Predicting Flyers’ Plans at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline

The 2026 NHL trade deadline is officially set for March 6, which marks another important date for the Philadelphia Flyers this season.

This offseason has featured far less trade action than many, including NHL insiders, had previously anticipated, which can only mean that crafty teams like the Flyers have things up their sleeves for later on.

A few months ago, we saw the Flyers move on from established roster players like centers Morgan Frost and Scott Laughton and wingers Joel Farabee and Andrei Kuzmenko. The team did make a few moves to replace those players, like trading for Trevor Zegras, and opened up a spot for a prospect like Alex Bump or Nikita Grebenkin.

Aside from that, though, the Flyers simply don’t have as many players they would be motivated to move on from as they did in years past.

One name that is likely to generate a lot of buzz at the 2026 trade deadline is forward Christian Dvorak, who can play center and wing, is usually good for 30 points in a season, and is phenomenal at taking faceoffs.

The only complication is the $5.4 million cap hit he’s drawing from the Flyers in exchange for a short-term deal that allows him greater opportunity on the ice.

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The Flyers, who are projected to have just $1.7 million cap space at the trade deadline, would likely be eager to shed that cap space, and it makes sense to get assets for any player on an expiring contract.

The flexibility a one-year deal offers was one of the explicitly-named reasons for signing Dvorak to that contract; this allows a player like Jett Luchanko a clear and unabated opportunity to make the NHL full-time in 2026.

One caveat, at least for now, is that the lack of activity around the league makes the trade market a buyer’s market, and the Flyers have only one retention slot available to them.

This means that interest in a player like the oft-injured Rasmus Ristolainen and his $5.5 million cap hit will be even more limited, as he has two years on his contract and Dvorak has only one.

Dvorak is likely to bring in the most optimal value with that temporary slot, while Ristolainen will likely have to wait until the 2026 offseason or the 2027 trade deadline, when he’ll have one year remaining on his contract.

Other players the Flyers may consider dealing include defensemen Dennis Gilbert and Noah Juulsen, though seventh and eighth defensemen may not have much value by the deadline.

For the Flyers, opening a spot for an Oliver Bonk or a Helge Grans may even be sufficient after the opening few months of the Rick Tocchet era pass.

Beyond Dvorak, don’t expect the Flyers to be too active with buying or selling players at the 2026 NHL trade deadline.