Flyers’ Trade Deadline Recap: Briere Talks Trade Deadline

After a quiet start to the NHL trade deadline, Flyers’ general manager Daniel Briere had himself a busy afternoon on Friday, completing three trades before the 3:00 p.m. EST. deadline.

Briere and the Flyers made three moves, including the blockbuster deal that sent Scott Laughton to his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.

Before getting into the specifics, here is the overall in and out for the Flyers on Friday:

Flyers in:

• F Nikita Grebenkin (AHL)
• F Givani Smith (AHL)
• Conditional 2027 1st Round pick (Via Tor, top-10 protected)
•  2025 7th Round pick

Flyers out:

• F Scott Laughton
• F Andrei Kuzmenko
• D Erik Johnson
• 2025 4th Round Pick
• 2027 3rd Round Pick
• 2027 6th Round pick

Undoubtedly, the Scott Laughton trade is the most significant move Flyers’ general manager Daniel Briere has made this year–possibly ever during his tenure as the GM.

All year, it seemed as if the Flyers’ ask for a first and a prospect for Laughton was too steep, yet here we are. At a certain point, it seemed questionable that they could even get a first back for Laughton, let alone a first and a pretty exciting prospect. Even with the fantastic return, it was hard for Briere to trade his former teammate.

“Trading Scott Laughton was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do as a GM,” Briere said. Briere and Laughton were teammates during his final season in Philadelphia.

“At the end, it’s kind of a cool ending for him, having a chance to go back home… The return was amazing, and on top of it, giving him the chance to go play for his hometown team, it’s pretty cool,” added Briere.

It seemed almost inevitable that the two sides would come together for a trade. The Flyers respected Laughton too much, sending him anywhere other than home never really felt right, while the Maple Leafs have had a significant need for a player like Laughton for years.

The Maple Leafs have (or at this point, had) a flurry of prospects that would pique just about anyone’s interest in that group, Nikita Grebenkin may not have been the most eye-popping prospect, but he certainly has potential.

When asked what about Grebenkin’s game made the Flyers want him, Briere said, “He seems very energetic; big body that is strong on the puck; can make plays He needs to learn to work within a structure, but there’s a lot there, the size, the energy, the competitiveness.” 

Briere said he and the Flyers’ scouts became excited when the Leafs started to include Greberkin’s name in conversations. He also mentioned that the scouts valued him higher than a third-round pick, indicating Laughton’s value was a first and a third.

One thing from Briere’s press conference that I really took away was this quote from him:

“There’s no guarantee that first-round pick, we will be picking. At some point, we hope to be one of those teams on the other side of the fence that are looking to acquire players,” 

That response was given after being asked whether acquiring a first round in a later year was important, given the current timetable and surplus of draft capital this year. The Flyers acquired a first-round pick in 2027 from Toronto.

To me, that is an indication that within the next year or so, the Flyers will make those big-time roster moves to put them in contention–needing future draft assets to make a splash this time of the year sooner than later.

“To be honest, Kuzmenko kind of came out of the blue today,” said Briere regarding the trade that sent Andrei Kuzmenko to the Los Angeles Kings.

He went on to add, “It’s not that we were shopping him, but he’s an unrestricted free agent. There’s a need and a fit there with LA, and it worked, and it worked for us as well.” 

While it definitely came as a shock, it made complete sense. Kuzmenko was not under contract after this season. The Flyers were offered a third-round pick for a player who was essentially a contract match with possible upside. It was a no-brainer move. The best part for the Flyers–if they felt Kuzmenko made a connection in Philadelphia, or seemingly found a fit, they can offer him a contract this offseason to bring him back.

Kuzmenko will now head to his fourth team in two years, and his third this season alone.

Briere joked that Laughton was not the only teammate he traded away on Friday. While Erik Johnson was there, Briere played one season in Colorado, his last season in the NHL.

In a bit of a surprise move, Briere traded Johnson back to Colorado in exchange for forward Givani Smith.

“In Erik’s case, it’s more of a favor to him, to give him a chance to go chase a cup in a place that he played a lot of years, that he has, still has lots of friends.” Briere would add, “It’s not something that we were really looking forward to do. It was, it was more for him, to give him the chance to chase it (a Stanley Cup) one more time.”

While Johnson has not announced his retirement, it seems like a safe assumption that this could be his farewell. If that is the case, Briere’s move to send him back to Colorado for one last run with a team he is still close to was very classy.

The trade deadline had proven to be a seller’s market. The Flyers saw that in their return for Laughton, and even in the Kuzmenko deal. Before things got crazy on Friday, a Darren Dreger report came out saying that the Flyers were searching for a first-round pick, a prospect, AND a player for Rasmus Ristolainen.

“We we feel if we traded him out of our top six, or you could say top four, it would leave a huge hole, and that’s why we never considered anything serious, and teams were just not willing to pay what we felt the return is on him for us,” said Briere.

While the Flyers could have capitalized on the seller’s market, they opted to hold out on trading Ristolainen, bringing him into next season. Taking Briere’s quote, it seems as if there were just not any offers close to the Flyers’ ask for Ristolainen, and it was more worth it to keep him around for the remainder of the year and into next season rather than trading him now.

Before panic ensues, it does not mean the Flyers can’t gauge the market ahead of the draft, or even move him at the next trade deadline if things have not turned around by then.

2025 NHL Trade Deadline: It’s a Seller’s Market

In all of the trade news on Friday, the Flyers made a couple of moves that affected their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Before the flurry of trades, the Flyers announced that goaltender Aleksei Kolosov would be sent down to the Phantoms. In conjunction with the NHL trade deadline, the deadline to make players eligible for the remainder of the AHL season was also at 3:00 p.m. Players had to be on an AHL roster to be eligible for the rest of the year. If you were on the NHL roster past that point, you could not.

That said, it makes sense that both Givani Smith and Nikita Grebenkin both will report straight to the Phantoms. I do not know if either player will make it to the NHL this season. At this point, I would say Grebenkin has a better shot than Smith.

After trading three players and sending Kolosov down to the Phantoms, the Flyers made a few recalls as well. Per Briere, Defenseman Emil Andrae is returning to the Flyers for the remainder of the season. Forwards Rodrigo Abols and Olle Lycksell have been recalled as well, joining the Flyers for at least the weekend. With those moves, the Flyers would have 22/23 active skaters allowed, so one more roster move could be on the horizon.