Flyers News & Rumors: Hurricanes Trade, Right Wing, LeClair

Charlie O’Connor speculated that the front offices might’ve put an agreement in place that benefitted both sides in a bizarre circumstance. The Hurricanes signed DeAngelo for one season at a $1.67 million cap hit instead of the $2.5 million cap hit he would’ve come with if the initial trade had gone through. They saved just over $800,000 in cap space because of the unexpected holdup. 

The Flyers, in exchange for agreeing to buy out the veteran defenseman to make him an unrestricted free agent, might’ve convinced Carolina to send them Rizzo and the additional pick for only a 26-year-old who has played in Czechia the last two seasons who has an extremely unlikely future in the NHL. The strange gymnastics ultimately provided both teams with minor benefits.

Rizzo was a seventh-round pick in 2019. He has averaged over a point per game the past two seasons at the NCAA level. He won a National Championship at the University of Denver alongside Flyers prospect Bobby Brink in 2022. He doesn’t factor into the organization’s plans in the immediate future. Kase played six games for the Flyers in 2019-20 and one in 2020-21. He is the brother of Ondrej Kase, who played 258 NHL games with four teams.

LeClair on 3ICE

The “Patty” will take place at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, Aug. 12. 3ICE will complete its second season with two semifinal games, a consolation game, and the championship game. The 3-on-3 league has promoted a wide-open offensive game that keeps fans on the edge of their seats.

“It’s going to be great entertainment. I think if you come down and see it, it’s 3ICE. It’s the 3-on-3 that everybody watches in overtime that people love. We’ve added a bunch of different rules to keep the pace going. It’s not as slow as the NHL (overtime with) three on ice. We’ve added some things in there to keep the pace up and to keep the goal scoring up,” former Flyers winger John LeClair told 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia.

“This is a very skilled, speed league. We have some guys that can do things with the puck, all that stuff you guys see on YouTube, the trick pucks and goals and stuff. They’re doing that at full speed in the game at 3-on-3,” he said.

Four-time Stanley Cup champion Larry Murphy, legendary defenseman Raymond Bourque, former goaltender and head coach Ed Johnston, and 1980 Team USA assistant coach Craig Patrick will all be behind the bench on Saturday. LeClair, Grant Fuhr, Guy Carbonneau, and Joey Mullen also coached 3ICE teams in 2023.

Logjam of Right Wingers

The Flyers finished 26th in the league in scoring in 2022-23 with a thin group of forwards that didn’t measure up well with the firepower of NHL playoff teams. That unit ironically has a logjam at right wing entering 2023-24. Veterans Travis Konecny and Cam Atkinson have combined for 18 seasons in the NHL, and they’ll make the lineup on opening night if they’re healthy.

Garnet Hathaway signed a two-year contract with Philadelphia, and he’s played the majority of his 488 career regular-season and playoff games at right wing. Owen Tippett is a lock for a full–time roster spot, and Wade Allison expects to compete for playing time on the right side. Making matters more complicated, Brink and Tyson Foerster will push for NHL time as two of the organization’s top prospects. 

John Tortorella will have interesting decisions to make during training camp and the preseason. Will he push one or more candidates to the left side? Will he value the experience of the veteran wingers? Tippett played left wing at points in 2022-23, but the Flyers will likely prioritize his most comfortable position considering their outwardly high praise of his future in the NHL. Brink and Foerster don’t have the NHL track record to fall back on, so either or both might benefit from their willingness to be versatile and test out new challenges. The overcrowded right wing battle will be a storyline leading up to the beginning of the regular season on Thursday, Oct. 12.

Loose Pucks

The Flyers released their 2023-24 preseason schedule on Aug. 8. It includes home and road matchups against the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Boston Bruins.

Chatter on Flyers Twitter (X?) has centered around Matvei Michkov and his performance during the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) preseason. Highlights during games that don’t count in a foreign league won’t really impact the future of the Flyers. However, positivity within a fan base that’s been through a lot in the past decade is much better than the vehement criticism that’s taken up the past three seasons. Welcome the highlight-reel plays as long as the optimism comes with reasonable expectations.