We are now a few days past the Leo Carlsson offer sheet saga and the disappointment that came with the Anaheim Ducks keeping the 21-year-old center for themselves. Instead of the Philadelphia Flyers suddenly getting the first-line center of everyone’s dreams and giving us all a reason to hope for a massive step forward and consistent playoff contention for years to come, we’re now left a little heartbroken and wondering if there’s something more that can be done.
Because, that has been the theme of this offseason for the Flyers. General manager Danny Briere has been involved in several conversations — those that we know of and plenty that we don’t — whether it’s trying to get Zach Werenski when he was available, seeing if Dylan Larkin will waive his no-trade clause for Philadelphia, more high-end bets like Mavrik Bourque, offering a bunch of money to John Carlson; Briere has been going down a whole lot of routes. And of course, that list doesn’t even mention the biggest move of them all in the Carlsson offer sheet.
After all of that, the business that the Flyers have actually managed to do is get a very good goaltending upgrade and sign a fourth-line forward. That’s really it. Now, the sense is that the Flyers will look more inward for improvement next season. A full season of Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov on a prove-everyone-wrong tour, players like Alex Bump and Denver Barkey taking that next step, Tyson Foerster’s shoulder being in-tact; it should all lead to a potentially better season than the last one. But is there anything left to do externally? Are there other options?
What really are the Flyers’ options to upgrade the blue line right now?
The free agent market is a desert when it comes to actual improvements compared to what the Flyers have right now. Is John Klingberg going to turn back the clock? Is Nick Blankenberg more than an undersized analytics darling? Is Logan Stanley anything more than just a tall person? There is seriously nothing the Flyers should even be remotely interested in.
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