The Flyers may not have landed Leon Carlsson, but they still managed to send a message around the league.
That’s the part Jami Drysdale clearly appreciated. The Philadelphia defenseman spoke this week about the club’s offer-sheet push and said the reaction inside and outside the room was pretty much the same.
“I think everyone within our locker room and everyone that wasn’t in our locker room probably had the same reaction.” Drysdale then pointed to what the move said about the organization: “It was obviously a big splash, and it shows our team, our management, everyone is looking to add and everyone is committed - guys in the locker room, guys up top, guys in management - that we are trying to make this work with our group and add where we can.
I think the confidence is there and we showed last year we can be a team and make a splash.”
That’s the heart of it. Philadelphia didn’t get its target, but Daniel Briere still shook the market hard enough to force everyone else to notice. The offer-sheet attempt on Carlsson pushed salaries into a different range and left other teams dealing with the fallout.
The Anaheim Ducks, Drysdale’s former team, are one of the clubs feeling it. The fit gets tighter by the day, and the latest wrinkle is that Cutter Gauthier has turned down $13 million per season over 4 years while waiting for a bigger deal. That kind of standoff can turn ugly fast, whether it becomes a problem between player and team or player and fanbase.
On the Morning Cuppa Hockey Podcast, Jonny Lazarus laid out the divide in a blunt way. “Players can ask what they want.
They can feel they deserve a certain amount. I think Cutter is worth this number.”
He also said, “Fans care more about the team than they do about the player. They want to see a winning team.
So Cutter Gauthier want his money, great. You’re going to screw over our team & then if you don’t live up to that money we’re gonna f-ing hate you.
So that’s where the disconnect comes with the fans.’
For Drysdale, though, the bigger point wasn’t just the chaos elsewhere. It was what the Flyers were saying about themselves: they’re willing to make noise, and they’re willing to keep pushing to improve.
The question now is whether that noise turns into results. Philadelphia had a solid run last season, but it hasn’t really upgraded the roster this summer. The biggest move, at least arguably, was adding Joseph Woll from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and that’s not the kind of splash that changes the ceiling in a hurry.
In Other News...
Flyers Quietly Took A Chance On A Young Scorer With Something To Prove
The Flyers added a little lottery-ticket intrigue to their forward depth by signing Danila Klimovich, a young winger who became available after Vancouver chose not to give him a qualifying offer. Philadelphia is betting on upside here, not immediate help, but there is at least a clear reason for the interest: Rick Tocchet already knows Klimovich from his time with the Canucks, and that familiarity can matter when a club is looking for players who might still have another level to reach.
Klimovich arrives in Philadelphia with some unfinished business and a track record that suggests there is more there than a standard organizational depth add. He has not yet played in the NHL, but he has been a productive scorer in the AHL and the Flyers are open to the idea that he can eventually grow into a useful depth forward at the top level. For a team always looking to find value without spending big, that is the kind of swing worth making. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Quietly Settled Two Final Roster Questions Before Camp
The Flyers have wrapped up their offseason business by bringing back two more players who help fill out the organizational picture heading into training camp. Defenseman Hunter McDonald and forward Nolan Foote were both re-signed, giving Philadelphia a cleaner look at the bottom of the depth chart and leaving fewer loose ends for the front office as summer turns to September.
McDonalds return gives the Flyers another young blue-line option to keep developing, while Foote adds a forward with some versatility to the mix. These are not splashy moves, but they matter at this stage of the calendar, when teams want as much certainty as possible before camp battles begin and every roster spot gets scrutinized. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Need Jett Luchanko To Show More Than Promise Fast
Jett Luchanko remains one of the more intriguing pieces in the Flyers long-term picture, even if the path since his surprise selection at 13th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft has not been smooth. Philadelphia liked the speed, skill and upside enough to take him where some analysts did not expect him to go, but the early returns have been shaped as much by circumstance as by production, with team changes, injuries and even position shifts interrupting any real rhythm.
Now the expectation is that he begins the upcoming season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where the Flyers are hoping stability can do what the past year could not. A steady role in the AHL would give him a chance to settle in, build confidence and turn promise into something more tangible, which is the next step Philadelphia needs to see before the conversation around him gets any louder. [Read more 🡒]