- The World Junior Summer Showcase (WJSS) recently wrapped up, and several prospects impressed on the international stage, including Philadelphia Flyers 2024 second-round pick Jack Berglund. As team reporter Bill Meltzer outlines, the 19-year-old native of Sweden produced seven points in five WJSS games, which included two even-strength goals and two power-play goals. Berglund, who already stands at 6’2″, 210 pounds, also showcased a physical brand of hockey and mixed it up several times against Team USA and Team Finland. A center with strong defensive grades, Berglund spent most of last season playing with Färjestad BK of the SHL, Sweden’s top professional league. He posted just three points in 17 games, but served as one of the youngest members of the team. With a solid showing at the WJSS and his North American pro debut on the horizon, Berglund will be a player to watch for the Flyers.
Flyers Rumors
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Philadelphia Flyers
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Metropolitan Division, next up are the Flyers.
Philadelphia Flyers
Current Cap Hit: $95,129,762 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Alex Bump (three years, $950K)
F Nikita Grebenkin (one year, $875K)
F Jett Luchanko (three years, $942.5K)
F Matvei Michkov (two years, $950K)
Potential Bonuses
Luchanko: $400K
Michkov: $3.3MM
Total: $3.7MM
Michkov was able to come to North America two years earlier than expected and didn’t disappoint. While there were some ups and downs, that’s to be expected from a rookie while his 63 points led all rookie forwards (though he finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting). Michkov appears to be well on his way to becoming the type of franchise winger Philadelphia hoped he’d be when they drafted him in 2023 and if he lives up to the hype, a long-term contract could run the Flyers upwards of $9MM. He maxed out on his four ‘A’ bonuses worth $250K apiece last season and as long as he stays healthy, he should be able to do so again this season. The rest of the bonuses are ‘B’ ones and those are unlikely to be reached.
Luchanko surprised many by making the roster out of training camp last season and with at least one forward spot likely up for grabs this time around, he could be in the mix again this year although that nine-game threshold will loom large. That won’t apply for Bump and Grebenkin who should also be in the mix. Luchanko (technically) and Bump haven’t started their contracts yet so it’d be foolhardy to project their next ones while Grebenkin is likely heading for a bridge deal. A one-way pact that keeps the cap hit a little lower – somewhere a little above what he’s making now – would make sense.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
F Rodrigo Abols ($800K, UFA)
F Bobby Brink ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Nicolas Deslauriers ($1.75MM, UFA)
D Jamie Drysdale ($2.3MM, RFA)
F Christian Dvorak ($5.4MM, UFA)
G Samuel Ersson ($1.45MM, RFA)
G Ivan Fedotov ($3.275MM, UFA)
D Dennis Gilbert ($775K, UFA)
D Noah Juulsen ($900K, UFA)
D Egor Zamula ($1.55MM, RFA)
F Trevor Zegras ($5.75MM, RFA)
The Ducks decided to pull the plug on Zegras, allowing Philadelphia to step in with an offer that many would qualify as underwhelming but it was enough to get him. He is coming off another injury-riddled season while producing at a 46-point pace, well below the two seasons of 60-plus points he has under his belt from earlier in his career. That, coupled with a high-priced bridge deal, hurt his value. Owed $5.75MM for a qualifying offer with arbitration rights, another season like his last two will make him a non-tender candidate or a club-elected arbitration candidate where they could offer a 15% cut in pay. Dvorak comes over from Montreal in one of the bigger overpayments of the summer for a player who has yet to reach 40 points in his career. However, getting him just on a one-year deal as a bridge veteran required the overpayment. If he can play at a similar level as last season, a multi-year pact in the $4MM range shouldn’t be out of reach if he opts not to do another above-market one-year agreement.
Deslauriers played quite sparingly last season and when he was in the lineup, playing time was rather hard to come by. He was an every-game player when he first joined Philadelphia but that’s no longer the case. Enforcers can still generate some open-market interest but he should check in closer to the minimum salary next summer. Year one of Brink’s bridge deal went quite nicely as he upped his production to 41 points. Assuming he stays around that number, he’ll have a chance at doubling his current price tag with arbitration rights. Abols got his first taste of NHL action last season and the Flyers saw fit to hand him a small raise on a one-way deal, suggesting that they view him as a roster regular this year. At 29, it’s a bit late for a breakout year but if he can grab a full-time spot and have some success, getting a seven-figure pact next summer might be achievable.
