While the Flyers were in the mix for some of free agencies biggest names, adding some depth to their lineup was important as well. After inking Dan Vladar and Tyson Foerster to long-term extensions, they dipped their toes into the free agent pool. After facing him in the first-round of the playoffs, Philadelphia is bringing in former rival Noel Acciari.
Noel Acciari 2 x $2.8M
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2026
Philadelphia
Acciari has some history with the Flyers, specifically with Trevor Zegras. In a late-October matchup with the Penguins, things were already getting chipping between the two teams. After overtime didn't solve anything, a line brawl broke out before the shootout. After Parker Wotherspoon and Tyson Foerster were involved, Zegras jumped in to help and ended up getting tangled up with Acciari, who came to help his teammate. It led to Zegras knocking off Acciari's helmet, which caused more chaos.
Maybe the two can bury the hatchet as teammates now.
With rumors of Luke Glendening re-signing, this takes that off the table and gives the Flyers an instant upgrade in their bottom six. They could potentially pair him up with Sean Couturier, and the two could be a solid defensive duo together. Add in a young, offensive winger on the other side, and the Flyers could run four solid lines.
Noel Acciari brings value across the lineup
Offensively, Acciari can chip in every once in a while. His career-high came back in 2019-20 with the Panthers when he scored 20 goals and finished with 27 points. He came close to that last year with the Penguins, adding 13 goals and 25 points. So with that alone, he's an offensive upgrade over Glendening's two goals and five points with Philadelphia.
Acciari instantly becomes one of the Flyers' best in the faceoff dot. He has consistently been over 50 percent in the circle in the last seven seasons. His 52 percent last season would be third on the Flyers, behind Couturier and Christian Dvorak. It's more likely he will be a winger with the depth down the middle, but having a right-shot forward who can take faceoffs when needed is good to have.
One of the most important areas that Acciari's versatility can come in handy is shorthanded. He took by far the most faceoffs on the penalty kill for the Penguins and was 50.2 percent. For a Flyers team that was toward the bottom of the league on the PK, having another player who can be counted on to win possession is important. Couturier was just a tick better at 50.6 percent.
He can hold his own in all situations as well. While he was on the ice, the Penguins were a decently good team. They were fairly even in shots taken and overall control of play, while having a 57.63 goals percentage. The latter number was Acciari's best since the second season of his career in 2016-17. His expected goals percentage (51.63) was also his second-best, though this was since 2019-20 with the Panthers.
It's not the biggest signing the Flyers could've made, but Danny Briere made sure to find a rather decent upgrade to the team's depth. And it doesn't hurt taking him from a division rival either.
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