Flyers, Drysdale avoid arbitration with new 4-year deal

With five days remaining before an arbitration hearing, the Philadelphia Flyers avoided that prospect with restricted free agent defenseman Jamie Drysdale, agreeing to terms on a 4-year contract extension worth a reported $6.5 million per year average annual value.

First with the report, per usual, was Elliotte Friedman of Canada's Sportsnet. 

In a statement issued by the team shortly after the initial tweet, Flyers GM Danny Briere said: "We're excited to have Jamie remain a key part of our organization for years to come. Since we acquired him, Jamie has worked extremely hard and taken big steps in his development and has established himself as a reliable piece on our back end with the ability to impact the game in all situations. 

"We believe his best hockey is still ahead of him and he's going to play an important role in strengthening our blue line as we continue to build."

Per club policy, no specific terms of the contract were revealed, but PuckPedia reported the breakdown is as follows:

2026-27: $4M salary, $4M signing bonus

2027-28: $4M salary, $3M signing bonus

2028-29: $6M salary

2029-30: $5M salary

As it was reported in the Zegras extension announced on Wednesday, Drysdale's contract also includes a 6-team modified no trade clause (NTC) Year 3 and a modified 4-team NTC in Year 4.

"In this league, there's always moving parts. I've been fortunate, played with most of the group here," Drysdale noted when asked during a Monday afternoon video conference call about the confidence of playing with a stable roster. "I think there's a lot of guys (who are) ready to take steps year in and year out. Everyone knows we're going to work our butts off in the offseason, come back with higher expectations."

The 24-year-old Drysdale completed his 6th NHL campaign by posting 32 points (8G, 24A), while averaging 21:33 of ice time over 78 regular-season games. He added 2 power-play goals and 4 points across the club's 10 playoff contests. 

As a result of reducing his plus-minus rating from minus-32 to minus-3 as well as earning an uptick of more than a minute-and-a-half per game compared to 2024-25, Drysdale was given the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Award. The honor, inaugurated in 1994 and voted on by fellow teammates, recognizes the most improved player.

"I did not have a good year the year before. I needed to step up, so that was part one of going into this year with a different mindset," Drysdale said when asked about the driving forces behind his improvement during the presser. "And part two, the staff, the coaches, teammates, everything across the board. So many people played a part in it and ... it was a good year and I think there's still a lot more in the tank."

Acquired in January 2024 from the Anaheim Ducks -- who selected him 6th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft -- in the infamous deal which sent Flyers draftee and former Boston College forward Cutter Gauthier to the West Coast, the native of Ontario has collected 102 points over 295 career regular-season appearances since moving up to the NHL during the COVID-shortened 2021 season.

When prompted at the presser about the atmosphere around the teams in the wake of the deal, Drysdale smartly failed to take the bait. After all, despite the Flyers' 5-2 victory over Anaheim in Philadelphia on Jan. 6, which took on the distinct air of Broad Street Bullies hockey, Drysdale was the victim of a dirty hit by the Ducks' Ross Johnston which caused him to miss the next 3 games.

The agreement removed the possibility of an arbitration hearing scheduled for Monday, July 20. As it stands, the lone loose end among RFAs is Nikita Grebenkin, who is not arbitration eligible.

Flyers 2026-27 schedule announced

The National Hockey League revealed the respective schedules for its 32 member franchises on Thursday afternoon, which for the Philadelphia Flyers, means an 84-game slate to commemorate the club's 60th season.

While no times or broadcast schedule were disclosed with the announcement, here's what we know about the full slate at this time:

The Flyers will open up in September for the first time in their history, a Sept. 30 home opener vs. the rival Pittsburgh Penguins -- followed by a road game the next night as the opponent for the New Jersey Devils' home opener.

Previously, the earliest the Orange and Black began a regular season was Oct. 1, 1997, when the NHL paused for 3 1/2 weeks to send its best players to international Olympic competition for the first time. In addition, this season is expected to be the first full 84-game regular season since 1993-94, with the planned 84-game schedule shortened to 48 games per team due to the lockout which wiped out games from Oct. 1 through Jan. 19.

The club will play its most games in the month of January, with 16 scheduled and split evenly between home and road dates.

The season is set to conclude on Apr. 10 with the second of two matchups with the Washington Capitals -- which may be the final regular season game in the storied career of all-time goals leader Alex Ovechkin.

