January 27, 2026
Dennis Schneidler/Imagn Images
Robert Thomas' name has been out there, and he'd be a pretty good fit for the Flyers.
The Flyers came into this season still building, but wanting to take a tangible step forward on the ice with what they have.
The results have been up and down so far, though more down of late, especially with Monday night's 4-0 shutout to the Islanders doing them zero favors.
But throughout, it's been clear: They still need that No. 1 center, he isn't currently in the prospect pipeline, and with the way the market has been trending, the organization is going to be hard-pressed to outbid for a star in free agency – provided he even gets there anymore.
So that leaves a trade.
The Olympic roster freeze will run from Feb. 4-22, and then the NHL is back open for business until the NHL trade deadline on March 6.
Flyers general manager Danny Brière has said that he isn't opposed to making a move that pushes the team forward this time around, rather than being annual sellers, but stressed that if anything does happen, it still has to be with the long haul in mind – i.e. no rentals.
"It's exciting to see what's going on," Brière said of the team back after he signed Christian Dvorak to a five-year contract extension earlier this month. "We're going to try to help the team if we can, but it's something that's gonna make sense. It doesn't change the vision. It doesn't change what we're trying to do. It's still about the future. If we do make a move, it's gonna be something that's gonna help us for the future as well, not just in the moment.
"Don't bank on any rental and to give up assets. We're not at that stage yet."
But recent rumors have floated some interesting names out there, and in the Flyers' case, a few young top-six caliber centers who, at the least, they should take a look at as a potential fit for their long-term plans.
Here's a rundown...
The Blues have been going nowhere fast this season, leaving them open for business and listening, including on Thomas.
For the Flyers, it should be a case where they can't get on the phone fast enough.
Thomas is 26, has played at more than a point-per-game pace in the past two seasons, plays strong on the puck with a scoring finish that has gotten better, and has the whole prime of his career ahead of him, all while being signed through 2031 at an 8.125 million cap hit.
Thomas has the tough, though skilled, style of game that can fit right in at the top of the Flyers' lineup, can skate on both the power play and penalty kill, too, and is young enough to stay there for a long, long time.
He's the most ideal center potentially available for them right now, but it's just going to take quite the offer going back to St. Louis to possibly make it happen.
While the Blues' lines are open, word is that they either need a major return package or "a stud top-six forward who’s slightly younger than Thomas," per Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
The Flyers, though, do have draft capital by way of eight picks across the first three rounds in 2026 and 2027, a surplus of wing prospects who aren't all going to make the team, and maybe a winger or two up on the roster now who'd they'd be willing to part with if it means being OK up the middle long-term
Taking a swing for a center like Thomas is going to cost a lot, but the Flyers might be one of the few teams in a position to actually do it, while just as much being one that needs to.
The Kraken are stuck in their own limbo now as well, and looking to make a shakeup to get out of it, they've put Wright's name out there, again, per Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
The fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft, after sliding back from months of being considered the consensus No. 1, Wright spent his first two years going back and forth between the NHL, Canadian juniors, and then the AHL, but finally worked up to a full-time role with Seattle last season and put up some solid numbers.
Wright scored 19 goals and 44 points with a plus-4 rating through 79 games, and looked to be getting the ball rolling on his NHL career and his high draft pick billing, until he hit a new wall this season and dropped to seven goals and 18 points through 51 games so far.
It maybe isn't time to consider him a bust just yet, though. He's still 22, is still on his rookie contract for another year, and still carries flashes of the skill with the puck that made him such a coveted prospect several years ago.
If the cost is reasonable, maybe Wright could end up as another calculated dice roll on Brière's part, much like Trevor Zegras was last summer.
The payoff, if it works, would be huge.
Pettersson was a 102-point scoring center several years ago and looked to be a part of the Canucks' next contending core.
But that era fell apart fast. Rick Tocchet came and went, and is now fully settled in as the Flyers' head coach now. Their captain and franchise defenseman, Quinn Hughes, was dealt to Minnesota after months of rumors, and the Vancouver team, on the whole, has completely bottomed out.
And stuck in the middle of it is Pettersson, with just 18 goals going back to last season, and a heft $11.6 million cap hit and no-movement clause on his contract through 2032
The idea of him to the Flyers hinges on a happy reunion with Tocchet, a change of scenery that he would want, and a bet that Pettersson can get back to being a borderline elite center.
But all three of those together are some heavy 'if's, that The Athletic's Kevin Kurz recently poured cold water on with word that the Flyers just aren't interested.
Still, Pettersson is a potential option in a pretty barren market, so he's listed here just in case.
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