July 01, 2026
Charles LeClaire/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Danny Brière, Keith Jones, and the Flyers are waiting for the right time to make a splash.
NHL free agency begins Wednesday at noon.
The Flyers have money to spend – a projected $32.6 million, per PuckPedia – and should have things to do to try and reinforce the roster following a playoff run, and just maybe, make a major shakeup for their long-term trajectory.
Let's just get right to it. Below is a Flyers free agency live tracker and a cheat sheet of free agents and rumored trade options to keep on hand as the day moves along.
Wednesday, 7/1 [1:02 p.m.] – The Flyers made Tyson Foerster's extension official. He's getting eight years at $7.1 million annually to stay a Flyer through 2035. Full story HERE.
OFFICIAL: We have signed forward Tyson Foerster to an eight-year contract extension worth an average annual value (AAV) of $7.1 million. https://t.co/bIMLCDsGVM
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) July 1, 2026
Wednesday, 7/1 [noon] – Winger Tyson Foerster is also getting a long-term contract extension, for 8 years at around a $7 million annual cap hit, per Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman.
Foerster was on a bridge deal, but established himself as a two-way force and a core part of the Flyers' rebuild. And he was on a pace last season where, if he didn't get hurt in December, he's probably getting talked about as a 35-40 goal scorer. Full story HERE.
Wednesday, 7/1 [noon] – Dan Vladar's contract extension is official. It's a five-year deal at $5.5 million per season to keep the Vladar in the Philadelphia crease for the long haul. Full story HERE.
Dan Vladar. 5 years. Philadelphia Flyers.
— Dan Milstein (@HockeyAgent1) July 1, 2026
He’s staying. Dan Vladar agreed to terms with the Flyers on a 5-year ($5.5mm AAV) extension. Philly’s net is in good hands. #LetsGoFlyers #WeAreGoldStar! pic.twitter.com/LrwfPcmqL8
Tuesday, 6/30 – Winger Carl Grundstrom will return to the Flyers on a one-year, $1 million deal, per TSN's Darren Dreger. Grundstrom played in a limited, bottom-six role last season, but was good for speed and checking when the Flyers called his number. There's no harm in keeping that around for another year.
The Flyers went into the summer with a handful of notable RFAs and one clear extension candidate.
Here's the list...
G Dan Vladar
C Trevor Zegras
LW Nikita Grebenkin
D Jamie Drysdale
D Hunter McDonald
And here's the sweet and short of it: They're all going to get signed. Vladar's deal has sounded already done for weeks, and Zegras and Drysdale have made themselves core pieces of the Flyers' roster. They're not going anywhere.
Grebenkin is a depth forward who the Flyers do want to see more of, and the same goes for McDonald, a big, stay-at-home defensive prospect who appears set to push for a roster spot at training camp. They should get reasonable short-term deals to keep developing.
The free agent market is pretty thin for the Flyers in terms of what they need, but there are still a few veteran options to consider on short-term deals that can help push the team along.
RW Vladimir Tarasenko: Still a productive winger at age 34, Tarasenko can slip into a lower lineup role, yet can still give you near 20 goals and some power play help – which the Flyers sorely need.
RW Mats Zuccarello: He'll be another productive winger, who even at age 38, strung together back-to-back 54-point seasons. He'd be a good veteran to have around the room, and could probably still thrive in a limited on-ice role.
C/W Noel Acciari: A hard skater who the Flyers just saw in the playoffs against the Penguins, he would slip right into a bottom-line role with aggressiveness that would make up for losing Garnet Hathaway.
C/W Claude Giroux: He's 38, but he's produced 50 then 49 points in the past two seasons with Ottawa in a depth role. Giroux would give you a flexible forward who can flip between center and wing, and up and down the lineup. The Flyers do have use for a skater like that. Maybe there is a path for the former captain to take one last victory lap with the new generation in Philly.
Claude Giroux is headed to the UFA market Wednesday while keeping the door open to Ottawa.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 1, 2026
There are some teams for sure that were curious if he’d be available or not. Now we have our answer.
C Teddy Bleuger: Another depth forward to consider to play dependable minutes in the bottom six, he also knows head coach Rick Tocchet's system thanks to time shared in Vancouver.
D Zach Werenski, Columbus (trade): An elite defenseman, and an Olympic gold medalist and Norris Trophy winner this past season, draft weekend revealed that Werenski is on his way out of Columbus along with immediate rumors that the Flyers were expected to be aggressive in a trade pursuit of him.
D Darnell Nurse, Edmonton (trade): Requested a trade from the Oilers and rumored to have interest in Philadelphia, Nurse is a good defenseman, but not a defenseman that warrants $9.25 million for another four years as he pushes into his mid-30s. Salary would have to be retained on Edmonton's side in some capacity.
C/W Mavrik Bourque, Dallas (offer sheet/trade): A young center who just turned in a 20-goal season with Dallas in Year 3, Bourque is an RFA, though with the Stars facing a cap crunch and needing to figure out if they can keep their more-established goal-scoring winger Jason Robertson. That might've given the Flyers an in toward a future, but maybe still unproven center. Bourque has been traded to Nashville.
LW Jason Robertson, Dallas (offer sheet/trade): Another Stars RFA and a 45-goal scorer this past season. Dallas seems to be working toward keeping him now, but during the draft, word did get out that they had a trade with Seattle in place. It's just that Robertson wouldn't sign an extension with the Kraken, which axed the deal.
The key to pull away from it, though, is that a trade can be put together.
C Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, and Ridly Greig, Ottawa (trade): All three are lumped together here because there was buzz of Ottawa moving one or a combo of them for a bit. They're all young, on their way up to different degrees, and would fit the Flyers' timeline – Cozens has the most skill, but Pinto would probably be the best fit. That said, the Senators seem set on a retool path that includes them after having to trade Brady Takchuk.
C Shane Wright, Seattle (trade): The former fourth overall pick from the 2022 draft, Wright is still only 22 and still has notoriety from his draft status, but he's only ever shown brief flashes of that star center he could be, leaving him lost in an aimless Seattle mix. He'd be a reclamation project.
C Matty Beniers, Seattle (trade): Seattle's top center, and with back-to-back 20-goal seasons at age 23, there was some speculation about Beniers' availability, but he's more likely to stick around with the Kraken than not.
C Dylan Larkin, Detroit (trade): Requested a trade from Detroit, but is believed to have a narrow trade approval list that doesn't include the Flyers. He'd be a nice 30-30 scorer to have, but he's a long shot for Philadelphia.
C Mat Barzal, NY Islanders (trade): Under contract at $9.15 million per year until he's 34, Barzal's name did briefly appear on the rumor mill with the Islanders weighing options. He's a speedy center who is capable of skating at the top of the lineup, but how long will he have that speed to lean on as he gets into his 30s?
C Leo Carlsson, Anaheim (offer sheet): The Ducks' franchise center at just 21 years old, he's getting signed in Anaheim and for a long time. It should be noted, too, that the Flyers have held a pretty good trade relationship with the Ducks ever since the Cutter Gauthier trade. But the offer sheet is there. It's just a nuclear option that would cost a fortune (and maybe burn a bridge).
C Connor Bedard, Chicago (offer sheet): Same applies to Bedard. He's in an RFA year, and he's probably going to get signed by the Blackhawks. But their rebuild is in a weird place after Chicago hasn't come anywhere close to the playoffs since Bedard's gotten there. They might be on a timer with him, which is something to at least monitor.
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