Philadelphia Flyers bring in Justin Braun and Nicolas Deslauriers

The Philadelphia Flyers made a couple of depth signings on the first day of free agency, bringing in both forward Nicolas Deslauriers and defenseman Justin Braun.

Both contracts come in at a $1.75 million cap hit, with Deslauriers’ signed for four years, while Braun is only for one year, both coming from the Flyers.

Braun is a returning face for the Flyers, as he spent parts of the past three seasons in Philadelphia before he was dealt to the New York Rangers at the deadline. He had just 18 points in 69 games this season, but is better known for his defensive game, and was helpful to the Rangers depth on their Conference Finals run. He likely serves as an insurance policy for the Flyers this season with Ryan Ellis’ return still in doubt.

Deslauriers is a much more interesting contract, signed to a term a lot of people probably weren’t expecting. He spent the past three seasons with the Anaheim Ducks before he was dealt at the deadline to the Minnesota Wild, with eight goals and 13 points in 81 games between the two teams. That said, he’s better known as a tough guy, racking up 113 penalty minutes last season.

With both contracts finalized, the Flyers now find themselves just under $50,000 over the salary cap, so they will need to do some maneuvering to get below the cap. They also still have to give Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost extensions as well, so some more money may be allocated to make that work.