The quarter mark of the 2024-25 season is upon us and the have and have nots are starting to shake out. The Flyers really aren’t in a position to categorize themselves as hard buyers or sellers. Danny Briere needs to put on his big boy pants and get ready to play the field and considering adding as much as he should scoping out a few sales. So let’s take a look around some of the league’s worst teams and find some early trade deadline targets at the forward position the Flyers should consider.
Marco Rossi MIN C
Some of the early rumors seem to indicate that Rossi’s time in Minnesota could be coming to an end. The 23-year-old former ninth overall pick in 2020 is currently in a breakout year for the Wild despite all the trade rumors sitting at just shy of a point-per-game pace through 25 games. The Flyers need a top center more than anything else, so if the rumors are true and Minnesota is considering parting ways with Rossi, Danny Briere better be ready to step up and make the deal.
Trevor Zegras ANA C/LW
Zegras has been loosely linked to the Flyers seemingly forever now, but will 2025 be the year the two teams finally pull the trigger on a deal? He’s still marred in a bit of a scoring slump, but is starting to come around as the season progresses. If he can show that he’s still capable of touching 60 points, then he’d be a much more valuable addition. The problem here is that if the Flyers move on from Morgan Frost and replace him with Zegras, they didn’t actually make much progress. So while Zegras is an intriguing option, he can’t be the sole blockbuster move of the summer.
Ryan Strome ANA C/RW
Strome certainly isn’t the most appealing name on the list, but does provide an interesting avanue for the Flyers if they are unable to swap Joel Farabee for something meaningful. The 31-year-old Strome has two years left on his contract at a $5 million cap hit and 40-50 points and he can play center. It’s not the caliber of upgrade the Flyers need, but it’s a start to shifting the focus back down the middle if the Flyers can’t find a home run and are stuck in “rearranging deck chairs” mode.
Mikael Granlund SJS C
With his 33rd birthday on the horizon, Granlund isn’t a longterm fix for the Flyers down the middle, but considering he’s hovering around a point-per-game pace during two seasons with the Sharks, he may be one of the better band-aids available during the 2025 offseason as a pending UFA. If the Flyers pick him up at the deadline and give him a three year deal to hold down the middle six center spot while the team figures out long-term options, it may be good enough to improve the overall center depth of the team.
Brayden Schenn STL C
In the ultimate irony, the Flyers’ center depth hasn’t been the same since they traded Brayden Schenn to St. Louis back in 2017, and all these years later as the Blues sift through their own version of a rebuild, maybe the answer is a reunion between the two. Schenn is now 33 and has three years on his contract at a $6.5 million cap hit. He’s still producing the same as he ever was- 20-30 goals and 50-60 points. Would the Blues trade their captain? If they’re out of a playoff spot and serious about rebuilding, maybe. And since the Flyers are unserious about rebuilding, reuniting with a 33-year-old may be their best bet to address their center problem.
Peyton Krebs BUF C
Krebs has found himself in the trade rumor mill for the last year or so, and some fans have linked him to the Flyers. While he’s a natural center, he’s spent a vast majority of his career in a bottom six role and has just 71 points in 230 games. If they were to ditch Scott Laughton and bring in Krebs to hold down the third line fort for the next decade, it’s a fine move, but he probably isn’t going to have a larger impact than that. It’s just not the caliber of player the Flyers need right now.
Shane Pinto OTT C
Shane Pinto is another player that has been linked to the Flyers for quite some time now. The 24-year-old has 73 points in 156 career NHL games, with just three through 16 games this season. Pinto, who very much falls in the “rehab project” category than a sure thing right now, is along the same lines Zegras- if Morgan Frost can’t find his way in the Tortorella system, bringing in similar players probably isn’t going to have any fundamental shift either.
Ryan O’Reilly NSH C
Remember when the Flyers could’ve acquired O’Reilly back in the Hextall era and they unsurprisingly said no then he went on to win a Cup with the Blues? Good times. O’Reilly will turn 34 in February and has two years left on his contract at a $4.5 million cap hit. He still seems to have quite a bit of pep in his step and could be a decent temporary option for the Flyers. Despite building up, Nashville has seemed to be at the precipice of simultaneously tearing it down. If they’re not in the playoff race by the deadline, look for the Preds to be sellers, and the Flyers should do some serious consideration at purchasing some help.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Getty Images
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