The Flyers have brought back a name from the 2019-20 season in Nate Thompson to solidify their forward depth. The Alaska native played 23 games in the Orange & Black, including 16 postseason games, prior to his departure in the 2020-21 free agency period for the Winnipeg Jets. He returns on a one year, $800K AAV deal coming off of a season where he played 52 games (eight playoff games) and totaled two goals and five assists with the Jets.
Thompson was a decent enough defensive forward last year, grading out with a strong positive effect by RAPM xGA/60, but his negligible offensive impact, age (36, turns 37 in October), and overall lack of upside makes him a low-impact signing that arguably hurts the team by absorbing further salary space and potentially blocking Morgan Frost or Tanner Laczynski from becoming roster mainstays.
With this, Philadelphia and GM Chuck Fletcher now have just over $8 million in projected cap space (via Capfriendly.com) to work with. There may be more to come. Stay tuned.
