Flyers general manager Ron Hextall on Friday clarified a statement he made recently, and said he, in fact, wanted to go after pending free agent John Tavares, one of the NHL’s premier centers.
Tavares, however, has talked with six teams about signing when free-agency opens Sunday, and the Flyers weren’t one of them. If he doesn’t re-sign with the Islanders, Tavares is believed to be headed to one of five other teams: Toronto, San Jose, Dallas, Tampa Bay, or Boston.
“We would have liked to have been in there,” Hextall said during a meeting with reporters at the Flyers’ development camp in Voorhees.