Flyers Tender Qualifying Offers to 4 of 10 Restricted Free Agents

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Brière has already dipped into the trade market twice this offseason, and like the rest of the league, took care of his drafting duties last weekend. Now, sights are set on free agency, with the first major deadline coming Monday at 5 p.m. Eastern, when qualifying offers are due.

When the NHL salary cap was tight over the last decade, some legitimately good players could slip through the cracks into unrestricted free agency. Dylan Strome is probably the face of this movement, unqualified by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022 after a 48-point season, only to post the four highest-scoring seasons of his career since leaving for the Washington Capitals, peaking at a point-per-game level in 2024-25.

Maybe that will still happen — Matias Maccelli wasn’t tendered an offer by the Toronto Maple Leafs after a 39-point campaign and two seasons removed from that one of 57 points with the Arizona Coyotes. But it feels less likely now. Fortunately for the Flyers, they didn’t have many hard decisions to make. But they did check off a couple of boxes for forming next season’s team.

Who Was Qualified

The Flyers have two of the top restricted free agents on the market this summer. Trevor Zegras‘ resurgent 67-point inaugural season in Philadelphia has him tied for the fourth-highest-scoring RFA on the market. The Flyers’ marquee acquisition of last offseason is at the forefront of the news again, although this time, it should be about staying put rather than heading somewhere new.

Among defensemen, only Alexander Nikishin outscored Jamie Drysdale’s 32 points, and only by one. Nikishin’s contract ask could be so big (reportedly around $8 million, per The Athletic‘s Chris Johnston) that it prompts Carolina Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky to trade him, especially if they can sign John Carlson after trading for his UFA rights (from “NHL offseason trade board 6.0: Wheeling and dealing continues after a busy draft,” The Athletic, June 29, 2026).

Nikishin has a Cup ring, so he’s got some extra clout. But Drysdale is no slouch himself, exceeding his previous career-high in average ice time by over 1:30 and playing like a quality top-four defenseman. He scored a career-best eight goals, five after the start of February, and two more in the playoffs.

Less proven are the other two players the Flyers chose to keep around. Nikita Grebenkin was decent in his first extended NHL action, posting 14 points in 55 games of bottom-six action. He popped at times, but his short-term future is in question after missing the team’s final 21 games (including the playoffs), and Brière is unsure whether the winger will be healthy for training camp. But he is just 23 and was a fairly important piece of the Scott Laughton trade last March.

His 62-game NHL career makes him look like a seasoned veteran compared to defenseman Hunter McDonald. The sixth-round pick is currently tied with Hall of Famer Paul Kariya for 78th in points per game in NHL history (as well as Bill Armstrong, Risto Jalo and Egor Korshkov, among others) after picking up an assist in his NHL debut in Game 82 this season. Jokes aside, offense isn’t McDonald’s game, and with a similar player joining the pipeline in first-rounder Maxim Sokolovskii, it’s almost time to put up or shut up.

Grebenkin and (especially) McDonald could accept their qualifying offers, which would be a one-year contract slightly under $900,000. But this move buys time for the Flyers’ front office to continue negotiating with them, and, more importantly, Zegras and Drysdale, on whatever type of contract their hearts desire. All except Grebenkin are eligible for arbitration, who’s also the only one ineligible for an offer sheet. But the Flyers would highly likely prefer to get things done without that route.

Who Wasn’t Qualified

As you’d expect, the Flyers aren’t saying goodbye to anyone significant. In fact, none of their six unqualified RFAs played for them in 2025-26, although two do have NHL experience, and four were players Brière traded for during the season.

Philip Tomasino is the lone player who fits both of those categories. A first-round pick by the Nashville Predators in 2019, Tomasino was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins two seasons ago, then sent to the Flyers for Egor Zamula (who also didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Columbus Blue Jackets, whom he signed with after mutually terminating his contract). Tomasino does have three 20-point NHL seasons and was fairly productive for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but it wasn’t enough to extend his look.

The Flyers have actually added a Michigan State Spartan late in the season each of the last two years, but 2025’s signing of undrafted free agent Karsen Dorwart wasn’t quite as memorable as Porter Martone’s debut, to say the least. Dorwart played five games for the Flyers last season but didn’t pop much for the Phantoms, recording fewer points in 70 games than Tomasino did in 38. Even though this was his first pro season, he’s only a year younger than him and evidently didn’t show enough to stay around either.

A swap of second-round picks in October didn’t yield much long-term impact. The Flyers acquired Christian Kyrou from the Dallas Stars for Samu Tuomaala. While it’s always intriguing when trading for a right-handed defenseman with some draft pedigree, Kyrou had an uphill battle to even contend for a spot on the depth chart.

He did score at a solid clip for the Phantoms, notching 34 points in 55 games as their leading defensive scorer, which is a jump in production — just not enough of one, apparently. Tuomaala wasn’t qualified by Dallas, either.

The other minor trade touched on here was the acquisition of Tucker Robertson from the Seattle Kraken for J.R. Avon, whom Seattle re-signed on Monday. His profile is similar to Dorwart’s, and ultimately, so is his contract status. Brett Harrison was part of a two-for-two swap of minor leaguers with the Boston Bruins, recording 21 points across both teams’ American Hockey League affiliates.

Artem Guryev was part of the deal with the San Jose Sharks to offload Ryan Ellis’ contract. That trade did give the Flyers a useful NHL piece, but it was Carl Grundstrom, who’s also likely to leave the organization as an unrestricted free agent (UFA).

What Happens Now?

Tomasino, Dorwart, Kyrou, Robertson, Harrison and Guryev are set to become UFAs on July 1. It’s not ridiculously uncommon to see players like them re-sign with their original team; for example, that’s what Nils Lundkvist did with the Stars in 2024. But there’s no obligation on either side to reunite.

Are there any other unqualified RFAs the Flyers should target? Not really. There are only four players who went unqualified with more than 20 points: Maccelli, the San Jose Sharks’ Philipp Kurashev, the St. Louis Blues’ Jonathan Berggren… and old friend Bobby Brink, who was healthy scratched for six of ten playoff games with the Minnesota Wild. While a reunion would have some good vibes, none of those feel likely to make a dent in a crowded Flyers forward group that already has plenty of competition for its final spots.