2025 Flyers Free Agency Preview: What to Expect

The 2025 NHL Draft was just completed three days ago, and now the rest of the offseason kicks in with the start of free agency on Tuesday. There has already been a flurry of activity from teams re-signing their pending free agents to prevent them from making it to market. 

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of possibilities for teams to make additions and build out their rosters. The Flyers are one of those teams, maybe not yet in the position to go big-name hunting, but capable of looking into some short-term or low-cost possibilities. As free agency begins, the Flyers have $15.142 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia.

One area the Flyers could target is the center position, and there are a few intriguing names.

The one that stands out right away is Pius Suter. Suter, 28, is coming off a career year with Vancouver, scoring 25 goals and 46 points in 81 games. His coach, of course, was new Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet. The 5’11”, 179-pound center could be a natural fit in the Flyers’ bottom-six, potentially a perfect replacement for Ryan Poehling after the trade for Trevor Zegras.

Another option is Nick Bjugstad. Bjugstad, 32, had just eight goals and 19 points in 66 games last season with Utah. However, Bjugstad has typically been a double-digit goal scorer and effective bottom-six center for several seasons. In 2023-24, with Arizona, Bjugstad scored 22 goals and 45 points. At 6’5”, 205 pounds, Bjugstad could immediately provide more size to the lineup and be an effective fourth-line option.

Adam Gaudette is another name that could be in play for the Flyers. Gaudette, 28, scored 19 goals and 26 points in 81 games in Ottawa last season. He’s another low-cost option that could make a lot of sense for the Flyers.

Defensively, the Flyers are potentially looking to add a left-handed defenseman. The right side is heavily populated with Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Jamie Drysdale. Ristolainen is recovering from an offseason surgery, but the Flyers also have Helge Grans potentially ready to play at the NHL level after a brief call-up last season. They also have many recent draft picks that will play on the right side: Oliver Bonk, Spencer Gill, and 2025 second-round pick Carter Amico. 

On the left side, they still have Cam York, Nick Seeler, Egor Zamula, and Emil Andrae, and Hunter McDonald and Adam Ginning are potential call-ups on that side, but there appears to be a desire to upgrade.

There aren’t many left-handed options on the free-agent market. The Flyers could look to add a veteran like Brian Dumoulin or Matt Grzelcyk for the left side, or explore Nate Schmidt on the right side, but a trade might be a better way to make an upgrade. 

The pipe dream here is Bowen Byram from Buffalo, who the Flyers expressed interest in earlier this offseason. A recent report from Anthony SanFilippo of On Pattison said the Flyers “weren’t on the short list,” and it’s going to be even more challenging to assemble a suitable package for the 24-year-old now that the draft is complete.

It’s possible the Flyers could explore the possibility of adding K’Andre Miller, who appears to be on his way out with the New York Rangers. Miller, 25, is an RFA. Another option is Jamie Oleksiak, a tall, physical blueliner currently with Seattle. The 32-year-old has one year remaining on his contract with a $4.6 million cap hit.

Of course, the position that the Flyers want to upgrade the most is goaltending, and there’s actually several options that could allow them to do that in the short-term. No, they are not finding the savior in net in this free-agent class, but just about anything will be an improvement over the league-worst .872 team save percentage the Flyers had last season.

The name at the top of the free-agent goalie market is Jake Allen. The 35-year-old veteran put together a strong season, playing more than expected due to Jacob Markstrom’s injury. It’s not a word you thought you would see associated with Jake Allen, but there will be a sweepstakes for him, and that might take the Flyers out of play, both in term and cap hit.

There are a few other options to consider. Ilya Samsonov could be looking for a new home and a place where he can get more playing time. After three straight seasons of 40-plus games played, the 28-year-old played in just 29 games for Vegas last season with a 16-9-4 record, a 2.82 GAA, and a .891 save percentage.

Anton Forsberg is another possible option that saw some extended starting time this season. Forsberg, 32, appeared in 30 games this season with an 11-12-3 record, a 2.72 GAA, and a .901 save percentage.

If the Flyers are looking for even more of a stopgap at the goalie, they could look at backup options like David Rittich or Dan Vladar to play behind Sam Ersson. Rittich, 32, appeared in 34 games for Los Angeles last season, his most since the 2019-20 season. He had a 16-14-2 record with a 2.84 GAA and .886 save percentage. Vladar, 27, made a career-high 30 appearances in Calgary this season, with a 12-11-6 record, a 2.80 GAA, and an .898 save percentage.

It’s also possible the Flyers could look to reunite with former netminder Alex Lyon. Lyon, now 32, was an undrafted free-agent signing by the Flyers and made his NHL debut in the 2017-18 season. He played in 22 games with the Flyers over four seasons with a 6-7-2 record, a 3.21 GAA, and an .893 save percentage. Last season, with Detroit, Lyon appeared in 30 games and had a 14-9-1 record with a 2.81 GAA and .896 save percentage.

Finally, could the Flyers turn to the defending Stanley Cup champions for a goaltending option? Florida just acquired Daniil Tarasov from Columbus to be Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup in the 2025-26 season. So that leaves Vitek Vanecek available on the free-agent market. 

Vanecek, 29, started the 2024-25 season in San Jose before being acquired by Florida at the trade deadline. In Florida, he made just seven starts. For the season, Vanecek had a 5-14-4 record with a 3.62 GAA and .884 save percentage. Just two seasons ago, Vanecek looked like the goaltending solution in New Jersey. In the 2022-23 season, Vanecek had a 33-11-4 record with a 2.45 GAA and .911 save percentage.

Of course, it’s always possible the Flyers try to explore the trade market for a goalie as well. Thatcher Demko was rumored to be on the move in the buildup to free agency, but appears he will be staying in Vancouver on a long-term extension after all. There are also rumors that Carolina netminder Pyotr Kochetkov could be available.

A lot of what the Flyers can do will hinge on York’s next contract. He’s the last remaining RFA that needs to be signed. The team already completed deals for RFAs Tyson Foerster and Noah Cates. They did not extend a qualifying offer to Jakob Pelletier, thus making him a UFA.

There are also rumors that the Flyers will officially land Russian winger Maxim Shabanov from the KHL as free agency opens on July 1. Shabanov, 24, just completed a 23-goal, 67-point season with Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL, third in scoring and a finalist for the league’s MVP award.

It does always remain possible that the Flyers do something more unexpected and make a bid for one of the bigger free agents remaining. Could Brock Boeser or Nikolaj Ehlers be of interest, even with the amount of wingers on the team? 

And there’s always the possibility of offer sheets still floating out there. Could one of Gabe Vilardi, Marco Rossi, or Mason McTavish be of interest? Would the cost of any pending RFA via an offer sheet be worth the draft pick compensation next year, especially with the Flyers having so little draft capital in 2026?

Free agency officially opens at noon on Tuesday.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.