As news of Connor McDavid's new contract that will keep him with the Edmonton Oilers until 2028 broke on the eve of the NHL season, you could almost audibly hear the grumbles of 31 other fanbases who won't be getting a crack at a generational player in free agency next year. That includes the Flyers, of course, although it was probably a pipe dream that McDavid would have ever seriously considered them anyway, thanks to things like contention windows, state taxes, etc.
Still, McDavid's new deal could carry some value for the Flyers, in terms of amplifying the ongoing trend of star players re-signing with their existing clubs without getting anywhere near free agency. It’s the exact opposite of ‘buyer beware,' in that there may be nothing to buy for the Flyers and other teams like them who are performing salary gymnastics to create cap space as they hope to bid on those one or two final pieces that they believe could vault them into contender status.
McDavid's contract extension is a cautionary tale for the Flyers
To be clear, Daniel Briére has performed some tidy pieces of business over the course of his tenure as Flyers general manager, and this offseason was no exception. He bought low on Trevor Zegras and managed to offload Ryan Ellis’ contract without giving up anything of value as a sweetener. He also made sensible, short-term deals with players like Christian Dvorak and Dan Vladar that should improve the team in the immediate term without ruining the team’s ledger for years.
All the while, you know that the Flyers are targeting would-be free agents in future summers, then making alternate plans if those players end up re-signing with their current teams. If Kirill Kaprizov’s record-setting extension last week didn’t already make it crystal clear, however, McDavid’s new contract should — star hockey players are overwhelmingly predisposed to staying with their current teams, often giving up money, term, or both to do so.
This makes it increasingly difficult for a team like the Flyers to get back to title contention without fully bottoming out along the way and collecting prime assets the way that teams like the Blackhawks have been doing for several years, and the Sharks are currently excelling at.
Is this a full-blown endorsement to tank multiple seasons? Not really. Because the timing of such things might not line up with the talent coming up in the draft or the young players already on the roster. And of course, it’s not a guarantee to work, as long-suffering Buffalo Sabres fans can attest. But it just goes to show that there is an inherent danger in relying on free agents to fill the final key gaps that will bring a parade to your town.
The Oilers themselves only lucked into McDavid in the first place thanks to a miserable period of underperformance that led to multiple top draft picks. Perhaps the Oilers fans who endured those ultra-lean times would tell you that it was all worth it. But would this Flyers organization ever truly put up with such a long period of bad hockey? As unfulfilling as the last few years have been, we are still far away from that.
As for potential free agent targets who remain for the summer of 2026, do the Flyers truly believe they could be players for the likes of Artemi Panarin, Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor, Adrian Kempe, or another star seeking a big payday? Or does real success in the NHL only come from good drafting, a few shrewd trades, and lots of luck with incoming players (which the Flyers literally never have), only then allowing a team to bring in an established star as the final piece?
It will take years to analyze the ultimate success of the plan that Briére and the Flyers’ front office have in place. Let’s just hope it’s not totally reliant on some big free agent signings, because those seem to be nonexistent in today’s NHL.