The Philadelphia Flyers are still in the early stages of a full roster rebuild, and GM Daniel Briere has been frank in discussing the road he’s been travelling as he tries to put together young talent to be the core of his lineup. And on Tuesday, Briere held a pre-entry draft press conference in which he made it clear one area the Flyers are focusing on – the center position – wouldn’t be easy to address.

“We know it’s an area of need moving forward,” Briere told media Tuesday. “ But Re-signing (Noah) Cates also helps, solidifies that for the next four years, for sure. Jett (Luchanko is) on his way. We signed (Karsen) Dorwart, we signed (Jacob) Gaucher….Cole Knuble is another one…These guys are all moving in the right direction, but you don’t know how far they will take their game…Calling around the league, finding centers, it’s almost impossible. And forget it – you’re not going to find a first-line or second-line center…Centers have a lot of value these days.”

There’s no question Briere is right – quality centers are few and far-between when it comes to acquiring them on the trade or free-agency fronts. And the problem is the Flyers’ need down the middle likely won’t be solved in free agency – especially after Chicago Blackhawks UFA center Ryan Donato signed a contract extension with the team on Wednesday. 

Donato – who posted 31 goals and 62 points last season – would’ve been a terrific fit on the Flyers, who likely would’ve used him as their first-line center. And Donato’s new deal, which pays him $4-million per season for the next four years, could turn out to be a serious bargain.

Unfortunately, the Flyers are back to the drawing board when it comes to acquiring a first-or-second-line center. Free agency won’t deliver that kind of player to Philly, so Briere will have to land one via trade. But Philadelphoia is unique in that they have a golden opportunity on the top-two forward lines, and if they can acquire an above-average pivot with the $18.9 million they have in salary cap space, they have plenty of cap room to fit in an experienced center who can help them push for a Stanley Cup playoff berth.

As Briere said, centers have a lot of value right now, and that’s a very good thing if you’re a center looking for a change of scenery this summer. And Briere should be willing to take a chance by trading for a younger player who is on the precipice of taking that next competitive step and asserting themselves as a top-six forward. So long as he’s not committing a lot of contract term to any veteran player, Briere should bring in someone who can help them right away, and potentially set themselves up for a bigger payday down the line if things work out in the short term with the Flyers.

The risk/reward of bringing in a player who hasn’t consistently been elite is significant, but given where Philadelphia is in their current competitive trajectory, they’re not going to be in a position to sign or trade for Grade-A players at the moment. They have to look at the second tier of centers who are willing and able to slot in as a solid contributor, and do it consistently.

In this writer’s opinion, the Flyers were a great match for Donato. But now that he’s off the market, Philadelphia has to find someone else to play an important role on their up-and-coming squad. And it’s up to Briere to scour the rosters of other teams to pluck a key component and improve Philly’s chances of being a playoff team in 2025-26.

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