March 06, 2026
The Flyers made their first move of deadline day, trading winger Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild for right-handed defenseman David Jiříček.
The deal is a one-for-one swap. The Athletic's Michael Russo was first to report.
Brink's name wasn't new to the rumor mill, as his name had floated around before going back a year or so, but these past few days especially seemed to have picked up steam.
Brink is a hard-skating and dependable right winger who solidified a role within the Flyers' middle six over the past few years, but the organization does have a log jam at right wing to address, with core piece Matvei Michkov needing to get back to his right side and top prospect Porter Martone expected to be on his way over as he plays well at Michigan State.
At age 24 and still at an affordable restricted free-agent status, Brink's relentless two-way checking game figured to be the most appealing to contending teams looking to buy, while being one of the easier pitches for the Flyers to sell.
They got a taker in the Wild.
In return for Brink, a former second-round draft pick from 2019, is Jiříček, once the sixth-overall pick by Columbus in 2022.
Jiříček, a 6'4" blueliner at age 22, is still looking for his footing as a pro, having bounced between the NHL and AHL in the past few seasons.
He's a big right-handed shot, though, and heading to an environment in Philadelphia that has built a recent reputation for developing defensemen between Jamie Drysdale and Rasmus Ristolainen.
Jiříček, in fact, might be the immediate replacement for Ristolainen, the big right-handed defenseman the Flyers currently have, if they can find a deal for him before Friday's 3 p.m. ET deadline.
For now, however, the Flyers have said that Jiříček will report to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL.
There are still a few hours to go.
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