The Philadelphia Flyers just made the playoffs for the first time in years that actually felt normal. They won a round too, which hasn’t happened since 2012 if you don’t count the bubble year. Rick Tocchet came back and somehow turned a team that looked lost into a group that bullied Pittsburgh in the first round.
Then Carolina swept them. The Hurricanes went on to win the Cup, which makes the sweep sting a little less but still hurts. The point is the Flyers are closer than they’ve been in a decade. And general manager Daniel Briere has about $32.5 million in cap space to speed things up.
The team already made a move trading for goalie Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit from Toronto, sending Emil Andrae and Samuel Ersson the other way. That helps the net situation on paper. But there’s another hole that’s been gaping for years.
The power play needs a real quarterback
Philadelphia’s man advantage has been average at best for what feels like forever. Jamie Drysdale put up nine power play points this season which is fine but he’s not the guy who controls a zone from the point. The Flyers don’t have that player right now.
Darren Raddysh is that guy. The Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman just had a monster season. We’re talking 22 goals and 70 points total with 26 of those points coming on the power play. Ten of those were goals. He was Tampa’s most dangerous weapon from the blue line with the extra man.
Now here’s where it gets complicated. This 70-point season is a massive outlier. Raddysh is 30 years old and had never cracked 40 points before 2025-26. So you’re looking at a single career year that might make some team pay him like he’s going to do it again every season.
The Flyers already have a crowded blue line too. Rasmus Ristolainen has been in trade rumors for years and moving him would clear up both cap space and roster space. That seems doable if Briere wants to make it happen.
But the real question is whether you trust a one-year breakout from a guy who turns 31 next season. Some team in this free agent class is going to give Raddysh term and money. The Flyers have to decide if they want to be that team.
He would change the way their power play operates. That much is obvious. And with Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras and Drysdale all needing new contracts this summer, the cap space will shrink fast. This might be the one chance to grab a game-changer on defense before the money gets tied up elsewhere.
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