
Why the Flyers might have to consider trading the No. 6 pick in the NHL Draft
The state of the Philadelphia Flyers' rebuild after two years under general manager Daniel Briere essentially can be summed up like this:
They are not a team that has lost games on purpose (other than maybe the final game of this past season in Buffalo, when they started the leaky Aleksei Kolosov in net for the first time in four months), they have no plans to tank in the future — on the contrary, they plan on trying to win again next season — and, of course, they are still short on elite-level talent.
Advertisement
At some point, perhaps even sooner than later, Briere is going to have to part with a premium asset or two and take a chance on a player that he views as a future cornerstone.
And for another few weeks, one of those assets at his disposal is the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Now, of course, dealing that pick for anything other than a long-term solution at center, a true No. 1 defenseman or a legitimate scoring winger/leader whose game would translate in the playoffs would make little sense. The Flyers still need more depth in their system, particularly at center — and as it turns out, there are plenty of potential top-six centers high on this year's draft board.
Unless Brady Tkachuk, Quinn Hughes or Mason McTavish is available — or someone else of that status who has yet who has yet to appear in any trade rumors — it's still much more likely that the Flyers will end up using the pick, especially if they believe they can add more depth at center to join 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko.
But they've also already bought themselves a Plan B if they do end up trading that pick, in the form of two later first-round picks from Colorado and Edmonton and four more picks in the top half of the second round. They will have an opportunity to find some hidden gems in those slots, either by packaging some of them together to move up or simply using them all and hoping to hit on a few of them.
Notably, Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said last week: 'I think the second round actually has some depth to it.' So there will be other chances there for the Flyers to grab some good players if they do move the No. 6 selection, if you believe Flahr's appraisal.
Briere, when speaking with the media after the season, acknowledged that the Flyers could look into offer-sheeting a restricted free agent this summer. There's a danger in that, too — if they do go that route for a true, high-end player, and that offer sheet isn't matched, it would mean surrendering their 2026 first-round pick — and with it, a chance at Gavin McKenna, who could be the league's next superstar.
Advertisement
You only have to look at this year's draft lottery to be reminded of the danger of trading a first-round pick, as the New York Islanders moved up from No. 10 in the draft to No. 1. And as much as Briere has spoken about wanting the Flyers to be better next season, unless he can meaningfully fix the goaltending and the power play, finishing in the bottom third of the league again is entirely plausible.
In other words, if they're going to deal their first-round pick for a true impact player, they may be better off doing it this year rather than next.
It seems evident to me, at least based on what I've heard and seen online, that Flyers management believes the team is much closer to competing for a playoff spot than the majority of the fan base and even many in the media who cover the league. Which is understandable. The Flyers finished with the fourth-worst record in the NHL and are still technically rebuilding, and teams in their position don't typically end up trading their highest pick in the draft.
But again, the Flyers aren't approaching this rebuild the same way as some teams that finished below them — the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, in particular. Briere has said he believes the 2024-25 Flyers were better than their record, while president of hockey operations Keith Jones recently said in a radio interview that the days of trading away useful players in the middle of the season, as they've done for the past two seasons, are probably over.
That pivot was obviously sold to new coach Rick Tocchet, because you don't hire a guy like that if you expect the rebuild to last several more seasons. That's not something the 61-year-old Tocchet would likely be interested in, either.
Many pieces of what Briere and Jones hope will be a perennial playoff team are already in place. Matvei Michkov is here, Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim are locked up long-term, and now Tyson Foerster and Noah Cates are re-signed after the steps they took in 2024-25. It's a decent foundation.
But they need more top-end talent, and they're going to have to get creative in order to procure it. That means just about everything — other than that aforementioned group — is likely to be on the table this offseason.
