of them would really be ready to take on the role Risto would be you would be having to obviously swap out for for Erasmus Risto line and so there are speculation that the Flyers could bring former Washington Capitals first round pick, John Carlson, into the fold. Turning 37 next January. Carlson is no doubt a player that the Flyers could look to target. Now Carlson was traded over to the Anaheim Ducks this past March at the trade deadline. Uh he was traded for conditional first round pick in 26 or 27 and a third round pick in 2027 as the Capitals decided it's time that we kind of start to break up or you know move on from a lot of our veteran players. And in the collective of this season, he performed well. A 60-point performer this past season, 14 goals with 46 assists, and a no doubt defenseman who could come in and make an impact pretty much right away for the Flyers in terms of, I mean, you know, the amount of years he was in Washington, won a cup in Washington, you know, was a very when you thought about the Washington Capitals, you thought about Alexander Ovechkin, you thought about Oshi, and you thought about Carlson. He's the type of guy that could be, you know, a veteran who can come in and kind of give you that type of perspective on things that he has been there, done that, he's played in many big games throughout his career, um, and can no doubt become a player, now, granted, at towards the end of his career, but can still be very much a worthy player and an adversary for this Flyers team from that veteran perspective. And it's not like you are going to be getting the John Carlson of, you know, in his prime years with the Capitals. You're not probably not going to be getting that, no doubt. But a 60-point performer last season, a guy who can perform on the power play, can give you a guy who can give you an impact from potentially the point for your power play. And I mean, granted, you know, he would obviously not be the main guy there at the top of it, you know, in terms of the consistency on your top power play line, but could become a factor where that is regarded and give you some production from that standpoint, but could also help tutor and roll and become a kind of role model in a way for a Jamie Drysdale, who no doubt is that type of guy that the Flyers would like to see run the point for your power play. That can be where John Carlson could be used at his best. So those are the two players that we're going to be keeping an eye on. Now, those are kind of, you know, I think Carlson is more likely of the two to come over, but we'll see if the Flyers can make that trade for Barzall. Now, talking about the Stanley Cup Finals, as we transition here to discussing this upcoming matchup between the Vegas Gold Knights and former Flyers head coach John Tortarella and former goalie Carter Hart going up against former Flyers players, uh Rod Brindamore's team as the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, as well as former Flyer defenseman Shane Gostaspeer. Uh there's a lot of you know, there's some more ancient black here that's uh that's going to be going up against one another in this best of seven. It's no doubt going to be a matchup that uh is an interesting one to say the least, because who would have expected these two to be there, you know, at the start of the season? I mean, I could have seen the Canes, and sure, I mean the Vegas Golden Knights you can never count them out. But with the fact that they've been an aging group, with the fact that it's kind of felt like Vegas has been, you know, taking a downslide, and that's why they brought in John Tortarello with eight games to go in the season, as Vegas, you know, fired head coach Bruce Cassidy with those eight games to play in March, bringing in from the ESPN uh NHL Intermission Studios and former Flyers head coach John Tortarella, who won a cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning many years ago, uh, was obviously a face within the New York Rangers organization that everyone kind of knew him from whether or not it was the Rangers being good or because of whatever sound bites Torts would have, um, which then also transitioned itself obviously to the Flyers. But moving on from Cassidy was obviously kind of a a kind of move that definitely you perked up at. Cassidy, whom had won a cup with the Golden Knights just three years ago, was you know, not getting the most out of Vegas, and then they made the switch, brought in obviously torts, and that has had such a positive impact on that Vegas team, especially the veterans. But you've got that type of team there with Vegas that has just been uh, you know, just was a buzzsaw against the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. There was no I know the president's trophy curse is real, you know, and something that obviously a lot of people talk about. You know, how many teams that have looked, you know, you think about the Boston Bruins a couple years ago, who looked so good heading into the playoffs, or the New York Rangers even, just to fall completely flat on their face. Well, the Colorado Avalanche did that, but did that at a weird time in their Western Conference Finals because for the majority of the playoffs, they were going right through their competition. They breezed through the Kings, they breezed through the Minnesota Wild. They came back down 3-0 against the Wild in the game clinching game four, in the series clinching game four. But the Vegas Golden Knights were just too much. And for Colorado, I mean, they just shut down Colorado's offense completely. Now, Colorado was dealing with some injuries, but still, I did not expect Colorado, you know, was I