Drysdale managed to stay healthier last season compared to the previous two seasons but staying in the lineup on an every-game basis continues to be a challenge. He still has three more RFA years left which presents an opportunity for effectively a second bridge deal next summer. If that happens, he could land in the $3.5MM per season range with arbitration rights. Alternatively, if the sides want to work out a longer-term agreement, it might take closer to $6MM per year on the AAV to get that done. Barring a breakout year, another short-term deal might make the most sense for both sides.
Juulsen came over in free agency this summer after spending the last four seasons in Vancouver. He has largely filled the seventh spot over that span and is likely to have a similar role with the Flyers, ensuring that he’ll stay relatively close to the minimum next summer as well. Gilbert was also brought in via free agency after splitting last season between Buffalo and Ottawa. Like Juulsen, his role has largely been limited at this stage of his career so unless he can establish himself as a full-time regular, he should be staying in this price range as well.
At the time Ersson signed his contract, it seemed a little strange with it being a bridge deal that came a year early. But since then, he has become their undisputed starter. He hasn’t necessarily thrived in that role but he’s gaining enough experience to put together a decent case as he becomes arbitration-eligible next summer. It would be surprising to see GM Daniel Briere hand him a long-term deal but a short-term pact with a price tag at more than double his $1.6MM qualifying offer is realistic. Fedotov quickly signed this deal soon after coming over from Russia, an agreement that seemed to be in place when he first came to North America. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out. He struggled in his first full NHL campaign as a backup and it’s quite possible that he’s waived in training camp and sent to the minors where his cap hit would drop to $2.125MM if he clears. Given his previous track record, there might be a team or two who wants to give him a look next summer on a cheaper deal but it would likely fall closer to the $1MM mark.
Signed Through 2026-27
D Ryan Ellis ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Tyson Foerster ($3.75MM, RFA)
F Garnet Hathaway ($2.4MM, UFA)
G Daniel Vladar ($3.35MM, UFA)
Foerster has reached the 20-goal mark in his first two full NHL seasons and finished one behind Michkov for the team lead in that department last season. But the Flyers elected to kick the can down the road on a long-term pact, working out this bridge deal that gives him a $4MM qualifying offer and arbitration rights at the end of it. If he stays on this trajectory, he could land closer to $7MM on his next deal. Hathaway got a small raise to sign an early extension last summer. An impactful fourth liner, he ultimately might have left a bit of money on the table doing so but he stays in a spot he’s comfortable with. Given he’ll be 35 when he begins his next contract, it would be surprising to see him land more than another two-year agreement in 2027, one that should land around this price point.
Ellis hasn’t played since November 2021 due to ongoing back trouble and isn’t expected to play again. He’s LTIR-eligible but if he winds up on there, the Flyers will have to contend with a bonus carryover penalty for whatever bonuses their youngsters (like Michkov) achieve, one that would count against their 2026-27 cap. Of course, keeping him on the books in full this year limits their flexibility. Neither outcome is particularly appealing but they’ll have to decide what’s the lesser of two evils.
Vladar came over in free agency from Calgary with Briere trying to do something to shore up a goaltending position that has been a big weak spot. He showed some flashes at times with the Flames although he’s not the most proven player either, allowing the Flyers to get him at a backup-level price tag. If he can establish himself as being part of the solution, pushing past $5MM next time is feasible. If he remains more of a mid-level backup, then he’s likely to remain more in this range.
Arbitrator Rules In Favor Of Flyers In Ryan Johansen’s Grievance
An arbitrator has ruled in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers in a grievance filed by veteran centerman Ryan Johansen, over the team’s termination of his contract prior to the 2024-25 season, shares TSN’s Darren Dreger.
The Flyers acquired Johansen alongside a conditional 2025 first-round pick at the 2024 Trade Deadline, in exchange for sending defenseman Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche. Philadelphia placed Johansen on waivers immediately after the trade, with the intentions of assigning him to the AHL and potentially flipping him before the deadline. When no trade manifested, Johansen refused to report to the minor leagues, instead claiming that he was limited by a nagging hip injury. The NHL sided with Johansen, and reversed his AHL assignment after a failed physical exam.
