Less than two days after signing Trevor Zegras to a new contract, the Philadelphia Flyers locked up another of their young restricted free agents.
The Flyers inked defenseman Jamie Drysdale to a four-year, $26 million contract Friday afternoon, which carries an average annual value of $6.5 million. The new contract means the Flyers and Drysdale have successfully avoided salary arbitration, which was scheduled for Monday, July 20.
“We’re excited to have Jamie remain a key part of our organization for years to come,” said Flyers general manager Daniel Briere in an official statement released by the team. “Since we acquired him, Jamie has worked extremely hard and taken big steps in his development, and has established himself as a reliable piece on our back end with the ability to impact the game in all situations. We believe his best hockey is still ahead of him, and he’s going to play an important role in strengthening our blue line as we continue to build.”
The 2025-26 season was arguably Drysdale’s most productive campaign as an NHLer. In 78 games, the Toronto native registered a career-high eight goals and tied his personal best with 32 points on the season. He also netted a pair of goals and posted four points in the Flyers’ 10 postseason games.
Drysdale’s game has come a long way since he was traded to the Flyers by the Anaheim Ducks in 2024 as part of the infamous Cutter Gauthier trade. Upon arrival, Drysdale’s offensive impact was minimal, and his defensive play was very much a weakness. However, the 24-year-old has since rounded himself out as a no-doubt-about-it top-four defenseman with solid offensive upside and a noticeably improving defensive game. Drysdale may not fit the mold of an “ideal” Flyers defenseman — he’s on the smaller side, measuring in at just 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds — but his strong skating and puck-moving ability have made him a linchpin on the Flyers’ blue line.
Interestingly, Drysdale still has room to improve offensively despite being widely categorized as an offensive defenseman during his draft year. The Ducks selected him with the No. 6 overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft largely due to his offensive upside — he posted nine goals and 47 points in 49 games in his draft year. Though he’s developed into a capable offensive presence from the back end, puck play is a major area of focus.
“That’s kind of the biggest thing,” said Drysdale during his breakup day media availability in May. “With that, obviously, shot, shooting, things like that. And then just hanging on to pucks, making more plays more in the offensive zone, and I think that’s just something that I can work on, something that I will work on — taking guys on maybe more one-on-one, things like that. Just making more plays overall is the thing to focus on and lean into.”
Drysdale’s contract keeps him tied to the Flyers through the 2029-30 season. Barring a future contract extension, he will become a 28-year-old unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2030.
