The Flyers are playing better, but the search for a real center remains front and center.
Philadelphia has won three of its last four, and the mood around the team has improved. Still, team sources say GM Danny Briere is continuing to explore the trade market for a center who can bring top-six upside and fit alongside the club’s young wingers.
That distinction matters. The Flyers like the wave of talent coming through the lineup - Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras among them - and those three have combined for nine goals and nine assists over the last four games. But with Noah Cates and Christian Dvorak handling the top two center spots in that stretch, the Flyers do not believe they have enough down the middle to match their playoff ambitions.
Sources told Daily Faceoff on Monday that Philadelphia is still actively looking for help at center through trade. At the same time, the team is not casting a wide net. The Flyers are specifically targeting centers with top-six potential.
That narrows the field quickly. Dylan Cozens was once viewed as a possible fit - dating back to his days with the Buffalo Sabres - but Flyers sources said last week that he no longer looks like the kind of top-six center Philadelphia wants. Cozens, 25, has one goal and four assists in 12 games this season.
Ridly Greig is another player the Flyers have liked for a while, going back to the 2020 NHL Draft. Greig, 24, is a natural center, but the Ottawa Senators have used him mostly on the wing because they are loaded down the middle.
He has one goal and two assists in 10 games this season. Even so, there is uncertainty in Philadelphia about whether his offensive track record and wing-heavy usage translate to true top-six center upside.
The sense around Ottawa hasn’t changed much either: sources have said several times that the Senators are not eager to move any of their centers.
If Cozens and Greig are out, and Seattle is not moving Matty Beniers - which is the expectation - the list gets thinner.
That is why Chicago has drawn attention.
Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones was in attendance for Friday’s Blackhawks-Canadiens game, and while he was in Chicago for other business, there are two Hawks players the Flyers have interest in to different degrees. One of them is Frank Nazar.
Philadelphia likes the 13th-overall pick from 2022 and sees top-six potential in him long term. The issue is availability.
The Blackhawks do not appear inclined to move Nazar right now. He is in the first season of a seven-year, $46.2 million contract and has three goals and one assist in nine games this season.
There is also a belief that Chicago could eventually see Anton Frondell - the 2025 first-round pick - as more of a true third-line center, which could bump Nazar into a second-line role in time.
The other Chicago name is Oliver Moore. The 21-year-old center has often been shifted to the wing because Connor Bedard, Frondell and Nazar are occupying the middle.
The Flyers are not as sold on Moore, and they are skeptical he can become a long-term top-six center in the NHL. Internally, Philadelphia already has 2024 draft picks Jack Berglund and Jett Luchanko as future third-line center types.
If the Flyers and Blackhawks ever got serious about a deal, the return would likely need to start with one of Philadelphia’s wingers.
Travis Konecny has been mentioned in recent reports as a player who could be asked about waiving his no-movement clause, but team sources said there is a belief he would not be open to doing that, and his trade protection would be an obstacle.
That makes Owen Tippett the more realistic name in a possible trade. Sources said Tippett is more likely to be moved than Konecny because of the difference in protection. Tippett, 27, has a 10-team no-trade list and is in the second season of an eight-year deal with a $6.2 million AAV.
The calls on Tippett have been coming in more often than the ones on Konecny over the past year, according to DFO reporting and team sources, and Minnesota has shown interest in both players. Wild sources said they prefer Konecny, but still view Tippett as the more “explosive” player.
If the Wild ever stepped harder into the Tippett pursuit, Flyers sources said a package built around prospect center Charlie Stramel and a first-round pick in future years would be acceptable. Stramel, 22, just finished a 19-goal, 44-point season at Michigan State, where he played with Martone. Wild sources said Martone and Stramel were very close during that year.
Stramel has not gotten off to a big start in the AHL, with one goal and two assists in 10 games since turning pro. Even so, he would be a player of interest for Philadelphia in any serious Tippett talks.
Tippett has missed four games this season because of injury, and before that he had one goal and one assist in nine games.
In Other News...
Flyers Linked To Young Winger Who Could Fill A Real Need
The Flyers have started to look more like a team with a direction, with young names such as Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone helping drive the better play. As that group takes shape, it makes sense that Philadelphia would keep scanning for young talent that fits the age curve and the style the organization seems to want to build around.
One name now in the mix is Ivan Miroshnichenko, the 2022 first-round pick in Washington. He brings a physical edge along with some offensive upside, and that combination could appeal to a Flyers roster that still could use more speed and bite on the wing. He is also the kind of player who could be available at a price Philadelphia can at least consider, which makes him a worthwhile fit to watch as the market develops. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Just Entered A New Kind Of Trade And Cap Fight
The NHLs rising salary cap has changed the math for everyone, and the Flyers are operating in a market that looks nothing like the one teams were navigating just a few years ago. With the cap projected to climb to $104 million for 2026-27 and potentially $127.5 million by 2028-29, front offices are suddenly dealing with bigger money, bigger bets and a whole new class of blockbuster contracts like Leo Carlssons $90 million offer sheet and Cale Makars $163.2 million extension.
For the Flyers, that kind of inflation does not just affect who they can chase, it changes how they have to think about every move. The bigger cap space sounds like freedom, but the new rules around contract length and signing bonuses are tightening the framework at the same time, forcing teams to get more creative in both negotiations and trade talks. In other words, the Flyers are now playing the same roster-building game with a very different rulebook. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Get Cam York Back With A New Blue Line Problem
Cam York is back in the Flyers lineup at a time when the blue line is already being reshuffled again. Philadelphia activated the defenseman from injured reserve and brought up forward Jacob Gaucher from Lehigh Valley before facing the Columbus Blue Jackets, giving the roster a fresh look on a night when the team could use some stability.
The wrinkle, of course, is on defense, where Rasmus Ristolainens absence forces another adjustment and opens the door for more changes behind York. Gaucher figures to provide depth as an extra forward, but the bigger question is how the Flyers sort out their pairings once York is slotted back into the mix and the rest of the back end settles around him. [Read more 🡒]