If it wasn’t apparent enough before, the Stanley Cup Playoffs made it painfully aware that the Philadelphia Flyers need help on their power play as soon as possible.
After years of being at or near the top in the early 2000s and 2010s, the Flyers have fallen off a cliff over the last five years, having finished dead last in four of those seasons (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2025-26).
The playoffs only amplified the issues as they finished the 11-game run going 3-for-36. The Flyers scored two power play goals in Game 3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins and they finished their series with Carolina having gone 1-for-19.
Changing coaches from Rocky Thompson to Jaroslav Švejkovský didn’t make much of a difference. Švejkovský made almost no changes to their futile power play as they couldn’t enter the zone with speed, they lost the puck at or near the blue-line, and when they did get set up they would over-pass; rinse and repeat.
So how do you fix this power play? It will take more than a few tweaks but it starts with player personnel and finding someone who can quarterback a unit akin to Shayne Gostisbehere, Kimmo Timonen, and Mike Richards from years past.
That player could come in the form of John Carlson, who is expected to be a hot commodity on July 1st. The former Washington Capitals defenseman was moved to Anaheim ahead of the trade deadline and is someone the Flyers should be coveting this summer.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman touched on the topic late last week when he mentioned that Carlson would like to return to the East Coast. The implication led many to think the Flyers would be a suitor and it was essentially confirmed by DFO’s Anthony Di Marco that they hold quite a bit of interest in bringing him into the fold on a short-term deal.
Di Marco mentions that if Carlson is hypothetically looking for a two-year deal, the Flyers would be willing to offer him $8 million per season. While the AAV seems high, it’s factoring in the market for the player, the salary cap’s exponential rise, and needing an offer to stand out above the rest.
The cap is going up from $95.5 million this year to $104 million in 2026-27, which will then be followed by projected jumps to $113.5 million in 2027-28 and $123 million in 2028-29.
The Flyers have the cap space to comfortably fit an annual average of $8 million per season for the next two years. They enter the summer with slightly over $37 million in cap space but have to extend RFAs in Emil Andrae, Jamie Drysdale, Samuel Ersson, Nikita Grebenkin, and Trevor Zegras.
It’s entirely conceivable that all five players could be extended and signed for somewhere in the $20-22 million range, leaving the team with anywhere between $15-17 million in excess cap. Most of their roster is signed through the next few years so the focus will be about improving on their current status.
If they successfully added Carlson into the fold, it could cause a bit of a log-jam at the position with Andrae, Drysdale, Oliver Bonk, David Jiříček, Rasmus Ristolainen, Travis Sanheim, and Cam York still in the picture.
However, Andrae’s future with the club is a bit murky, especially with how he was underutilized by the current coaching staff. Bonk will likely start the 2026-27 season in the minors unless he wins out a job in camp, Jiříček should be pencilled in at least as the 7th defenseman, and then there’s the Ristolainen question.
The Finnish defenseman is expected to be a popular once again after generating a lot of interest at the trade deadline from teams like Detroit, Montréal, and Ottawa. Di Marco mentions that the asking price hasn’t changed from a first round pick and that GM Daniel Brière would be more than okay with keeping him around despite his contract situation.
Other names that could entice the Flyers include impending UFA Darren Raddysh and potential trade candidate Roman Josi. However, the former is likely looking to cash in on a long-term deal, whereas the latter’s availability is now in question with Nashville hiring Chris MacFarland as their new general manager on Tuesday.
As for Carlson, he just finished his 17th regular season in the NHL with 14 goals and 60 points in 71 games split between Washington and Anaheim. He tallied 10 goals and 46 points with the Capitals and didn’t miss a beat in Orange County with 4 goals and 14 points in 16 games.
Of those goals and points, Carlson managed 2 power play tallies and 12 assists, which would have had him tied for second on the Flyers with Travis Konecny. Carlson also added 2 power play assists in 12 postseason contests.
For his longstanding career, Carlson haas 49 power play goals and 229 assists while playing 3,139.5 minutes. He did have a star-studded cast around him including Nicklas Bäckström and Alexander Ovechkin, but he was just as instrumental to the success of his team’s power play.
If age is an issue, Father Time has yet to find Carlson, who averaged 23:10 TOI this past season, which was his lowest ATOI total since 2016-17 when he averaged 22:43 TOI in 72 games. With the Ducks, Carlson saw even more ice-time, including 24:03 ATOI in the playoffs.
The Massachusetts native has been a consistent offensive force his entire career, having notched 170 goals and 785 points in 1,159 games. Since turning 30 years of age, Carlson has scored 80 goals and 382 points in 471 games with 127 power play points.
Additionally, during that stretch, he has hit over 44 points in all but one year, and has eclipsed the 50-point mark 5 times, and the 70-point mark twice.
It’s also worth noting that Carlson has played in 149 playoff games across 15 different runs, including a Stanley Cup championship in 2018. He has scored 21 goals and 84 points, 20 of which came during his championship winning season.
His experience and resume should entice the Flyers to put their chips in the middle of the table for the right-shot defenseman. He can mentor and bridge the gap for Bonk and Jiříček, while also giving them a suitable replacement for Ristolainen once he leaves either through a trade or free agency.
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