July 23, 2026
Thomas Shea/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Vladimir Tarasenko is a veteran forward who should still be able to help a power play.
The Flyers should be in the quiet part of their offseason now.
Extensions for Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras, and Tyson Foerster are all taken care of, and there should be an upgrade in backup goaltending behind Dan Vadar (who also got an extension) after the Flyers made a trade with Toronto for Joseph Woll.
The offer sheet for star center Leo Carlsson represented a big swing, and record pay, that stood to change the outlook of the team overnight, but the Anaheim Ducks' call to match it in the end ultimately left the Flyers largely as they were.
But that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Right now the Flyers have a young roster that just proved good enough to be in the playoffs, and will have the added benefit of a full year for core pieces Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, and Alex Bump going into next season, after each arrived as rookies at their own points down the stretch.
And they're still going to have a good chunk of money to spend down the road, too, if another chance at landing a star pops up down the road.
So for the most part, the Flyers are good right now.
But, if general manager Danny Brière wants to go out and grab some extra reinforcements for this coming season, these three still-available free agents might not be bad ideas...
Tarasenko was a name of interest weeks before NHL free agency opened on July 1, and as of this writing, he's still available.
And all of the points made then still stand now.
Tarasenko is heading toward his 15th season and will be turning 35 in December, but he's adapted his game to keep himself as a productive forward further down the lineup as he's bounced around from team to team for the past few years.
Tarasenko scored 23 goals and 47 points with the Minnesota Wild last season, and five of his goals came on the power play, which would've instantly made him second on the Flyers behind Trevor Zegras' 10.
On the ice, he would hopefully be a short-term veteran boost to what's been a dreadful power play for the past several years.
Off of it, he would bring Stanley Cup experience to the locker room from his runs with St. Louis in 2019 and then Florida in 2024.
Furthermore, as a Russian skater who has been a star in this league, he could be a huge benefit to Matvei Michkov as the young winger tries to re-establish himself from a nasty sophomore slump.
The problem is that the Flyers are overloaded at the wings right now, but presuming that Tarasenko would be on a short-term and likely cost-effective deal, maybe he could slip into an Erik Johnson-type of leadership role for the forwards, where his playing time might gradually wind down as the year goes on, but not his effect throughout the locker room.
Soucy, who will turn 32 next week, is a veteran left-handed shot who overlapped with head coach Rick Tocchet in Vancouver.
Similar to Noah Juulsen, who left this summer for Colorado, Soucy would be a depth defenseman – as the sixth or seventh option – to have around to help instill Tocchet's philosophies and systems on the ice.
Soucy plays a pretty measured, stay-at-home game, where if everything is going well, the best thing you can say about him is that you don't even notice him – which is sometimes the best compliment you can pay to a non-star defenseman.
The Flyers, though, did get Simon Benoit as their gritty depth option as part of the Woll trade with Toronto, and also have a crowded blue line where they do want to see prospects David Jiříček, Olive Bonk, and/or Hunter McDonald try to earn their keep.
Soucy could still be a veteran safety net, though. Granted, that may only happen if something with the defense goes backward, which the Flyers would rather not bank on.
Defenseman Carson Soucy split last season between the Rangers and Islanders.
Brad Penner/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Stanley is a towering 6-foot-7 and 231-pound left shot, who is still somewhat young at 28 years old, and could be a diamond-in-the-rough find for the blue line if he remains on the market.
He was a plus-5 defenseman through 17 games in Buffalo after the Sabres acquired him from Winnipeg at the trade deadline, though he had a tough playoff run hampered by illness and an injury that Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekäläinen later said was “a lot worse than [Stanley] let on," per the Sabres' website after their season ended.
But if healthy, Stanley plays a mean and tough game on the ice that leaves all opposing skaters accountable, which could maybe set the Flyers up for a post-Rasmus Ristolainen future, as he only has a year left on his contract.
Brady Tkachuk and Logan Stanley DROPPED THE MITTS and it looks like the Stanimal got the win 😳🥊 pic.twitter.com/xmVnepBJ13
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 2, 2026
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