Analyst Cites 3 Potential Offer Sheets For Philadelphia Flyers to Extend

The Philadelphia Flyers are building something. They haven't made the playoffs for the past four seasons, but their rebuild took a huge step last year, as they found themselves in a playoff spot until soon after the trade deadline, before falling off the pace.

But they could take it another few big steps forward by landing a top young player with an offer sheet, a la the St. Louis Blues' big splash this week with a couple of Edmonton Oiler RFAs. The Flyers are over the cap right now, but with Ryan Ellis and Ryan Johansen going on LTIR, it gives them plenty of cap space to work with.

Jonathan Bailey of Philly Hockey Now lists three ideal RFA targets for a Flyers' offer sheet:

Matty Beniers, Seattle Kraken

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Beniers is due a nice raise as he comes off his entry-level contract. After winning the Calder as Rookie of the Year in 2022-23 with 24 goals and 57 points, he had a downturn in his sophomore campaign, dipping to 15 goals and 37 points. As a two-way center, he really had his work cut out for him last season as so much was on his shoulders with the Kraken on a team without a lot of other impact players up front.

As Bailey points out, the lack of surrounding talent won't be an issue for him in Philly, with players like Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett and the incoming Matvei Michkov. Beniers could explode next to those guys.

Dawson Mercer, New Jersey Devils

Another key player without a new contract yet, and also coming off a bit of a down year after two very solid seasons to start his career. Mercer still reached the 20-goal mark, but his points dropped by well over 20 to just 33 on the season, while he went from a plus/minus of +22 to a -26. The Devils have about $5 million in cap space right now. Would the Flyers try to offer Mercer more than the Devils can match?

Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg Jets

Perfetti is still a work in progress. The No. 10 overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft, he had a decent enough rookie season in 2022-23, with 30 points in 51 games. But much more was expected of him this past year, and while he started strong, he eventually tailed off to the point where he went 15 straight games without a point, and was dropped from the 2nd line down to the 4th line, and even to a string of healthy scratches in March, before finishing strong again in April.

A big selling point for him with the Flyers would be his linemate from junior hockey, Owen Tippett, being on hand in Philly.

As we know, offer sheets are few and far between in the NHL, but could the Blues' double-shot against the Oilers this week spark other teams, like the Flyers, to take a chance as well?