The trade deadline has come and gone and the Flyers are sinking like a stone as the 2024-25 season comes to a close. With the departures of Frost, Farabee and Laughton, it seems as though Danny Briere may finally be ready to lead his team through the murky waters of a real rebuild. So which players are most likely to be dealt away during the 2025 offseason?
Number 5: Owen Tippett
It’s probably unlikely Owen Tippett gets traded, but as one of the few players on the team that is under a long-term contract but does not yet have trade protection (a 10-team no-trade list kicks in during 2026-27), if the Flyers were looking to shed more cap, trade a winger for a center, or just continue to sell players in their rebuilding efforts, Tippett would be a significantly easier move than Couturier, Konecny or Sanheim.
Number 4: Noah Cates
Noah Cates is a pending restricted free agent this summer, and while he’s more than likely done enough to earn an extension with the Flyers, as one of the few players not under lifetime contract already, it makes him a relatively easy movable piece in their hunt for a real upgrade at center. In a perfect world, Cates could be a perfect long-term Sean Couturier replacement at 3C, but since Couturier himself is still under contract for five more seasons, the redundancy isn’t a necessity now either. Cates isn’t bad, but isn’t the guy they should be investing term and money into, so hopefully the front office can walk away if necessary instead of lock themselves into another commitment.
Number 3: Egor Zamula
Zamula still has one year left on his contract, but there doesn’t appear to be much worth seeing anymore. He has been a project under Tortorella and has gotten more opportunities than his peers of a similar age, but on the whole, he’s not doing anything that you couldn’t easily get from most dime-a-dozen random depth guys. With Emil Andrae looking to snag a full-time main roster spot, Zamula could be an easy move this summer in order to create the opening, and if he’s dealt for a pick or as a throw-in on another trade, they’d clear $1.7 million from the books as well.
Number 2: Cam York
The biggest pending restricted free agent on the roster is 24-year-old Cam York, whose feud with head coach John Tortorella has brought his overall stock down quite a bit during the season. He’s already on a bridge deal, so signing another shorter term contract may not be in the cards, and if Tortorella sticks around and sees out the final year of his own contract, York may not have much interest in coming back anyway. If Danny Briere and the Flyers were to go looking for a legitimate upgrade at center, York is easily their best main roster piece to make it happen. It’s not the best idea the Flyers move on from York, but it sure seems like a real possibility this summer.
Number 1: Rasmus Ristolainen
Ristolainen was a target at the 2025 trade deadline but the Flyers put a steep asking price on the 30-year-old and rumor had it there wasn’t as much interest as originally hoped anyway. His contract ($5.1 x 2) was probably scaring most teams away, but theoretically moving cap is easier to do in the offseason than at the trade deadline. If the Flyers are actually choosing to rebuild now, keeping Ristolainen doesn’t make a ton of sense, and with his injury history starting to become a bit of a concern, maybe pulling the ripcord, even if it’s at a lower price than anticipated, may just be the smart thing to do.
Honorable mentions
Ryan Poehling
One of the more interesting names the boiled up at the trade deadline was Ryan Poehling, who still has one year left on his contract with a $1.9 million cap hit. His value may not be nearly as high during the offseason as it would be at a deadline, but much like Zamula he’s one of those guys that shouldn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. He is one of the very few centers in the entire organization at the moment, which may keep him in Philly until at least next year’s deadline, but if the right deal comes along, they’re not really in a position to turn their noses up either.
Aleksei Kolosov
We took an in-depth look at Kolosov and his future with the organization a little while ago, and came to the conclusion that this guy may just be too much of a loose cannon to hit their wagon to. His on-ice play hasn’t been as promising as hoped, and his off-ice antics are beyond tired. It sucks to give up on his potential, but if this horse and pony show continues and he’s not really attempting to develop as much as he is looking to sit on an NHL roster, it doesn’t help anybody anyway.
Bobby Brink
For a long time it seemed as though Bobby brink was the top name on the chopping block if the Flyers were to ever make a move. Then he was included in Dan Hilferty’s letter to the fans, and Briere mentioned him as one of the players that has taken a big step forward this season. He’s still struggling to overcome the Tortorella effect, but getting praise from the GM and Governor of the team means they’re theoretically invested in him for the foreseeable future. But it is hockey, saying one thing then doing the opposite tends to be the norm. If the Flyers look to make an upgrade, Brink could very well be a throw-in, but considering they’ve got plenty of bigger fish to fry over the coming months, it wouldn’t be surprising if Brink flew under the radar either.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Getty Images
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