Where there is smoke, there is fire. Ever since the Phoenix Coyotes pretty much collapsed, packed up, and moved to Utah, the NHL has pondered expanding again. The Vegas Golden Knights have been super successful since entering the league in 2017. The Seattle Kraken have been, well, not as good as Vegas, but they've been sorta competitive.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is determined to expand the league to 33 teams, which probably means a 34th will come shortly thereafter. Right now, all signs indicate that the next team will be in Texas, with Austin looking like the favorite and Houston as Plan B. Atlanta is putting a strong proposal for a team because third time's the charm, right?
And if the NHL expands to 36, there is some talk about Phoenix (really?), Kansas City, and Cincinnati. Despite constant cries for a team to return to Quebec and Hartford, as well as moving to a Canadian city like Hamilton, London, or Toronto, it appears as if the league wants nothing to do with that.
The NHL board of governors is expected to meet at the end of this month. It's believed they may announce a new franchise, if not two. It is also believed that if a new team is coming into the league, it would enter as early as 2029-30.
If all this is true and 2029 is the year of the expansion draft, then Flyers fans have to wonder who would be left unprotected. Now, it will obviously be a few years before that takes place. That sounds like a lot of time. However, there are some possibilities.
Currently, the Flyers have seven forwards signed on through the 2028-29 season. Most likely, Matvei Michkov could be the eighth. It would also be hard to imagine that Porter Martone and Alex Bump would not be signed by that time. On defense, only Jamie Drysdale, Cam York, and Travis Sanheim are extended that long. Dan Vladar is the only goaltender signed to that point.
During the last two expansion drafts in 2017 and 2021, the NHL allowed each team to protect eight players and a goalie. All first-and-second-year players were exempt from the draft, as were draft picks. Anyone with any sort of no-trade clause had to have approval first.
Some teams use this time to shed a high-priced guy and leave them open for selection. For example, in 2021, the Flyers left James van Riemsdyk and Jakub Voracek available. Instead, Seattle selected Carsen Twarynski. In 2017, they lost Pierre-Édouard Bellemare.
Now, a lot can happen between now and then. Surely, Daniel Briere might move some assets around to trade for someone. Maybe a young player like Jett Luchanko would finally be on the roster full-time. Perhaps a big-name free agent finally signs a deal to play in Philly.
Let's stick with what we know, however. If we conclude that all seven current forwards who are signed, plus Martone and Michkov, all three defenders, and Vladar, are still in Philly after the 2028-29 season, we can start with them.
This could be an opportunity to shed salary and put an aging veteran on the block. It is possible that someone could desire Noah Cates, Christian Dvorak, or Sanheim because of the leadership they could provide a new team. After all, that's what Vegas did to become successful so quickly. They looked for role players with strong leadership skills to help move the team forward.
Seattle went a different route, looking at younger talent. But perhaps the new Texan team would still want a scorer or someone solid in net. It could also be that someone like Owen Tippett would finally find his way out of Philly after three more seasons of "lackluster" 25-30 goal seasons. Perhaps Vladar could be sacrificed if Carson Bjarnsson or Yegor Zavragin are ready to take his spot.
It's interesting to think about where the Flyers could be in three years. Could we finally have a championship or two by then? Are we still struggling to get back to the playoffs? Will our "reach" draft picks work out? Who knows? Time will tell. However, it is fun to think about where this team could be and what direction they will have to take when protecting players in a potential draft three years from now.
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