surprised Vegas won that series? Absolutely. I thought Colorado was honestly going to have it in about five games, and Vegas goes out and sweeps them. And then you look at Carolina, and I thought that series against Montreal was going to potentially go six games, potentially seven games, and they do away with the Habs in five. Now, that was a much more intense series between the Canes and the Habs, a couple overtime games mixed in there. But boy, oh boy, did Carolina look good against Montreal. And they look obviously very good against the Flyers, very strong. We knew that was probably going to be the team to come out of the East. But this series matched up between Carolina and Vegas is one that not many saw when we started the playoffs. I mean, again, I think you would have figured Carolina would have been in there, but I don't think anyone would have thought Vegas was going to truly go through the West. I think people probably speculated, yeah, they'll probably win around, but then they'll lose probably in the second round, and that just did not happen. And naturally, I think because of what Vegas was also facing, because you look at the Av side of the bracket in terms of, well, you gotta go up against a Kings team, okay, you know, you'll probably do away with them in five, but then you're facing the stars or the wild in the next round, that's going to be a challenge. And I I said four, Colorado did away with them in five. But then you got Vegas going up against the Utah Mammoth, they beat them in six, they go through the Ducks, they beat them in six, and it's like, well, it's kind of a no-brainer the Aves are going to be able to beat the Golden Knights. They have faced a harder portion of their schedule. Now maybe they were more rested, you know, although Vegas played two more games. It was 12-10 heading into the Western Conference Finals, and they do away with the Aves in four. And then you look at the Kanes, and I mean, I think the Habs and the High Habs faced probably a more difficult part of the bracket, with all due respect to, you know, the Metro, but facing, and you know, with all due respect to the Sens, but you know, Carolina did away with the Sens in four, and that was a pretty close series, uh, if you piece away the games by their individual, and then did away with the Flyers in four, obviously winning two overtime games there. And then you had the Habs who bested the lightning in seven, got through the Sabres in seven, and then just seemed like, you know, once the series once the series got past the first two games, really maybe the first three, it just looked like the Habs were spent, and Carolina was just completely riding off of the momentum, and they were on a mission, and that's ultimately why Carolina is moving on to the Stanley Cup finals that begin tonight at eight o'clock. For my prediction of this series, you know, and in terms of who I'm pulling for, it's tough for me to pull for a team in the Metro, but let's face it, there's not much that you can really sit there and be upset about with the Canes being in the Stanley Cup Finals. There's not a r, you know, it's not like it's the Penguins, it's not the Rangers or the Isles or the Devils. It's a team that, you know, alright, so what? You know, you're facing the Canes. Anytime the Flyers go up against them, it's not really viewed as like, oh my goodness, you know, this is such an important, you know, matchup. Now, granted, they knocked the Flyers out, so there's a little bit of that, but there's not that much with where the Flyers were, there's not that much of ill will that you feel towards the Carolina Hurricanes. Towards the Vegas Golden Knights, do you really want to see Carter Hart lift the Stanley Cup trophy? In terms of John Tortarella, coaches come and go in the NHL. It's tough to really be too upset about that. Unless he's back with the Rangers or unless, you know, he's with one of your teams in the division. It's tough to really be too upset about, you know, torts, but again, do you really want to just see Vegas lift the Stanley Cup again and be back in the Cup Finals again? I don't think so. I would I'm going to hope it's going to be the Canes at the end of it. Now, the fact of the matter is, though, Vegas has been truly the stronger team in terms of the best competition that they've had in terms of the competition both have gone up against, because beating the facing the Aves in the playoffs, that's going to be the best team out there that you're going to face. Obviously, winning the President's Trophy and all, and just the strength of the Aves offense. I think with the vet with the veterans that Vegas is going to have, there is no doubt in my mind that Vegas is going to have an upper hand throughout certain points in this series. Now, is it going to be because I think it's probably going to be pretty balanced throughout. I could definitely see this going seven games. But I'm going to say that really with the strength of this Vegas team, the longer it goes, the better it falls in their favor. And I'm probably going to say Vegas is going to be the one hoisting the cup at the end of seven games. I would like it to be Carolina, but I think it's probably going to be Vegas coming away with it in seven. That's my prediction for it, and we'll see if it comes true. And hopefully it doesn't. But thanks everyone for tuning into this episode. We'll be back on with more stuff throughout the summer. Obviously, we got the NHL draft coming up as well here in the next couple weeks. So we'll have some more to talk about with the Flyers in terms of that as well. But thanks everyone for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next time.