The Flyers’ next move looks pretty clear: keep Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale in Philadelphia before this thing ever gets to an arbitration hearing.
After the dust settled from their record-setting offer sheet to Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson, the Flyers can finally shift from the external splash to the business of locking up their own core pieces. They’ve got the room to do it, too. Philadelphia is sitting on $29.57MM in projected cap space, according to PuckPedia, and both Zegras and Drysdale are still restricted free agents after filing for arbitration while the Carlsson situation played out.
Bill Meltzer of NHL.com reports the expectation is that both players will be signed before their hearings arrive.
It makes sense based on what each player meant to the Flyers last season. Zegras stepped into a featured role in his first year with the club and delivered career-best production, finishing with 26 goals and 67 points in 81 games. That kind of scoring gave Christian Dvorak a boost as well, helping him reach a career-high 51 points while centering Zegras and one of Travis Konecny or Owen Tippett.
Drysdale’s impact was just as important, even if it showed up from the back end. He logged more than 21 minutes a night and settled in as Philadelphia’s third defender behind Travis Sanheim and Cameron York.
The Flyers liked the way his game held up on both ends, and his versatility gave them options: he could stabilize the second pair with Rasmus Ristolainen or Emil Andrae, or slide up with York on the top pair. That flexibility mattered, and Drysdale made the most of it, posting 32 points in 78 games to match the career high he set with Anaheim in 2021-22.
If Philadelphia lost either player, the replacement hunt would get messy in a hurry. That’s why the club is expected to move quickly rather than let arbitration drag things out into a one-year deal. CapWages and AFP Analytics project Zegras for a five-year, $41MM extension and Drysdale for a six-year, $43.74MM extension.
Together, those contracts would eat up just $15.5MM of the Flyers’ projected cap space, leaving them with plenty left over for another addition. The market, though, doesn’t offer much help.
Anthony Mantha, Michael Bunting, and Nick Blankenburg are the notable names available. Philadelphia could also circle back to the RFA route, with Adam Fantilli, Connor Bedard, and Simon Edvinsson all eligible for an offer sheet.
For now, though, the priority seems obvious: get Zegras and Drysdale done, then see how much room is left to chase the next piece.
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Danny Briere Nearly Pulled Off The Flyers Swing Fans Have Wanted
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Carlssons camp also made clear this was never a one-team negotiation, with multiple clubs showing interest before an offer sheet arrived on July 1 and caught them off guard. The agents pointed to Connor Bedards eventual deal as a key benchmark in the process, which helps explain why they were willing to let the market sort itself out before deciding whether to commit. [Read more 🡒]