Johansen spent the remainder of the 2023-24 season on injured reserve. There was a clear wedge between him and the Flyers’ top brass – one that only rooted deeper as the 2024 summer went on. By August, Philadelphia decided to place Johansen on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination – citing the player’s delay in notifying them of the injury, and failure to pass physicals or report to his assignment.
Johansen passed through waivers and became an unrestricted-free agent. He filed a grievance with the NHLPA soon after, claiming the Flyers had wrongly terminated his contract. Now, a full year later, it seems the NHL will side with Philadelphia in their handling of the situation.
The implications of this decision aren’t immediately clear. Johansen had one year remaining on an eight-year, $64MM contract originally signed with the Nashville Predators in 2017 – though Philadelphia was only due $4MM in cap hit, after Nashville retained half of the contract when they traded Johansen to Colorado. The range of outcomes seems far-reaching – from Philadelphia being due that full $4MM price tag, to a settlement with the player, to no cap implications on the team’s side at all. Details on the exact impact against the Flyers will likely be revealed in the coming days.
The NHL’s last contract termination to reach headlines over a material breach came in 2015, when the Los Angeles Kings terminated forward Mike Richards’ contract with five years remaining. He was still due $22MM on the deal. Richards also filed a grievance with the NHLPA, and would end up settling with the team for an undisclosed amount before becoming a free agent. He signed for one season with the Washington Capitals following the dispute, but would retire from hockey in 2016.
It seems less likely that Johansen will return to the NHL. His play gradually dwindled throughout the 2020s – falling from 63 points in the 2021-22 season to just 23 points in 2023-24. He slowed down in all aspects, likely due to what was proven to be a very real and long-running hip injury. That slow-down pushed Johansen to Colorado’s fourth-line in his final few games with the team. With a decision in place on his grievance with the Flyers, he would realistically have time to sign a short contract, or try-out agreement, before the 2025-26 season. But those chances hinge on the 33-year-old’s recovery, and willingness to return, after a full season away from the league. If he does call his career to a close, the former fourth-overall selection will finish with 578 points in 905 games in the NHL.
Vladar Could Offer Flyers Goaltending Stability
- The Philadelphia Flyers have been on a bit of a goaltending carousel over the years, due to a variety of circumstances. As Haley Taylor Simon of Philly Sports Network details, the situation may have hit rock bottom during the 2018-19 season when the team utilized an NHL-record eight goaltenders. Still, the Flyers haven’t exactly fortified the position since. However, Simon wonders if recently signed Dan Vladar could be the answer between the pipes. Still just 27, Vladar is coming off a solid showing with the Calgary Flames last season, appearing in 30 games and securing a .898 save percentage, a 2.80 GAA, and a career-high .586 quality start percentage. On the opening day of free agency, Vladar signed a to a two-year, $6.7MM deal and is expected to compete with Samuel Ersson, who appeared in 47 games for the Flyers last season and finished with a .883 save percentage and 3.14 GAA.
Morning Notes: Roslovic, Bonk, Avalanche
The free agent market for centerman Jack Roslovic is growing richer by the day. In addition to garnering interest from multiple teams across the league, Roslovic has also received multiple offers from teams in Russia’s KHL, per Dylan Griffing of EliteProspects. Those offers will likely ring on deaf ears for a centerman who has spent the last nine seasons in the NHL, but they will ramp up the pressure on NHL clubs to get a deal in place.
Roslovic is certainly worth the late-summer intrigue. He’s filled the role of gritty and responsible bottom-six center through multiple stops in the league. His career began with the Winnipeg Jets, who drafted Roslovic at 25th-overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. The Jets provided a chance for Roslovic to plant his feet in the NHL, but he didn’t find a true breakout until a 2021 move to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He scored 34 points in 48 games of the shortened 2021 season with Columbus – or, an 82-game pace of 58 points – then followed it up with 45 points and 44 points in two full seasons. He’s since toured through stops with the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes, and continues to offer a mix of gritty physical and near-40 points each season. That standing will make him a desirable asset for all leagues, though a stay in the NHL seems all-but-guaranteed.
