Philadelphia Flyers Sign Several Depth Players

The Philadelphia Flyers have added a good amount of depth to the organization today, signing six players:

• Andy Andreoff has signed a two-year contract with an average annual value of $750K
• Kurtis Gabriel has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level.
• Nate Prosser has signed a two-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $700K at the NHL level.
• Andy Welinski has signed a one-year contract worth $750K.
• Tyler Wotherspoon has signed a two-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $700K at the NHL level.
• Jean-Francois Berube has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level.
• Chris Bigras has signed a two-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $700K at the NHL level.
• Kyle Criscuolo has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level.

Andreoff should provide some bottom-sixth depth as he has 159 games of NHL experience with the Los Angeles Kings. However, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for goaltender Peter Budaj last June, and lacked the firepower to break into the Lightning’s lineup. He was sent to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, where he produced 26 goals and 55 points, while amassing 150 penalty minutes. The 26-year-old Gabriel also has quite a bit of NHL experience, but scored just two goals in 22 games for the New Jersey Devils last season, while also scoring just two goals in 32 games for the Binghamton Devils in the AHL. The 27-year-old Criscuolo spent all of last season with the Sabres affialiate in Rochester where he scored six goals and 20 points in 43 games.

The 33-year-old Prosser has spent most of his career with the Minnesota Wild, albeit a one-game appearance with the St. Louis Blues back in the 2017-18 season before they traded him back to the Wild. However, the defenseman spent most of last season with Iowa in the AHL and likely will stay in Lehigh Valley this season. Welinski could provide more value as a depth defenseman as the 26-year-old played in a career-high 26 games for the Anaheim Ducks last season, while showing off some offense while playing with the San Diego Gulls in the AHL, scoring eight goals there. However, he was never able to fortify a full-time role with the Ducks. The 26-year-old Wotherspoon, a former second-round pick in 2011, has spent the last two years in the AHL where the blueliner has played for the Stockton Heat, and this year, the San Antonio Rampage. He hasn’t seen any NHL action in two seasons. The 24-year-old Bigras comes to Philadelphia from the New York Rangers where he played 52 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack, scoring three goals and 24 points.

The team did sign Berube to likely serve as a depth option in Lehigh Valley. The 27-year-old Berube started his career with the New York Islanders, but eventually moved on to Chicago and eventually Columbus. He has appeared in 34 NHL games, but spent all of last season with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL where he finished with a 3.01 GAA and a .896 save percentage.