The Philadelphia Flyers have been one of the more aggressive teams so far this offseason.
While general manager Danny Briere hasn’t made any bonafide blockbusters or groundbreaking moves — the Joseph Woll trade was nice –, the Orange and Black seem to be at least sniffing around most of the big names available on the market.
The Flyers are in need of a top-line center and a top-pair defenseman. Any time a player of that ilk becomes available, Briere should at least be checking in on them. He’s reportedly done so with the likes of Robert Thomas and Dylan Larkin in recent months, although those players are unlikely to come to Philadelphia.
Briere & Co. have also reportedly been aggressive in pursuing Zach Werenski, which makes sense. The reigning Norris Trophy winner wants to leave Columbus, and he’s a defenseman who could transform the Flyers.
Werenski is still on the market after reportedly nixing a trade to Dallas earlier this week, and the Flyers may still be in the mix on him. They’re also attempting to lure top free agent John Carlson to Philadelphia, as the veteran hasn’t signed as of July 1.
All of those players would immediately make the Flyers a better team. It makes sense for the Flyers to look to add players who will make their team better in the short- and long-term. (Thanks, Captain Obvious).
However, the Flyers were linked to one player in recent days that didn’t make much sense, at least to this writer.
Flyers had no business being in on Mavrik Bourque
Former Stars forward Mavrik Bourque is a restricted free agent this offseason, and there were some people suggesting that the Flyers could sign the 24-year-old to an offer sheet.
On Monday, Anthony San Fillippo wrote that the Flyers could explore signing Bourque to a seven-year, $66.5 million contract, which he later amended to a five-year, $47.5 milion contract. Still, it would be paying Bourque $9.5 million a season. This led to more reporters coming out of the woodwork, with the Flyers apparently being in trade conversations for the forward before the Stars shipped him to. Nashville.
Mind you, this would’ve been an offer sheet, so the Flyers would have to give up first-, second-, and third-round picks while also pissing off a general manager that could be useful to Philadelphia in the coming years — Dallas is a team in win-now mode with its window of contention closing while the Flyers’ is opening
In theory, attacking a team like Dallas with an offer sheet would be a savvy move. They’re stuck between a rock and a hard place with Jason Robertson needing a new contract while already having limited cap space. The Stars would likely let Bourque walk.
However, paying Bourque $9.5 million a season is absolutely asinine, as both AFP Analytics and Evolving Hockey have him projected to sign a short-term deal at less than half of that.
One could’ve maybe gotten behind signing Bourque to an offer sheet of a maximum of $4.7 million, which would only cost the Flyers a second-round pick in compensation, but where exactly does he fit with the Flyers?
Bourque only had 41 points (20 goals) last season while playing with some skilled linemates like the aforementioned Robertson, as well as centers Wyatt Johnston and Roope Hintz. The 5-foot-11 forward is listed as a center, but only took 236 faceoffs in 82 games (2.87 per game) last season.
He is also 24 and will turn 25 in January.
Would Bourque move the needle more than a Noah Cates? Probably not. Hell, the Flyers may already have their own version of Bourque in Denver Barkey, who had 17 points in 43 games during his rookie season as a 20-year-old.
Ultimately, the Stars sent Bourque and Ilya Lyubushkin’s $3.25M contract to the Predators for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 third-round pick. We’ll see what type of contract Bourque ends up signing in Nashville, but would be floored if it’s close to a $9.5M AAV.
As far as the Flyers are concerned, trading for Bourque would havee been unnecessary, and giving up a first-, second-, and third-round pick for the honor of paying a 41-point forward $9.5 million per season would’ve been a shockingly poor move by Briere.
