Ron Hextall Gives A Couple Of Clues Regarding Offseason Plans.

"If they want to be the Philadelphia Flyers can be big players this offseason with plenty of cap space and draft picks to peddle around. There could be some free agents that interest the Flyers, especially if John Carlson hits the open market. General manager Ron Hextall briefly spoke with the media on Thursday gave some clues as to what his plans are this offseason:- Hextall has zero interest in signing Ilya Kovalchuk- He won't be giving out any long term deals to UFA- Would prefer to sign some veteran guys on 2-3 year contracts- Admitted right side defense is an area of need. Hextall also stated that he intends to use both his first round draft picks (#14 and #19) unless a mind blowing deal comes a long. He reiterated how important it is to build through the draft. He also hinted it could be possible the Flyers load up on defenseman in the draft. When speaking about Wayne Simmonds, Hextall kept it pretty tight lipped but said he will sit down with Simmonds and his agent to start thinking about a possible contract extension around July 1st. Overall, don't expect the Flyers to go after Carlson, Kovalchuk or even John Tavares it sounds like.

That said, there were interesting tidbits. The acknowledgement that RHD is a stylistic need. The reiteration that they're looking more for shorter-term UFA options than players who will require lots of years. These are important things to hear and to remember.
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) June 14, 2018

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