Other notes from around the league:
- Philadelphia Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk shared that his sights are set high for his first professional season in a motivated interview with Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. He shared that his goal will, of course, be to make the Flyers lineup out of training camp – but that he’s putting equal attention towards making sure he keeps his eyes set on the ultimate goal, no matter the outcome of camp. Bonk is coming off an incredibly successful junior hockey career, capped off with a Memorial Cup win with the OHL’s London Knights. He scored 54 points in 69 games this season, and 73 points in 78 games in the 2023-24 campaign. It will be an uphill battle to jump straight to the NHL, but Bonk will have the upper hand as a 6-foot-2, 210-pound defender with speed and puck-moving ability.
- The Colorado Avalanche could be searching for depth forwards for the extent of another season. A recent breakdown of their roster by Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now reveals a shortage of talent at the center position – a group that the Avalanche have long struggled to stock fully. The Avalanche will have the benefit of getting a full year out of 25-year-old center Jack Drury, who split last season between Colorado and Carolina. But in the mixed year, Drury’s 18 points in 72 games still looks meager. A lack of depth could offer Drury – or a player currently on the outside, like Ivan Ivan – a chance to show his might before the Avalanche have time to bring in another new face. Colorado currently sits with a little more than $2MM in available cap space, per Puckpedia.
Snapshots: Barkey, Samberg, Schaefer
The Philadelphia Flyers have leaned fully into the rebuild since Daniel Briere was hired as general manager in 2023. They’ve moved out multiple veterans in exchange for draft capital – and built out one of the league’s strongest prospect pools as a result. It’s a group full of blue chips, including star OHL scorer Denver Barkey, who told Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia that he’s ready for the challenge of his first pro season, and another attempt to make the NHL roster.
Barkey scored an impressive 102 points in 60 total games this season, good for second among London Knights’ forwards behind Easton Cowan (108). It was an impressive season, capped off by a Memorial Cup win, but Barkey told Hall that he knows pushing into pros will be a tough feat for a 5-foot-9 winger. He received plenty of praise from the Flyers development team, including team consultant Patrick Sharp, despite that.
Another hot hand will raise interesting questions about the Flyers’ deployment next season. Barkey will join players like Alex Bump, Jett Luchanko, and Oliver Bonk in pushing to make the roster. Philadelphia ranked as the third-youngest lineup in the league last season, but could be swayed to lean even further into the youth movement with a couple of strong training camp performances.
Other notes from around the league:
- More has been revealed about Dylan Samberg’s three-year extension with the Winnipeg Jets. Most notably, the deal will carry a modified no trade clause in its final two years, per PuckPedia. That’s a nice bit of security for Samberg, from a team known for hanging onto their hard-working defenders. Samberg has spent the last four years in Winnipeg. But that’s a junior tenure compared to Neal Pionk and Dylan DeMelo, who have been in Winnipeg for six years, and Josh Morrissey, a Jet for all 10 years of his career. Samberg earned a strong role as a shutdown defender last season, and finished the year with a team-leading plus-34. He’ll look to continue digging his feet into the defensive end with a few more years in Winnipeg.
- New York Islanders first-overall pick Matthew Schaefer played his first competitive game of the calendar year today – stepping up as Team Canada’s top left-defender in their bout against Team Finland at the World Junior Summer Showcase. Canada lost the matchup by a score of 6-3, with Schaefer recording no scoring. He also played in a split-team scrimmage between Canada Red and White yesterday, with no scoring. Despite that, his show of smooth and confident hockey are a welcome sign of recovery after he sustained a broken collarbone in December’s World Junior Championships. Schaefer scored 22 points in 17 OHL games prior to his injury, and hasn’t yet declared his intentions for next season.
John Miszuk Passes Away
Former NHL defenseman John Miszuk passed away on Sunday at age 84, the NHL Alumni Association announced.
Miszuk played parts of six NHL seasons with the Red Wings, Black Hawks, Flyers, and North Stars from 1963-70 before reemerging in the WHA in the mid-70s, playing a full-time role for the Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades and Calgary Cowboys from 1974-77. While he sparingly played a full-time role in the NHL, he was a physically dominant two-way force in the minors, where he was a routine All-Star in the AHL, an early iteration of the Central Hockey League, and a senior/professional version of the Western Hockey League.
Miszuk’s best NHL season was the only time he played in every game in a season, as a member of Philadelphia’s inaugural roster in the 1967-68 campaign. He was 27 at the time and was selected from Chicago in the expansion draft after playing mostly a minor-league role in the preceding seasons, but he broke out for 22 points in 74 games with a plus-one rating and finished fourth on the team with 79 PIMs. He was an everyday member of a Flyers defense group that was stout out of the gate, finishing third in the league with 2.42 GA/GP in their first NHL season.
