Danny Briere already took his biggest swing of the offseason with the offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, but the Flyers still have room to keep chasing a bigger payoff.
Philadelphia has spent a loud summer in the spotlight, with World Cup games at Philadelphia Stadium, the MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park, and even the 76ers’ trade for Jaylen Brown adding to the noise. Against that backdrop, Briere’s Carlsson move stood out. It gave the young center the highest average annual value in NHL history, even if the Ducks, not the Flyers, are the ones who would actually pay it.
Outside of that, the Flyers’ summer has been relatively calm by their standards. The trade for Joseph Woll helped stabilize the goaltending, and bringing in Noel Acciari to fill Garnet Hathaway’s spot added some forward depth.
Those moves should help the floor. What Briere still needs is the kind of move that lifts the ceiling.
One path is another offer sheet, this time aimed at Adam Fantilli. When the Flyers were waiting out the seven days on Carlsson, Fantilli was the obvious fallback if Anaheim matched. The logic still holds: Fantilli and Carlsson went back-to-back at the top of the 2023 NHL Draft, and their careers have tracked closely enough to keep the comparison alive.
Fantilli is the only remaining player who can still be tendered an offer sheet because he is not arbitration-eligible. Columbus has $23.2 million in cap space, per PuckPedia, with Fantilli, Cole Sillinger, and Jet Greaves all still needing new deals as restricted free agents. The expectation is that the Blue Jackets would match almost anything, but the Flyers have already shown they’re willing to push hard for a young center.
The numbers make Fantilli a slightly different bet than Carlsson. Carlsson has 141 points in 201 career games, including 67 points in 70 games last season.
Fantilli finished last season with 59 points in 82 games, giving him 140 points in 213 career games. Carlsson also picked up 11 points in 12 playoff games this year and carries the edge in two-way play.
Fantilli would not command the same kind of monster deal Carlsson signed for. AFP Analytics and Evolving-Hockey both project a maximum eight-year contract at just over $10 million annually.
To pry him loose, the Flyers would likely have to go well beyond that. Any AAV above $11,939,167 triggers the top compensation tier, which costs four first-round picks.
Anything up to $11.9 million would mean two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and a third-round pick. That’s cheaper than the Carlsson price, but it also makes it easier for Columbus to simply match.
There’s another wrinkle, too: Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale both have a week left before their arbitration dates, which complicates the board even more. Still, if Fantilli is the target, the Flyers would have to find a way.
The case for Philadelphia is that Columbus may not be the cleanest long-term landing spot. Zach Werenski has already asked out once, then pulled it back, and if the Blue Jackets miss the playoffs again, that tension could resurface next summer.
Kirill Marchenko could also want out. If Fantilli signs long-term there, he could wind up in the same kind of situation Dylan Larkin has faced in Detroit: a first-line center stuck waiting for the team to build around him.
That brings the conversation to Larkin himself. The Red Wings center is one of the best names on the trade market, and his no-movement clause gives him control over where this goes.
Detroit has not made progress with the Panthers, Wild, or Golden Knights, and Larkin recently added the Stars to the list of teams he would accept a trade to. Dallas reportedly asked about Wyatt Johnston, which was a non-starter, and Jason Robertson has also come up, though his RFA status makes that harder.
Steve Yzerman does not sound eager to move Larkin, and there’s no reason he should rush. Larkin can block destinations, and Yzerman is standing firm on the offers he has received.
But if the Flyers can build a package strong enough to get Detroit’s attention, Larkin could be open to Philadelphia. Trevor Zegras could help sell that idea, and the Flyers’ willingness to make bold moves might matter to a player looking for a team ready to climb.
Larkin has spent most of his prime on a Detroit team that, as the reporting here puts it, rebuilt the wrong way. He could be exactly the veteran first-line center Philadelphia needs if the stalemate in Detroit drags on.
The long shot on the list is Elias Pettersson, and this one comes with the biggest warning label. The thought here is simple: it probably should not happen, and it probably won’t. There are questions around his relationship with his former head coach, and without the Rick Tocchet of it all, the risk may not be worth it.
Still, the talent is obvious. Pettersson had 102 points in 2022-23, then 90 points the next season.
Over the last two seasons, though, he has 96 points in 138 games. The production has dipped, and questions about his work ethic and attitude have followed him before.
That kind of chatter would only get louder in Philadelphia.
Then there’s the contract. Pettersson is signed through 2032 at an $11.6 million cap hit. That number will age better as the cap rises, but at 27, he may already have played his best hockey.
Even so, if Vancouver were willing to dump him for a second-round pick and a prospect, Briere would at least have to listen.
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