(Photo: Zack Hill/Philadelphia Flyers)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It took all of 30 minutes following the end of the roster freeze for the other 31 teams in the NHL for Chuck Fletcher to make another trade. This one served a key purpose for the Flyers, because without it, not only were they limited in what they could continue to do with the roster ahead of the coming season, but they also wouldn’t even be able to fill all of the roster spots necessary.

Fletcher made his second trade this offseason, sending defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to the Arizona Coyotes along with a 2022 second-round pick and a 2022 seventh-round pick. The Flyers received “future considerations,” which ultimately translates to Gostisbehere’s $4.5 million in cap space. No salary was retained in the deal.

On the surface, it may seem like the Flyers traded Gostisbehere for nothing in return. Including two picks to move a defenseman, all for cap space? In reality, Fletcher had to be selective in his decision to make the deal. He declined two other offers trying to move Gostisbehere and his cap hit. One team asked for prospect Cam York to be included in the deal. Another team asked for the Flyers first-round draft pick at 13th overall on Friday night.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Earlier in the week, the Flyers announced the preseason schedule, marking the first time the Orange and Black will hit the ice. That will begin on Sept. 28. Just over two weeks later, on Friday, Oct. 15, the Flyers regular season will officially get underway.

The Flyers will open the 2021-22 season on Oct. 15 by hosting the Vancouver Canucks. They will play their second game of the season on Monday, Oct. 18, against the Seattle Kraken, marking their first meeting against the NHL’s newest team.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Following the underwhelming results of Wednesday’s expansion draft, the Flyers were going to need to continue to get creative if they wanted to open up cap space. With the NHL’s roster freeze off as of 1 p.m. Thursday, they wasted little time doing so.

The Flyers have traded defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, plus a 2022 second-round pick and 2022 seventh-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes. While Arizona sent nothing in return to the Flyers in terms of a player or pick, they did absorb all of Gostisbehere’s $4.5 million cap hit.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

While the official announcement of the Expansion Draft selections for the Seattle Kraken were set for 8 p.m., most of the players making the move to Seattle were already known through leaks and reports throughout the afternoon. After Seattle completed the selection process and submitted at 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning, reports started to surface in the hours following.

On the Flyers end, the selection was rather surprising. While many focused on names like Jake Voracek, James van Riemsdyk, Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Braun and Robert Hagg, who were left unprotected, the Kraken selected forward Carsen Twarynski as their pick from Philadelphia.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The NHL’s 32nd team will officially unveil its first roster on Wednesday night with the announcement of its selections in the Expansion Draft. That means that at least one Flyers player will be heading to the Seattle Kraken as part of the inaugural roster.

Who will it be? Will Seattle simply select a player or is there a side deal that could be in place? There are three potential outcomes for the Flyers in Wednesday night’s expansion draft, and we’ll detail each possibility and how it could impact the Flyers offseason plans.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

For 12 years and 10 seasons of playing in the NHL, Ryan Ellis has spent his entire time in Nashville. He was drafted 11th overall in 2009, then debuted in the 2011-12 season. Over the past decade, he became a staple among the Predators lineup and leadership group.

So when Saturday afternoon’s trade went down and sent Ellis to the Flyers for Phil Myers and Nolan Patrick, it came as a surprise to the veteran defenseman. That said, it also marks the beginning of a new chapter for Ellis.

“I didn't envision any of this, to be honest, ever. I've never been traded or anything in my life,” Ellis said. “It was a shock and a lot of surprise. After that, got to move on and move forward. I'm excited at the next chapter. I'm excited to be a part of the Flyers organization.”

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

One of the first pieces of news in the Flyers offseason was the move of Ian Laperriere from the Flyers coaching staff to head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. At the time, GM Chuck Fletcher noted that Laperriere’s spot on the coaching staff would be filled.

The Flyers announced the new addition on Monday, naming Darryl Williams to the team’s coaching staff alongside head coach Alain Vigneault and assistants Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Saturday afternoon marked the day that teams had to decide which players would be protected ahead of the Expansion Draft for the Seattle Kraken. The Flyers and 29 other teams – the Vegas Golden Knights are exempt – had the choice of protecting seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie or eight skaters and one goalie.

These lists were released on Sunday morning, and the Flyers had no surprises on their list.

The Flyers have protected forwards Claude Giroux, Kevin Hayes, Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny, Oskar Lindblom, Scott Laughton and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. They have also protected defensemen Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim and the newly-acquired Ryan Ellis, as well as goalie Carter Hart. Players such as Joel Farabee, Wade Allison and Cam York, who have two years or less of pro hockey experience, do not need to be protected and will remain with the team.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Earlier in the week, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher seemed to make it clear that making moves was a matter of when, not if, for the Orange and Black. He cautioned, however, that much would come prior to next week’s Expansion Draft involving the NHL’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken.

On Saturday at 3 p.m., rosters would be frozen ahead of expansion, and that sent teams into action to make some last-minute deals. The Flyers were right at the forefront, making the key offseason acquisition to acquire a top defenseman.

The Flyers completed a trade with the Nashville Predators, adding defenseman Ryan Ellis in exchange or defenseman Phil Myers and forward Nolan Patrick. Patrick was sent to the Vegas Golden Knights in a separate deal involving the Predators and New York Rangers.

Ellis, 30, has six years remaining on his contract with a $6.25 million cap hit. This certainly gives the Flyers a long-term answer to their issues on the blue line from a season ago. In addition, no salary was retained on Myers’ contract, which holds a $2.55 million cap hit. Patrick was a restricted free agent.

Photo: Zack Hill/Philadelphia Flyers

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

There is not much that we know about the Philadelphia Flyers and what their makeup will be come October and the start of a new season. Their offseason is already over two months old, following another season missing the playoffs, and as the Stanley Cup Playoffs took place and teams await the expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken, there is simply not much activity out there among teams.

That’s all about to change. Within the next three weeks, the Flyers and the other 29 teams – Vegas has exception status – will submit their protection lists for the expansion draft. At least one member of the Philadelphia Flyers will be bound for Seattle when the expansion draft takes place on July 21. Then the NHL Entry Draft follows in rapid succession on July 23 and 24. Free agency is also right around the corner, opening on July 28.

All of these dates are critical for the Flyers. As GM Chuck Fletcher and assistant GM Brent Flahr met with the media on Tuesday morning, it marked the beginning of what should be a busy few weeks for the team.

They need to get better. They know it. And they know time is of the essence.