Flyers Return Six Players To AHL
Wednesday: All five players recalled yesterday – Bonk (who had two points in his NHL debut), Gaucher, Richard, McDonald, and Kolosov – were returned to Lehigh Valley, per a team announcement. Also sent down was defenseman David Jiricek, who had been brought up on Sunday.
Tuesday: The Flyers will be resting some talent for tonight’s season finale against the Canadiens after locking up a playoff berth with last night’s win. As such, they announced they’ve called up several reinforcements from AHL Lehigh Valley – including 2023 first-round pick Oliver Bonk, who will be making his NHL debut tonight. Joining the hard-nosed defender are forwards Jacob Gaucher and Anthony Richard, defenseman Hunter McDonald and goaltender Aleksei Kolosov.
Philly likely hoped to get Bonk a look earlier in the season. The 22nd overall pick saw some notable offensive regression in his final season of junior hockey last year but otherwise capped up a successful pre-pro career with a second straight showing for Canada at the World Juniors and a Memorial Cup win with the London Knights. However, he sustained an upper-body injury shortly before training camp that ended up keeping him sidelined until Christmas.
He’s spent the months since getting used to the pro speed in the AHL. Early returns suggest Bonk may end up topping out as a higher-end second or third-pairing shutdown threat, not the top-pair complement they hoped he’d be. The 21-year-old righty has managed a 6-13–19 scoring line with a -10 rating through 44 games with Lehigh Valley, which currently sits two points out of the Calder Cup Playoff picture with three games remaining.
Still, he sits as the Flyers’ #3-ranked prospect and the second-highest name that’s currently playing in North America behind only budding star Porter Martone, who has eight points through his first eight games since turning pro out of Michigan State at the end of last month, per Scott Wheeler of Athletic. Still, his assessment is that of a #4-5 man on Philly’s depth chart long-term.
Everyone else joining the team today does so with NHL experience, save for McDonald. Gaucher, an undrafted free agent who’s worked his way up from being an ECHL mainstay just two years ago, is a pending restricted free agent, so tonight’s game could double as a sort of audition for a qualifying offer in June. The 6’3″, 185-lb center has been a 20-goal man in the AHL in back-to-back years now, but doesn’t have a ton of growth left in his game at age 25. Through seven career NHL outings over the last two seasons, he’s gone pointless with a -1 rating while averaging 7:57 of ice time per game.
Richard is also a pending free agent of the unrestricted variety, but it wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest to see the Flyers extend or retain him. The 29-year-old was an efficient call-up option last year, although he’s yet to see NHL time this season. The former Predators fourth-rounder is now with his fourth NHL organization after making one-year stops with the Canadiens and Bruins in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively. He’s been good for six goals and 14 points in 39 career NHL games in parts of five seasons. This year, he’s Lehigh Valley’s second-leading scorer with 18 goals and 44 points in 63 games.
McDonald, 23, was rostered for a few games back in January while Rasmus Ristolainen was sidelined but didn’t end up seeing any action. That should change tonight. The 6’4″, 238-lb lefty was a sixth-round pick in 2022 out of the USHL’s Chicago Steel. He proceeded to have a standout freshman season at Northeastern the following year that got him named to Hockey East’s All-Rookie Team while taking home Best Defensive Defenseman honors.
The New York native signed his entry-level contract, which expires this summer, back in 2024. Over parts of three seasons now in Lehigh Valley, he’s been a pure shutdown threat but a strong one. In 144 career outings, he’s amassed four goals and 27 points with 199 penalty minutes and a +22 rating. He’s much closer to being NHL-ready than his point production indicates and could very easily work his way into the conversation for a roster spot next fall.
Kolosov, after years of drama regarding whether he’d accept a consistent AHL assignment, has now firmly entrenched himself as the Flyers’ #3 netminder. Whether the Flyers will tender him a qualifying offer – or whether Kolosov will sign it – this summer is a different story. His numbers aren’t good. He hasn’t posted a save percentage above .900 at any level since arriving in North America in 2024, with a career .863 mark and a 3.64 GAA in 21 career NHL outings with a 5-11-1 record. As Lehigh Valley’s starter this season, he’s amassed a .898 SV%, 2.88 GAA, two shutouts, and a 15-20-2 record in 37 games.
Philadelphia Flyers Recall David Jiricek
The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled defenseman David Jiricek from their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
The move puts the 2022 No. 6 overall pick in a position to potentially make his Flyers debut in one of the team’s final two regular-season games. He was acquired by the Flyers in March in exchange for forward Bobby Brink, but has yet to make his NHL debut.
