The Philadelphia Flyers entered the offseason with plenty of cap space and a desire to prove last season’s return to the playoffs was not a mirage but rather the first step toward deeper postseason runs.
Coming off a 98-point regular season for the first time in nearly a decade and a second-round exit in the playoffs, Flyers general manager Danny Briere retained top restricted free agent forward Trevor Zegras (four-year, $36.5 million contract) and still has roughly $20.5 million available, with fellow RFA Jamie Drysdale requiring a new contract
However, Philadelphia’s largest swing this offseason did not work in their favor. The Flyers tendered Leo Carlsson a five-year, $90 million offer sheet, but the Anaheim Ducks matched the NHL-record $18 million annual value and kept their center.
Briere nevertheless believes the failed pursuit accomplished something important within a broader NHL context.
Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images
“(The $90 million offer sheet) was noticed around the league,” Briere said, per The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. “What I hope, too, is that it’s noticed by our fans and by our players, that we’re serious.”
The Flyers GM made it clear that Philadelphia is willing to pursue moves that are not typically seen around the NHL, including submitting offer sheets to restricted free agents. For context, only two players signed offer sheets this offseason, just nine have done it since 2010, and only three of those were not matched.
“We’re looking to do different things,” Briere said, per NHL.com. “I’m not saying it’s going to work, but yeah, there’s different things we’re looking at that might eat up our salary cap.”
With most major free agents signed, a trade appears to be the clearest route for the Flyers to add talent and fill their remaining salary cap room. Philadelphia still needs a top center and has repeatedly struggled on the power play.
“The players did their part last year,” Briere said about the 2026 Flyers season. “We’re trying to do ours. We’re going to keep trying to improve the team to give them the best chance to be a contender for years to come.
“We took some swings there. We tried to improve the power play. We’re going to keep looking.”
