A quick look at the Carolina Hurricanes roster shows an interesting thing. They had no free agents this year, save an RFA (Alexander Nikishin), and everyone else is locked up through the 2027-28 season. They have only five players scheduled to hit free agency following that year. There is a fairly good chance that they will re-sign most of those players, barring injury. They still retain all of their draft picks and have almost $10 million in salary cap space to play with.
Since Rod Brind’Amour took over as head coach, the Canes have become a force in the Eastern Conference, culminating in a Stanley Cup Championship this year. They have created a system based on how their coach used to play: aggressive but not reckless. They find players who fit the system and style of play they desire rather than acquiring players and trying to force them to fit the system. When the players respond well, they lock them up to long-term deals. As of right now, the Hurricanes have seven players on their roster signed up for at least the 2031 season. Yup. They’re going to be good for a while.
Carolina has star players and good players, but no superstars. It’s because they play well together, have great team chemistry, and are used to playing with each other. They are dangerous because they throw out four solid lines that can all beat you. We saw that first hand in the playoffs.
So what does this have to do with the Flyers? Quite a lot, actually. The signing of Trevor Zegras and the subsequent signing of Jamie Drysdale are a huge component of the Philadelphia Flyers moving forward to become an elite team.
Why the Zegras and Drysdale signings are a shift for Philly
A quick, cursory look at the Flyers’ lineup shows a similar shift to what the Hurricanes have done and are doing. Like the Canes, they have most of their draft picks for the next three years. Six core players are locked in to at least 2031. They also have over $13 million in cap space to play with. What does this have to do with Zegras and Drysdale?
Zegras came to this team as an “almost bust”. He had begun his career as a young, speedy forward who looked like Anaheim’s next star. Then he got hurt and, to some degree, was mismanaged. He was traded to Philly for Ryan Poehling, a decent bottom-six forward, and took off. He had one of the best seasons in his young career, and he can still get better.
Now, you can say that the money spent on Zegras shows that the Flyers valued Leo Carlsson more. Perhaps, but there is a reason for that. Carlsson is a more polished center than Zegras. The Flyers tried Zegras at center for a large chunk of last season. He struggled in the faceoff circle, eventually losing out to Christian Dvorak. It doesn’t mean the experiment is over. Zegras seemed to play stronger when on the left wing. Could he return to center? Maybe. Could he become the center that the Flyers have been looking for? Perhaps. He’s still 25 and could easily improve his overall game.
Likewise, Drysdale also had to shed a “bust label”. The interesting thing is that it was almost the same sort of circumstances that led to him being labeled damaged goods. After a promising rookie season, he was saddled with constant injuries and could never stay healthy. And let’s be fair to both Drysdale and Zegras, it’s not as if Anaheim had a good roster. I mean, there’s a reason why they’ve been at the bottom of the standings for a while now. (sidenote: I find it interesting that with all the top 10 picks the Ducks have had, so many of them got injured as young players, have wanted off the team, complained about the training staff, and then flourished elsewhere. Just sayin….)
The signings of Zegras and Drysdale are more than how Philly and Daniel Briere view them. It’s a signal to the rest of the team. If you play your heart out, if you commit to this team, you will be rewarded.
Cam York signed an extension not too long ago for $5.15 million. Travis Sanheim was the highest-paid defender at $6.25 million until Drysdale’s contract of $6.5 million, which makes sense. It’s in line with what they’ve already done.
The Flyers want to keep their young players happy. They want them playing here for a long time if they are happy. If Matvei Michkov bounces back, you can bet that Briere will lock him up before the All-Star Game so that they don’t get into an Anaheim-Carlsson sort of situation. Michkov is also the only important RFA they have next season.
The message is clear. If you play well and fit the system Rick Tocchet is building, the Flyers want to hold onto you. Keeping a core long-term, much like Carolina, is better than constantly bringing in new players all the time and “re-training them” to fit the system. It’s about keeping a core together that are used to how each other plays, know where they are all going to be on the ice at any time, and are more connected with each other.
Philly will reward their players for what they put on the ice. They’ve shown it in the past by rewarding castaways like Nick Seeler and lower draft picks like Noah Cates who perform. Philly is building something special here. The Flyers will soon become a place that free agents will want to come to again. Locking up Zegras and Drysdale is the first part of that.
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