Including the No. 6 overall pick.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Fox News
15 minutes ago
- Fox News
Aaron Judge delivers powerful statement with home run against Red Sox rookie who refuses to sign with Yankees
Aaron Judge heard what Boston Red Sox rookie Hunter Dobbins had to say about his New York Yankees. Instead of talking back, he let his bat do the talking on Sunday night. Before his Sunday start, Dobbins told the Boston Herald that he would rather retire than sign with the Yankees. Judge said before the game that he was "a little surprised" Dobbins, a lifelong Red Sox fan thanks to his die-hard father, made that comment. Judge wasted no time getting back at Dobbins on the field, smashing a 97 mph fastball 436 feet to right-center field for a two-run home run. The ball exited Judge's bat at 108.6 mph, and everyone in the Yankee Stadium crowd knew the tension that was already there with Dobbins' comments making national headlines. "I've only heard Ken Griffey say that, so I was a little surprised," Judge said of Dobbins' comments, via ESPN. He was referencing the Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who said he wouldn't sign with the Yankees during his career after seeing how the franchise treated his father, Ken Griffey Sr., while he played for him. In the end, though, Dobbins and the Red Sox got the last laugh. Despite giving up those two runs in the first inning, Dobbins was solid against the Yankees lineup after that. He allowed one more earned run and four hits total over his five innings of work. Boston's offense also unloaded midway through the rivalry game, with Kristian Campbell hitting a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to get them on the board. Then, in the top of the sixth inning, a five-spot was put on the home team thanks in part to Carlos Narvàez's three-run homer. The Red Sox would add two runs each in the top of the eighth and ninth innings to ultimately beat their AL East rival 11-7, winning their first series of the year two games to one. Judge went yard once more in the bottom of the ninth inning to cut the Red Sox's lead to four, going to the bullpen in right-center to finish his night 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI. Despite the loss over the weekend, the Yankees are still leading the division at 39-25. However, the Red Sox perhaps found some new life beating one of the best teams in baseball in this series. They are now 32-35 going into the week, where they will see New York once again with a weekend grudge match at Fenway Park in Boston. As of now, Dobbins is slated to face the Yankees in his next start. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.


CBS News
18 minutes ago
- CBS News
West Virginia's season ends after loss to LSU in super regional
Jake Brown hit a home run and had four RBIs, Steven Milam had two doubles and also drove in four runs and LSU beat West Virginia 12-5 on Sunday night to sweep the best-of-three Baton Rouge Super Regional. No. 6 seed LSU (48-15) clinched the program's 20th berth in the College World Series, where the Tigers will try to win their eighth national championship — all since 1991, the most recent in 2023. Derek Curiel led off the game with a double and scored to make it 1-0 when Brown reached on a fielder's choice in the first inning and the Tigers led the rest of the way. Anthony Eyanson (11-2) gave up four runs on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in five innings. Chris Stanfield, Curiel and Ethan Frey each drew a two-out walk to load the bases before Milam cleared the bases with a double off starter Jack Kartsonas (6-4) to spark a five-run second that made it 6-0. After Jace Rinehart hit a two-out solo shot and pinch-hitter Chase Swain drew a walk, Chase Shores came on a struck out Brodie Kresser swinging to end the eighth and the pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. Sam White hit a leadoff homer and Ben Lumsden added a two-run shot in the fourth before White added an RBI single in the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-4. Stanfield hit a two-RBI single to spark a six-run seventh, capped when Brown's two-run home run gave LSU an eight-run lead. Milam and Josh Pearson each hit a grand slam as LSU beat the Mountaineers 16-9 in Game 1 on Saturday. West Virginia (44-16) set the program's single-season record for wins under first-year coach Steve Sabins. The Mountaineers advanced to their first-ever super regional last season. The game had originally been scheduled for 5:06 p.m. local time but was delayed approximately three hours due to inclement weather in the area.


Washington Post
19 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Jim Irsay's three daughters will take over ownership of the Colts, team says
The three daughters of late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay will take over ownership of the franchise, the team announced Monday. Irsay's eldest daughter, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, will succeed her father as the team's principal owner and will have the title of chief executive officer, the Colts said. The Colts said that 'all three sisters will share leadership duties for the club,' adding that the ownership transition was being done 'pursuant to longstanding plans set forth by Jim Irsay.' The new roles and titles for the three women are 'effective immediately,' according to the team.