An early peek at what the Flyers’ roster might look like next season | Sam Carchidi

The trade deadline has passed, and Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher is clearly setting up his team for a run in 2019-20.

By trading popular right winger Wayne Simmonds to Nashville and bypassing a chance to re-sign him before he hits the open market on July 1, Fletcher is saying he wants to get younger and find someone more productive.

Changes are coming in the offseason. Fletcher pointed out he will have lots of cap space (thank you, Ron Hextall) and hinted he will spend. Rest assured, his bosses want him to do just that.

The Flyers have about $36 million committed to 13 players for 2019-20, when the cap is expected to climb from $79.5 million to $83 million. If they buy out Andrew MacDonald’s contract ($5 million cap hit, which would be reduced to $1.2 million next season if he is bought out, and $1.9 million the following year), they will have even more cap room.

The Flyers have to sign restricted free agents Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Travis Konecny, Ryan Hartman, and Scott Laughton, along with a backup goalie. If all are signed, they would still have only nine forwards under contract — 10 if you add mega-prospect Morgan Frost.

There is a slight chance Simmonds returns as a free agent if he finds the market does not have a James van Riemsdyk-type deal (five years, $35 million) for him.

More than likely, however, the warrior right winger will play elsewhere and will return only if the Flyers have to go to Plan B.

If I’m reading the tea leaves correctly, this seems to be Plan A: add a sniper, a proven center, and a veteran defensemen.

Adding a top-six center would enable Claude Giroux to play exclusively at left wing, a position that, at this stage of his career, better suits him. It would enable the Flyers to drop center Nolan Patrick to the third line, where he would get more favorable matchups.

Here is how the 2019-20 team could look:

Top line: Sean Couturier centering Giroux and Travis Konecny.

Reasoning: What’s not to like? The line has the team’s best two-way player (Couturier), a skilled winger who still has a lot left in his tank (Giroux), and a speedy, tenacious right winger (Konecny) who gets under opponents’ skin.

Second line: A mystery player centering Oskar Lindblom and Jake Voracek.

Reasoning: Lindblom, 22, has blossomed into a top-six left winger, who would drop down in the lineup only if the Flyers somehow signed Artemi Panarin, a pending unrestricted free agent. Lindblom and Voracek have developed a good chemistry, and they would blend in nicely with someone like Matt Duchene or Brock Nelson, who are among the centers who can become UFAs.

Third line: Patrick centering van Riemsdyk and a mystery right winger.

Reasoning: Again, the emerging Patrick, who is just 20, would thrive in matchups when not against opponents’ top six. That’s not a knock on Patrick, who has improved dramatically in the season’s second half. Van Riemsdyk supplies a great net presence, but this line needs a genuine scorer, and the answer might be Frost, who has starred as a junior-level center and may move to right wing early in his NHL career. If Frost isn’t deemed ready, UFA Jeff Skinner is available, and Jason Zucker (signed through 2022-23), who played for Fletcher when he was Minnesota’s GM, is among the trade candidates.

Fourth line: Scott Laughton centering Michael Raffl/Corban Knight (both are UFAs) and Hartman.

Reasoning: This would be a hard-nosed unit that has players capable of reaching double figures in goals and playing responsible defense. Hartman could impress the brass enough in the final five weeks of this season to show he belongs on a higher unit.

As for the defense, MacDonald could be bought out, and it’s likely one of the young blue-liners will be dealt because this team could use a quality veteran to stabilize things.

This is how it could play out:

Pairing one: Ivan Provorov and a mystery man. Tyler Myers, a righthanded-shooting 6-8, 229-pounder, is among the free agents who might interest the Flyers if they don’t use the trade route.

Pairing two: Travis Sanheim and Phil Myers.

Pairing three: Robert Hagg or Shayne Gostisbehere and Radko Gudas.

Extra: Samuel Morin.

Goaltenders: Carter Hart and Cam Talbot.

Reasoning: Hart’s future is now. As for the backup, Talbot, 31, must prove he is worth re-signing as the Flyers finish this season. He has said he is hoping to stay here, and because of his experience and resume — he finished fourth in the Vezina voting in 2016-17 — it’s not far-fetched to believe he can bounce back from his poor season with the defense-challenged Oilers.

Like Talbot, Brian Elliott is a prospective unrestricted free agent. But his injuries over the last two years may make the Flyers leery of making him an offer.