It's always fun to take a look and see what players are approaching free agency barring, of course, an extension signed before they can hit the market. As Philly sports fans, we recently wondered if the Phillies could land such high-priced talent as Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker, and/or Bo Bichette. Turns out, the answers were, no, no, and "we don't want to talk about that one."
Well, the NHL world is just the same. There is a free agent class of savvy veterans who may still have something left in the tank, like Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. Then, there are the restricted free agents. Near the top of that list is Trevor Zegras. We definitely hope that extending him becomes a major priority for the Flyers as this season rolls on. Not much farther down the list is another Flyer, Jamie Drysdale, who also appears to be ready to be re-signed.
Between the two is another intriguing player: Connor Bedard. It's hard to believe he is already in his third year. He's been pushed by the NHL to become the new face of it once Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby retire, with Connor McDavid and Austin Matthews getting older. Now, partly because the Blackhawks haven't been very good in a hot minute, that hasn't happened yet
This isn't to say he isn't good. The Calder Trophy winner has scored a minimum of 22 goals every season. So far this year, he has tied his career high of 23 goals, and he still has 20+ games to play. The best part is, he will turn only 21 in July. He hasn't even hit his potential yet. The only hole in his game, right now, is a poor faceoff percentage (40.3% for his career), but that can be improved on with time. Most of that is, as stated before, he's played on last-place teams in Chicago with bad players. What if he were to come to Philly, where he could be surrounded by a lot of better ones?
With him becoming a potential RFA, could the Flyers steal him away from Chicago? What would it cost the team? Would it be worth it?
Stealing Bedard
First of all, taking an RFA from another team requires some compensation. For 2026, signing a player to an offer sheet worth $7 to $9 million will cost a team a first, second, and third-round pick. Ouch. Anything over $10 to $11 million (it hasn't been 100% set yet) will cost a team four first-round picks. Likewise, it is projected that the salary cap will rise to $104 million for the 2026-27 season, an increase just shy of $10 million. That's pretty significant and can really help a team like the Flyers out a lot.
Before signing RFAs and any potential free agents, the Flyers are expected to have around $41 million to spend next year. Just signing Zegras and Drysdale alone should probably shave about $15 to $17 off that amount. Chicago will have around $48 million.
Bedard will command at least $10 million. If the Flyers really want to get nasty, they could offer upwards of $15 million for him. Now, here is the thing. Chicago has quite a few free agents, but outside of Bedard, none of them are critical. So, anything the Flyers offer Bedard, the Blackhawks could match. Now, the upside of that is that it could hinder what other help the Hawks could get. Still, Bedard is most likely going to safely stay in the Windy City.
However, if (and that's a HUGE if) the Flyers could pry him from Chicago, what would the cost be? Daniel Briere would be out of his mind to surrender four first-rounders for him. So, what normally happens is that a deal is made, much like when Bobby Clarke traded Mikael Renberg and Karl Dykhuis for Chris Gratton.
I would think a first-rounder, maybe two, would still be on the table. Maybe some combo of a first and/or some mid picks like a second, third, and/or fourth. You may have to give up some prospects. Jett Luchanko would probably be on the table, and as much as I like the kid, he ain't Bedard. Maybe another young guy like Bobby Brink, Denver Barkey, or Helge Grans would have to be thrown in.
Either way, it's gonna cost the Flyers. However, can you imagine Bedard flying down the ice flanked by Michkov and Porter Martone? Whoooo! It'd be a high cost, much like the Eric Lindros haul, but it could be worth it.
It's probably unlikely and mostly a pipe dream. But hey, it could happen. More likely, if you want to steal someone good from another team, check out Columbus. Not only do they have to sign Adam Fantilli, but they have a lot of other free agents that could hit the market soon. Maybe there is an opportunity there.