Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Brière has received a lot of credit for his work during the offseason, especially after trading for Trevor Zegras (who could become the first Flyer with an 80-point season since Claude Giroux in 2018-19), and goaltender Dan Vladař, who is 15th in the NHL with 13.5 goals saved above expected (per Money Puck).
However, some of that praise should also be saved for acquiring Christian Dvorak. Although he’s not as skilled as Zegras or as essential as the quality goaltending that Vladař has provided, the former Arizona Coyote and Montréal Canadiens has been vital to the team’s success. Dvorak is third on the Flyers in scoring and on pace to score 54 points despite never reaching 40 in his first nine seasons.
Offense has never been the focal point of Dvorak’s game, though. He’s made those offensive gains while playing center in difficult matchups and averaging more penalty kill time than any Flyer forward except Sean Couturier. He’s been a quality two-way center, supplementing Couturier and Noah Cates down the middle while more than making up for the loss of Ryan Poehling, who was part of the package to acquire Zegras.
Unlike Zegras and Vladař, the Flyers don’t have Dvorak after this season. Zegras is a restricted free agent, while Vladař pushed for a two-year contract that Brière ultimately signed. Dvorak, meanwhile, received a bloated $5.4 million cap hit to keep his term down, with the Flyers reluctant to spend significant money in free agency at this stage of their team construction.
With a quality first half in the City of Brotherly Love, it’s not a massive surprise that the Flyers are considering extending the relationship. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on his weekly Saturday Headlines segment that the Flyers are “talking extension” and “other teams out there do not expect Dvorak to hit the market.”
However, a quality two-and-a-half months shouldn’t cause the Flyers to forget about the reason they were so keen on limiting the term on Dvorak’s original contract. Philadelphia is still rebuilding, and they must ensure a potential extension for the 28-year-old fits with that identity.
Identifying the Pipeline in Extending Dvorak
The most important thing to consider when deciding whether extending Dvorak makes sense is whether he would block any of the Flyers’ prospects from entering the top nine. It’s a bit trickier a proposition than it seems since Dvorak can play center or on the wing. There’s still a chance that Zegras becomes a center long-term, although head coach Rick Tocchet has shown next to no appetite to do that this season.
Most of Philadelphia’s top young talent plays the wing, from players right on the NHL’s doorstep, like Alex Bump and Denver Barkey, to 2025 sixth overall pick Porter Martone, who is expected to make his NHL debut early next season at the latest. Jett Luchanko, a first-round pick in 2023, has played eight NHL games (four this season and last). It’s possible that he could make the team out of camp next year, although extended time in the American Hockey League may be best for his development.
The team’s top center prospects behind Luchanko are Jack Nesbitt and Jack Berglund. Both were taken in the first two rounds (Nesbitt 12th overall, Berglund 51st), but are still just teenagers. Nesbitt did make a nice impression at training camp, but he’s still about two weeks away from his 19th birthday (from ‘The Flyers’ other first-round pick, Jack Nesbitt, could ‘push the envelope’ at training camp,’ Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 15, 2025). And given the suboptimal yo-yoing the Flyers have done with Luchanko, they may be more hesitant to push Nesbitt or Berglund into NHL action until they’re clearly ready.
It’s almost certain that Dvorak won’t re-sign for merely another singular season. A two-year contract doesn’t come with too much risk, but adding more term than that starts to push right up against when the team’s next wave of centers should start knocking on the door. The Flyers’ cap picture already has two long-term commitments down the middle in Sean Couturier (signed through 2030) and Noah Cates (signed through 2029).
Crafting a Contract for Dvorak
With Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel already extended, the 2026 unrestricted free agent center crop isn’t exactly teeming with high-end options. Dvorak is currently the sixth-highest scoring center set to hit the open market on July 1, with three of the others 35 years or older.
Looking back on last year’s class, two centers stand out as relevant comps for Dvorak. The first is Pius Suter, a similarly defensive-minded pivot who delivered a similar offensive breakout, upping his career-high in points from 36 to 46. Suter switched teams, signing a two-year contract with an average annual value of $4.125 million with the St. Louis Blues.
Another player to look at is Ryan Donato, who declined to hit free agency and re-upped with the Chicago Blackhawks for a four-year deal worth $4 million per season. Donato also delivered a career-best offensive season in his platform campaign. His 31-goal, 62-point season is a bit more than what Dvorak is pacing to produce, but Donato doesn’t kill penalties and isn’t nearly as strong on face-offs.
It’s worth noting that both Suter and Donato have seen their numbers drop this season, as their shooting percentages have regressed toward their career norms. Suter scored 25 goals in 2024-25 at an 18.1% clip, while Donato also set a career-high with 31 tallies, scoring on 17% of his shots. Both exceeded their career averages by about five percent; they’re both within two percentage points so far in 2025-26, with 16 combined goals in 76 games.
The good news for the Flyers is that Dvorak isn’t a similar risk in that regard; his 12.9% mark this season is right in line with his 13% career average. He’s driving play, too, although his long-term track record is a bit spottier in that department.
With the cap set to rise to $104 million for the 2026-27 season, a contract worth the same percentage of the cap as Donato and Suter’s would be between $4.36 million and $4.49 million. Philadelphia could try to increase the cap hit to limit the term, with only about $57 million committed for next season and over $7 million in dead money coming off the books.
Other Factors to Consider in Re-Signing Dvorak
It’s worth noting that the three biggest contracts Brière has signed in terms of total value all included some form of trade protection. Owen Tippett has a 10-team no-trade list in years three through six of his eight-year deal that began last season. Nick Seeler’s four-year contract, which also kicked in a season ago, contains a full no-trade clause, but only for the first two seasons. Travis Konecny’s eight-year deal includes a full no-move clause in years one through six, before it drops to a 14-team no-trade list.
Related: When Will the Flyers’ Cup Window Begin and End?
While the Flyers don’t figure to be major players at the trade deadline, they could look to be very aggressive in the offseason. Their ample cap space and quality 2027 Draft capital (an extra first and third round pick), and the impending logjam on the wing, make them a logical choice to make a move. The last thing the Flyers would want to do is box themselves out of acquiring a legitimate difference maker. Dvorak isn’t that, but he’s undoubtedly been a key piece to the team’s success this season.
