The Montreal Canadiens were mentioned in the Anthony Mantha chatter, but the interest never got serious enough to turn into a real push. Marco D’Amico reported that while there was some talk about Montreal, the Canadiens did not make a legit offer.
In Nashville, the roster math is already forcing decisions. Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean noted that new Predators GM Chris MacFarland has been active this offseason, adding seven players through free agency and trades with the Avalanche and Stars.
That leaves Nashville with 26 players under contract, and the team has to get down to 23 before the start of the season. MacFarland said on the first day of free agency that the Predators might need to move out players they normally wouldn’t consider if it helps them improve elsewhere.
Daugherty pointed to three possible trade candidates. Ilya Lyubushkin could draw interest because of his physical style, especially after the Dallas Stars trade that brought in Mavrik Bourque was tied to salary removal.
A team could come calling and maybe send back a late-round pick. Jonathan Marchessault is another name to watch, but his $5.5 million cap hit makes him a tougher sell, especially with his underlying numbers trending down over the past five seasons and MacFarland’s reputation as a data-driven executive.
Joakim Kemell rounds out the list; the 22-year-old former first-round pick still hasn’t developed the offense expected of him, and his return might be something like a third-round pick or a player with similar value.
On the Flyers side, Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff said in a mailbag that Jamie Drysdale could land in the range of three or four years at $6.5 million.
And in Detroit, Dylan Larkin’s situation remains tied to the bigger picture. Di Marco wrote that Steve Yzerman’s departure as Red Wings GM could affect whether Larkin would reconsider his trade request. The issue, as Di Marco framed it, is that Detroit hasn’t really made any changes this offseason that would make them a better playoff contender.
In Other News...
Flyers Just Made Their Trevor Zegras Commitment Official
Trevor Zegras arrived in Philadelphia with plenty of intrigue, and his first season with the Flyers gave the organization a pretty clear answer about where he fits in the long term. Acquired from Anaheim last summer, he quickly became one of the most productive players on the roster, setting career highs across the board while handling a versatile top-six role that had him moving between center and wing as the season went on.
The bigger takeaway for the Flyers is how much Zegras mattered when the games got tighter. He played 81 games, led the team in playoff points and delivered the kind of all-around offensive season that made a commitment feel inevitable, even before the front office made it official. For a club trying to build something more stable up front, keeping a player who can drive play in a few different spots is a meaningful piece of the puzzle. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers May Finally Have A Goalie Prospect Fans Can Believe In
For a franchise that has spent years searching for stability in net, Yegor Zavragin is starting to look like more than just another name in the pipeline. The 20-year-old Flyers prospect landed at No. 10 on Scott Wheelers top 20 NHL goalie prospects list, and the buzz is backed by real production overseas, where he handled a brief run with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL and turned in strong numbers in the VHL as well.
The bigger question for Philadelphia is whether that promise can eventually translate into something the organization can actually count on. The Flyers are set to open the upcoming season with Dan Vladar and Joseph Woll as their NHL tandem, but Zavragins rise gives the front office a potential long-term answer if his development keeps moving in the right direction. For a team that has waited a while to feel good about a goalie prospect, that alone is worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Brieres Boldest Flyers Move Just Raised A Bigger Offseason Question
Daniel Briere has spent the summer trying to show the Flyers are not content with another quiet offseason, and the front office has already made that point in more than one way. Philadelphia has added a few pieces in free agency, but the bigger message came from the aggressive push for Leo Carlsson and the extension for Trevor Zegras, moves that signaled a willingness to be bold rather than merely patient.
What makes the next stretch interesting is that the Flyers still have room to keep working, with cap flexibility left to maneuver and a roster that could still change before the season begins. Briere has made clear the door is open for more if the right opportunity appears, which leaves Philadelphia in a familiar but more intriguing place than usual: active enough to matter, yet still waiting on the move that would tell everyone how far this offseason is really going to go. [Read more 🡒]