Flyers Fill Gaps, But Long-Term Solutions Remain Unclear

Coming soon. Any major renovation or construction of new business, restaurants, expansions at the zoo or theme parks, you will find signage that indicates the area is a work in progress, something in the works at the present that is to be enjoyed in the future. That is the present-day Philadelphia Flyers, still a work in progress, contenders coming soon.

When major projects are announced, there is usually an artist rendering of what is expected to be the final product. For an NHL team, that would probably feature a top-notch goalie, a dominant top line, a formidable second line, a stud defensive pairing, and plenty of depth from the bottom-six forwards to the third-pairing defensemen to the backup goalie.

Most major projects are shielded from the public eye. A large wall or scaffolding will block out the work being done to complete the finished product. That’s not quite how NHL rebuilds go. Yes, there is plenty done behind the scenes that only team staff will know. But it also plays out in front of the public eye, every trade, every draft pick, every signing listed for everyone to see. It’s a way for the public to keep tabs on the project, to monitor what activity is being done to finish the project.

There was no shortage of activity on the open of free agency from the Flyers. There were holes to fill in the lineup, and Danny Briere made quick work of most of it. Within the first hour of free agency, the Flyers had signed a center, signed a goalie, and added a couple of defensemen for depth.

But this day was more about stopgaps than long-term solutions. And it proved to be more about quantity, not quality

Christian Dvorak has put together some solid seasons in the past. He’s an effective defender, good for about 15 goals and 30 points per season, a typical bottom-six forward. The Flyers needed one in wake of the Trevor Zegras trade that sent Ryan Poehling to Anaheim.

Dvorak signed a one-year deal with the Flyers, which fits the team’s timeline. No commitment beyond 2025-26, with the potential to move the player at the deadline and acquire an asset in return. The price tag, however, raised eyebrows. $5.4 million. For a team with limited cap space, it was quite the first move.

Dan Vladar has been the Calgary backup for four seasons, and while his numbers have been slightly above league average, his play has been limited. Vladar signed a two-year deal with the Flyers, which again, fits the timeline. The Flyers have huge question marks in goal, with Sam Ersson being the only suitable NHL netminder at the moment. They are waiting on the development of Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin in taking that next step, and it’s likely still a few years before that comes to fruition.

Two years of Vladar isn’t anything to argue with. A $3.35 million cap hit is a different story, especially after seeing Anton Forsberg’s $2.25 million cap hit in Los Angeles, David Rittich’s $1 million cap hit with the New York Islanders, or Jake Allen’s $1.8 million cap hit to stay in New Jersey.

Sure, the goalie market was thin, but the Flyers went above and beyond to get any goalie that was an upgrade, and the bar was almost non-existent for that to happen. Now, that could also be the market talking. Briere said Vladar wanted to play in Philadelphia, and it’s very possible that many other, more affordable options did not. But again, for a team with limited cap space, it was a lot to pay.

Both defensemen, Noah Juulsen and Dennis Gilbert, were signed to one-year deals under $1 million, again, nothing of significant consequence. Those deals are often a dime a dozen in the free agent frenzy.

For the 2025-26 season, this is what it is. The Flyers weren’t going to massively improve the team overnight. They did what they had to do to fill out the roster for another year as the rebuild continues.

But for a team that appeared to be turning the corner on the rebuild – signified by the trade for Zegras to add some potential high-end talent – the rest of the offseason, at least when forming the current roster, didn’t move the needle much, at least in terms of value.

And if nothing else, the wave of activity on June 30, the night before free agency opened, showed just how hard it’s going to be for the Flyers to upgrade via the free agency market. Multiple players made 11th-hour decisions to stay with their current clubs. If the Flyers are banking on a star being on the market to solve their top-line center woes or pad their defensive core, it might not even make it there.

If that turns out to be the case, the Flyers either need to have more internal solutions, make it happen via trades, or potentially overpay for talent that is more middle of the pack than high-end. At the very least, Tuesday showed that Briere isn’t afraid to attempt to throw money at areas of need, but will next offseason be more of the same, overpays on mid-level players?

For a few moments this offseason, it felt like Briere was moving things in the right direction with more pace. Trade for Zegras. Draft a potential top-line talent. Get plenty of value and depth with a multitude of second-round picks. His work on Tuesday may have filled the holes, but it’s just more patchwork.

The good news is that it’s hardly permanent with one and two-year deals aplenty, more temporary “don’t mind our appearance” signs as construction continues. But the time for the big grand opening is coming fast. And with most of the activity for another summer in the books, it feels like little progress was made to build the trust that the final product will live up to the artist renderings.