The Flyers have been stuck in a quiet stretch since missing out on Leo Carlsson, with the only real noise around the club being Jamie Drysdale’s upcoming arbitration hearing. That leaves Daniel Briere with a simple fork in the road: stay put and trust the current group to keep growing, or jump back into the trade market and see whether there’s a deal to be made.
If the Flyers choose the second path, there are three names that make sense as possible targets.
Alexander Nikishin is the kind of defender who could fit what Philadelphia is building. The Carolina Hurricanes have not extended the RFA yet and are trying to move him, not because he’s a problem, but because there’s no room for him.
He just finished his rookie season and handled himself well, but being stuck as the sixth or seventh defenseman doesn’t match his value. Carolina’s blue line already includes Jaccob Slavin, Sean Walker, Shayne Gostisbehere, K'Andre Miller, Joel Nystrom, and Jalen Chatfield, so Nikishin is the odd man out.
The Hurricanes would like to move him and, ideally, Jesperi Kotkaniemi with him. If a team takes both, the overall price probably drops.
Even so, a first- or second-round pick plus a prospect might be enough to get it done. There’s also the idea that Kotkaniemi and Nikishin could be had straight up for Rasmus Ristolainen.
Nikishin’s production adds to the appeal. He put up 11 goals and 22 assists in 81 games as a rookie this season, and he’s only 24.
There’s also a natural fit with Matvei Michkov, since the two played on the same KHL team in Russia and have also been teammates in international tournaments. Michkov has said he’s been a bit "lonely" with no other Russians around, so a familiar face could matter.
Nikishin also just won a Stanley Cup.
Chris Kreider is another name that could make sense, especially because the Flyers can help the Ducks with the financial squeeze they’re in. After accepting an offer sheet that made Leo Carlsson the highest-paid player in the NHL, Anaheim still has Cutter Gauthier’s looming contract to think about. That means salary relief matters, and Kreider’s $6.7 million cap hit this season could be useful for the Ducks as they try to manage money for players like Pavel Mintyukov, Tyson Hinds, and/or Vyacheslav Buteyets.
If Philadelphia took on all of Kreider’s salary, the cost might not have to be huge. A mid-level pick, such as a third-rounder, along with a prospect like Helge Grans or Artem Gurtev, could be enough.
Kreider isn’t the same player who scored 50 goals in 2021-22, but he still produced 22 goals and 28 assists. He’d give the Flyers a left-side shot and some veteran presence, and because he’s signed only for this year, Philadelphia could either keep him for a playoff run or move him again at the deadline for more draft capital.
Then there’s Adam Fantilli, the swing-for-the-fences option. The Flyers could try an offer sheet, but that would be the kind of move that makes other general managers bristle. A direct offer to another RFA is legal, but it would likely leave Briere on the outside looking in with his peers for a while.
There’s another way, though. If Fantilli doesn’t want to re-sign with Columbus, or if he wants more money than the Blue Jackets are willing to pay, Philadelphia could step in.
He’d be worth a first-round pick, and the idea here is that the Flyers might even be willing to part with Jett Luchanko, who is still an unknown, for a player who is already established as a force. It might take another mid-level pick on top of that, but the payoff would be a center of Fantilli’s caliber on a long-term deal.
If Columbus and Fantilli can’t find common ground, the Blue Jackets may want to act before things get messy. That’s where the Flyers could make their move.
In Other News...
Flyers Still Have One Offseason Question That Could Change Everything
The Flyers have spent the offseason adding pieces and reshaping the roster, but the conversation around their power play still hangs over everything. Even with the new faces in place, there is a sense that one more move could help change the look of a unit that has too often needed a jolt, and the market still offers a few veteran options who fit that kind of need.
One path would be adding a pure shooter who can make opponents pay on the man advantage, even if the rest of his game comes with some tradeoffs. Another would be bringing in a proven scorer who can slide into the top nine and contribute on special teams, while a third option would be a sheltered offensive defenseman with a long track record of helping a power play and some playoff seasoning. None of it is settled yet, but the Flyers next decision here could say a lot about how aggressive they want to be. [Read more 🡒]
Cutter Gauthier Just Put Pat Verbeek In Another Brutal Spot
Cutter Gauthier has already become one of the more interesting contract cases in the league, and a new report has only added another layer to it. According to the Spittin Chiclets podcast, the young forward is reportedly drawing a hard line in negotiations, one that is tied to the kind of money Philadelphia once put on the table for Leo Carlsson. The comparison is notable because Gauthier actually outproduced Carlsson last season in goals and points, which gives his camp a real on-ice argument even if the market is still sorting out where he fits.
The complication is the same one that hangs over so many restricted free agents: leverage is limited, and the club does not have to treat every ask as a starting point. Gauthier does not have arbitration rights, so the pressure falls more heavily on the player side, while Pat Verbeek is left trying to navigate a negotiation that already sounds like it could get uncomfortable. Whether this becomes a quick resolution or drags on is still unclear, but it is exactly the kind of situation that can linger well into the summer. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Just Made Their Long Term Vision Hard To Ignore
The Flyers recent long-term moves are starting to look less like isolated transactions and more like a blueprint. In the same way Carolina has built around a roster that stays together, Philadelphia is trying to create its own version of that stability, and the additions of Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale fit neatly into that plan. Both players have already had to navigate early-career turbulence, and both signings point to a front office that wants to lock in talent before the next wave of progress arrives.
Zegras gives the Flyers a skill set that still comes with a bit of positional uncertainty after his struggles at center, while Drysdales path has been shaped by injuries that once made him look like a risky bet. Together, they represent more than just upside. They suggest a message from the organization that players who keep pushing through the rough patches can earn a real place in the future, even if the final shape of that future is still being sorted out. [Read more 🡒]