Training camp is finally here for the Philadelphia Flyers, and the first wave of decisions is already starting to take shape.
The Flyers released their official training camp roster on Wednesday, and it came with a few names worth watching closely. Andrew Perrott, an AHL signing, turned up on the list, while Zayde Wisdom is getting another shot to prove he belongs in the NHL picture, even if the odds are long.
What stands out most, though, is the battle that could unfold in the bottom-six. Philadelphia still has Nikita Grebenkin and Carl Grundstrom from last year, but there’s real intrigue around whether former top prospects Nolan Foote and Danila Klimovich can push past them.
Zach Aston-Reese is also in the mix. He brings NHL experience, but his role has shrunk a lot since he left Pittsburgh four years ago, and that alone says plenty about where he stands now.
There’s also a future layer to all of this. Devin Kaplan has the kind of upside that could eventually land him in that same kind of conversation for the Flyers, but he likely needs at least one more year of development with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. For now, the winger room is simply too crowded, and the depth chart needs to sort itself out before anything bigger comes into focus.
On the prospect front, Egor Zavragin already has something positive to show for himself. He picked up his first win in his first start of the KHL season.
Elsewhere around the Flyers orbit, the buzz around the new arena continues to build. The reaction from players has been immediate, and the renderings released this week only added to the conversation.
One more storyline worth keeping an eye on sits well outside Philadelphia. Quinn Hughes gave no indication that he’s in a hurry to make a decision on his next contract, and that only keeps the door open for speculation.
"This is going to be done whenever I feel like it needs to be done," Hughes said. "I don’t feel backed up against a wall.
I’m very thoughtful. I want to make sure I’m taking my time on everything and make sure I’m making a decision that is going to be good for everyone.
That’s kind of where my head has been at.
"It is my life. I’m not going to do anything to make someone else happy.
Obviously, I like to think of myself as a thoughtful person to a point where it’s not good for me and I’m thinking too much about all these different things. I think that everyone’s got to do whatever makes them happy and where the chips fall they fall."
For those who had hoped the Flyers might get a real opening here, Hughes’ comments at the NHL Player Media Tour at least keep the possibility alive. The widest-open door still appears to be in Newark, but the uncertainty remains.
And the longer this stretches on, the more of a season-long distraction it could become for a Minnesota Wild team that wants to chase a Stanley Cup.
In Other News...
Flyers Are Counting On A Different Matvei Michkov This Season
Matvei Michkov is back with the Flyers this fall and, by the looks of things, the organization is hoping the wingers third NHL season looks a lot more like the player it envisioned when he arrived. After a sophomore year slowed by fitness concerns and uneven production, Michkov has been training with the team since early September and is working to reset the tone around his game before the season gets rolling.
There is still plenty of curiosity around how quickly that reset takes hold, especially with teammates like Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras voicing confidence in what Michkov can become. The talent has never really been the question in Philadelphia, but consistency has been, and the Flyers are counting on a more settled, more effective version of Michkov to help change the conversation this year. [Read more 🡒]
Danny Briere Could Turn One Bold Flyers Gamble Into Another
The Flyers already made one of the leagues boldest summer swings when they went after Leo Carlsson with an offer sheet, and they still have the cap room to keep shopping in a market that rarely hands out clean fits. Anaheims need to carve out space after those big contracts led to a fresh opportunity, and Chris Kreider suddenly looks like the kind of veteran scorer Philadelphia could plausibly chase if Danny Briere wants to keep pushing the roster forward without waiting for the market to come to him.
Kreider brings the sort of ingredients the Flyers can use: size, speed, experience on the wing and, at times, down the middle, plus the power-play touch that can help a team convert more of the chances it already creates. The appeal goes beyond hockey, too, because he reportedly wants to be closer to his family on the East Coast, which gives Philadelphia a geographic edge as Briere weighs whether this is the kind of gamble worth making twice. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Fans May Not Like Where Quinn Hughes Rumors Are Heading
The Quinn Hughes contract watch in Minnesota has taken on a familiar late-summer feel, with the star defenseman still without an extension and no sense that he is rushing the process. For Flyers fans keeping an eye on the rest of the Metro, it is another reminder that the market around top blue-line talent can move slowly, and that patience is becoming part of the story rather than a sign of trouble.
Hughes addressed the situation on a podcast and made it sound less like a standoff than a measured wait, suggesting he expects a new deal with the Wild to eventually come together. The timing is still unclear, though, and with camp approaching, his careful approach leaves enough uncertainty to keep the rumor mill turning for anyone following the ripple effects across the conference. [Read more 🡒]