The calendar has officially flipped to June, which means the fanfare of the NHL offseason is on the horizon! The Philadelphia Flyers should be gearing up for a big offseason, but considering virtually the entire roster is already under contract (and those who aren’t are expected to re-sign) there’s going to have to be some subtractions in order for additions to be made. So which players on the roster are likely to get traded this summer?
Number 5: Rasmus Ristolainen
The Flyers have balked at trading Ristolainen for the last few years now, and with “playoff Risto” finally unlocked, despite the fact that he wasn’t spectacular during the postseason, the odds that they finally decide to move him now definitely didn’t go up.
Though, the Flyers are working themselves into quite a situation at RHD. David Jiricek re-signed on a one-way contract, meaning he would have to clear waivers to be sent down. Meanwhile, Oliver Bonk looked very good late in the season for the Phantoms, and even got a few reps with the Flyers. If they’re both ready, and factoring in Drysdale re-signing on a long-term deal this summer, and recently some rumors about interest in John Carlson, something is going to have to give.
Number 4: Cam York
Even though York just completed his first year of a five-year deal, his season wasn’t great particularly towards the end, but he showed up in the playoffs. It left some wondering if the Flyers would considering making a change to their defense during the summer. If there was an actual upgrade to be had, it would be smart to consider it, but in a barren free agent market, acquiring a better top four left-handed defenseman feels like a luxury that might not present itself.
Number 3: Emil Andrae
Andrae is a small, young, offensive defenseman in a Tocchet system that doesn’t value players like him. He’s a pending restricted free agent this summer, so they could just flat out not qualify him, but considering he was a second round pick back in 2020, hopefully he’ll be part of a larger deal and not just moving him for a random mid-round pick because they gave up on him.
If they’re all in on Jiricek being the new fringe-NHL offensive defenseman (despite the fact that Andrae is a left shot) there’s barely even room for one of those guys in Tocchet’s mind, let alone two.
Number 2: Jett Luchanko
Once upon a time Jett Luchanko had one of the fastest rising values among junior players, so much so that the Flyers took a shot and drafted him 13th overall in 2024. Since then, despite technically making the NHL roster twice out of training camp, and getting traded out of the supposed wasteland that was the Guelph Storm organization, it sure seems as though Luchanko’s stock has taken a free fall ever since his lackluster World Juniors appearance for Team Canada.
He’s still technically the Flyers’ top center prospect, but with a likely long AHL stint in front of him to see whether or not he’s fit for the pro level, he has to be considered in an offseason trade to find immediate center help for an NHL roster that desperately needs it.
Number 1: Owen Tippett
Something is going to have to give on the Flyers’ wings, and Tippett may just have to be the fall guy. Konecny has an NMC, Foerster is younger, Michkov and Martone (should) be untouchable, and giving up on guys like Bump and Barkey already isn’t smart.
Tippett does bring speed to the table, which is a rare asset on this glacially slow roster, but other than that, he’s a wildly inconsistent 50-point dude among a field of other inconsistent copy-and-pasted 50-point dudes. He’s also got six years left on a deal that pays him $6.2 million a season with a 10-team no-trade list that kicks in on July 1. Tippett is coming of a pretty decent year, so if they do indeed move him, they should have no problem getting a worthwhile player (hopefully a center) back in return.
Honorable mentions
Garnet Hathaway
34-year-old Garnet Hathaway still has one year left on his contract, and is part of the gigantic overflow of wingers on the roster. Now, he is one of their natural fourth liners on the team and could always be scratched, but after a season when he was mostly worthless from an on-ice perspective, ditching him and his $2.4 million cap hit may just be best for business moving forward and the easiest way to help unclog the logjam at wing.
Matvei Michkov
No, the Flyers shouldn’t trade Michkov. But it’s the Flyers. They rarely do what they should. His clash with the coaching staff and marred production because of it doesn’t seem to have an end in sight, so something that should be completely avoidable is now the talk of the town and a real decision they’re going to have to make.
His value may be at its lowest right now, but the only time it’ll be lower is at the end of next season after another full year of nine minutes a night on the third line and he refuses to re-sign as a restricted free agent.
There probably is a crop of players that they could consider trading Michkov for, but there just aren’t many of them available during the 2026 offseason. Rock and a hard place.
Alex Bump
Despite promising results during his first AHL season and very limited minutes in the NHL, Alex Bump still feels like the blacksheep of the current hoard of wingers in the Flyers’ system. if they refuse to cut the weight from the veterans on the roster, Bump is more than likely the odd man out. If they were smart they’d include him in a trade package, but it’s possible he becomes the next man to receive a one-way ticket back to the AHL.
Noah Cates
If the Flyers actually go about addressing their center depth, chances are somebody needs to get moved out to make an addition. Couturier isn’t going anywhere and neither is the recently-signed Dvorak. They could just bump Cates down to 3C with Couts at 4C again, and it’s unlikely they’d be quick to move him, but subtractions are going to have to happen in order for additions to be made somewhere.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Getty Images
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