For the first time since 2019, the Philadelphia Flyers have a ton of cap space and it’s only going to climb with the recent projections of the NHL salary cap situation rising exponentially.
With Noah Cates’ and Tyson Foerster’s extensions officially in the books, the Flyers have just under $19 million in projected cap space leftover this summer with Cam York and Jakob Pelletier as their remaining RFAs to sign.
The free agent market this year is going to be thin once again outside of Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett, and Brad Marchand, and there’s still a chance that the latter two stick around in Florida once their Stanley Cup matchup comes to an end.
Fortunately the Flyers aren’t expected to be heavy spenders this summer, which opens the door to endless possibilities beyond 2025. As things currently stand, the Flyers have upwards of $49 million in projected cap space for the summer of 2026 and that number rises to $77.85 million in 2027 at the moment.
Of course that number will change in the coming months and years depending on what they add – or subtract – at the draft, free agency, trade deadline, and contract extensions. However it’s fair to say that Daniel Brière’s plan has been in motion and the moves he’s made and continues to make is a reflection of that aforementioned plan.
The salary cap rising to $95 million this year, $104 million next year, and $113.5 million the year after is a godsend for all 32 teams and helps out the Flyers immeasurably. For a team that was constantly stuck in cap hell, the added cap room is a boon but what helps even more is how Brière is freeing up even more space.
Beyond this season, the Flyers have Cates, Foerster, Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, Owen Tippett, Garnet Hathaway, Matvei Michkov, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, and Rasmus Ristolainen signed through. One season down the line and it shrinks to just Konecny, Couturier, Tippett, Cates, Sanheim, and Seeler.
Brière has given himself and the rest of the front office the flexibility to move off of players and maneuver around the salary cap however he sees fit. Most of his extensions and signings have been brought into the fold with foresight that they would come off the books in either 2026 or 2027, with the exception of some core players like Konecny and Tippett.
Michkov’s extension 2 years down the road is going to be interesting because of where the salary cap will be and how he’s produced since his impressive 63-point rookie campaign. Connor Bedard’s extension, which should happen at some point this year, will be the true comparable for Michkov coming off his ELC and should give the Flyers some added insight into their future plans.
The free agent frenzy won’t be a worry for the Flyers for another season but it’s becoming more of a trend that the top players end up sticking around with their current clubs. The class of 2026 is stacked on paper but Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and Kirill Kaprizov are all trending to sign extensions. Even this summer’s class looked great on paper last year with Marner and Bennett being the only ones left that haven’t signed extensions.
The Flyers should look at the trade market for improvements since better options are added to the block every year. This summer alone we’ve heard rumblings about Marco Rossi, JJ Peterka, Bowen Byram, Owen Power, and Jason Robertson, and we’re not even officially in the offseason yet.
Brière’s ability to get exactly what he wants in trades is also on full display. He received a first round pick, 2 second rounders, Sean Walker, Helge Grans, and Cal Petersen in a 3-team trade for Ivan Provorov. He then flipped Walker for a first round pick and Ryan Johansen’s contract, was able to quietly trade the disgruntled Cutter Gauthier for Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick, managed a first-round pick and Nikita Grebenkin for Scott Laughton, and was able to alleviate cap space by sending Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to Calgary for Pelletier, an expiring contract in Andrei Kuzmenko, and a second-round pick.
Look for more of the same moving forward as the Flyers are on the precipice of getting out of their subtraction phase of the rebuild. President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones was on the record with those very same sentiments and it’s only a matter of time until Philadelphia is back in the ring and chasing after the best players available with the likes of Florida, Vegas, and Toronto.
Unfortunately, we might have to wait another year or two for that pipe dream but the rebuild has been in full effect for quite some time and it’s start to slowly reap the rewards. The Flyers are also staring down the barrel of 7 picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft and are in a position to not only add to their prospect pool but also move a few of those picks for roster players or to potentially move up in the draft if they have their sights set on a particular player.
The Flyers are coming out of salary cap hell and are finding bargains with their contract extensions, which are two statements you couldn’t have said in previous years. The “New Era of Orange” is trending to be an exciting one after well over a decade of being stuck in the mud. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done but Brière seemingly has the right plan in motion as the Flyers look to exit the rebuild with flying colours sooner rather than later.
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