Philly Front Office

NHL Free Agency starts at noon on July 1 and while the Flyers have a ton of money to spend, they do not have many players to spend it on. Because of that supply and demand problem, we have been linked to several possible trades. With the hope that trade season and free agency coalesce nicely, I plan on keeping the news and rumors updated over the next few days.

Flyers Summer Primer
Draft Recap
Big Game Hunting
NHL Salary Cap Spike
Trevor Zegras Contract Projection

Flyers Offseason Links

July 1

1:15p – Flyers Sign Noel Acciari

Acciari is a 34-year-old center, most recently of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who now gets 2/$5.6m to come to Philadelphia. Acciari had 25 points last year and is likely a 4th line center, providing some depth at the position. In an interview years ago he was described as a “wrecking ball” and I’m good with that.

Noon – Vladar and Foerster Staying

• As expected, Dan Vladar has signed his 5/$27.5m extension after a breakout 2025-26 season.
• As not expected, Tyson Foerster has been locked up to an 8/$57m extension. Whoa. Foerster gets security for the rest of his life with a deal that will take him to age 32. Foerster is a goal scorer who was escalating each year before an injury cut his season short to only 29 games last year. His 13 goals in that time extrapolates to around 37 for the whole season. If he can build on that, then the Flyers are rolling. If not, this is another very long term deal for a team that has too many of those already and expects to have more with Trevor Zegras waiting to be signed. Due to the rising salary cap though, this one could end up being a huge bargain if he continues to improve.

11a – Let’s Get You Ready for the Ball

• The big news over the last week has been the availability of star defenseman Zack Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Werenski is nearly 29 and has two Top 2 finishes for the Norris Trophy the last two seasons thanks to back-to-back monster 80+ point campaigns. Most recently, he rejected a trade to Dallas, preferring to stay in the East. Does that mean a long term trip to Philadelphia? It looks less likely by the day since he apparently prefers to go to either Toronto or Tampa. We’ll see though. He has 2/$19m left on his contract meaning he is not eligible to sign an extension until July 1, 2027.
• Without Werenski, the backup plan may be Darnell Nurse of the Oilers. Nurse requested a trade out of Edmonton and prefers Philly as one of his destinations. Nurse has had decreasing effectiveness over the years, is now 31, and is owed $37m over the next 4 years. That’s not great! The idea here is that Nurse would come either at a low cost trade wise or have a ton of his contract buried by Edmonton. My guess is up to half could be retained by the Oilers if they really want to part ways with him.
• As for real unrestricted free agents, some had been hoping for John Carlson most recently of the Ducks and Capitals thanks to another VERY effective season at 36 years old. However, his rights were traded to Carolina over the weekend. That doesn’t mean they have a new contract, but it certainly makes it much more likely. I would cross him off the list. The sentimental part of all of us is hoping for a different old timer signing: Claude Giroux. The Senators did not resign him and he will be a free agent. Though his home is in Ottawa, here’s hoping his heart is still in Philadelphia.
• The Athletic does not believe the Flyers will try to go after any big restricted free agents (despite my hopes for a big move) with one exception: Mavrik Borque. The 24-year-old center just finished his 3rd and best season this year with 20 goals and 21 assists. A contract in the $7m per year range would cost pretty heavy draft compensation meaning a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick, but with an extra 1st coming from the Maple Leafs in either 2027 or 2028, the Flyers could be in position to make this move in hopes of Bourque’s continued improvement. No relation to Ray, by the way. UPDATE: He was traded to Nashville as I was typing this so cross him off.
• As for our own business, Dan Vladar is expected to sign a 5/$27.5m extension as soon as today. Meanwhile, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale are restricted free agents and could see offer sheets thrown their way. The expectation is that they stay though.