PHLY Sports’ Charlie O’Connor wrote that he’d “be surprised” if Jiricek actually played on this recall, given the Flyers still need to clinch their playoff spot. The team is 7-3-0 in their last 10 games, so head coach Rick Tocchet might not have much of an appetite to make changes to a lineup that is firing on all cylinders.
But if the Flyers manage to clinch a playoff spot with a game remaining on their schedule, Jiricek could make his debut for the team in the final game of the regular season.
If Jiricek does play, the most likely spot in the lineup for him to take would be on the right side of the team’s third pairing. That’s a spot currently occupied by Emil Andrae, who is a lefty and has averaged 15:17 time on ice per game this season.
Jiricek, 22, has been stellar at the AHL level since joining the Flyers organization. He has 13 points in 13 games, and is playing a significant role in the lineup, soaking up significant minutes and appearing on both sides of special teams.
He could be a major part of the Flyers’ future if he can sort out some of the on-ice issues that helped pave the way for his exit from his last two NHL stops. Right now, though, the Flyers are singularly focused on the present and making the playoffs in these final two games on their schedule.
Flyers Sign Jack Berglund To Entry-Level Deal
The Flyers announced Thursday that they’ve signed center prospect Jack Berglund to his entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. It’s a three-year pact that will begin next season, but he’s signed on with AHL Lehigh Valley on an amateur tryout to finish the 2025-26 campaign in North America. He had been playing in his native Sweden with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League.
Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff reported Tuesday that the Flyers were at least trying to get Berglund over to Lehigh Valley for the stretch run. Berglund, who turns 20 tomorrow, still has another year left on his contract with Färjestad. As a non-first-round pick under 24, the NHL’s transfer agreement with Sweden’s leagues stipulated that the Flyers would have to loan Berglund back to Färjestad next season if he didn’t make the team out of camp, unless Färjestad consented to Berglund staying in North America with Lehigh Valley.
The 6’4″, 209-lb pivot is coming off a season he won’t soon forget. Selected 51st overall by Philly in the 2024 draft, the physical, two-way-minded centerman excelled for the Swedes as their captain in what will be his first and only performance at the World Juniors. He posted three goals and seven assists for 10 points in seven games, including a tournament-high +9 rating, as Sweden marched to its first WJC gold medal since 2012.
In league play, Berglund’s offensive output was more measured. In 40 games with Färjestad, serving mostly as a fourth-line piece with some penalty-kill time, he had seven goals and five assists for 12 points with an even rating. That’s to be expected, especially for a player essentially skating in his first full season at the pro level. He split last year between Färjestad’s main club and its under-20 unit.
There’s a lot to like about Berglund’s defensive game, writes Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, who ranks him as the #9 prospect in Philly’s pool. He’s a good forechecker, especially around the perimeter, but it’s likely his subpar skating will limit his utility outside of a bottom-six role. Outside of that, there’s a highly projectable talent in Berglund that the Flyers will now get to see in the North American circuit for the first time as Lehigh Valley fights to stay in the playoff race, trailing Springfield by four points with five regular-season games remaining for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
Berglund will be up for restricted free agency in 2029. With Philly’s current bottom-six centers, Noah Cates and Sean Couturier, locked up through 2029 and 2030, respectively, there won’t be any rushing Berglund’s development. He may not get a real NHL shot until his second contract, or at least until the end of his entry-level deal, with so many Flyers forwards either signed through the end of the decade or soon-to-be RFAs projectable as long-term top-nine talents.
Flyers Hoping To Get Berglund Some Time In AHL
- The Flyers are attempting to bring prospect Jack Berglund to North America to get him some action with AHL Lehigh Valley, relays Anthony DiMarco of Daily Faceoff. The 19-year-old forward was a second-round pick back in 2024, going 51st overall. Berglund had seven goals and five assists in 40 games with SHL Farjestad this season and has another year under contract with them. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that Philadelphia would like to have Berglund in training camp with them next season which suggests they intend to sign him to an entry-level deal for next season.
Philadelphia Flyers Linked To Vitali Pinchuk
- A few weeks ago, reports indicated that nearly the entire league had shown an interest in forward Vitali Pinchuk, who scored 31 goals and 66 points in 65 games as a 24-year-old for the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk this season. Unsurprisingly, Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff shared that the Philadelphia Flyers are one of the 29 teams to have contacted Pinchuk about playing in North America next season. Pinchuk hasn’t played in North America since the 2019-20 campaign, when he appeared in 54 games for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers.
