Flyers: An Offseason of Noise, But Not Many Results

Six days earlier, Philadelphia Flyers’ GM Danny Briere took his best shot at picking up a top-line center this offseason. A groundbreaking offer sheet to Leo Carlsson shook the hockey world and added some drama to an offseason that was underwhelming to that point.

What Briere did with Leo Carlsson brought the Flyers back to a place they hadn’t been for a while. They were the team stirring the pot in the NHL. They were the team trying to shake things up and make a gigantic splash. That was a welcome sight.

But the 2026 offseason, once believed to be the point where the Flyers’ rebuild would turn the corner, hasn’t been as impactful as anyone would have hoped following the team’s first playoff appearance and series win since 2020.

It was filled with noise, but not many results.

All you have to do is see the trends of the last 10 days. The NHL Draft was rather quiet and underwhelming. The Flyers entered with four picks, made a trade back to add two more, and didn’t do much else on draft weekend. That was to be expected with an underwhelming draft class and limited capital.

But when free agency rolled around, the Flyers were in the mix for John Carlson, one of three teams believed to be deep in the running. Carlson signed with Tampa Bay. Minutes after the offer sheet for Leo Carlsson dropped, there were reports that the Flyers were signing Claude Giroux. He ended up back in Ottawa. And now the match by Anaheim of Carlsson’s offer sheet.

A lot of activity. A lot of noise. No results.

The Flyers are still sitting on $29.565 million with RFAs Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Nikita Grebenkin, and Hunter McDonald still left to sign. And at this stage of the offseason, there are next to no options left.

There weren’t many free agents that moved the needle from the beginning. Most teams have already finished their offseason to-do lists and are beginning the long wait to the start of camps in September.

That’s the disappointment in this, that the Flyers took their best shot, the one where they would land a bonafide top-line center, and didn’t come away with the prize. So the 2026 offseason is more defined by internal extensions for Dan Vladar and Tyson Foerster, whatever the new deals for Zegras and Drysdale turn out to be, and very few new faces entering the fold.

There was the trade with Toronto on June 16 for Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit. And on the first day of free agency on July 1, the signing of forward Noel Acciari to a two-year deal.

That’s it. One trade. One external signing. For a backup goalie, a depth defenseman, and a fourth-line forward.

That’s the way it’s going to look, even if Woll is a huge improvement over Sam Ersson and Acciari is an upgrade over Garnet Hathaway, Nicolas Deslauriers, and Luke Glendening.

But in an offseason where the Flyers made a lot of noise and didn’t come away with many new additions, they did position themselves to ensure this isn’t their last time stepping to the plate, their last time taking a swing. By signing Foerster and Vladar a year early, the Flyers have just three UFAs next offseason – Benoit, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Carl Grundstrom – and one very notable RFA: Matvei Michkov. They also have a young trio of forwards that could receive contract extensions from the entry-level deals after July 1, 2027: Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, and Alex Bump.

The Flyers currently have $43.165 million in cap space for the 2027 offseason, pending the contracts for Zegras and Drysdale, and assuming a $9.5 million projected increase in the salary cap.

The other thing the Flyers did with this offer sheet was signal that they are willing to take the swing, to be aggressive, and to do things that go against the norm in the NHL. They’ll need to be willing again to get what they want.

A two-month span from early March to early May featured plenty of noise from the fans in the building as the Flyers got back to the playoffs. The two months following their playoff exit – literally two months to the day from elimination to the Anaheim match – featured more figurative noise without the payoff. The next two-plus months until the start of training camp probably won’t be near as noisy.

Thus could be the end of an offseason that had moments of potential, moments of preparation for the future, moments worth celebrating and questioning and wondering how in the hell the Flyers are going to complete that leap, turn that corner to the next level of contention without taking the step back that no one wants to anticipate.

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