Flyers GM Danny Briere. (Credit: NBC Sports Philly)
Football season is officially over - although there's still a parade on Friday to put a bow on it.
Baseball season is around the corner - as pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater for the Phillies tomorrow.
But there is one more big day on the Philadelphia sports calendar before the Phillies return north to start the 2025 season in a little more than six weeks.
That day is March 7.
That day is the NHL trade deadline.
The Flyers already made one big move - sending forwards Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to Calgary for pending unrestricted free agent Andrei Kuzmenko, pending restricted free agent Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 second round pick and a 2028 seventh round pick.
It was a deal to clear out some future cap space and give the Flyers a bit more flexibility when it comes to signing potential free agents, or giving existing roster players new contracts.
Morgan Frost kinda has a really nice shot pic.twitter.com/n7MDiLAqK3
General Manager Danny Briere has been patient in his first two years at the helm. He has stock piled a bunch of assets - the Flyers have seven picks in the first two rounds of the 2025 draft - and he has been reluctant to add to a team that is bereft of talent at the center position, is light at NHL-caliber goaltending at the moment, and truly lacks scoring depth.
That's why when he and Keith Jones talked about the rebuild taking time, they meant it. This wasn't going to be a quick fix. The Flyers needed to play the long game, and in order to do that, they needed to get valuable assets and create cap room first, then they could put Plan B into place - which is develop young talent and be aggressive in free agency and the trade market.
They can start dipping their toe in those waters in the summer, but really, the summer of 2026 is likely the time they are looking to pounce the most.
So, there are still 16-plus months to go before they get there, meaning what happens between now and then will be a critical time to start shaping that hopeful contender into place so the Flyers can make a big splash in the league once again.
So what can Briere do, especially at the trade deadline, which is now a mere 24 days away?
You'll be certain to hear Scott Laughton's name come up. Ditto Rasmus Ristolainen. Maybe even Cam York. But will Briere trade any of them?
Before we answer that question, let's look at one trade that didn't happen, but will give us some insight into how the Flyers are thinking.
Briere and Anaheim G.M. Pat Verbeek seem to talk a lot. They obviously pulled off the surprise trade 13 months ago that sent Cutter Gauthier to Anaheim in exchange for Jaime Drysdale and a 2025 second round pick. But, they've had conversation off and on about other trade possibilities, and one name that has come up more than on one occasion is Anaheim center Trevor Zegras.
Zegras, who turns 24 in March, burst onto the scene a few years back, making the NHL All-rookie team as a 20-year-old, finishing as the runner up for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in 2021-22 with 23 goals and 61 points in 75 games.
Trevor Zegras with the overtime game-winner pic.twitter.com/jnigYuaGg3
The Ducks 2019 first round pick (9th overall), followed up that rookie season, with another strong offensive year with another 23 goals and 65 points, but some warts in his two-way game started to show as that season wore on. It's been a steady decline for Zegras ever since.
In 2023-24, he only played 31 games, missing time with a broken ankle and other lower-body ailments. He only had six goals and 15 points in those 31 games. Then, this season, he also missed time because of injury, sitting out the better part of two months with a knee injury. He's back now, but in 32 games played so far, he has identical production to a season ago - six goals, nine assists, 15 points.
Flyers sources told On Pattison that Briere first checked in on Zegras at last year's deadline, but Verbeek's asking price at the time was exorbitant. Briere followed up last summer just before the draft, but still found Verbeek's ask to be way too high.
But that didn't stop Briere from keeping tabs on Zegras' availability. The thought was that if Zegras continued to struggle in Anaheim, that the price could come down, and maybe, there'd be a match. With Zegras foundering, Briere checked back with Verbeek and finally, the conversation became something a little more intriguing.
The Ducks had some interest in Farabee. The Flyers, desperately in need of a center, would be willing to basically do a salary swap of two change-of-scenery guys - Farabee for Zegras. There probably would have been a little more involved in the deal involving some non-first round draft pick compensation, but the main framework would be Farabee for Zegras.
