{"id":115689,"date":"2021-07-27T14:56:23","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T18:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=115689"},"modified":"2021-07-27T17:16:12","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T21:16:12","slug":"keith-yandle-signs-with-philadelphia-flyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2021\/07\/27\/keith-yandle-signs-with-philadelphia-flyers\/","title":{"rendered":"Keith Yandle Signs With the Philadelphia Flyers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran defenceman Keith Yandle<\/a> will sign a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> worth $900,000.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/FriedgeHNIC\/status\/1420070815563980804<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Keith Yandle<\/h2>\n

Heading into his 16th NHL season, Keith Yandle will suit up for his fourth team. He remains in the Eastern Conference after playing five years with the Florida Panthers<\/a> and a season-and-half with the New York Rangers<\/a>. Both of those stints were after he was traded from the Arizona Coyotes<\/a>, who picked him in the fourth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yandle has been known for two things in his NHL career: offensive production and durability. In 11 of his seasons, Yandle played in every regular-season game. That includes 84 games played in 2014-15 when he was traded from Arizona to New York. During that time, the American D-man has scored 600 points (102g, 498a) over 1,032 games played. However, 2020-21 was the first full season since 2007-08 in which Yandle failed to record over 30 points. It came as Yandle fell out of favour with Panthers head coach, Joel Quenneville<\/a>, who didn\u2019t initially have the defender in the team\u2019s opening night lineup.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What This Means for the Flyers<\/h3>\n

Wheeling and dealing is becoming the status quo for the Philadelphia Flyers. As a result, general manager Chuck Fletcher has been among the busiest people in the NHL this offseason. He has essentially blown up the roster, trading away Shayne Gostisbehere<\/a>, Nolan Patrick<\/a>, Robert Hagg<\/a> and Jakub Voracek<\/a>. In return, Cam Atkinson<\/a>, Ryan Ellis<\/a> and Rasmus Ristolainen<\/a> are coming to Philadelphia along with Yandle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s move further solidifies the Flyers blue line, which will have Ellis, Ristolainen and Yandle joining rising star Ivan Provorov<\/a> and Justin Braun<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Up next for Philly is goaltender Carter Hart<\/a> who needs a new deal as a restricted free agent. Then, fellow RFA Travis Sanheim<\/a> should be the next point of focus; his signing will round out the team’s defensive unit. Finally, the Flyers will also need a backup goaltender to challenge the young Hart for the starting spot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, Yandle’s signing will bring another veteran voice into the Philadelphia dressing room, along with some production from the back end. Head coach Alain Vigneault<\/a> is familiar with Yandle from their time with the New York Rangers and so it’ll likely be an easier transition for the veteran. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a busy offseason for the Flyers but it looks like the roster is beginning to take shape. With just over $10 million in cap space remaining, look for Philly to target a backup goaltender, depth defenders and a couple more bottom-six forwards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>