It has been known for a few weeks that Flyers forward Tyson Foerster suffered an elbow injury and related infection. The Flyers kept the story quiet while the player underwent further testing. Flyers general manager Daniel Briere will address Foerster’s situation and the free agent signings on July 1 at 4:00 p.m. press conference at the Flyers Training Center.
As noted in my blogs yesterday and early today, the Flyers had interest in adding a stopgap winger with size (preferably with some goal-scoring pedigree). Subsequently, Elliotte Friedman reported that Philly made overtures to unrestricted free agent Corey Perry. However, Perry decided to sign with the Los Angeles Kings. LA also re-signed Andrei Kuzmenko, who spent a few weeks with the Flyers this season before Philly traded him to the Kings.
The Flyers made three NHL-level free agent signings on Monday:
- Veteran two-way center 29-year-old Christian Dvorak signed a one-year contract for $5.4 million. Dvorak will step into a role similar to the one previously played by Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling.
- Goaltender Dan Vladar, 27, signed a two-year contract with a $3.35 million average annual value. Vladar struggled last season prior to the Four Nations Face-Off tournament. However, he played very well for the rest of the season whenever number one goaltender Dustin Wolf needed a night off. Vladar figures to serve as the 1B goalie or backup in a tandem with Samuel Ersson.
- Right-shot defenseman Noah Juulsen, 28, signed a one-year, $900,000 contract. He will likely serve as the sixth or seventh defenseman on the NHL depth chart. He could see time filling in for Rasmus Ristolainen (surgery to repair a torn triceps) early in the regular season.
For added depth, the Flyers also signed 29-year-old defenseman Dennis Gilbert (one year, $875,000) and 27-year-old center Lane Pederson (one year, two-way contract worth $775,00 at the NHL level).
That is a lot of scratch for a RP replacement
The key is one-year deal. The Flyers were willing to overpay on a one-year.
It doesn’t actually matter for this year, in all honesty. Nothing they’ve done really moves the needle for the upcoming season but only maintains the status quo.