Eastern Conference off-season recap: Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers have been mired in mediocrity for some time now.

After sitting most of the 2023-24 season in a playoff spot, the Flyers struggled down the stretch and missed out. This past season, they took another step back.

Let’s take a look at how the Flyers’ 2024-25 season went, what they did over the off-season, and how the team shapes up heading into 2025-26.

How the season went

There were levels of being bad in 2024-25. Take the San Jose Sharks, who finished at the bottom of the standings thanks to a 20-50-12 record. The second level is the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators, who finished with 61 and 68 points, respectively.

The third tier was headlined by the Flyers, also containing the Boston Bruins, Seattle Kraken and a handful of other teams. By the early March trade deadline, the Flyers were just four points out of a playoff spot, but with a whole bunch of teams around them.

They decided to sell, moving Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to the Calgary Flames for Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier. Kuzmenko was flipped just over a month later, as the Flyers sent him to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2027 third-round pick. They also sent Erik Johnson to the Colorado Avalanche for Givani Smith.

The Flyers’ biggest move before the trade deadline saw them send Scott Laughton and two picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs for prospect Nikita Grebenkin and the Leafs’ conditional 2027 first-round pick.

By the end of the season, the Flyers finished with a 33-39-10 record, with their 76 points being the fewest in the Eastern Conference.

Drafted players

Thanks to a rough regular season, the Flyers ended up with the sixth overall pick, using it to select Porter Martone. After trading up for the 12th overall pick, the Flyers used it to select Jack Nesbitt.

The Flyers had four second-round picks, using them to select defenceman Carter Amico, winger Jack Murtagh, winger Shane Vansaghi, and centre Matthew Gard. In the fifth round, the Flyers selected Max Westergard and Luke Vlooswyk, followed by Nathan Quinn in the sixth round.

Trades

The Flyers made one of the biggest trades of the off-season a few days before the draft, sending Ryan Poehling, a 2026 fourth-round pick, and a 2025 second-round pick (yes, they had five second-round picks) to the Anaheim Ducks for Trevor Zegras.

On the first day of the draft, the Flyers sent the 22nd overall pick and the 31st overall pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 12th overall pick. Not quite sure what the Penguins were doing here. They acquired two of their four seconds on the second day of the draft, sending the 36th and 68th overall picks to the Kraken for the 38th and 57th overall picks.

The Flyers made another trade with the Kraken; they acquired Robertson Tucker for Jon-Randall Avon. On Sep. 14, the Flyers sent Ivan Fedotov to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2026 sixth-round pick.

Free agent signings

It was a quiet off-season on the free agent side of things. Christian Dvorak signed a one-year deal worth $5.4 million. The Flyers also brought in former Flame Daniel Vladař, as well as Noah Juulsen. On Jul. 7, Cam York signed a five-year extension with an annual cap hit of $5.15 million.

Their most notable signing saw the Flyers hire Rick Tocchet, as he replaced John Tortorella. Tocchet’s most notable achievement with the Vancouver Canucks was getting them to Game 7 of the second round in 2024.

Departures

There isn’t a lot of turnover from the 2024-25 to the 2025-26 season for the Flyers. Poehling was traded to the Ducks, while Pelletier departed in free agency, signing a three-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26

So, how do the Flyers shape up in 2025-26? Down the middle, they’ll run Sean Couturier, Noah Cates, Zegras, and Dvorak, missing a true superstar. Matvei Michkov could be that superstar, and he headlines a wing core that features Travis Konecny, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, Alex Bump, Owen Tippett, Nicolas Deslauriers, and Garnet Hathaway.

York headlines the Flyers’ defence core, also featuring Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Jamie Drysdale, Dennis Gilbert, and Noah Juulsen. In net, the Flyers will run Samuel Ersson and Vladař.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.