Philadelphia has been the center of the sports world this summer, and the 76ers signing LeBron James on Friday put an exclamation mark on that.
The City of Brotherly Love has once again landed a top free agent. It all started in 2019 when the Phillies signed Bryce Harper, the Eagles then dipped into the free agency pool to steal Saquon Barkley from the Giants in 2024, and now LeBron will call Philadelphia home for the next two seasons.
So, of course, the obvious angle is: How Does This Affect The Flyers?
The Flyers might just be next up on that list. It’s their turn, after all.
Who can be the Flyers’ own LeBron James signing?
It’s fitting that LeBron’s contract is a two-year deal that ends in 2028, when he could then turn the keys to the city over to Connor McDavid. That’d require McDavid hitting free agency, which doesn’t usually happen for good players — let alone the best player in the world — in the NHL.
Free agency in the NHL almost isn’t even comparable to the other major sports leagues, though. MLB has its own set of rules with teams having players’ rights for longer than they should, NFL teams can restructure contracts and offer guaranteed money that doesn’t really mean anything for the salary cap, and the NBA allows teams to spend above the cap, provided they pay a luxury tax.
The player empowerment in the NBA and NFL is also extremely different than the NHL, even if we’re starting to see more hockey players flex their muscles in negotiations.
But Briere and Keith Jones have the Flyers ready to make a move when those top players become available.
Long gone are the days of the Flyers being able to lure the top free agents to Philadelphia with blank checks. The salary cap put an end to that after the 2004-05 lockout, and it feels like the organization finally has a grasp on how to use the cap to their advantage.
Paul Holmgren tried to throw money at his problems for a while, then Ron Hextall’s failed rebuild led into more poorly placed band-aids by Chuck Fletcher. Danny Briere has dug out of that mess and now has the Flyers in a situation where they can weaponize their cap space.
We saw Briere and the Flyers already take a big swing this summer, and we wrote about how the general manager’s work in his first few years at the helm helped lead to such an offering.
Of course, Briere’s home run swing turned into one of those long fly outs that fans get excited about, only for the outfielder to camp under the ball in front of the warning track. The Ducks matched the Leo Carlsson offer sheet, which was another failed attempt to land a free agent this offseason.
It was the attempt that mattered, though, even if the naysayers will whine about people giving Briere credit for “trying.” It was more than trying, which is what a handful of other teams did for Carlsson, only for the restricted free agent to choose the Flyers over them. It was a calculated move given the Ducks’ unique financial situation, and the Flyers’ pressure forced Anaheim into one of the worst contracts in the league.
It has also been reported that the Flyers were ready to back up the Brink’s truck for Kirill Kaprizov if he were to hit free agency this summer. Instead, the Wild locked up their superstar to an eight-year, $136 million ($17 million AAV) contract last September.
Next year’s free agent class could have a few big names, but it’s rare for those players to hit free agency.
Cale Makar will almost assuredly re-sign in Colorado, and Quinn Hughes likely has his sights set on a reunion with some Team USA players. The Flyers could turn to someone like Nikita Kucherov, who is still putting up incredible numbers in his 30s, and while you could squint and compare Sidney Crosby to LeBron hitting free agency, it’s nowhere near the same, as the Pittsburgh captain will likely be a lifelong Penguin.
The big summer is 2028, when McDavid is set to hit free agency. He signed a two-year, $25 million extension last October, giving the Oilers a timeline to build a winning team around him. The Oilers got bounced in the first round this year, and now have Mike Babcock behind the bench. It wouldn’t be surprising if McDavid wants out of Edmonton in two years, or even sooner.
There is no doubt that Philadelphia is now a destination. From Bryce Harper to LeBron James and everyone in between, the City of Brotherly Love is known as one of the best sports cities in the country — the world? — for a reason.
The Flyers will have the cap space to give a blank check to McDavid, and they’re building a team that a top-line center can join and instantly turn into a Cup contender in the Eastern Conference.
Harper. Saquon. LeBron. McDavid?