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Flyers To Activate Tyson Foerster From Injured Reserve
The Flyers will activate winger Tyson Foerster from injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Red Wings, the team announced. He underwent arm surgery in mid-December and wasn’t expected to be an option until mid-May, making his return roughly six weeks ahead of schedule.
Things couldn’t look much brighter at the moment for the Flyers, who have made themselves a late entrant in the Eastern Conference playoff push. They’ve gotten some help with the Islanders, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, and Senators all cooling off, but have done their job to make themselves competitive, going 7-2-1 in their last 10. They’re now just two points back of Columbus for the playoff cutoff with a game in hand, but still have Detroit and Ottawa to leapfrog, too. The crowded field still has the Flyers’ playoff odds down at 22.3%, per MoneyPuck, but that’s still a tangible chance this late in the year.
Foerster returning only stands to boost their chances. A strong two-way piece who looks to be a consistent 20-goal man for years to come, he started his season with 10 tallies in only 21 games before sustaining the fracture.
The 23rd overall pick in 2020, Foerster is scoring at a 25-goal, 42-point pace per 82 games so far in his NHL career. With only 187 games under his belt, there’s plenty of room to grow. The 24-year-old inked a two-year, $7.5MM bridge deal before reaching restricted free agency last summer but was rewarded with plenty of ice time to begin the year, skating on the left wing in a familiar top-nine slot with Noah Cates and the now-traded Bobby Brink while averaging a career-high 17:27 per game.
Head coach Rick Tocchet has done a good bit of line shuffling since the last time Foerster was available, and they’ve also welcomed a pair of rookies, Denver Barkey and Porter Martone, into the regular forward rotation. Even with that, they trialed Foerster as their first-line left wing at this morning’s practice alongside Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett, per Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports, so it doesn’t appear he’ll be limited at all despite his early return.
Assessing The Best Free Agent Signings From Summer 2025
As we move into the final month of the season, it has become quite clear which moves from last summer paid off and which ones did not. While long-term effects of summer trades and signings are always part of the picture, it’s interesting to look back and assess the best free-agent signings to see which teams got value for their money and which did not.
Players don’t always succeed immediately with their new teams; sometimes there’s a settling-in period. However, many moves made last summer in free agency have significantly impacted playoff races this year.
For this exercise, we will focus specifically on players who were unrestricted free agents and moved to new teams. This excludes players like Brad Marchand or John Tavares, who re-signed with their respective teams before July 1.
The first player that comes to mind is the Penguins’ top goal scorer, Anthony Mantha, who signed a one-year, $2.5MM contract (plus $2MM in performance bonuses) with the Penguins after missing most of last season with the Flames due to an ACL tear. Many believed that Mantha would have a chance to improve his free-agent stock in Pittsburgh by playing top-six minutes before cashing in during the summer of 2026.
Last summer, the Penguins seemed like a team that would be selling at the trade deadline, so it made sense that they would give Mantha a one-year deal and then trade him for future assets in February or March. However, that outlook couldn’t have been further from the truth, as Mantha has become a key part of a Pittsburgh team that has surprised the NHL this season and remains competitive in the Eastern Conference. With 30 goals and 28 assists in 75 games, Mantha has provided considerable surplus value to the Penguins and is likely to secure a major contract this summer, particularly among one of the thinnest free-agent fields in the salary cap era.
Last year, much of the talk during free agency was that the goaltending market was incredibly thin, and on paper, it certainly looked that way. But that didn’t stop the Buffalo Sabres from exploring the free agency waters, signing Alex Lyon to a two-year, $3MM contract that has proven to be an absolute steal.
Lyon has split duties with his goalie partner, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and has appeared in 35 games this season, posting a record of 20-9-4 with a 2.69 GAA and a .909 SV%. While those stats are solid, the standout figure in Lyon’s line is his goals saved above expected, which currently sits at 14.8 (according to MoneyPuck). Lyon won’t be winning any awards this year, but considering how much money teams are spending on ineffective goaltending, Lyon has been a real boon for Buffalo.
Sticking with the goalies, another underrated signing that has paid off is Daniel Vladař of the Philadelphia Flyers. The 28-year-old was mainly a backup before this season but has become the Flyers’ starting goaltender, dressing in 45 games while posting a 24-13-7 record, a 2.50 GAA, and a .904 SV%.
