Flyers Should Pluck Talented Canucks Castaway From NHL Waiver Wire

Forward depth has quietly proven to be an issue for the Philadelphia Flyers in the early goings of the 2026-27 season, primarily due to the sheer number of players just flat-out struggling.

Those struggles limit head coach Rick Tocchet's options as far as line combinations go, and not even 10 games into the season, Trevor Zegras has been moved from center to left wing, flanking Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett.

Also down the middle, Noah Cates is averaging a career-low 12:35 of ice time through eight games and has yet to record a point, despite occasionally being paired up with talented wingers such as Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, and Tyson Foerster.

Newcomer Noel Acciari, too, has done very little, recording just three shots on goal in eight games despite averaging a healthy 14:10 a night relative to his role.

And instead of playing the versatile Acciari down the middle at center against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night, the Flyers called up Jack Studnicka to fill that role, and he took a costly penalty that the Kraken scored on.

The Flyers already tapped free agency to find some semblance of a spark when they signed Michael Bunting, and now it might be time to try the NHL waiver wire next.

Flyers can reunite Tocchet with a talented prospect

On Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks placed talented center Aatu Raty on waivers after failing to find a trade partner.

Raty, 23, played for Tocchet for parts of two seasons in Vancouver, recording one assist in three games in 2022-23, then enjoying his best season as a pro with seven goals, four assists, and 11 points in 33 games in 2024-25.

Last year, without Tocchet, the Finn played in 66 games for the bottom-feeding Canucks, but scored only four goals, 10 assists, and 14 points... but Raty did win an astounding 60.5 percent of his faceoffs.

Still just 23 years old with untapped offensive potential, Raty can be, at worst, a faceoff ace for the Flyers with his superb 59.1% career faceoff percentage

In his extended stint with Tocchet in 2024-25, the former second-round pick finished the season as one of the Canucks' most efficient forwards at both ends of the ice, finishing the season between J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser in cumulative goals above replacement, per Evolving-Hockey's model.

If the Flyers want to potentially upgrade Studnicka and get substantially younger and more talented at the center position, Raty is there for the taking.

At the time of this writing, only the lowly Calgary Flames, with their .167 points percentage, are higher in the waiver order, so the Flyers get first dibs on Raty if the Flames decide against placing a claim.

Short of a stunning trade or firing Tocchet outright, the Flyers are limited in their options to put an end to the season-opening 0-5-3 skid, but the 6-foot-2 Raty, with his physicality, two-way prowess, and heavy shot, could inject some life into a drab Flyers bottom-six that desperately needs it.