The Philadelphia Flyers come in at No. 14 on TheHockeyNews.com's NHL off-season rankings. GM Daniel Briere made some limited changes this summer, but they shape up as a stronger team than the one that finished the 2025-26 season. What does Philadelphia have to do to improve next year?
The Philadelphia Flyers had a surprisingly strong 2025-26 season that saw improve by 10 more wins and make their first playoff appearance in six years.
The Flyers then went on to defeat their Pennsylvania rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Round 1 before being swept by the eventual Cup-champion Carolina Hurricanes.
They failed to reach their ultimate goal, but so did 31 other teams. This Flyers group largely overachieved and it's primarily due to the work of GM Daniel Briere, who has made some terrific moves, including the hiring of coach Rick Tocchet.
Briere followed up the Flyers' successful season by trying to make the biggest splash of the summer with his offer sheet to Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson. While Anaheim matched their offer and retained Carlsson, it was encouraging for Flyers fans to see Briere making bold moves.
Let’s analyze the Flyers' additions and subtractions from this summer and discuss why the they are ranked 14th on TheHockeyNews.com's off-season rankings.
Arrivals:
Joseph Woll (G), Noel Acciari (RW), Simon Benoit (D)
Briere didn’t make across-the-board changes this summer, but it was clear to see why he made the adjustments he made. He made a play for a No. 1 center in Carlsson, and while the offer sheet that ultimately failed, but there’s nothing stopping Briere from taking another run at an RFA youngster to be part of his team’s foundation.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia needed to improve its goaltending, and that’s what Briere did with the acquisition of Joseph Woll from the Toronto Maple Leafs. That trade cost the Flyers a young defenseman in Emil Andrae, but that price was worth paying. A goaltending tandem of Woll and Dan Vladar makes Philly considerably stronger between the pipes.
Briere also bolstered his defense corps by including acquiring Simon Benoit in the Woll trade. Benoit will never be a top-four blueliner, but if you give him limited minutes on your third pairing, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Finally, signing experienced forward Noel Acciari not only takes him away from playing for the Penguins, but it gives the Flyers depth. There isn't a game-breaking player that they managed to bring in, but these three additions fill needs and make them better.
Departures:
Samuel Ersson (G), Garnet Hathaway (RW), Emil Andrae (D), Noah Juulsen (D)
Briere allowed only a handful of veterans to depart this summer. Most notably, goaltender Samuel Ersson was the second piece that the Flyers sent to the Maple Leafs, and Hathaway was shipped off to the Florida Panthers for two late-round picks.
Otherwise, the Flyers kept the grand majority of their talent,
Ersson had short flashes of competence, but there’s a reason why the Maple Leafs quickly pivoted off the Woll trade and shipped Ersson to the Ottawa Senators. Ersson posted an .870 save percentage and 3.12 goals-against average. The 26-year-old wasn’t able to be consistently average, let alone be a top netminder in the Flyers' depth chart.
Hathaway brings some corrosive play to the Panthers, and will make the Flyers a bit easier to play against. However, Briere has done a solid job of strengthening his group overall, and the players who were moved will not leave gigantic holes in the roster.
The Bottom Line:
The Flyers don’t have the type of generational talent we see in the NHL’s elite organizations, but Briere has taken the cards dealt to him and crafted an up-and-coming group that can take advantage of a weak division and make some noise next season.
While it's hard to image that Philadelphia will take huge competitive steps forward in 2026-27, they’re still almost assuredly a playoff team.
The Flyers didn’t have a sub-par off-season, but they also didn’t hit a lot of home runs with their changes. If Woll comes in and stays healthy – something he hasn’t been able to do to this point in his NHL career – Philadelphia could wind up as a threat to shock the rest of the league.
So long as Tocchet can quickly assimilate the newcomers into the squad, the Flyers are going to be an above-average team that has the chance to do damage in the regular season and playoffs.
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