The Flyers may be past the splashy part of their offseason, but there’s still room for Danny Brière to make a useful move if he wants one.
Extensions for Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras, and Tyson Foerster are already done, Dan Vadar is locked in, and the backup-goalie upgrade came when Philadelphia dealt with Toronto for Joseph Woll. The big swing on Leo Carlsson didn’t land after the Anaheim Ducks matched the offer sheet, so the Flyers are basically where they were before that gamble.
That’s not exactly a setback, though. This is still a young team that was good enough to be in the playoffs, and it’s about to get a full season from Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, and Alex Bump after each arrived as rookies down the stretch.
The cap situation also leaves room for another star chase later if one comes along.
For now, though, there are still a few veterans on the board who could fit if the Flyers want some extra help.
Vladimir Tarasenko is the most obvious offensive name still sitting there. He was already on the radar before free agency opened July 1, and nothing has really changed.
He’s heading into his 15th season and turns 35 in December, but he’s adjusted well enough to stay useful lower in the lineup after bouncing around in recent years. Last season with the Minnesota Wild, he put up 23 goals and 47 points, with five of those goals coming on the power play.
That would have put him second on the Flyers behind Trevor Zegras’ 10. He’d give Philadelphia a short-term boost on a power play that has been rough for years, and he’d bring championship experience from St.
Louis in 2019 and Florida in 2024. There’s also the Matvei Michkov angle: as a Russian star in the league, Tarasenko could be a real help while Michkov tries to bounce back from a nasty sophomore slump.
The catch is obvious - the Flyers already have a crowded wing situation - but on a short-term, affordable deal, he could slide into a leadership role similar to Erik Johnson’s, with his ice time shrinking before his influence does.
Carson Soucy is a different kind of fit. He’ll turn 32 next week, shoots left, and has already worked with Rick Tocchet in Vancouver.
That connection matters because Soucy would be a depth defenseman, the kind of sixth- or seventh-option blue-liner who helps reinforce a coach’s systems. His game is conservative and stay-at-home, the sort of style where the compliment is often that you barely notice him.
Philadelphia, though, already added Simon Benoit as a gritty depth piece in the Woll trade and has a crowded defense with prospects David Jiříček, Olive Bonk, and/or Hunter McDonald trying to force their way in. Soucy would still give the Flyers a veteran fallback, even if that’s the kind of insurance they’d prefer not to need.
Then there’s Logan Stanley, the biggest swing of the bunch. He’s 6-foot-7, 231 pounds, left-handed, and only 28, which makes him the kind of player who could still turn into a sneaky find for a blue line looking for size and edge.
After Buffalo picked him up from Winnipeg at the trade deadline, he finished plus-5 in 17 games. His playoff run was rough because of illness and an injury, and Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekäläinen later said it was “a lot worse than [Stanley] let on," per the Sabres' website after their season ended.
When he’s healthy, Stanley brings a hard, punishing game that keeps opponents honest. He could also fit into a future without Rasmus Ristolainen, who has only a year left on his contract.
In Other News...
Flyers Fans Just Got Another Painful Reminder About Philly's Star Gap
Philadelphia keeps adding marquee names in other corners of its sports landscape, and the latest reminder came when LeBron James signed a two-year deal with the 76ers. With Saquon Barkley and Bryce Harper already giving the city plenty of star power to point to, the contrast only gets sharper for Flyers fans who have spent the offseason watching their team chase help without landing a headline-grabbing name of its own.
The Flyers have explored plenty of avenues, but the bigger picture remains the same: this is a club leaning into patience and a youth-first build rather than forcing a splash. Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone sit at the center of that plan, and the organization is betting that developing its own core will matter more than chasing the kind of instant star appeal other Philadelphia teams can already claim. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Still Have One Adam Fantilli Question Hanging Over Them
The Blue Jackets have already checked off a couple of their offseason boxes by re-signing Jet Greaves and Cole Sillinger, but the bigger piece of business remains in the middle of the ice. Contract talks with Adam Fantilli are paused for the moment, with the sides expected to pick things back up next week after some earlier progress, leaving Columbus with one of its most important negotiations still unresolved as the summer moves along.
Fantillis situation matters because he is part of the core the Blue Jackets are trying to lock in, and there has at least been enough movement to suggest a deal is still within reach. For Flyers fans keeping an eye on the broader Eastern Conference picture, it is another reminder that Columbus is working through its own roster priorities while a few other notable hockey names are also sorting out their next steps, from KJ Sauers path toward Minnesota to Brandon Scanlins new stop in Hamilton. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Suddenly Have A Shot At The Franchise-Changing Star
Philadelphia has spent enough time watching other teams land the sports biggest names to know how quickly a franchise can change when the right star becomes available. The Flyers are trying to put themselves in that same conversation under Danny Briere and Keith Jones, with a front office that has made it clear it wants to use cap space as a weapon rather than a constraint.
That approach already has shown up in the way the Flyers have chased elite talent, from an offer sheet for Leo Carlsson that Anaheim matched to their willingness to be in the mix for Kirill Kaprizov this summer. It is the kind of posture that keeps a team relevant in the rare moments when a true franchise-altering player might actually reach the market, and it is why the idea of Philadelphia being ready for the next great opening feels less far-fetched than it used to. [Read more 🡒]