In 237 career NHL appearances, Miszuk scored seven goals with 39 assists for 46 points and a minus-two rating. He also had 72 points and a plus-seven rating in 214 WHA games, where he found more stability later in his career.
He and his family had lived in Hamilton, Ontario after his retirement, where they launched several Tim Hortons franchises. While he was raised there for a good portion of his childhood, he was born in Poland early in World War II and emigrated to Canada with his family after being forced out. He recently returned to his hometown of Naliboki, now part of Belarus, for the first time since then, the NHL Alumni Association said.
Pro Hockey Rumors sends our condolences to Miszuk’s family, friends, and loved ones.
Martone Won't Attend Training Camp With Flyers
- After committing to play for Michigan State yesterday, Flyers prospect Porter Martone will not be attending training camp in the fall, GM Daniel Briere acknowledged to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (subscription link). Martone was the sixth overall selection in the draft last month but decided the best thing for his development would be to go to college, a decision he kept Philadelphia informed about along the way. Martone could theoretically still make his NHL debut next season as he’d be a potential candidate to sign once his season with the Spartans comes to an end.
Flyers’ Porter Martone Commits To Michigan State University
4:32 p.m.: According to a post on Martone’s Instagram, he’s indeed taking his talents to East Lansing, Michigan, for his collegiate career if he doesn’t make the Flyers’ roster.
7:08 a.m.: Winger Porter Martone, taken No. 6 overall in this year’s draft by the Flyers, could be making the jump from the CHL to the NCAA this season. He’s expected to announce his commitment to Michigan State later today, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
That’s assuming he doesn’t sign his entry-level contract and attend training camp with Philadelphia. A few weeks ago, that sounded like a more plausible outcome without a clear path for Martone to land a roster spot without an explosive preseason performance.
Now, however, there’s likely going to be an opportunity for one of the Flyers’ young wingers to capture a spot in their top-nine out of the gate. They’re still uncertain if Tyson Foerster will be ready to start the regular season after undergoing surgery to address an infection in his elbow.
There’s still no guarantee Martone would have won that battle ahead of some older names in Philadelphia’s prospect pool, namely internal favorite Alex Bump. Even if he did, it may not have been a full-season arrangement and could have resulted in Martone returning to his junior team, the OHL’s Brampton Steelheads, after playing nine games to avoid burning the first year of his entry-level contract.
If Martone, the Flyers, or both parties are convinced his development wouldn’t benefit from another season in the OHL, an NCAA commitment is the next best option. Since Martone was drafted from one of the CHL’s sub-leagues, he is ineligible to play for the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, in 2025-26 aside from a conditioning stint or after Brampton’s season ends.
Since he’s somewhat of an elder statesman of the 2025 draft class thanks to his October 2006 birthday, Martone could be in line to have a dominant freshman season with the Spartans. His 6’3″, 205-lb frame already made him one of the most physically domineering forwards in the class, and he plays a power forward game that lends itself to his size being used as an advantage.
That should help him in his transition to playing against older, more physically built-out opponents in the Big 10 and NCAA at large, but it’s not as though offensive skill isn’t still among the primary calling cards of his game. The Ontario native remains a high-end puckhandler and shooter and led Brampton in scoring last season, posting a 37-61–98 line in 57 regular-season games.
There was some speculation that Martone may link up with surefire 2026 first overall pick Gavin McKenna at Penn State after the latter’s recent commitment, but it doesn’t appear to be coming to fruition. Instead, the two left-wingers will be conference opponents, with the Spartans landing a high-end consolation prize after finishing as the runner-up in the recruitment chase for McKenna.
Rick Tocchet Named Assistant Coach For Team Canada
Unsurprisingly, there will be no changes coming to Team Canada’s bench for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. According to a public announcement, Team Canada will have an identical coaching staff to that of the 4 Nations Face-Off this past February, sharing that Bruce Cassidy (Vegas Golden Knights), Peter DeBoer, Rick Tocchet (Philadelphia Flyers), and Misha Donskov will be assistant coaches for Team Canada behind head coach Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay Lightning).