The Philadelphia Flyers have had a fairly interesting offseason. First, the team hired a new coach in Rick Tocchet. Then, they re-signed all of the major RFAs, culminating in the recent signing of Cam York. During the draft, they selected a bunch of players that could be vital cogs in the years ahead.
With some players dealing with injuries right now, someprospects could be given a chance show what they have. Many players have been extended for several seasons. After this season, Trevor Zegras, Bobby Brink, Jamie Drysdale, Egor Zamula, and Sam Ersson will all be RFAs while Christian Dvorak, Nic Deslauriers, Ivan Fedotov, Rodrigo Abols, Noah Juulsen, and Dennis Gilbert will all be eligble for free agency. That's a lot of turnover.
That does leave the door open for many prospects to start making their move. However, with the salary cap continuing to rise and with all that money coming off the books, there could be another reason why the Flyers didn't make a big push for the top free agent prizes this year.
2026 will be a big year for free agents
Next season could be the single greatest year in NHL free agency. This also means, in some respects, that there could potentially be a lot of trade deadline deals as some teams may be unable to sign some of their stars. This could be an interesting season coming up.
So who is available? It all starts with Connor McDavid, who I can guarantee could command somewhere between $15 and $20 million. Artemi Panarin will be available, as will Jack Eichel, Patrick Laine, and Kirill Kiprisov. Martin Necas would be a great addition if you can't afford the top guys and teaming him up with Evander Kane would make for a solid line. If you want a defender, Cale Makar leads the way on defense. For Flyers fans who think sadly on the past, Sergei Bobrovsky will be available, that is if he doesn't retire.
Speaking of retirement, there are also some other older players who could still be available, if they don't retire first. Alex Ovechkin could be playing his last year, but who knows. Anze Kopitar may retire, but it's hard to see him leaving LA.
It is predicted that the NHL salary cap will reach $104 million for the 2026-27 season. After that, it should increase roughly $9-$10 million each season for the next few seasons. With all the money the Flyers have coming off the books, and the money not needed with the players locked up, they could actually become a major player on the free agency market.
Next year would be the best year to do it, if they can.