Summer Synopsis: Philadelphia Flyers

With training camps now almost upon us, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective.  Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled.  Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason.  Next up is a look at Philadelphia.

A year removed from narrowly missing the playoffs, the Flyers took a step back last season, ultimately resulting in them parting ways with John Tortorella.  Rick Tocchet was brought in from Vancouver to take over behind the bench while GM Daniel Briere decided to largely stay the course as their rebuild continues but a pair of expensive forwards were brought in to try to bolster their group up front.

Draft

1-6 – F Porter Martone, Brampton (OHL)
1-12 – F Jack Nesbitt, Windsor (OHL)
2-38 – D Carter Amico, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
2-40 – F Jack Murtagh, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
2-48 – F Shane Vansaghi, Michigan State (Big 10)
2-57 – F Matthew Gard, Red Deer (WHL)
5-132 – F Max Westergard, Frolunda (Sweden U20)
5-157 – D Luke Vlooswyk, Red Deer (WHL)
6-164 – F Nathan Quinn, Quebec (QMJHL)

As the Flyers re-tool their team and look to build their next core of players capable of cotending for a Stanley Cup, one of the key needs for the franchise has been a high-level center capable of filling the all-important number-one center role.  32-year-old Sean Couturier has filled that role for the team in recent years, and remains a strong shutdown center.  But he hasn’t been a high-end offensive contributor in several years, and it would be somewhat unreasonable to expect him to suddenly once again produce at a near point-per-game rate.  So, with such a clear need established for the organization, many entered the 2025 draft expecting the Flyers to select a pivot with their top choice: potentially college hockey star James Hagens, OHL playmaking dynamo Jake O’Brien, or the high-upside Roger McQueen.

NHL teams generally draft using a “best player available, regardless of position” approach, and position typically comes into play when trying to decide between two similarly-rated players. So, rather than use their number-six pick to fill a key organizational need, they drafted the player they believed was the best available: Martone, a winger. That the Flyers passed over three highly-ranked center prospects to draft Martone says a lot about just how highly the organization regards the 6’3 Brampton Steelheads captain.  Martone possesses rare offensive skill for someone his size, and has downright elite playmaking instincts.  Martone ranked third on Bob McKenzie’s list, and was recently ranked by Eliteprospects as the fourth-best skater prospect in all of hockey.  Alongside Michkov, Martone could be the second star winger in Philadelphia.

Behind Martone, the Flyers elected to trade two of their other first-rounders to jump up to the #12 slot to select OHL pivot Nesbitt, filling a key organizational need.  The general consensus from scouts in the public sphere has been that Nesbitt projects more as a middle-six center with rare, valuable secondary qualities, rather than as a true top-of-the-lineup offensive force.  With that said, Nesbitt offers prototypical size and strength at the position, and his potential value down the road should not be discounted.

The Flyers then made their mark on the second day of the draft with four second-round picks.  They were able to add athletic blueliner Amico at #38, who could have been ranked even higher had he not suffered a season-ending injury early in his campaign.  They then selected Murtagh, a responsible two-way forward who will play for Boston University in 2025-26 and was ranked inside the first round by some outlets.  After Murtagh, the Flyers doubled down on taking projectable players with pro qualities by adding Vansaghi, who EliteProspects called “the ultimate bottom-six checking forward” in its draft coverage.  With their final second-rounder, the Flyers took Gard, a hulking six-foot-five pivot whose defensive responsibilty has garnered praise from scouts.

After their second-round shopping spree, the Flyers didn’t pick until the fifth-round, where they took Westergard from of Frölunda’s J20 Nationell team.  Westergard began 2025-26 with Frölunda’s senior team, skating in four Champions Hockey League games as well as an SHL game, and recording two assists in the team’s 5-2 August victory over Switzerland’s Lausanne HC.

