Transaction Analysis: Flyers Focus on Big Picture at Deadline

Flyers general manager Daniel Briere had a busy day at the NHL trade deadline on Friday. He made three deals with other teams and several callups from the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The common thread was a focus on what the organization aims to do over the next year or two rather than mostly being geared toward the rest of the current season.

In many ways, Friday's deadline transactions were the next logical step after the January 31^st trade that sent Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to the Calgary Flames for Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier. The primary motivation for that trade was to open salary cap space in the relatively near future, and also to open roster space beyond this season for players such as 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko. The Flyers also added an energetic young winger in Pelletier.

The primary deadline moves on Friday were partially geared toward a similar goal. Primarily, though, the moves were about adding assets and a prospect to the organization. Following is a brief rundown of the deals.

1. The Flyers dealt Kuzmenko to the LA Kings for a 2027 third-round pick

Kuzmenko is an unrestricted free agent this summer. He played well during his seven games with the Flyers (two goals, three assists) following the trade from Calgary. However, the 29-year-old winger has a career history of streakiness, making a splash immediately after his arrival with a team and then going into a prolonged stretch of struggling to produce offensively while being inconsistent in off-puck details. Above all, however, at age 29, Kuzmenko was tough to project as being part of the plan beyond the current season unless he produced at a very high level and made it hard to justify not trying to preempt his unrestricted free agency.

The Flyers agreed to retain the maximum 50 percent on Kuzmenko's expiring deal. Doing so bumped up the returning 2027 asset by a round or two. The Flyers also included a 2025 seventh-round pick in what went back to Calgary.

2. The Flyers trade Scott Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2027 first-round pick and wing prospect Nikita Grebenkin

The Flyers locker room atmosphere is going to be different for some time. Laughton, who was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, was a galvanizing presence for his now-former team: universally respected by the other players and appreciated for how he went the extra mile (on or off the ice) for every one of his colleagues.

Hockey is a business, but bonds run deep within the locker room, especially with homegrown players who had spent their entire careers with the Flyers. There were emotional goodbyes after the well-liked Farabee and Frost were traded, and even more so when leadership group mainstay Laughton (a member of the organization since the 2012 Draft) goes to another team. For the Flyers, though, the primary allure of the trade is receiving the 2027 first-round pick to add to their collection of high-end assets over the next three Drafts.

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Grebenkin is an intriguing prospect. He's big (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) coming to an organization that lacks skilled wingers with good size. Grebenkin is a fine passer with good playmaking instincts. He's more of apass-first player than a shooter but has a decent shot when he elects to pull the trigger. His skating isn't extraordinary but not deficient.

Grebenkin enjoyed a breakout KHL season in 2023-24 with the championship winning Metallurg Magnitogorsk team: 19 goals and 41 points in 67 games. This season, in 39 games with the AHL's Toronto Marlies and seven NHL matches with the Maple Leafs, he's shown flashes of his upside. He's still adapting to the structure and style of North American pro hockey. The organization has said that Grebenkin will get every opportunity to prove himself but will not be rushed to the NHL roster.

Off the ice, Grebenkin has a colorful and engaging personality. He and Flyers rookie winger Matvei Michkov are friends off the ice.

The Flyers are retaining 50 percent of Laughton's remaining salary. He will become an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season. Philadelphia also sent a fourth-round pick in the 2025 Draft and a sixth-round pick in 2027 to Toronto as part of the deal.

3. The Flyers traded veteran defenseman Erik Johnson to the Colorado Avalanche for winger Givani Smith.

The Flyers sent the 36-year-old Johnson back to his longtime team in order to have a chance to compete for the second Stanley Cup championship of his career. Earlier this season, while with the Flyers, Johnson suited up in the 1,000th regular season game of his NHL career. Overall, he dressed in 22 games for the Flyers this season after appearing in 17 games for Philly last year after coming over from the Buffalo Sabres. Off the ice, he brought an articulate veteran voice and a very approachable presence to the dressing room.

Smith, 27, brings an aggressive physical style of play and a willingness to use his size (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) to battle. Before joining Colorado (seven games), he started out the 2024-25 season with the San Jose Sharks (six games). After clearing waivers while with the Avalanche, he dressed in seven American Hockey League games with the Colorado Eagles. While with San Jose, he gave some rough treatment to Michkov and ended up in a battle with Johnson.

Smith, whose brother Gemel has also played in the NHL, has 168 games of NHL experience. He was originally drafted in the second round of the 2016 Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, 46th overall. The hope was that he'd eventually develop into a power forward who could play at least as a third-line winger in addition to bringing a bruising physical presence. As a pro, Smith has mostly played on the fourth line for the Red Wings, Panthers, Sharks and Avalanche. Along with Grebenkin, Smith will report to the Phantoms.

4. AHL recalls

The Flyers made several recalls from the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms after Friday's series of trades. Defenseman Emil Andrae (24 NHL games played this season), center Rodrigo Abols (nine games with the Flyes) and winger Olle Lycksell (six games) have all been called up with the intention of having them on the NHL roster for the rest of the season.

Abols will step into the lineup spot vacated by Laughton. Lycksell will take over Kuzmenko's role, including a projected opportunity to see power play time with the NHL club. Johnson's departure opened an NHL roster spot for Andrae to return. In terms of playing time, Andrae will compete for a spot in the starting lineup. Additionally, the Flyers loaned rookie goaltender Alexsei Kolosov back to the Phantoms.