Vladař has been excellent value on a two-year deal with a $3.35MM AAV. Not only is Vladař’s save percentage above average, but his goals saved above expected is up to 9.6, suggesting that his underlying numbers indicate a goaltender who has stolen some games for Philadelphia.
A signing that didn’t happen until the fall was forward Jack Roslovic, who again had to accept an under-market one-year deal. Roslovic signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Oilers on Oct. 8 after his second straight unsuccessful free agency run, where he failed to secure a multi-year deal that suited him.
In Edmonton, the 29-year-old has already achieved his second straight 20-goal season and has been a reliable playmaker for the Oilers. Given his consistent production over the past two seasons, it’s unlikely he’s willing to settle for another one-year deal, especially in a tight free agent market.
Moving to the backend, veteran Brent Burns was a free agent for the first time in his career at age 40. Burns signed a one-year deal with the Avalanche that included a potential $4MM in bonuses, of which he will likely earn $3MM this season.
Burns is no longer an elite offensive defenseman, but he has still scored 10 goals and 19 assists in 73 games this year while playing in every game and averaging almost 19 minutes per game. Burns has benefited from playing on a top team and from a high PDO, but for a veteran right-shot defenseman or a bargain one-year deal, he’s worked out as well as the Avs could have hoped for.
Finally, we return to the Penguins and the skillful work of general manager Kyle Dubas accomplished in the early days of free agency last year. Not only did Dubas sign 30-goal scorer Mantha, but he also secured Justin Brazeau with a two-year deal worth just $3MM, as well as defenseman Parker Wotherspoon on a two-year, $2MM deal. The contracts gave Dubas a top-nine forward in Brazeau and a top-pairing defenseman to play alongside Erik Karlsson, all at a total cost of $2.5MM per season for this year and the next.
Dubas and Penguins Director of Player Personnel Wes Clark did excellent work last summer, finding players with lots of potential who hadn’t been given the chance to succeed. By betting on low-risk, high-upside free agents, Dubas effectively accelerated the Penguins’ retooling plans, which seemed unlikely just a year ago, when the team had missed the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
Earlier this season, there was talk that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby should request a trade because he might not make the playoffs again. However, thanks to Dubas’s bargain shopping, the Penguins now seem to be on track for the playoffs and have plenty of cap space this summer to strengthen their already impressive lineup.
Flyers Sign David Jiricek To Two-Year Extension
5:15 p.m.: The team over at PuckPedia revealed the financial details of Jiricek’s new two-year extension:
| Year | NHL Salary | Signing bonus | Potential performance bonuses | Minors salary |
| 2026-27 | $850K | $450K | NA | $1.3MM |
| 2027-28 | $1.7MM | NA | NA | $1.7MM |
3:43 p.m.: The Philadelphia Flyers will keep a Trade Deadline addition around for a few years longer. Defenseman David Jiricek has signed a two-year, $3MM extension with the club per his agent, Allan Walsh. Philadelphia has confirmed the extension. The deal will carry a $1.5MM annual-average-value. Philadelphia acquired Jiricek in exchange for winger Bobby Brink in early-March.
Jiricek hasn’t yet made his debut in the Flyers lineup, instead spending 10 games with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He has two goals and 10 points in those appearances, matching his scoring in 24 games with the Iowa Wild to start the season. He also appeared in 25 games with the Minnesota Wild this season but managed no scoring, 14 penalty minutes, and an even plus-minus.
Jiricek’s young career has been a story of expectations versus reality. He was a popular draft prospect in 2022, hype that culminated in the 6-foot-4 defender being selected sixth-overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. He joined the Blue Jackets’ ranks in the following season, beginning the year with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters but receiving routine call-ups throughout the season. In total, Jiricek scored 38 points in 55 AHL games, and no points in four NHL games, in his first pro season in North America. That production, supported by seven points in seven games at the 2023 World Junior Championship, seemed to set Jiricek up for a breakout year in 2023-24.
Instead, the defender ran into a struggle to produce at the major or minor levels. He scored just 10 points in 43 NHL games, and 19 points in 29 AHL games, in his second season. He also had a negative plus-minus in both leagues. Quickly, the hype from Jiricek’s draft year seemed to be dwindling, as the puck-mover struggled to branch his game out against top-level competition.
As those struggles continued into his third season, Columbus made the decision to trade Jiricek to the Minnesota Wild in November 2024 in exchange for Daemon Hunt and one pick in each of the top-four rounds. Wild general manager Bill Guerin called the deal a “no-brainer” at the time and Jiricek was quickly pipelined into the NHL rotation. A move didn’t spark his scoring, though, and Jiricek was quickly assigned to the minor leagues. The struggling year hit a peak when his season was ended by a lacerated spleen in late-March.
