If one thing has been made clear in the past few weeks, it is that the Flyers are facing troubles. Flyers general manager Danny Briere had to make a lot of decisions leading up to the trade deadline to help the team out in the future. Here’s what those decisions look like as of right now:
January 31, 2025: Flyers trade Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to Calgary Flames in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 2nd round pick, and a 2028 7th round pick
Frost and Farabee have been in the Flyers organization since 2017 and 2018, so it was a major decision to move on from the 24- and 25-year old’s who had become mainstays on the team. Many benefits came from this trade but an upside to this trade doesn’t come from the assets the Flyers acquired in return, but Frost and Farabee’s absence does to the team’s position.
The Flyers are no longer responsible for Farabee’s contract, which would have had them paying him five million dollars annually until the end of the 2027-28 season. Looking at Frost, he was due for a new contract at the end of this season, and like Farabee, there was no real place on this team for him moving forward.
Both players were not bad, but they weren’t above average producers either. The 2nd round pick is another valuable asset to have, whether they use it to draft a player or trade a player.
Pelletier is a good, hardworking player who gets a fresh start on a very young Philadelphia team. He provides a lot of energy and has played well so far with the Flyers, even if the points haven’t followed.
Kuzmenko showed flashes in Philly, but he was later flipped the day of the trade deadline.
March 7, 2025: Flyers trade Andrei Kuzmenko at 50% retained and a 2025 7th round pick to the Los Angeles Kings in return for a 2027 3rd round pick
As previously mentioned, Kuzmenko showed flashes in his short time with the Flyers, but losing him isn’t super significant. The 29-year-old hasn’t produced the same since he had a 39 goal season with Vancouver in 2022-23. Considering his inconsistencies, trading him for any assets is a win. The Flyers retained 50% of his contract, but it expires at the end of the season.
March 7, 2025: Flyers trade Scott Laughton at 50% retained, a 2025 4th round pick, and a 2027 6th round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in return for Nikita Grebenkin and a 2027 first round pick.
After his name swirled around in trade rumors for years, Scott Laughton got traded. Though he was an incredibly valuable leader in the locker room, it was time the Flyers released him. The 30-year-old did not produce much this season or the last, and though he will be dearly missed in the community, it was clear he would not be a part of the team’s future.
Laughton’s contract lasts for another year with the Flyers paying half of his three million dollar per year salary. Eating 1.5 million for a year is a drop in the bucket, and likely had to be done to get the return that they did. The forward the Flyers got in return, Nikita Grebenkin, has potential.
At 21 years old, Grebenkin has played a few games in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs and has spent his time in the Flyers organization playing for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers’ AHL affiliate. Grebenkin’s collected three points in four games with the Phantoms with two goals scored, and at 6 ‘2”, he provides some much-needed height to the Flyers’ prospect tool. The Russian also has history playing with 20-year-old Flyers forward Matvei Michkov which could be a benefit. The other exciting aspect of this trade is the first rounder acquired in return. Though it won’t be used for another two years, a first-round pick is always valuable and makes the return greater.
March 7, 2025: Flyers trade Erik Johnson to the Colorado Avalanche in return for Givani Smith
Erik Johnson is a 37-year-old defensemen whose role on the team was mostly to be a veteran presence, and Smith is a player who will likely spend his career in the AHL. Johnson had played for the Avalanche for 13 years and won the Stanley Cup with the team back in 2022. Leaving the team was incredibly emotional for him as he had spent so much time there and created such deep bonds with the city and the franchise.
There was no high demand for him(Johnson). The Flyers have not had a winning season for some time now, and when Danny Briere took over as GM back in March 2023, there were a lot of decisions that needed to be undone.
Doing right by the players is something that is noticed by others in the league. The NHL is a tough business where people are constantly being moved from team to team, sometimes with no say in where they go. Having a GM that respects their players is very appealing, and that can make the Flyers an appealing destination for free agents in the future, something that hasn’t been true in quite some time now.
Overall, this deadline could be considered a massive success for the Flyers. Part of the reason why they have been bad for so long is because they held onto players for too long, only losing them when the players were past their prime and would get them nothing valuable in return.
Briere has made it clear that this regime will not make those same mistakes. Those who do not fit the timeline will be traded if the offer is right. An underrated part of this trade is that losing all of these players made the team as it is right now struggling. Though that sounds bad, the Flyers losing more and getting a high draft pick in the first round could do wonders for the franchise’s future.
The Flyers for as long as one can remember have been an average team, middling between the playoffs and the draft lottery. Missing the playoffs and picking 12th overall each year will do nothing in moving the team’s future.