The countdown to the NHL trade deadline is sitting at just about three weeks and the rumors around the Flyers are starting to pick up. In the fallout of the Frost/Farabee trade, Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen are also on the block and could find themselves new homes on March 7.
But for the Flyers, the story doesn’t just end with whatever happens at the deadline. Their next steps are as an organization are going to be critical as well. So let’s analysis the their options based on what we know about their recent history and some of the rumors about what lies ahead.
Option 1: They Sell and Properly Rebuild
The Flyers have floundered for years sitting in a “too good to fail but not good enough to succeed” position under John Tortorella’s leadership, and with a very quiet 2024 in terms of roster changes, the fanbase was starting to get a bit antsy with the lackluster product. Then the Frost/Farabee trade happened and while the move itself wasn’t a clear cut “sell” it certainly opened the flood gates for the more likely deadline pieces to get moved and the Flyers to collect as many assets as they can heading into the 2025 draft.
They could sell Laughton and Ristolainen, then part ways with Noah Cates and maybe an extra couple bodies beyond that to actually take a step back in 2025-26. Get as low as they can in the 2025 draft (they’d finish with the sixth overall pick at the Four Nations break) and start accumulating picks for 2026 as well. With seven picks in the first two rounds of 2025 even before potential Laughton/Ristolainen trades, they’re in a good position to attack these drafts hard in the next few years, meaning a proper “rebuild” may not be so bad if they play their cards right on the draft floor.
More than anything, deciding to finally sell and “tank” for a year or two raises some questions as to why the organization sat in no-man’s land under Briere’s regime pretending to “rebuild” while simultaneously talking about a playoff berth and achieved neither of them. Sure, we can just be happy they finally got there, but going half-assed in achieving their playoff aspirations and wasting everyone’s time before they waived the white flag and did a semi-proper rebuild because their backs were against the wall is frustrating to say the least.
Option 2: Offload Some Cap Then Buy
Briere’s messaging after the frost/Farabee trade seemed to indicate they were dealt for cap reasons, and also insinuated that they’re saving cap on the hunt for “big game,” probably in the form of a top center. Where they find one of those is a totally different story, but the moral is that they don’t seem to be tearing down to be a basement dwelling team, instead, they seem to be cutting some of the dead weight on the roster with a plan to quickly replace them with better pieces.
This echos the Chuck Fletcher era “aggressive retool” ideology… ya know… if it was actually done right instead of whatever the hell it was Fletcher did.
This plan would also see the organization shift more aggressively towards a playoff push which is fine. Taking steps forward to actually secure a playoff spot by upgrading the roster is a good thing! A much better strategy than running back a non-playoff team in it’s entirety and expecting different results like we got in 2024-25.
Theoretically, this seems to be the most likely path forward right now. Wether or not the Flyers have the fortitude to go “big game hunting” is a fair question. We’re 16 years removed from the Chris Pronger trade and it’s been well over a decade since the Shea Weber offer sheet, the last real examples of the organization even attempting to bring in star power, so Briere definitely has a lot to prove when it comes to the addition part of the plan. But they’ve got plenty of draft picks and (provided they sell Laughton and Ristolainen) a ton of cap space to make a blockbuster move or two over the summer, but the work starts at the deadline.
Option 3: All Smoke, No Fire
Even as the rumor mill heats up around Laughton and Ristolainen, it isn’t exactly the first time Laughton in particular found himself in trade talk that ultimately never amounted to anything. Every deadline and offseason for the last half decade featured Scott Laughton trade rumors and time and time again the front office refused to pull the trigger.
The Frost/Farabee trade bought Briere some good grace, but being skeptical they finally ditch Laughton or craft a trade around Ristolainen it totally fair based on their track record. If the deadline comes and goes with no movement in any direction
Or they could trade Laughton then not move Ristolainen. That doesn’t really make a ton of sense unless they try to follow option two during the offseason and they feel like there isn’t a better option at RHD next season. It’s possible the term on his contract forces their hand a bit and they need to wait for the offseason to deal Ristolainen so the acquiring team has a bit more financial freedom, but that kind of patience for a decent outcome is a lot to ask based on their past track record.
Conclusion
The timing of the Frost/Farabee trades really helped douse an anxious fanbase, but with the deadline now just three weeks away, Briere has to stay vigilant. whether it come in the form of buying or selling, there needs to be big changes in 2025. This current group which was run back in near entirety last season isn’t working and another hands-off deadline and offseason with lackluster results during 2025-26 will likely spell the end for this front office regime. So wether this is a full fledged rebuild or a tactical rebuild on the fly, the key is to pick a direction and do whatever it is they have to do to follow the path. This shouldn’t be rocket science, but the Flyers doing the right and obvious thing has become such an infrequent reality these days. But one thing’s certain, the 2025 trade deadline is where the “new era of orange” truly begins… one way or another.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 