The Philadelphia Flyers were one of the hottest teams entering this year’s postseason. But, things didn’t exactly end as planned as the team was ousted from the playoffs by a New York Islanders team that is currently struggling in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Flyers are a deep team, with some good pieces in place that could see them remain a contender for some time. Among the young talent the organization was hoping to have contributing by now was Nolan Patrick.
A No.2 overall draft pick in 2017, Patrick missed the entire 2019-20 season due to a migraine issue. His health has been of question for some time and while he’s been skating, he’s not really been all that close to a return to action. But there’s good news according to Flyers GM Cliff Fletcher.
Fletcher notes that Patrick’s health has been improving over the past few months and he is apparently on the road to recovery. His future in the NHL is still unclear and contact remains a major issue, but the Flyers are hopeful.
Do Flyers Renew His Contract?
What’s interesting, here is that Patrick is a restricted free agent and will need a contract this offseason. He’s got 61 points in 145 career games and it’s hard to know where he’d be now if he’d played on a more regular basis.
When asked if the Flyers intended to keep Patrick in the fold, Fletcher said, “And, yes, I’m counting on him playing at some point in 2020-21. We don’t even know when we’re going to start the 2020-21 season, and time is certainly on his side in that regard.”
Fletcher added:
“He’s a real important part. I think you saw in the playoffs, the ability to have three quality centermen that can play 200 feet and produce offensively is incredibly important, and he’s a part of that future for us.”
What a contract might look like is also unclear. Perhaps the Flyers can offer a one-year contract valued $900K. It’s a low-risk, high-reward type situation if Patrick feels ready.
If nothing else, it would be opportunity for Patrick to resume a healthy career and that just feels like the right thing to do from a Flyers perspective.
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