Today was a day for the Flyers front office to re-up some of their property, inking defenseman Danny Syvret to a one-year deal, forward Zac Rinaldo to a three-year entry deal and defenseman David Sloane to a one-year AHL deal.
Syvret was a restricted free agent and provides the Flyers with solid defensive depth in the AHL. He had a breakout year with the Phantoms last season, scoring 12 goals and 45 assists from the blue line. However, Syvret only appeared as an emergency call up twice to for the Flyers. As it stands, Ole Kristiant Tollefsen is the seventh defenseman, with Syvret on the outside looking in. But if either Randy Jones or Matt Carle gets moved, Syvret could be the new scratch blue liner on the roster.
As for Rinaldo, the scrappy 5’11, 180 lbs., former sixth-round draft pick, spent the last two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, splitting time between Mississauga and London. His offensive stats pale in comparison to his penalty minutes, which total 392 in just 119 games over two seasons. Rinaldo loves to hit and loves to fight, with surprising touch around the net. Beginning the season in the AHL, Rinaldo has to prove that his size won’t limit his style of play.
Sloane’s big moment came late last season, when the Flyers needed a salary cap loophole to add a defenseman without taking on salary. Sloane, a graduate of Colgate University, filled in as the sixth defenseman. He was selected due to his maturity and age (24), factors that could help him climb up the depth chart should he continue to improve his game.
Phila.Bright 