The Flyers may have already made their biggest summer swing.
According to NHL insider Anthony Di Marco, Philadelphia is not expected to keep chasing another restricted free agent after its offer sheet for Leo Carlsson was matched by Anaheim. Di Marco said the club is likely finished making major moves before the 2026-27 season begins, and that includes any push for Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli.
"It may be unpopular, but the Flyers are likely done for the summer. They took their big swing when they offer-sheeted Leo Carlsson; They aren't offer-sheeting Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli," Di Marco said.
That Carlsson offer sheet was a hefty one: five years and $90 million. Anaheim matched it, sending Philadelphia back to the board. Since then, the Flyers have added two more notable pieces to the roster picture this month, signing Trevor Zegras to a four-year, $36.5 million extension and Jamie Drysdale to a four-year, $26 million deal.
Even with nearly $14 million in projected cap space still available, Di Marco’s latest read suggests the Flyers are ready to roll into training camp with the group they already have. That would leave Dan Vladar and Joseph Woll set to handle the crease next season.
The upcoming schedule is already mapped out, and Philadelphia will open the 2026-27 campaign at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sept. 30.
The next night brings a road trip to the New Jersey Devils, followed by a home date with the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 3.
That gives the Flyers three games in their first four days.
This season also comes with a new format. The NHL’s expanded 84-game regular season means Philadelphia will play 42 games at home and 42 on the road. Every Metropolitan Division opponent will come up four times, while Atlantic Division teams will appear on the schedule three times each.
January is the busiest stretch on the calendar for the Flyers, with 16 games packed into the month. That includes a five-game homestand from Jan.
21-30. On the flip side, they’ll have a five-game road trip from Dec. 27 through Jan.
Philadelphia’s regular season ends on Apr. 10 with a home game against the Washington Capitals. The schedule also includes 12 back-to-back sets, which is two fewer than last season.
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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 🡒]
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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
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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 🡒]