Ultimately, Anaheim said no. They weren't comfortable taking on the rest of Farabee's contract in exchange for Zegras. It's clear that Zegras has a higher offensive ceiling than Farabee - and plays a more desirable position - so the Ducks wanted more assurances in case Farabee didn't rediscover his scoring touch in Anaheim. They wanted the Flyers to possibly retain some of his salary.
Joel Farabee gets his first goal with the @NHLFlames! #Flames | #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/cedoG3JWAj
That's where Briere balked. He was reluctant to do another retention, or move another player on top of Farabee, or a first round draft pick to the Ducks in exchange for Zegras.
A lot of guys have a down year or year-and-a-half, but with Zegras it's more than two years now, so there was going to be some concern on the Flyers end. Giving up a first round pick is too good an asset for a player in that position, coming off a couple of injuries as well.
So, the deal fell apart. The Flyers have discussed outside the box possibilities for trades - maybe moving a player from an area of strength to fill the center void, but not for a player who is a gamble. Swapping a player like Farabee, where it's one contract for another, is worth the gamble. Trading a first round pick, eating money for three years, or trading another NHL-quality player, like a York, for example, is not.
We discussed this trade possibility in more detail on Snow the Goalie today:
Many would think, with the way Ristolainen has played this year, and the heavy game that he brings to the table, that he would be the easy the answer. But it's not that simple.
While there is a lot of interest in both players, the Flyers may be a little more gun shy about trading Ristolainen at this point.
Team sources say that while they feel they can get good value for Ristolainen in terms of draft capital, it's a tough call to take that draft pick or two but also have to replace the player. The Flyers don't seem to have a ready-made replacement for Ristolainen at the moment, so trading him away also means finding his replacement. Hege Grans has shown flashes in the AHL, but he doesn't seem to be on Risto's level. Oliver Bonk is one of the Flyers top prospects, but if he makes the team as a rookie next year - a big if - there are sure to be growing pains coming from Canadian junior hockey.
It's a tough call, and one where it's likely the Flyers choose to hold on to Risto unless they are blown away with an offer they can't turn down.
Laughton, on the other hand, always has a lot of interest in his services. Briere can trade him right now for a second round pick from several teams, and no one would bat an eye and say that's not a solid return for a veteran bottom six forward.
But Briere is holding out for more because of what Laughton means to a locker room. And, yes, that's important and matters in this sport.
Why do you think Cup contending teams are interested in him? It's not like he's going to go to Winnipeg or Toronto or anywhere else and suddenly be in the top six. If he's traded to a contender, he's going to play on a third or fourth line and kill penalties. But, he brings a boatload of leadership intangibles that can make a difference in the NHL. He's the exact kind of player teams with championship aspirations covet.
Scott Laughton lays a beating on Maxim Tsyplakov 🥊
The last time the Isles and Flyers met, Tsyplakov injured Ryan Poehling 🫣 pic.twitter.com/jE4IwozUpp
That's why Briere wants a first rounder, or, if he takes the second rounder, add a solid prospect with it for Laughton. It's why we discussed Toronto center prospect Fraser Minten on the Snow the Goalie Press Row Show last week.
Briere possibly could have had this return for Laughton last year, but the locker room wasn't ready to move on from the guy who was the de facto captain the season before and was the the key player buying into what the organization was selling about building a culture that other players have since bought into as well, following his lead.
Laughton still has an additional year on his contract, so technically, Briere can wait until the offseason so teams are only trading for one year of Laughton, but as one source said to me, "It wasn't the right time in either of the last two years because the team wasn't ready to not have him in the room. The room is so much better now, so maybe the time is right."
It's hard to believe that Briere is looking for more picks in potential deals, considering hthe Flyers already have seven in the first two rounds of June's draft, but Briere wants to start stockpiling picks as assets beyond 2025.
His preference in any potential trade where he would take in draft capital is to get it for the 2026 draft, but he likely won't let that be a sticking point.
One team source said that 2025 picks are still good and that the Flyers can always use excess picks in 2025 to exchange for picks down the line, much like they did when they traded with Edmonton last year, swapping the last pick in the first round for a first rounder this year.
