Flyers send Cam York a qualifying offer; Jakob Pelletier will become a free agent

The Flyers had to make several qualifying offers to their restricted free agents on Monday or they’d turn into unrestricted free agents on July 1.

Defenseman Cam York and forward Jakob Pelletier were the two NHLers eligible to be qualified, and only York received an offer. The Flyers will retain his negotiating rights.

According to Puckpedia, York, 24, was required to receive a qualifying offer of $1.6 million, the same as the two-year contract he signed in July 2023. After a breakout year in 2023-24, he struggled to find his game this past season after sustaining a shoulder injury in late October.

» READ MORE: Top free-agent targets for the Flyers: How would Jake Allen, Bowen Byram, or Maxim Shabanov fit in?

The defenseman who was a Flyers first-round draft pick in 2019 finished with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) and a plus-minus of minus-8 while playing an average of 20 minutes, 47 seconds across 66 regular-season games.

But he also had problems with former head coach John Tortorella, and it nearly came to blows in a heated argument two days before the bench boss’s firing. York took some of the blame for a down season, but had two assists in the final eight games under interim head coach Brad Shaw.

“Being able to play with a little bit more freedom, and maybe not gripping the stick as tight,” he said of the last stretch. “As a player, that’s everything, in a way. It felt good to get back to that and have that mindset.”

York may have also been one of the “untapped talents” new coach Rick Tocchet alluded to at his introductory press conference in May. After all, York put up career highs in goals (10), assists (20), points (30), power-play points (six), and time on ice (22:37) two seasons ago. The hope is that with a new bench boss, he can get back on track.

“I think so,” Flyers general manager Danny Brière told The Inquirer when asked if he was indeed that untapped talent. “Yeah, I think Cam started showing that a couple of years ago, and then last year didn’t take a step forward. There were many reasons for that. He was injured. I agree with that. I think, yeah, there’s a lot more there with Cam York.”

» READ MORE: Flyers Q&A: Danny Brière on free agency, the player who needs to take a big step, and more

Pelletier, 24, who was acquired from the Calgary Flames in late January as part of the deal that sent Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee west, did not receive a qualifying offer. The left winger was due for a slight raise from $800,000 to $840,000, according to Puckpedia.

The Quebec native played in 25 regular-season games for the Flyers, notching eight points (three goals, five assists). However, the numbers are a bit misleading. Under Tortorella, he wasn’t given the best opportunity and had three assists while averaging 9:34 of ice time on the fourth line across 16 games.

When Shaw took over, Pelletier skated higher in the lineup — thus getting more ice time (12:12).

Forwards Zayde Wisdom and Elliot Desnoyers played in Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League last season and did not receive qualifying offers. Wisdom and Desnoyers were each due a minimum qualifying offer of $813,750, according to Puckpedia.

Not qualifying Wisdom is a little surprising. The Ontario native, who turns 23 next week, had a turnaround season for the Phantoms. In 2023-24, he had just three points in 49 games for Lehigh Valley.

This season, Wisdom had his best year as a pro, potting 13 goals — including two shorthanded goals and three game-winners — and 32 points in 68 regular-season games. He added another three goals (two shorthanded again) and four points in seven playoff games.

» READ MORE: Grading the Flyers for Day 2 of the NHL draft, when they added some sizable players

“He’s like, ‘Lappy, I changed my training when I moved to Montreal with Elliot Desnoyers, and we’re training together. I’m going to come to camp and you won’t be able to take me out of the lineup,’” Ian Laperrière, the former Phantoms coach and current adviser for Flyers hockey operations, said Wisdom told him on the phone.

“That’s great, but I’ve heard that before,” Laperrière added. “Talk is cheap sometimes, but [I’ve] got to give him props. He talked the talk, but now he’s walking the walk.”

Desnoyers, skating in his third pro season, had a drop in production. Last season, the 23-year-old was highly touted and often mentioned by Flyers brass as someone on the right track.

But after starting his career with 44 points (23 goals, 21 assists) in 65 games in 2022-23 — the same year he made his NHL debut and played in four games — his slide continued and bottomed out to 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 59 regular-season games this past season. He had one assist in four playoff games.

The Flyers also have several pending unrestricted free agents in the minors: forwards Olle Lycksell, Givani Smith, and Rhett Gardner, defensemen Louie Belpedio and Ben Gleason, and goalies Eetu Mäkiniemi and Cal Petersen. Mäkiniemi recently signed with TPS in Liiga, Finland’s top men’s league.