Key dates and matchups are as follows:

• The defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes come to Philly on Oct. 3, the third scheduled game of this upcoming season.
• There is a Black Friday home slot open for Nov. 27 against the Vancouver Canucks, which is typically played in the afternoon since the league began to regularly schedule home games on this date since 1989. 
• There will be no New Year's Eve game, but instead a New Year's Day contest at San Jose.
• Embedded in the schedule is a 10-day break for the Flyers between Feb. 3 and Feb. 13, presumably an extended pause for All-Star festivities. 
• Nathan McKinnon and the Presidents' Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche make their lone visit on Oct. 19, while the Anaheim Ducks return to Philadelphia on Oct. 24. 
• Mike Babcock, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl head to Philly with the Oilers on Nov. 15.

For more information on the full schedule, head to the official team page.

No hearing for Zegras, who becomes Flyers' highest paid player with 4-year extension

Late Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers announced a deal securing one of their two remaining arbitration-eligible players, with center/winger Trevor Zegras signed to a 4-year pact worth an average annual value of $9.125 million.

Zegras, whose contract status was up in the air as GM Danny Briere began to sift through the rubble of some unrestricted free agents and other RFAs to shape next year's roster, was set to have a hearing next Wednesday, July 22, if no deal could be finalized. 

"We're thrilled to have Trevor committed to our organization for the next 4 years," Briere said in a team-issued statement which accompanied the extension. 

"The growth he showed this past season, proving that he is the skilled player he entered the league as, reinforced our belief that he will be an impact player for the Flyers for the years to come. He's the type of player who can help take our team to the next level and we're excited to continue building alongside him."

For Zegras -- now the highest paid player per AAV on the club, eclipsing Konecny's $8.75M AAV -- this new deal is set to expire in July 2030 when he will become a UFA, when he will be 29 years old. Coincidentally, termination of the extension occurs at the same time as long-time center and team captain Sean Couturier's $7.75M deal as well as defenseman Cam York's $5.15M AAV contract. 

"When we negotiated with Trevor ... we looked at everything from 1 to 8 years, going back and forth. Four seemed to be the sweet spot. There was some give and take on both sides," Briere noted about the progression of contract discussions during a Thursday morning video press conference. "There's a lot of details that goes into a negotiation. That's where we ended up with 4 (years) with more traction in this case."

No additional terms of the contract were made publicly available, but multiple reports suggest it carries a 10-team no-trade clause in the 3rd year, with an additional 6-team NTC in the final year of the deal.

Although suffering through some rough patches in terms of production at the beginning of his first season here as well as a pre-Olympic slump, the 25-year-old put together career highs of 26 goals and 67 points over 81 regular-season games, including team highs of 23 points (10G, 13A) on an eternally struggling power play. 

His point total, second only to Travis Konecny's team-high 68, arrived despite periods when head coach Rick Tocchet would slot him in as both center and wing, sometimes both in the span of a single game when necessary. 

This, along with stretches of team-wide goal droughts and injuries which stretched the forward lines thin during the winter, affected his game-to-game output with respect to shot totals; although Tocchet favors "low event games" which solidified Zegras' two-way play, that purposeful lack of offensive force was another factor in Zegras' relatively low shot totals and shooting percentage. 

While hampered by injury like many of his teammates in brutal series against the Penguins and Hurricanes, Zegras added 6 points (2G, 4A) and 26 penalty minutes while participating in all 10 postseason outings.

In the wake of the Ducks matching Briere's offer sheet to RFA Leo Carlsson late last week, as well as the known unknowns of the remainder of the summer, it is unclear whether Briere will try to find another top center. It also remains to be seen whether Tocchet would install Zegras or Christian Dvorak as a permanent 1C if no further impactful roster moves are made.

"That's not up to me to decide," Briere admitted in the video presser, while also later revealing, "The Leo Carlsson offer sheet and Trevor Zegras contract had nothing to do with each other."

On Tocchet's challenge to Zegras to de-emphasize the highlight reel and become a more complete player, Briere said: "He wanted to prove to 'Tocc' that he's more about winning. Even in this negotiation, he took charge. He said he wanted to be in Philly. Trevor was really involved. I have to give him a lot of credit for how he carried himself last year."

Heading into his 7th NHL season, the native of Westchester County, New York and one-season wonder at Boston University has totaled 253 points (93G, 160A) over 349 regular-season appearances, which includes 37 PPGs and 15 game-winning tallies for Anaheim and Philadelphia.

Briere has one more loose end remaining, that of the pending arbitration hearing of defenseman Jamie Drysdale, scheduled for next Monday, July 20. In addition, RFA Nikita Grebenkin's contract status is also as yet unresolved, but he, unlike Zegras and Drysdale, is not arbitration eligible.

"I'm glad it's done," Briere said. "It's much nicer to get a deal done, and a long-term deal done, rather than go through arbitration."