June 21, 2025
Sergei Belski/Imagn Images
The Flyers are rumored to have asked the Sabres about defenseman Bo Byram.
The NHL Draft is only days away now. Trade buzz is picking up, or in some cases deals are already being made, and at the least, it seems Danny Brière and the Flyers are keeping an eye out.
"The one thing I want to make sure and let our fans know is the plan hasn't changed," the Flyers' GM said Tuesday during a pre-draft press conference in Voorhees. "We're not going to pay crazy assets just to do something crazy. It has to make sense. If it doesn't, it doesn't. We'll select our players. It might be all the picks. There might be nothing that changes, but at the same time, if we have a chance to improve the team, and it makes sense for the long term, we're going to look into it."
Buffalo might be one of the cases they're looking into.
The Sabres are in a restricted free agent bind, with more contracts due up next summer, and with an urgency to get better now rather than later.
Their general manager, Kevyn Adams, has been calling around the league, and the Flyers have at least had talks, mainly about left winger JJ Peterka and defenseman Bo Byram, per OnPattison and Snow The Goalie's Anthony SanFilippo.
Adams' asking prices for either are high, SanFilippo added, but they are curious in regards to a potential fit in Philly.
Peterka is a 23-year-old RFA who has put up 28- and then 27-goal seasons in the past two years, and on paper, could be on a line left of rising star Matvei Michkov as both continue to develop.
The direct path to the former second-round pick would be to trade for his rights and then sign him, but with his RFA status, an offer sheet is there as an option, albeit as a riskier and more volatile one when it comes down to offered salary and league perception.
Byram, 24, is in the same boat as an arbitration-eligible RFA with the same means of possible acquisition. He was a breakout star during the Colorado Avalanche's run to the Stanley Cup in 2022, and carries a top-pairing defenseman level ceiling, though one that couldn't be reached in Colorado with Cale Makar and Devon Toews there, which is part of what led to his trade to Buffalo in 2024 (along with the Avs facing a cap crunch and needing a center).
In theory, Byram would have the room and the time to reach for that ceiling in Philadelphia, but for who would be another left-handed shot in a defensive pool already full of them, it might take clearing out roster space on the Flyers' part, which maybe leads to a different decision on Cam York's future if a trade offer does shape up.
The Dallas Stars traded left winger Mason Marchment to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday for a fourth-round pick in the draft later this week and then a third-round pick in 2026.
But really, the crux of the deal for Dallas was getting Marchment's final year of a $4.5 million cap hit off the books.
As of Saturday afternoon, the Stars have just a bit more than $2.75 million in cap space available, per PuckPedia.
They're in a serious crunch, and if they're still looking to offload salary, the Flyers could take advantage if, say, 30-goal scorer Jason Robertson comes into play, as covered earlier in the month.
Robertson, 25, has one year left on his current deal at $7.75 million, then he'll be an arbitration-eligible RFA next summer.
The Flyers still have some RFA cleanup of their own to do with winger Jakob Pelletier and the aforementioned York, along with keeping as much cash as they can free for next summer, but they do have just shy of $19 million in cap space to work with, again per PuckPedia, and 11 draft picks for this coming week that in all likelihood they won't use all of.
If Dallas is willing to move Robertson, the Flyers would have a means to get him here now on that last year of his deal, then figure out what the new one looks like after.
And that the Stars did move Marchment, the odds of Robertson being available might have just ticked up.
Some cleanup from Friday: The Flyers made Todd Reirden's addition to the bench as one of Rick Tocchet's assistant coaches official, along with the hiring of Dylan Crawford as an assistant video coach.
"I'm happy to have rounded out my coaching staff by bringing Todd and Dylan on board," Tocchet said in a press release. "Todd's extensive experience across all levels of coaching, as well as his success throughout his career, will play a pivotal role in all facets of our game. Dylan adds another level to our video team in an area that is rapidly expanding and becoming more critical in the outcome of games and the way teams prepare."
Reirden was an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals when they won the Stanley Cup in 2018, then was Barry Trotz's successor as head coach after Trotz left the Caps that summer. Reirden only lasted two seasons as Washington's head coach after consecutive first-round playoff exits. Prior, and after, Reirden was an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins, first under Dan Bylsma and then under Mike Sullivan.
Crawford is following Tocchet over from Vancouver after serving as the Canucks' video coach for the past three seasons.
Crawford was also an assistant video coach for the Chicago Blackhawks from 2018-2021, and then their lead video coach for the 2021-22 season before he moved on to Vancouver.
Tocchet's coaching staff now consists of Reirden, Crawford, Jaroslav Svejkovsky, and Jay Varady, the latter two of whom were hired earlier this month.
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