A crucial NHL Draft is drawing closer for the Flyers, and so is free agency right after on July 1.
General manager Danny Brière said a couple of months back that he's looking to shift the team's rebuilding efforts from subtracting to adding, but the Flyers don't seem lined up to be ready to spend just yet. Next summer, with the league salary cap increasing and their own space significantly opening up, looks to be their window to dive into the free agent pool.
Until then, the Flyers' best immediate means of improvement will be through continued player development and the trade market, and of late, the latter has had some curious blips on the radar.
Here's a rundown of a few notable names that have popped up…
Jason Robertson
The Dallas Stars just lost in the Western Conference Final for the third consecutive year and for the second straight season to the Edmonton Oilers.
Change appears inevitable for them now.
The team fired head coach Pete DeBoer on Friday after he pulled starting goaltender Jake Oettinger in the series-losing Game 5 and then threw him under the bus postgame for previous shortcomings.
So now the Stars need a new coach just weeks away from the draft, and at the same time, are looking at a likely cap crunch.
Dallas ended the season with just shy of $5 million in cap space, per PuckPedia, and with a slew of free agents to make decisions on, which include their captain Jamie Benn, still productive veteran Matt Duchene, and budding forward Mavrik Bourque (as a 23-year-old restricted free agent).
They're in a bind with heavy cash invested in Oettinger, Tyler Seguin, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Miro Heiskanen, and star deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen (all making upwards of $8 million annually, with Rantanen earning $12 million), and might have to part with a major piece because of it.
And that could be 35-goal scorer Jason Robertson, as longtime hockey radio host Jeff Marek speculated in his Daily Faceoff column earlier this week.
Could the Stars move someone like Jason Robertson, who has one more year on his deal at an incredible $7.75 million value, to try to recoup Draft capital and free up cap space to once again go big-game hunting in the summer? If so, I’d watch the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks as possible destinations. [Daily Faceoff]
But maybe add the Flyers to that list, too.
As mentioned many times before now, they'll have 11 picks in the draft later this month, including seven in the first two rounds alone. They have the capital to part with, and the general consensus has long been that there's little chance they'll make all 11 of those picks.
So why not put together a package to move in on a high-end star who many are well aware the Flyers need?
As of Friday, they have a projected $18.9 million's worth of cap space, again per PuckPedia.
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The Flyers still have to figure out new deals for RFAs Cam York and Jakob Pelletier, with York looking to be the far more expensive of the two if both sides can come to an agreement, but even so, Robertson's $7.75 million can fit into that.
Robertson also only has one more year left on that contract before he himself becomes an RFA next summer, when, again, the salary cap goes up and the Flyers should have a lot more money with which to work.
The 25-year-old is a left winger, not a center, and the Flyers still need way more of the latter down the middle. However, they do just need elite talent in general, and Robertson would bring a clear goal-scoring ability that, at its peak, can push into the high 40s and theoretically match well with Travis Konecny or Matvei Michkov on the right.
The buzz around Robertson's name hasn't been much more than whispers and speculation right now, but theoretically, there should be a route for the Flyers where going after him can work.
HERE WE GO! pic.twitter.com/vDSwAjJq39
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) May 30, 2025
Nic Hague
Billed at a massive 6'6" and 245 pounds, Hague was connected to the Flyers via league insider Elliotte Friedman during a radio hit for Sportsnet 590 in Toronto on Wednesday, as caught by NHL Rumour Report on X/Twitter.
Elliotte Friedman: Philadelphia has been linked to Vegas defenseman Nic Hague in trade talks – SN590
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) June 4, 2025
There's been little beyond that, as with a lot of trade rumors at this time of year, but the logic for a fit is there.
The Flyers won't have their main big defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to start the season as he recovers from a re-ruptured triceps. They recently signed defensive prospect Helge Grans, who's of a similar mold with size and a right-handed shot, to a two-year extension, but he is on the bubble of the NHL with no guarantees of if – or when – he'll take a major leap.
Hunter McDonald is another big defenseman also down with the Phantoms in the AHL who the Flyers have a lot of belief in, but he probably still has a bit further to go before he's looking at the NHL, too.
Hague, 26, is already there, would be a consistent skater in the middle pairing (he's averaged just shy of 18 minutes of ice time in the past three seasons), and obviously, would bring size to a Flyers blueline (though as a left-hander) that is considerably small and not overpoweringly physical outside of the injured Ristolainen.
Hague, who plays for the Golden Knights, is an arbitration-eligible RFA this summer, per PuckPedia, and his previous three-year contract carried an annual cap hit of $2.29 million.
A trade for him would cost the Flyers something in the way of a pick or maybe even a roster player, but financially, he shouldn't hurt much for a clear role in their defensive depth.
For what it's worth, Hague can throw 'em, too.
TRENT FREDERIC VS. NICOLAS HAGUE! 🥊 pic.twitter.com/61MHFejCIl
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 13, 2025
Marco Rossi
Rossi is a name out of Minnesota who's been floating around in trade rumors for a bit, and with overlap into the Flyers' sphere.
He does fit a glaring need in Philly, after all. Rossi is a talented 23-year-old center whose production in the past two seasons has hiked from 21 goals and 40 points up to 24 and 60 on the Wild's way into the playoffs this year.
Rossi is a restricted free agent this summer, as well, but there's a divide in negotiations, the Daily Faceoff's Anthony Di Marco reported, which has led to Minnesota taking calls and asking about other names.
The Flyers have had a conversation with the Wild, Di Marco added, and Tyson Foerster was one of the names checked on, though that seems to be a non-starter.
Foerster established himself as a core piece for the Flyers with his breakout this past season and his recent two-year contract extension.
Wild GM Bill Guerin also threw cold water on the thought when speaking to The Athletic's Michael Russo.
“I’ve talked to lots of teams about lots of players — not just Marco — and names come up all the time," Guerin said of the Flyers rumors. "But there’s never been any serious discussion with anybody yet.”
Maybe there's a chance something happens, but don't hold your breath.
Marco Rossi lifts the stick at one end to save a goal, then scores on the breakaway pic.twitter.com/aX0so9yZHY
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) March 23, 2024
Martin Nečas
There's no smoke to this yet – directly involving the Flyers that is – but Nečas at least should be a name to keep an eye on these next couple of months.
Nečas arrived in Colorado through the first Mikko Rantanen trade with Carolina and produced a solid 11 goals and 28 points through 30 games with the Avalanche, followed by a goal and four more assists in seven playoff games.
When he was still in Carolina, he was highly productive, too, with 16 goals and 55 points that put him up over a point-per-game pace through 49 contests prior to the trade.
Nečas is entering the prime of his career at 26, and is a forward who can shift between center and the wing. He's also due for a new contract with one year remaining on his current deal at $6.5 million, and Colorado, much like Dallas, doesn't have much room under the cap to work with ($1.2 million in space as of Friday, per PuckPedia).
He could be on the move again – a point that former player and current Sportsnet analyst Nick Kypreos alluded to on his offseason trade board. The Flyers, in theory, could offer him a chance to play center, and if not through trade, then maybe in free agency when they have the cash to spend a year from now.
The idea has already been touched on before.
MARTIN NECAS 🚨
That's his first goal with the @Avalanche! pic.twitter.com/DnEUuvCjQI— NHL (@NHL) February 1, 2025
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