With the regular season set to kick off next week, the waiver wire has been a happening place for most teams over the last few days, including the Philadelphia Flyers who have placed defenseman Dennis Gilbert on waivers for the purpose of reassignment.
After Emil Andrae was cut from the training camp roster earlier this week, the Flyers were left with 8 healthy defensemen, which included Gilbert, Adam Ginning, Noah Juulsen, and Egor Zamula.
Head coach Rick Tocchet was also on record in saying that he prefers having 8 defensemen on the roster because it helps with practices. However, it seems like the Flyers are opting to roll with 7 defensemen, 14 forwards, and 2 goaltenders, paving the way for Jett Luchanko, Nikita Grebenkin, and Rodrigo Abols to start the year in the NHL.
Grebenkin was a virtual lock in making the team after his impressive preseason run for the club. He was stapled in the top-6 next to Sean Couturier practically the entire time and saw even strength time with Matvei Michkov and Travis Konecny, as well as power play time on the second unit.
The prize of the Scott Laughton trade has not looked out of place at all as he’s used his big body to get to the front of the net, win battles in the corners, and has shown off his offensive skills with a nice goal against Boston as well as an assist earlier today against New Jersey.
For Luchanko, the choice is going to be between the NHL and the OHL as the new rules have not yet been ratified in regards to having one 19-year-old from the CHL eligible to play in the AHL. He will more than likely be given a trial run, considering he can stay up for 9 games before the Flyers have to make a choice in sending him back or keeping him, but burning a year off his ELC.
As for Ābols, despite his stellar preseason, there were some murmurs that if the Flyers did opt for 8 defensemen that he would be the odd man out in regard to the forwards. Nicolas Deslauriers was not going to be placed on waivers and Luchanko had the added bonus of being able to receive a trial run, so it fell on Ābols to make his case even louder.
The native of Riga, Latvia, will look to make more of a mark in his second season with the Flyers, after getting an extension in May. He potted 2 goals and 5 points in 22 games at the NHL-level and another 15 goals and 32 points in 47 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Expect Ābols to maintain a fourth line role to start the season.
Now that Gilbert is on waivers, the Flyers back-end is more or less set in stone, and with Ginning and Juulsen playing together in the final pre-season contest today against the Devils, that should bode well for both of their chances to start against the Florida Panthers on Thursday – at the behest of Zamula.
The official roster will be unveiled on Monday as the Flyers are set to embark on their 58th regular season in franchise history. They enter 2025-26 hoping to snap their 5-year playoff drought that tied their worst stretch in franchise history from 1989 to 1994.
