The Philadelphia Flyers re-signed Carl Grundstrom to a one-year deal Tuesday afternoon. Although the team has yet to make it official, the deal means the forward will be part of the Flyers mix when training camp begins in September.
Carl Grundström returns to Philly one year, $1 million.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 30, 2026
Grundstrom, acquired in the deal last October from San Jose (alongside Artem Guryev) in exchange for a sixth-round pick and Ryan Ellis (and his contract), was considered a depth forward heading into the season. However, in December, he got the nod and made the most of his opportunity, giving the fourth line some much needed offensive oomph, scoring seven goals in December including having a four-game goal-scoring streak. Although the forward didn’t score much the rest of the season, he provided some quality minutes in different parts of the lineup. He ended the year with nine goals and four assists in 47 games.
The forward — who was completing a two-year, $1.8 million deal last season he originally signed with San Jose — also played three playoff games against Carolina. He didn’t score but managed to get an assist in Game 2, a 3-2 overtime loss to Carolina on the road. He also played 19 games with Lehigh Valley in the American Hockey League, scoring six goals and earning 15 points in that stint with the Flyers’ affiliate.
A second-round draft pick by Toronto back in 2016, Grundstrom spent parts of six seasons with Los Angeles before he was traded to San Jose for Kyle Burroughs in June 2024. Over 339 career NHL games, he has 52 goals and 89 points.
How Grundstrom fits into Philadelphia’s plan
With Grundstrom re-signed for another season, and to a rather minimum low-risk deal, Philadelphia at the very least addresses the absence of trading Garnet Hathaway to Florida. With Rodrigo Abols gone, Hathaway traded, and Nic Deslauriers with Carolina for another two years, the fourth line that was used in the early part of the 2025-26 season is history. Philadelphia will now know they will have Grundstrom to up and down the lineup if the situation arises. But most likely he should fit into the fourth line rather comfortably. Sean Couturier should be ready to continue his role as the team’s fourth-line center, which saw him play some of his best hockey down the stretch and in the playoffs in recent memory. And at least since returning from his surgeries which saw him out of action for nearly two complete seasons.
Grundstrom might also be considered some insurance for that line should the Flyers not come to some contract extension with Luke Glendening. There was speculation that the team and Glendening might be coming to terms on a short-term deal, but nothing has been confirmed just yet. So if Glendening isn’t resigned, at least Philadelphia has Grundstrom for sure. As well, with evidence that Nikita Grebenkin was skating this week while other Flyers participated in Development Camp, it might indicate the forward — who suffered an injury in March and didn’t return — is closer to return than expected. Again, he might not be ready, but the fact he was skating is a good sign. So perhaps Philadelphia roll with a trio of Grebenkin, Couturier, and Grundstrom heading into camp.
Either way, the Flyers know for sure they’ll have another depth forward who has some occasional goal-scoring upside at their disposal for another season.
Stats courtesy of HockeyDB.com and ESPN.com.
