Philadelphia

Flyers

MacEwen and the Flyers had an arbitration hearing scheduled for Aug. 8, but settled ahead of that process on a one-year deal worth $925,000. He accounted for three goals, nine points, 110 penalty minutes, 82 shots and 159 hits in 75 games during the 2021-22 season.

Tippett had 10 goals and 21 points in 63 contests with the Panthers and Flyers last season. He was averaging just 12:32 minutes in Florida, but that jumped to 15:12 minutes after the Flyers acquired him. He hasn’t produced as hoped up to this point, but with a bigger opportunity in Philadelphia, he could make some significant strides next season.

Thompson served as an associate coach with the San Jose Sharks in 2020-21. Prior to that, he was the bench boss of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves for three straight campaigns. One of Thompson’s primary duties is expected to be managing the Flyers’ power play. It will be a tough assignment given that the Flyers ranked dead last in the league last season with a 12.6% success rate. “Rocky is an important addition to our staff and we are excited to start working with him,” Flyers head coach John Tortorella said. “He has a sharp mind and eye for the game but from the first time we sat down to speak it was clear that he brings enthusiasm and a high-level of energy needed for this job. His communication skills are going to be vital to our locker room.”

Laczynski had seven goals and 17 points in 28 AHL contests last season. The 25-year-old forward only has six games worth of NHL experience, but a hip injury that required surgery is part of the reason for that.

Brink is expected to need five months to recover, so he’ll miss the first chunk of the season. It’s an unfortunate setback for the 21-year-old, who had a fantastic campaign with the University of Denver in 2021-22 and then joined the Flyers, where he registered four assists in 10 games.

“I think he’s going to do great stuff for our young defense and trying to develop some of these kids, see if they can play in the league and see if they can progress,” Tortorella said of Shaw. “He has great communication skills, he’s a veteran guy, he’s played the position in the league.” Tortorella also described Shaw as one of the best penalty killing coaches he’s ever been around. Even so, Shaw has a tall task ahead of him. The Flyers allowed 3.59 goals per game last season, which was the sixth worst in the league and they had the seventh worst penalty kill at 75.7%. Working on those weaknesses will be vital for the Flyers if they are to beat the odds and make the playoffs next season.

Ellis only played in four games last season due to a pelvic injury. Philadelphia GM Chuck Fletcher said roughly a month ago that Ellis was making progress, but that it was difficult to predict how his rehab would go. So has the last month provided any clarity about his timetable? Listening to Flyers coach John Tortorella, it doesn’t sound like it. “I’ve talked to Ryan twice — once at the practice facility a few weeks ago, we had a conversation,” Tortorella said. “It’s funny, I just called him today, left a message just to check on his rehab. I’m not sure. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you and say he’s going to be ready to go. I’m not sure. I don’t think he’s sure. So that’s something we’re going to have to monitor and see where we go. If he’s healthy and he’s ready to go mentally to play, it’s a huge plus for our back end, both defensively and offensively. But we’re going to have to wait and see, we’ll see what happens.”

“The thing that bothers me and some of the things I’ve read is people are upset about Tony DeAngelo,” Tortorella said. “Tony DeAngelo’s a hell of a player, Tony DeAngelo has personality. Is he going to say and do some stupid stuff? You’re damn right he is. But I’d rather have a guy doing stupid stuff than having a choir boy here just going about your business. You don’t win that way, you don’t win championships, you don’t build a team without any personality. Tony’s going to bring that and, plus, he’s a hell of a player.” DeAngelo’s tenure with the Rangers ended after he reportedly got into an altercation with his own goaltender, Alexandar Georgiev, so it’s not just that DeAngelo has personality. That said his time with Carolina went better and while there are on-ice reasons to criticize DeAngelo too - most notably his defensive play - we’ll see how he works under Tortorella. If nothing else, DeAngelo has to appreciate his head coach going to bat for him in such a strong way.

Ratcliffe will come with a $813,750 cap hit if he plays in the NHL. He had 11 goals and 28 points in 59 AHL contests as well as a goal and four points in 10 games with Philadelphia last season.

MacEwen picked up three goals, nine points, 110 penalty minutes, 82 shots and 159 hits in 75 games last season. He is coming off a two-year, $1.65 million agreement.