The 2026 NHL draft is just over a week away, and that means the offseason is about to heat up! For Danny Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers, they have some lofty expectations to live up to thanks to their miracle playoff run, so will the front office hold up their end of the bargain and have a productive summer?
Let’s take a guess as to what we’re likely in for in the next few weeks!
Number 5: No Wingers Get Traded
Theoretically, the Flyers have to clear out at least one or two of their nearly dozen wingers fighting for main roster ice time to streamline development time and clean up the roster.
In reality, they don’t have to do a thing.
This has been a growing problem for the last few years and they haven’t really alleviated any of it. Now with Porter Martone, Alex Bump and sometimes Denver Barkey and Trevor Zegras lining up on the wings, something is going to have to give sooner or later. If they were smart, they’d trade one of two of them to address the hole at center, but there isn’t one player thats glaringly the odd man out (besides Matvei Michkov, but that’s a different story for a different day.)
The Flyers love the path of least resistance, and if there isn’t a golden carrot out there they feel the need to rock the boat for, it’s still unlikely anybody gets moved this summer.
Number 4: Sign John Carlson
At face value, signing a 36-year-old free agent is a bad idea. But RHD John Carlson may be an exception to that rule. He’s still a wildly productive player, and most importantly, directly addresses one of the major holes on the Flyers’ roster which is the need for a power play QB.
He put up 60 points in 71 games between the Ducks and Capitals this season, 14 of which came on the power play, which would’ve been second on the Flyers behind only Trevor Zegras’ 23 points.
If the Flyers can contain themselves and give him a year or two and not a five or six year contract like they do everybody else, there’s definitely an avenue where this is a smart play.
Number 3: Signing Boone Jenner
When Boone Jenner’s contract talks with the Blue Jackets went sideways, it sure felt like this was the exact kind of player that was on the Flyers’ radar. He’s a center… technically. He’s also 33 years old, injury-riddled, and hasn’t scored more than 38 points in four years.
But he’s a veteran with captaincy experience and tops out as a third liner that is still kinda young enough to give an ungodly contract to. That’s music to Briere’s ears if you factor in the centers already on the roster.
Number 2: Flyers Trade for Nurse
When these rumors emerged late last week, it’s a move that feels so stupid and unnecessary that it’s totally believable the Flyers would actually do it. Darnell Nurse is a 31-year-old left-handed defenseman who has four years left on his current contract with a $9.25 milllion aav. He doesn’t really work the power play… but he is 6′ 4 and that’s all that matters.
Who do the Flyers trade for Nurse? Why would they take on that kind of contract? It’s not a position of overwhelming need. He doesn’t really address any problems other than tickling the front office’s fetish for tall players. But hey, did you know he’s the nephew of Donovan McNabb?
All this to say, he’ll definitely be a Flyer by the start of the 2025-26 season.
Number 1: No Top Six Center Is Added
The Flyers haven’t made a real attempt to fix their center depth since they signed Kevin Hayes in 2019, and with a barren free agent pool and minimal trade rumors, the chances Danny Briere and the Flyers casually breeze over the need yet again feels totally believable.
Dylan Larkin isn’t coming. Auston Matthews probably won’t get traded. Robert Thomas is apparently off the block. Offer sheets aren’t realistic. And the top UFA center remaining is probably 36-year-old Anders Lee.
Now, they did start to finally utilize Zegras as a center late in the season and gave Denver Barkey time at C during the postseason, so there may be some built in excuses for their inaction this time, but considering their three natural centers on the roster are Sean Couturier, Christian Dvorak and Noah Cates, not there’s no reason not to throw a hail Mary during the 2026 offseason.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
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