The Flyers don’t need to go hunting for a blockbuster fix on defense. They may have a much easier route sitting right in front of them on the NHL waiver wire.
That became even clearer Saturday, when Philadelphia’s own preseason finale offered a reminder of why the blue line still feels unsettled. After general manager Danny Briere said former No. 6 overall pick David Jiricek would make the roster, Jiricek went on to have a rough night against a heavily shorthanded Washington Capitals group.
A bad read in transition, a backhanded pass straight to a Capitals player, and a needless penalty all helped lead to three Washington goals. The Capitals’ fifth goal in the 5-1 win also came after Noah Cates couldn’t handle a Jiricek pass in the neutral zone, leaving Jiricek out of position and Rasmus Ristolainen alone to defend while Aleksei Kolosov couldn’t bail anyone out.
That’s the kind of growing pain the Flyers expected when they brought in the 22-year-old Jiricek by trade. The issue is that Philadelphia also wants to chase the playoffs, and Jiricek still looks like a player who needs time. He also has to clear waivers if the Flyers want to send him back to the AHL.
And he’s not the only young defenseman the Flyers are trying to sort through. Oliver Bonk and Helge Grans haven’t done enough to push Jiricek out of the picture, while veteran newcomer Simon Benoit is not a right-shot. If the Flyers want to keep developing Bonk and Jiricek at a measured pace, they may need to look outside the organization to protect the structure of their defense.
Two names on waivers fit that need.
Boston put Henri Jokiharju on waivers Saturday. The 27-year-old former first-round pick has played in 448 regular-season games and spent time as a regular in Buffalo before his stint in Boston, where he appeared in 59 games and posted two goals, 17 assists and 19 points with a +9 rating.
He also saw power-play and penalty-kill duty when needed. At 6 feet, Jokiharju would be an upgrade over Benoit, Jiricek, Grans, Bonk, and even Noah Juulsen, whom the Flyers used as their third-choice right-shot defender last season on their way to the playoffs.
The other option is Nashville’s Nick Perbix, a 6-foot-4 defender who may fit the Flyers’ size preference even better. The 28-year-old Canadian spent last season with the Predators after becoming an analytics favorite in Tampa Bay while playing in a smaller role. In 79 games for Nashville, he scored three goals and added 10 assists for 13 points, while averaging a career-high 2:41 per game on the penalty kill.
Both players come with short-term contracts and reasonable costs, which makes them practical fits for Philadelphia as it tries to balance immediate competitiveness with the long view on Jiricek and Bonk. The Flyers would have to spend some cash to claim either one, but with $13.9 million in cap space, that part of the equation is manageable.
So the real decision is bigger than the waiver wire itself. It’s about how much the Flyers are willing to lean into Jiricek’s development now, and how much they want to prioritize the playoffs without leaving the defense exposed.
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Flyers Opening Night Roster Reveals A Few Surprising Lineup Clues
The Flyers settled their 23-man opening night roster for the 2026-27 season, and the shape of it offered a few early clues about how they plan to open the year. The group breaks down to 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders, with Garrett Wilson among the names on the list and a defense corps that now includes newcomers David Jiricek and Simon Benoit.
The most immediate development is in net, where Dan Vladar and Joseph Woll are slated to form the opening-night tandem. That pairing gives Philadelphia a clear answer at the position for now, while the rest of the roster suggests the team is already leaning on some new pieces as it heads into the season. [Read more 🡒]