Trade Acquisitions

F Tucker Robertson (from Seattle)
F Trevor Zegras (from Anaheim)

At one point, Zegras looked to be a long-term core fixture for the Ducks.  He had a pair of 60-plus-point seasons in his first two NHL campaigns and things were looking up.  However, injuries have been a problem for the last two years while his production took a big step downward and Anaheim GM Pat Verbeek decided to sell low, giving Zegras a fresh start along the way.  He should slot in as a top-six forward right away, likely starting on the wing although he could get a look down the middle at some point.  It’s a big year for him as he’s in the final season of a contract that pays $5.75MM per season, a number that will stand as his qualifying offer next summer.  If things don’t go well again, he could wind up as a non-tender candidate, an outcome that would have seemed crazy when this deal was signed in 2023.

UFA Signings

F Rodrigo Abols (one year, $800K)^
F Christian Dvorak (one year, $5.4MM)
D Dennis Gilbert (one year, $875K)
D Noah Juulsen (one year, $900K)
F Lane Pederson (one year, $775K)*
G Daniel Vladar (two years, $6.7MM)

*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing

Briere opted for the short-term overpayment to bring in help down the middle with Dvorak, a player who got back to the 30-point mark for the first time in three years last season.  But while offensive production has been an issue for him, he is a reliable defensive center and well above average at the faceoff dot.  Those elements will help the Flyers in the short term and if they wind up being outside the playoff picture in the second half, he’s someone they could retain on to help facilitate a move.

In a goalie market that didn’t have much depth at the start and lost some of that depth before free agency opened up, Vladar was one of the beneficiaries.  He started last season as a platoon partner to Dustin Wolf, allowing the youngster to get eased into his first full NHL campaign.  But in the second half, Wolf took over as the full-fledged starter with Vladar only making eight starts from February through April.  Even so, he entered free agency as the top netminder available.  Clearly, Briere thinks that Vladar has another level to get to and that he can compete for the starting spot in a goaltending group that is also bringing back all three goalies they had last season.

The additions of Juulsen and Gilbert give some extra depth and grit to a back end that isn’t expected to be fully healthy to start the season with Rasmus Ristolainen still recovering from triceps surgery.  Juulsen is well-known to Tocchet who had him in Vancouver.  When the group is fully healthy, however, playing time for both veterans could be hard to come by.

The re-signing of Abols and addition of Pederson helped shore up the club’s veteran depth, with both players expected to occupy roles either at the tail end of the club’s NHL roster or at the top of their AHL lineup.  The Flyers signed Abols, 29, from the SHL last season and he rewarded them by scoring 32 points in 47 AHL games and five points in 22 NHL games.  That quality performance earned him a significant raise from a $450k AHL salary to a full one-way deal.

For Pederson, this signing will present him with an opportunity to resume his place as one of the AHL’s more consistent scorers.  Pederson’s 2024-25 season was limited to 18 games after the forward underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in February.

RFA Re-Signings

F Noah Cates (four years, $16MM)
F Tyson Foerster (two years, $7.5MM)
D Helge Grans (two years, $1.55MM)*
F Oscar Eklind (one year, $800K)
D Cameron York (five years, $25.75MM)

*-denotes two-way contract

The Flyers had a notable cohort of restricted free agents to re-sign this past summer, including three NHL regulars.  The largest signing by total value was that of York, the club’s 2019 first-round selection.  It was a difficult 2024-25 for York, without question. Late last season, he was benched for the entirety of the Flyers’ victory over the Montreal Canadiens, for reasons interim head coach Brad Shaw described as “disciplinary.”  York reportedly had a verbal altercation with former coach John Tortorella, and his difficult season was compounded by a notable decline in some key personal statistics: his point total decreased from 30 in 2023-24 to 17 last season, and his time-on-ice per game went down nearly a full two minutes.

But despite York’s year to forget, the Flyers doubled down on the talented blueliner as a core piece for the next half-decade.  York’s $5.15MM AAV is the second-highest among the club’s active defensemen, and its likely he’ll step into a top-pairing role alongside Travis Sanheim under new coach Rick Tocchet.