Jiricek made a quiet return this season – but seems to finally be catching sparks in the Flyers organization. He has filled meaningful minutes in the minor leagues and could be primed for bigger minutes with a new extension under his belt. It is a one-way deal, which could ensure a trial run in the Philadelphia lineup next season, at the very least. With the Flyers, Jiricek will have a chance to learn from similar puck-movers like Rasmus Ristolainen and Jamie Drysdale. He’ll hope that mentorship can help him stick when he inevitably tries for a role with his third NHL club.
Flyers Sign Porter Martone
12:00 PM: Martone’s signing has been made official, the Flyers announced. The entry-level deal carries the standard three years of term, and he will join the big club immediately.
The 19-year-old joins the group with high stakes still in play, as the Flyers are battling for an unexpected playoff berth. Despite their standing, things might be moving along quickly. Martone could debut as soon as Thursday against Detroit, according to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, but time will tell in the coming days.
9:00 AM: The Philadelphia Flyers are close to signing top prospect Porter Martone to an entry-level contract, reports Kevin Weekes of ESPN. The signing should happen at some point later today, per Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Yesterday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated the Flyers’ signing of Martone “could move very quickly.”
The news comes just one day after Martone’s NCAA season ended with Michigan State’s stunning loss to Wisconsin in the regional playoff finals held in Worcester, Mass. The Spartans held a 3-1 lead with just five minutes remaining in the contest, but the Badgers scored two goals in under a minute to tie the game before taking it in overtime.
The loss appears to have ended Martone’s NCAA career after just one season. The Canadian forward joined Michigan State after a three-year OHL career that saw him develop into not only one of the league’s best players, but also one of the game’s top prospects. Martone was recently ranked No. 27 on Elite Prospects’ ranking of NHL-affiliated players under the age of 23. He scored 25 goals and 50 points in his lone season of college hockey.
Martone’s unique blend of size and dynamic offensive talent have made him a highly anticipated prospect, and with today’s expected signing, he will enter the pro ranks during a crucial state of the Flyers’ season. They remain in the playoff hunt in an extremely competitive Eastern Conference, sitting at 84 points through 72 games played.
A 7-2-1 stretch in their last 10 games has given Philadelphia a slim chance to make the playoffs, as they’ll be just one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild card spot, with the same number of games played, if they can manage to defeat the Dallas Stars later today.
Given how important the next few games are for the Flyers, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Martone begin his pro career in the AHL, similar to how the Boston Bruins have handled fellow top prospect James Hagens. Hagens was taken one spot behind Martone at last year’s draft, and signed an ATO to allow him to begin his pro career at the AHL level.
With that said, it’s also possible the Flyers will simply sign Martone to his entry-level deal and plug him directly into their NHL lineup. There is an argument to be made that Martone is a little bit more NHL-ready than Hagens, but it ultimately comes down to what the Flyers and Martone believe is the best step for his development.
Flyers’ Nikita Grebenkin Out At Least A Week
Flyers winger Nikita Grebenkin won’t be an option for at least the next four games as Philadelphia aims to keep its slim playoff hopes alive. The team announced Thursday that he’ll be out at least seven to 10 days before being reevaluated.
Grebenkin was scratched for the first time in two months when the Flyers suffered a hugely damaging 3-2 regulation loss to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. It’s still unclear if he was hurt or sustained his upper-body injury separately.
The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick by the Maple Leafs in 2022. He suited up seven times for Toronto last year, making his NHL debut, before being sent to the Flyers in the deadline deal that brought Scott Laughton to Toronto.
After finishing out last season in AHL Lehigh Valley, Grebenkin broke camp with the Flyers last fall and hasn’t looked back. The 6’2″, 210-lb always projected as a depth checking forward with a bit of a scoring touch and has already lived up to his billing less than five years after being a fifth-round pick.
In 55 outings this season, the Russian has a 4-10–14 scoring line with a -7 rating. He’s averaging 11:17 per night and ranks seventh on the club with 86 hits.
Shot generation is something Grebenkin will look to improve; he has only 32 shots on goal for a 0.58 shots-per-game rate, which is nearly the worst figure on the team. Nonetheless, his defensive impacts have been strong – a relative Corsi for percentage of +1.1% at 5-on-5 grades out well.