August 18, 2026
Eric Hartline/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Hunter McDonald will be one of the defensemen pushing for a roster spot at Flyers training camp next month.
The Flyers signed defenseman Hunter McDonald to a two-year contract on Tuesday, checking off the last of their restricted free agents for the summer.
McDonald's contract is set as a two-way/one-way deal with an annual cap hit of $912,500 for the NHL level. His 2026-27 salary will fluctuate depending on whether he's up with the Flyers or down in the AHL with the Phantoms, but will then have a direct, guaranteed rate regardless of where he is in 2027-28.
McDonald, a former sixth-round pick from the 2022 draft, is a big and physical stay-at-home defenseman whose stock has risen pretty steadily within the organization through the past several years.
He posted an even plus/minus rating and six assists in 65 games with the Phantoms last season, then came up to the Flyers for that last regular-season game against Montreal in mid-April and looked comfortable skating with the team's other youngsters in what felt like a glimpse of the Flyers' near future.
McDonald's standout moment in that 4-2 win over the Canadiens was when he took a stride down the offensive zone wall to deliver a crushing hit that jarred the puck loose for forward Matvei Michkov to collect and then pass to fellow blueliner Oliver Bonk, who fired away for his first NHL goal.
For that night, McDonald skated 15:11 with a plus-3 rating and his first NHL assist, which looked like it set the 24-year-old up for a chance to challenge after an NHL roster spot at Flyers training camp next month.
Bonk, 21 and a former first-round pick from 2023, and reclamation project David Jiříček will be looking to do the same, though, so there should be a healthy competition ahead.
Granted, that should be a good sign for the state of the Flyers' prospect pipeline, too.
The final rundown of the Flyers' RFAs from this summer and the deals they signed for:
• F Trevor Zegras: 4 years, $36.5 million ($9.125 million per)
• F Nikita Grebenkin: 2 years, $2.2 million ($1.1 million per)
• D Jamie Drysdale: 4 years, $26 million ($6.5 million per)
• D Hunter McDonald: 2 years, $1.825 million ($912,500 per, two-way/one-way)
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