NHL Rumors: 3 Flyers Not Expected To be Back Next Season

It was a disappointing finish to the 2023-24 campaign for the Philadelphia Flyers, as a late-season collapse dropped them out of a playoff spot, one that they'd held all season long, right up until two weeks ago. At that time, head coach John Tortorella questioned whether his team "had the balls" to play at another level to make it to the playoffs. Turns out, in his eyes, they didn't.

Now that the season is done for them, there will be a lot of work for GM Danny Briere this summer to get the Flyers to that next level.

According to the insiders at The Fourth Period, many players won't be back, and they've named at least three:

Erik Johnson
Marc Staal
Cal Peterson

Both Johnson (obtained at the trade deadline from the Buffalo Sabres) and Staal are unrestricted free agents, and both are on the wrong side of 35. The Flyers will undoubtedly not be re-signing either defenseman. Johnson, the former No. 1 overall draft pick, finished his 16th season with 17 games in Philly, recording three points with a minus-9 rating. Staal played in just 35 games this season with the Flyers and recorded five points with a +2 rating.

As for Petersen, the little-used goaltender is seen as a prime buyout candidate to create more cap space. The netminder is set to take up a bloated $5 million cap hit next season, but a buyout would allow the Flyers more room to complete the expected extension for their newest man between the pipes, 6'7" Russian Ivan Fedotov.

The Flyers could also revisit trade talks for the likes of Scott Laughton, Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee this summer, as changes to the roster will be plenty.