The second major name the Flyers re-signed was Foerster, a 2020 first-rounder who enjoyed career-best offensive production in 2024-25.  Foerster is a natural goal-scorer and his total of 25 ranked second on the team, only behind star rookie Matvei Michkov.  Foerster underwent offseason surgery after suffering an injury while representing Canada at the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship, but he’s expected to be ready to go in time of the start of the regular season.  While the Flyers weren’t able to come to an agreement on a longer-term deal with Foerster, as long as he can continue his solid upwards trajectory (or at least repeat his scoring of last season) he should be able to provide the team with a solid surplus value on its $3.75MM AAV investment.

One of the more encouraging stories from the 2024-25 Flyers was the bounce-back season had by Cates, a reliable defensive center. Cates has been a developmental success story for the franchise as a 2017 fifth-rounder, and he came just one point shy of tying his career-high last year.  After a difficult 2023-24 season saw his point total decline from 38 to 18, there was some question as to whether Cates would have the offensive chops be able to hold down a meaningful NHL role in the long term.  He answered those questions emphatically in 2024-25, and the Flyers rewarded him with a four-year, $4MM AAV extension.

Grans and Eklind are not quite as high-profile players as the aforementioned trio, and that is reflected in the value of each player’s extension. The Flyers signed Eklind, 27, out of the SHL last year and he put together a decent debut season on North American ice. Veteran European pro free agent signings have a somewhat spotty record transitioning to the North American game, but Eklind managed to hold his own. He got into 64 games for the Phantoms and scored 22 points.

Grans, 23, is the 2020 35th-overall pick who the Flyers acquired in the 2023 Ivan Provorov trade.  Grans played most of last season in Lehigh Valley, scoring eight points in a largely shutdown role.  His defensive abilities earned him his first NHL call-up, and he ended up dressing for six games with the Flyers last year.  Grans is subject to waivers, but the second season on his new contract at a full one-way, $800k price tag could provide the Flyers with some degree of protection against a claim.  The added financial commitment could potentially motivate an interested team to go in a different direction on the waiver wire, assuming Grans does not make the Flyers’ opening-night roster.

Departures

F J-R Avon (trade with Seattle)
D Louis Belpedio (signed with Washington)
F Elliot Desnoyers (signed with Iowa, AHL)
F Rhett Gardner (signed in Russia)
D Ben Gleason (signed with Minnesota)
F Olle Lycksell (signed with Ottawa)
G Eetu Makiniemi (signed in Finland)
F Jakob Pelletier (signed with Tampa Bay)
G Calvin Petersen (signed with Minnesota)
F Ryan Poehling (trade with Anaheim)
F Givani Smith (signed PTO with Carolina)
F Zayde Wisdom (signed with Lehigh Valley, AHL)

*-denotes two-way contract

The Flyers’ most significant departure, from a financial perspective, undoubtedly Petersen.  The veteran netminder played in just five total games for the Flyers across his two-year stint in the organization, and the expiration of his contract provided Briere with an additional $5MM in cap space to work with.

The most consequential loss, from an on-ice perspective, is the inclusion of Poehling in the trade that brought Zegras to Philadelphia.  Poehling is not a star player by any means, but he scored 12 goals, 31 points, and had developed into a meaningful member of the team’s bottom-six.  In Philadelphia, Poehling was able to reach new heights as an NHLer, not only setting career-highs in production but also serving a useful role on Tortorella’s penalty kill.  With that said, Briere’s investment in Dvorak (who plays a similar role to Poehling) should help the club absorb his loss.

Lycksell, 26, led AHL Lehigh Valley in scoring last season, but the Flyers elected not to re-sign the player after he put up just 10 points across almost 40 NHL games between 2023-24 and 2024-25. Pelletier, a 2019 first-round pick of the Calgary Flames, was acquired via trade by the Flyers but only managed eight points in his 25-game stay with the club, and was not retained.

Salary Cap Outlook

At first glance, the $370K in cap space they’re listed at per PuckPedia looks concerning.  However, they do have more flexibility than this.  If Ivan Fedotov is waived and demoted as expected, that would open up $1.15MM in room.  Additionally, Ryan Ellis is LTIR-eligible and is out for the season, meaning Philadelphia would get the full $6.25MM (less cap space at the time of placement), not the reduced amount for players expected to return in-season.  While going into that would open up the potential for bonus carryover penalties, it would give them ample protection against a rash of injuries or would allow Briere to try to add a player should the Flyers find themselves in the playoff picture when the trade deadline comes around in March.

