Flyers Offseason Outlook: New Expectations & Making the Right Moves
· Yahoo Sports
Making the playoffs this past year raises the expectation for next season. They’re no longer the little harmless Flyers. On Thursday, general manager Danny Briere did not try to lower expectations for next season. Instead, he leaned into that hunger that both the players and Tocchet leaned into the day before.
“I could tell you no, [the expectation is not to make the playoffs], but I know all the players are going to come back, and that’s definitely going to be their goal. So, I don’t want to lower expectations either, like I think they believe they can make the playoffs again. They want another taste of it. So I would think so. I would think that after tasting it, after the experience, all our guys are going back to the next year.”
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However, Briere did say he wants to be careful not to put too much pressure on his team. “You’ve got to be careful, you know, on how much pressure you put on them. But that was such a fun run, and I think the guys want to experience that again.”
So, how do they do that?
Are the Flyers going to get aggressive and make a big splash? Based on Briere’s comments, it will only be for a player who fits the team.“If there’s a chance to help improve the team and something that makes sense for the long run, yes, we will jump on it. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s the same thing [as last offseason]. We’re still in the growth part of the rebuild. What has changed is the experience our guys have gotten.”
Briere made it clear that they’ll look into every option that comes about this summer. But, he’s not going to make a move just because they made the playoffs this season. It has to be the right move. “It’s my job to look at everything, but I don’t feel that I’m forced to make a move just to make a move just because we made it into the playoffs this year. We’ve said it for a long time. We want to build a team that is going to be here for a long time, not just to go for a year or two. So that’s still the same approach on my end.”
Briere mentioned that they checked off a big need last offseason with the signing of Dan Vladar, getting some stability in goal. However, the other two needs, centers and defensemen, will be looked at.
He knows center is still a position of need, but he likes the outlook of the position better. Between the way Trevor Zegras and Denver Barkey improved in their roles as centers through the year, the way Sean Couturier adapted to his 4th line center position, and even the futures of guys like Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt, which were mentioned later on by the GM.
However, overall, the team’s needs from last season are mostly similar as we head into this offseason.
Between this now and this time last year, the outlook down the middle for the Flyers is much brighter. Still, there is plenty of room to improve. The free agent market in 2026 is quite thin, so any impact acquisition will have to come via an RFA signing or a trade.
Briere is comfortable with the assets the team has to work with. “The good thing is, we’re in a good spot as far as the salary cap goes, as far as our picks go, as far as our prospects go. So, there’s a lot of upsides there.”
With the thin 2026 free agent market, any Flyers’ major moves will have to come via an RFA signing or a trade. Briere seems comfortable with the assets he has to do so. It’s all setting up for an interesting summer of 2026.
Read More: Finding Offense: How the Flyers Can Take That Next Step in Year 2 of Rick Tocchet
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