Flyers General Manager Daniel Briere met with the media at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees on Tuesday. Briere laid out his general goals for the 2025-26 season and beyond.
"The goal is to build a contender for years to come. The goal is not just to make the playoffs one year, get knocked out and disappear for two years. The goal is to build a team that's going to become a contender for years to come, (and) to sustain that level, and eventually win the Stanley Cup," the general manager said.
"The toughest part is to be patient, even for me. Sometimes you want to do some moves that can help you right now. I try to remind myself the big goal is to build a team that can sustain that level for years to come."
Here are five takeaways from the press conference.
1. Injury updates: Flyers using abundance of caution
Briere started the press conference by providing a series of injury updates on players who dealt with physical issues last season and/or over the summer.
- Tyson Foerster: The burgeoning third-year NHL winger wore a non-contact jersey during a scrimmage on Tuesday. Foerster dealt with an upper-body injury over the summer. According to Briere, the medical reports are positive. The player will take a little extra time to get caught up on his gym conditioning because of lost time over the summer. The plan as of now is to remove the non-contact jersey soon and get Foerster involved in preseason games mid-camp. If all goes well, he should be ready for the regular season.
- Jett Luchanko: The 19-year-old center dealt with a groin issue over the summer. He has not suffered any setbacks. However, in an abundance of caution, he was held out of Rookie Camp and the Rookie Series. He's expected to be on the ice when NHL training camp starts on Friday.
- Rasmus Ristolainen: The big Finnish veteran defenseman underwent surgery in the spring to repair a torn tricep. The Flyers knew all along that he'd miss training camp and the start of the 2025-26 regular season. He had not had any setbacks. The goal is for him to be ready to return to game action sometime in the second month of the regular season.
- Oliver Bonk: The rookie defenseman was held out of the Rookie Series. Initially, the plan was for Bonk to play in the second game. However, he was not able to go in the second game. He's dealing with a minor upper-body issue. Bonk wore a non-contact jersey in a scrimmage on Tuesday.
2. Young forwards need to take the next step
Briere said that, for the Flyers team to substantially improve from their 76-point campaign of 2024-25, young players have to take the next step in their development over the course of the entire year.
Up front, the process starts with players like Matvei Michkov, Foerster and Bobby Brink. Specific to Michkov, who led all NHL rookies in scoring last year, it's primarily about evolving his "baseline" game with fewer valleys and peaks. That comes with experience.
"One bad game becomes having one bad period and then just one bad shift. It's little bumps over the course of the year," Briere said.
3. York and Drysdale vital to defense corps growth
On the blueline, Briere identified Cam York and Jamie Drysdale as two critical players who must find their "A" game on a consistent basis.
The general manager said York's 2023-24 season, especially defensively, was more like the player they expect to see this year. Meanwhile, there's room to grow into the offensive producer he was projected to be with the USNTDP, at University of Michigan. the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and earlier in his NHL career.
Drysdale appeared to turn a corner in the second half of last season. The speedy blueliner needs to make consistent offensive impact while continuing to evolve his all-around game. Drysdale continued to add muscle (for the second straight offseason) this summer. The Flyers need a healthy and productive young NHL veteran version of the player.
Meanwhile, if Emil Andrae is to stake down a regular NHL job on the Flyers' blueline, Briere said that the version the team saw early last season has to become the consistent version. Andrae severely lacks size but showed flashes of making an impact on games with his vision and puck movement.
The Flyers need more than flashes of upside from Andrae in camp and the preseason if the Swedish defenseman wants to force his way into the blueline mix.
4. Goaltending pecking order is set -- for now
Heading into training camp, Samuel Ersson and Dan Vladar are slated to be the top two goalies on the Flyers' depth chart. It's up to Ersson to stake down the 1A role in a tandem or primary starter's spot. Meanwhile, it's on newcomer Vladar to put pressure on Ersson for playing time in a viable tandem. Performance will determine playing time splits.
Briere said second-year goaltender Aleksei Kolosov is now No. 3 on the goalie depth chart. He can earn opportunities to see additional NHL playing time and show he belongs in the conversation.
The recent trade that sent Ivan Fedotov to the Columbus Blue Jackets served two purposes. It cleared room for Kolosov to get a lot of playing time for Lehigh Valley right off the bat (unless an NHL injury changes the outlook). Secondly, it created some salary cap breathing room.
Additionally, rookie goalie Carson Bjarnason now has space to settle in with Lehigh Valley in his first pro season. Bjarnason is fourth on the depth chart entering 2025-26. The hope, of course, is for the netminder to move up the list as he gains experience over the next couple seasons.
5. A destination to play, and to stay
The NHL salary cap is expected to continue to rise in the next couple years. Briere was asked if the aim is for Philadelphia to establish itself as an NHL team on the rise this year and become an attractive destination for free agents over the next year or two.
The general manager acknowledged that the Flyers want to become a "destination team" again on a leaguewide basis. However, he's not planning things on the basis of which outside players might be available and interested in a future offseason. Rather, Briere said, players on the current roster and the farm system are the focus both in terms of roster construction and cap planning for the longer haul.
"We've said it from day one. We want to become a destination. But when we do our plan, we don't plan with the expectation that one of those [outside] guys is going to be free. We want to get the team in the right direction," Briere said.
"When we save cap space, it could be for Matvei Michkov, who keeps getting better and better. Tyson Foerster keeps getting better and better, and all those young guys who are on the way. It doesn't have to be to go outside. But we want to be a destination."