Key Questions

Will Vladar Stabilize The Goaltending?

The Flyers have long been believers in the potential of Samuel Ersson, who has been a nice find for the team since being drafted 143th overall in 2018.  But Ersson, now 25, has looked overwhelmed at times as the club’s go-to number-one netminder since the departure of Carter Hart, and his overall body of work simply has not been good enough.  Ersson put together an .890 save percentage across 51 games in 2023-24, and a very poor .883 mark this past season. Among goalies who played in at least 30 games last season, Ersson’s .883 save percentage ranked second-worst in the NHL, ahead of only recent Sabres signing Alexandar Georgiev. (.875)

While the Flyers are likely still believers in Ersson, and he remains overwhelmingly likely to play a solid role for the team moving forward, the team did bring in some additional help at the position.  Philadelphia added Vladar, who played in 30 games last season and posted an .898 save percentage.  While it is relatively unlikely that Vladar, 28, will suddenly transform into an elite netminder, it is somewhat more reasonable to expect him to be able to help stabilize the position for the organization.  Vladar has put together some quality stretches over the course of his 105-game NHL career thusfar, and he has the opportunity to get a more consistent diet of starts with the Flyers than he was able to get in Calgary.  The Flyers have quite a few question marks across their roster as they attempt to re-tool and return to the playoffs, but perhaps no player on the team has a greater opportunity to make his mark than Vladar.

How Will Michkov’s Sophomore Year Go?

Michkov, the 2023 seventh-overall pick, was one of the most highly-regarded prospects in hockey and his debut in Philadelphia was met with sky-high expectations. The 20-year-old Russian phenom more than met those lofty standards, coming second on the team in scoring with 26 goals and 63 points. Michkov possesses rare offensive talent, and it’s easy to imagine him quickly becoming the team’s most lethal scoring threat – if he isn’t there already.

The importance of Michkov to the Flyers’ future cannot be overstated.  That is why one of the key storylines for the club’s upcoming season will be whether Michkov is able to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, continue to grow offensively, and find a way to round out his game a little more on the other end of the ice.  Nobody should expect Michkov to grow into a suffocating defensive force, and Michkov would probably not be best served trying to make too many drastic changes to how he plays.  But NHL coaches have high expectations for their players in terms of defensive responsibility, and Michkov at times fell short of those expectations in his nonetheless brilliant rookie season.  If Michkov can find a way to more sustainably balance his lethal offensive instincts with a reasonable level of commitment to defense that satisfies Tocchet, he could reach new heights of stardom and surpass Travis Konecny as the Flyers’ most valuable all-around force.

Will The Duo of Former Top Ducks Picks Take Needed Steps Forward?

Through two separate trades, the Flyers were able to acquire the two top-ten draft choices the Ducks made between 2019 and 2020: Zegras and Jamie Drysdale.  Zegras is entering his first season in Philadelphia, and has a clear mandate entering an extremely important 2025-26 season: show he can still be the kind of impactful, high-level contributor he was early in his tenure with the Ducks.  Injuries and inconsistent play have dimmed Zegras’ star quite a bit since he broke into the league with back-to-back 60-plus point seasons in his first two full NHL campaigns.  The Flyers will be hoping that a change of scenery will do wonders in helping Zegras return to his formerly dynamic offensive identity.

As for Drysdale, 2025-26 will be his third season wearing Flyers orange, and he’s in a situation with some key similarities, and important differences, to Zegras.  Drysdale has also had to deal with persistent injury trouble, although he did manage to get into 70 games for the club last season.  For Drysdale, the challenge has been finding a way to make a consistent, high-level impact on both ends of the ice.  Drysdale has the pedigree and potential to be a key two-way force for the Flyers, but with his contract set to expire at the end of the year, he’ll need to take some concrete steps forward to maintain his place at (or near) the center of the team’s future plans.

Ethan Hetu also contributed to this column.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Curry and Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.