The Flyers are finally bringing real depth into training camp, but that doesn’t mean every prospect is suddenly in line for a clear path. For a couple of players, the next season feels like a last swing at forcing their way into the NHL picture.
That’s where Helge Grans and Jacob Gaucher come in. Both are entering contract years, both have already spent time with the Flyers, and both are now staring at a roster that’s getting harder to crack.
Grans, a right-shot defenseman, is 24 and trying to prove he belongs at the NHL level before time runs out. In his age-22 season in 2024-25, he got six games with the Flyers under former head coach John Tortorella and picked up one assist during a November call-up. Now he’s in the final year of his two-year contract, and he’ll be 25 when free agency opens on July 1.
His situation gets even trickier because of his status as a Group 6 unrestricted free agent. With fewer than 80 NHL games played, he’ll hit the market as a 25-year-old, which leaves his future in Philadelphia very much up in the air.
And the competition around him is steep. Grans has to leapfrog younger names such as David Jiricek, whom the Flyers acquired for Bobby Brink at the recent NHL trade deadline, and Oliver Bonk just to get on the roster. If he’s going to stick, the level of play has to jump a couple more notches from what he’s shown so far.
Gaucher’s path is different, but the pressure is just as real. The Flyers liked the undrafted free agent enough to give the swashbuckling center an NHL contract on Dec. 12, 2024, and then brought him back on June 4 on a one-year deal. After that, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.
At 6-foot-4, Gaucher brings size that jumps off the page, and his AHL production has been hard to ignore. He has scored at least 20 goals and 36 points in each of the last two seasons with Lehigh Valley, then added three goals, three assists and six points in seven Calder Cup playoff games in 2025.
But the NHL numbers have not matched the AHL output. Gaucher has appeared in eight games for the Flyers over the last two seasons, and his underlying metrics in a sheltered role have been quite poor.
Philadelphia also spent much of last season looking for a right-shot center to use in matchup situations. With top prospect Jett Luchanko still at the junior level in the OHL, the door looked open for Gaucher. Instead, the Flyers kept him in the AHL and later claimed veteran Luke Glendening on waivers from the New Jersey Devils on March 6.
Now the roster picture is even tighter. Nikita Grebenkin is healthy, and Noel Acciari has been added as a veteran fourth-liner who can fill multiple roles. That makes Gaucher’s climb steeper, even if his size and scoring touch still give him a chance to force the issue.
For now, both Grans and Gaucher are still in the mix. But they’re also in the same spot: contract year, limited runway, and one final chance to turn promise into a real NHL role.
In Other News...
Flyers Offseason Theory Around Michkov Misses The Bigger Question
A social-media theory picked up a little steam around the Flyers this week, with some fans wondering whether the clubs aggressive offer-sheet play for Leo Carlsson was really about creating a path to move on from Matvei Michkov. The chatter has no supporting evidence, but it did manage to turn one of the summers most eye-catching moves into a referendum on what Philadelphia is trying to build and who it values most.
What actually happened is simpler: the Ducks matched the Flyers offer sheet, and the whole episode ended without any player movement or compensation changing hands. More importantly for Philadelphia, there has been no reporting suggesting the team wants to trade Michkov, and management still appears to view him as a central piece of the rebuild rather than a name to dangle in some hidden deal. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Still Have A Marchenko Situation To Watch
With the Flyers settling their own development plans for Jett Luchanko by sending him to Lehigh Valley for the full season, the focus around camp shifts to the kind of roster questions that can still reshape the lineup before opening night. Philadelphia has no shortage of those decisions to make, and the center picture is one of the more interesting ones as the team sorts through how best to use its younger pieces alongside the established core.
One possibility worth watching is whether Trevor Zegras gets a look down the middle when camp opens. It is the sort of trial that could affect both the daily lineup and the longer-term shape of the forward group, especially with the organization trying to balance patience, fit and upside. For a Flyers team looking to make smarter use of its talent, that kind of camp experiment can carry more weight than a standard preseason subplot. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Injury Crunch Could Pull A Familiar Flyer Into Focus
Edmontons training camp is already running into injury trouble, and the ripple effect could eventually shine a light on a few familiar names around the league. With Frederik Andersen, Alec Regula, Matt Savoie and Mattias Janmark all set to miss camp, the Oilers may be forced to examine the free-agent market for help at a time when cap space is tight and depth matters more than ever.
Among the veterans being mentioned as possible fits is Luke Glendening, who spent part of last season in New Jersey and Philadelphia and gave the Flyers one goal in 10 playoff games. Adam Henrique is also being floated as another experienced option, but for now the situation remains more about possibilities than movement, with Edmonton still sorting through how it wants to patch the roster. [Read more 🡒]