The Flyers have finally checked off the last items on their offseason to-do list.
Earlier in the week, Philadelphia announced a two-year, two-way/one-way contract for defenseman Hunter McDonald with an AAV of $912,500. It’s the kind of depth move that makes sense while the Flyers continue sorting out their blue line.
They also locked in forward Nolan Foote on a one-year, two-way deal worth $850,000. Foote spent most of last season as an AHL body, and that’s the role he appears set to fill again. The signing had already been reported by PuckPedia on July 3 and was made official on August 19.
That should wrap the Flyers’ summer business.
There’s also fresh prospect chatter around the organization. The Athletic released its U23 rankings for the coming season, and the Flyers placed four prospects on the best overall U23 NHL players and prospects list.
They also had five players show up on the best U23 players drafted after Round 1 list. Familiar names on the list.
Dan Vladar, meanwhile, is collecting hardware for his work in 2025-26. He earned the 2nd-best save of the season, then got Save of the Year for the same stop. That came just after he was named a Top-10 goalie in the league.
Another Flyers-related question getting attention: where does the 2020 draft class stand now? Tyson Foerster is accounted for, but the rest of that group is worth a fresh look.
Around the league, the Bruins are headed to Germany. After adding German forward JJ Peterka over the summer, Boston will serve as the host team for two NHL Global Series games in Munich in 2027-28.
The Edmonton Oilers will host two games in Cologne. The opponents for either series have not been announced.
Boston also has a contract situation hanging over camp. One of its top center prospects, Matthew Proitas, remains unsigned with training camp approaching.
In Detroit, the Red Wings made a smaller transaction, bringing in the massive centerman Sutter Muzzatti. It looks like a move aimed at helping the AHL side, and Max Smith broke down the deal.
In Other News...
Flyers Quietly Took A Chance On A Young Scorer With Something To Prove
The Flyers added a little lottery-ticket intrigue to their forward depth by signing Danila Klimovich, a young winger who became available after Vancouver chose not to give him a qualifying offer. Philadelphia is betting on upside here, not immediate help, but there is at least a clear reason for the interest: Rick Tocchet already knows Klimovich from his time with the Canucks, and that familiarity can matter when a club is looking for players who might still have another level to reach.
Klimovich arrives in Philadelphia with some unfinished business and a track record that suggests there is more there than a standard organizational depth add. He has not yet played in the NHL, but he has been a productive scorer in the AHL and the Flyers are open to the idea that he can eventually grow into a useful depth forward at the top level. For a team always looking to find value without spending big, that is the kind of swing worth making. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Face A Cutter Gauthier Standoff Fans Can No Longer Ignore
The Flyers have already made their presence felt around the league this offseason, and not just through the roster they are trying to build in Philadelphia. Their offer sheet attempt on Leon Carlsson helped jolt the NHL salary market, creating ripple effects far beyond one negotiation and adding another layer of pressure on teams trying to sort out their own business. For a club that has spent plenty of time looking for a clearer path forward, the willingness to get aggressive was a meaningful signal.
It also adds some outside perspective to the Ducks' Cutter Gauthier situation, where a reported contract offer has been turned aside and the noise around the two sides has only grown. Anaheim now has to manage a young player whose next step is no longer feeling routine, and Flyers fans will recognize the wider point here: when one team pushes hard to improve, it can unsettle a lot of the league at once. For Philadelphia, the broader message is simple enough. The market is changing, and the teams trying to keep up are not all in the same spot. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Need Jett Luchanko To Show More Than Promise Fast
Jett Luchanko remains one of the more intriguing pieces in the Flyers long-term picture, even if the path since his surprise selection at 13th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft has not been smooth. Philadelphia liked the speed, skill and upside enough to take him where some analysts did not expect him to go, but the early returns have been shaped as much by circumstance as by production, with team changes, injuries and even position shifts interrupting any real rhythm.
Now the expectation is that he begins the upcoming season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where the Flyers are hoping stability can do what the past year could not. A steady role in the AHL would give him a chance to settle in, build confidence and turn promise into something more tangible, which is the next step Philadelphia needs to see before the conversation around him gets any louder. [Read more 🡒]