The Philadelphia Flyers should have one name atop their wish list in free agency, and that name is John Carlson.
Carlson makes a lot of sense as a target for the Flyers. He has plenty of experience quarterbacking a power play, played for current assistant coach Todd Rierden in Washington, and could help bridge the gap until one of Jamie Drysdale, Oliver Bonk, or David Jiricek is hopefully ready to take over on the man advantage.
The one thing that could make some people pause is the price tag for the veteran defenseman.
Given that there aren’t a ton of great free agents this summer — or any summer nowadays — Carlson knows that he’ll have a few suitors vying for his labor. And we now have an idea of what his contract demands may be.
Flyers reportedly have interest in John Carlson
It should come as no surprise that the Flyers do actually have interest in Carlson. If the average blogger can think of it, surely an NHL front office can as well.
Daily Faceoff reported that the Flyers would be “very interested” in bringing in Carlson on a short-term deal, and that the team is prepared to offer an AAV in the $8 million range.
Furthermore, Anthony Di Marco also wrote that the Flyers would be willing to sign Carlson without trading Rasmus Ristolainen, although they are still open to doing so if their asking price is met.
That means that the Flyers would be comfortable going into next season with Rasmus Ristolainen, Jamie Drysdale, and John Carlson on the right side with David Jiricek as the seventh defenseman, keeping Oliver Bonk in the AHL to start the season.
It may not be what most people would consider ideal, but you can never have too many defensemen, especially right-handed rearguards.
What will John Carlson demand in free agency?
The Athletics’ Pierre LeBrun reported that Carlson had been in talks to sign an extension with the Washington Capitals prior to being moved at the trade deadline.
According to LeBrun, the conversations were around a two-year extension worth $9 million per season. The insider doubts that Carlson would sign for less than that, whether it’s back in Anaheim or on the open market.
Furthermore, LeBrun’s sense is that “there are four or five teams in the East hoping Carlson hits the July 1 market.”
When we initially wrote that the Flyers should target Carlson this summer, we looked at the contract projections from both Evolving-Hockey and AFP Analytics. Both of them projected a three-year deal for Carlson, with a cap hit of between $7 and $9 million.
Given the fact that Carlson may only want a two-year deal, not three, it makes that much more sense for the Flyers to try to land the defenseman.
And the Flyers are in a good position to do so with their cap room.
According to CapWages, the Flyers currently have just over $39 million in cap space for the 2026-27 season. If they sign their pending restricted free agents to AFP Analytics’ projections, that leaves the Flyers still with over $16 million in cap space.
Giving $8 or $9 million to Carlson for two years, especially with Ristolainen’s $5.1M coming off the books next summer at the latest, won’t sandbag a team with plenty of younger players on less expensive contracts.
It still takes two to tango, and Carlson could be presented with a better offer elsewhere, but the Flyers should at the very least be one of the teams in on the veteran defenseman at this price.
