Veteran forward Derick Brassard signs with Philadelphia Flyers on one-year deal

The Philadelphia Flyers have found another depth forward to add to the mix, signing Derick Brassard to a one-year deal. It will cost the team just $825K at the NHL level, meaning Brassard is making barely more than the league minimum this season as he looks to continue his career.

Brassard, 33, is certainly well known to the Philadelphia coaching staff, having played several years for Alain Vigneault with the New York Rangers. In fact, those years in New York were the best of his career, posting highs of 60 points and 27 goals. Those are numbers Brassard hasn’t come close to in recent years, including 2020-21 when he had just eight goals and 20 points in 53 games for the Arizona Coyotes.

Still, you do worse than a veteran of 905 regular-season games for $825K. Brassard has more than 500 career points, has experience at both center and wing, and has suited up 117 times in the postseason. For a Flyers team hoping young players like Morgan Frost can take a step forward this season, Brassard represents a nice insurance policy.

The overall makeup of the Philadelphia roster is a lot different than a year ago. Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen, Keith Yandle, Cam Atkinson and now Brassard have all been added, giving the team a huge boost of experience. Whether they are actually better than a year ago remains to be seen, but GM Chuck Fletcher is certainly not sitting on his hands after a disappointing year.

For Brassard, it’s been a steady downhill ride in terms of salary since he finished his five-year, $25M contract in 2019. He signed a one-year, $1.2M contract in 2019-20, a $1.0M deal in 2020-21, and now an $825K contract this season. If he has anything left, he actually could provide a nice little bit of excess value on this cheap deal. If not, there’s not much risk for the Flyers.