Is Philadelphia’s Best Hope for the Future Sixers or Flyers

For the first time since 2017, both the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers have not reach the postseason.

While the Flyers and Sixers have gone in very different directions over the last eight years, they do have some similarities:

-Both organizations have hired and fired multiple Head Coaches (Sixers on their 3rd HC while Flyers are in search of their fourth)
-Both organizations have hired and fired multiple Front Office Executives (Sixers have four different men in charge of Basketball decisions and the Flyers have employed three different executives in charge of Hockey decisions)
-Both organizations have failed Lottery Draft Picks (Nolan Patrick and Markelle Fultz), along with trading away disgruntled Lottery Draft Picks (Ben Simmons and Cutter Gauthier)
-Both organizations have young star players they drafted in recent years (Tyrese Maxey and Matvei Michkov)

But the Sixers and Flyers are not both trending in the same direction after disappointing 2024-25 seasons. The two premier winter sports teams in Philadelphia have very different issues heading into the 2025 Summer Season.

Flyers Will Have More Salary Cap Space Than The Sixers This Offseason

The two Philadelphia sports franchises are in very different places when it comes to financial flexibility this offseason.

After signing Paul George to a big contract last summer, the 76ers lack the flexibility to make big moves this offseason. They are only shedding around $4 million from last year to next season.

If Kelly Oubre Jr, Andre Drummond, and Eric Gordon pick up their player options for the 2025-26 season, the Sixers will be on the hook for more than $16.85 Million. The organization will be operating under restrictions because they are past the NBA's First Apron. To simplify this for you the reader, the Sixers have lost the right to use the mid-level exception and cannot aggregate salaries in trades this offseason.

The Flyers are in the opposite situation than the Sixers. Front Office Executive Keith Jones and General Manager Danny Briere have been working to clean up the dumpster fire left them by previous GM Chuck Fletcher.

Thanks to their efforts the last couple of years recalibrating, the Flyers will have between 21 and 25 million in salary cap space available this offseason. This will make the Orange and the Black one of the top ten most flexible salary cap teams this upcoming NHL Offseason.

The Flyers currently only have 15 Active Roster players who count against the 2025-26 Salary Cap. The organization will have plenty of roster and financial flexibility to made additions and upgrades this offseason.

Flyers Will Have More Draft Capital Than The Sixers Moving Forward

The Flyers have a number of resources that make them the envy of many professional sports organizations.

The Orange and the Black own three first-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, along with six total first-round picks over the next three years.

The Flyers also own four picks in the second round of the 2025 NHL draft, which leads many people to think the organization will be trading multiple picks this offseason. The organization could use their surplus of draft picks to acquire more veteran players in trades this summer.

While the Flyers have the fourth-best lottery odds to get the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Sixers are just hoping they have a first-round lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The 76ers are hoping the lottery plays their way. If they get a top-six draft pick in this year's NBA Draft, they will have the opportunity to infuse this roster with much needed youthful talent.

But if that draft picks falls outside the top six, they must forfeit their draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the trade when they shed the Al Horford contract five years ago.

But its not just the 2025 First Round Pick that is in jeopardy for the 76ers. The organization's 2027 and 2028 Draft First Round picks have protections and relays attached to if Philadelphia gets to keep that pick or has to send the draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets or Phoenix Suns.

Overall, the Sixers only have full ownership of First Round Picks in the 2029 and 2030 NBA Drafts. So they lack the assets to allow them to fluidly bolster the roster with young talent over the next few years.

Final Verdict: Flyers' Future is brighter than 76ers

The Sixers are holding out hope that former NBA MVP Joel Embiid, perennial All-Star Paul George, and Rising Star Tyrese Maxey will all return 100 percent from injuries for the 2025-26 season.

The belief is that a team with those three stars and a roster that complements their skills will be Eastern Conference contenders. But both Embiid and George are players whose injury history is worrisome and without much salary cap flexibility, its hard to see the 76ers becoming legitimate championship contenders.

While the Flyers are still a couple years away from being Stanley Cup Contenders, the team is trending upward thanks to Matvei Michkov. The Russian Rookie has already established himself as a Star Forward that other teams have to fear after he led all NHL Rookies in goals this past season.

The two areas the Flyers must address this offseason are Defensemen and Goaltending. While young Forwards like Tyson Forrester, Bobby Brink, and Noah Cates have proven to be good complimentary players to stars Michkov and Travis Konecny, the Orange and the Black lack reliable depth on the back end.

The Flyers have not had top tier Defensive Pairings in what seems to be forever. We saw how good Travis Sandheim can be when paired with talented defensemen during the Four Nations Tournament, so the Flyers need to add two or three more guys this offseason which will take the pressure off Sanheim and Jamie Drysdale.

Today's NHL rosters are built around having two quality starting-caliber goaltenders. Right now, the Flyers only have one with Samuel Ersson.

Even though Ersson's six shutouts over the last two seasons is the most by any Flyers Goaltender since Steve Mason eight years ago, the 25 year old Swedish Goaltender is not top ten in any Goalie Categories this season.

The Flyers have the salary cap space and draft assets to make the improvements they need to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. But the 76ers are hoping their stars stay healthy to pair with a limited roster next season.

The Orange and the Black have a bright future building around a star player in Matvei Michkov, while the Sixers are hoping their dreams for a better year next season does not turn into another nightmare.