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The National Hockey League announced the schedule of hearings for restricted free agents who opted instead to file for salary arbitration. Two of the earliest hearings on the docket are the Flyers’ players with pending cases.
Defenseman Jamie Drysdale goes on Monday, July 20. Forward Trevor Zegras is set for the 22nd.
Prediction: Both cases settle before their actual hearings. As a ballpark figure, Drysdale’s next contract may come in a bit north of $7 million average annual value (AAV), due to the league-wide salary inflation. That would make the 24-year-old blueliner the team’s highest-paid defenseman, ahead of Travis Sanheim ($6.125 million AAV). Keep in mind, however, that Sanheim’s eight-year contract originally kicked in for the 2023-24 season.
With the cap ceiling continually rising since then, the Sanheim contract has become a very team-friendly deal for the Flyers. He’s played at a very high level the last couple seasons. If his contract had been signed this year, he’d have made several million dollars more in average annual value. Meanwhile, by waiting until July to get Drysdale’s situation resolved with agent Dave Gagner, the Flyers will end up paying more than they would have if the deal was done before the summer. Nature of the beast but inevitable in this marketplace.
Concurrently, the Zegras negotiation is the trickier of the two negotiations. The gap between the valuations set by Pat Brisson and Flyers general manager Daniel Briere (Brisson’s former client) is a bit wider than the one with Drysdale. However, a Flyers source said both deals should get done in time to avoid a hearing.
In Zegras’ case, the player seems poised to become a prime beneficiary of the league’s AAV inflation. For example, Carolina’s Sebastian Aho carries a $9.75 AAV on his current deal (which started in 2024-25). Aho posted 27 goals and 80 points, which are short of his career highs (38 goals in 2019-20 and 89 points in 2023-24. Conversely, Zegras set new career highs this season with 26 goals and 67 points.
In the current marketplace, the Zegras ask might even be comparable to Aho’s AAV. He earned$5.75 million AAV on his most recent deal.
Flyers Daily: Mondays with Meltzer
In this week’s edition of Monday with Meltzer, Jason Myrtetus and I do an extended Ask Bill segment of viewer questions. Topics include whether the Flyers should purse an Elias Pettersson trade. We also talk about specifically why the Flyers targeted Leo Carlsson and why an alternative offer sheet for someoe like Adam Fantilli is unlikely.
Flyers Summer Caravan schedule
Every summer, the Flyers Caravan tour comes around to various areas to promote the upcoming season. There are always special autograph-signing appearances by Flyers Alumni. Likewise, Gritty, the Ice Team, and in-arena host Everett Jackson are regulars at these events. There are also swag giveaways, inflatables and other family-friendly attractions. Preliminary dates:
Wednesday, July 29 – Voorhees, NJ
5:30-7:30 PM | Flyers Training Center | 601 Laurel Oak Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043
Tuesday, August 4 – Cape May, NJ
2:00-4:00 PM | Congress Hall Great Lawn | 200 Congress Place, Cape May, NJ 08204
Wednesday, August 5 – Mays Landing, NJ
6:00-8:00 PM | Mays Landing Ball Hockey | 3155 Leipzig Ave, Mays Landing, NJ 08330
Thursday, August 6 – Ocean City, NJ
12:00-2:00 PM | Sport and Civic Center | 6th St and the Boardwalk, Ocean City, NJ 08226
Wednesday, August 19 – Exton, PA
5:30-7:30 PM | Miller Park | 220 Miller Way, Exton, PA 19341
What can the Flyers expect from Noel Acciari
In the opening hours of free agency on July 1, the Flyers signed 34-year-old veteran center/winger Noel Acciari to a two-year ($2.8 million AAV) contract. Most likely, the player will replace the role formerly played by Garnet Hathaway. He also brings some versatility like unsigned free agent Luke Glendening.
Eariier this past week, Acciari did an introductory Zoom call with the Philadelphia media. For more, click here or watch below.
Flyers Alumni calendar
The 12th annual edition of the Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp is right around the corner from August 14 to 17, 2026, at the Class of 1923 Arena on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Due to a recent cancellation, two spots opened up for the usually sold-out event.
This year’s Flyers Alumni coaches: Mark Recchi, Mark Howe, Patrick Sharp, Joe Watson, Tim Kerr, Keith Jones, and Robert Esche. Flyers Alumni president Brad Marsh is also scheduled to participate as a coach. Marsh, however, is currently hobbled with a knee issue.
Additionally, current active military members, veterans, and first responders are eligible to take advantage of a $1,000 discount offer on registration. The discount is offered through Flyers Alumni sponsor Camden Apothecary.
Welcome aboard new Hockey Hot Stove sponsor Joe Rivera of Coldwell Banker Realty of New Jersey. If Joe’s name sounds famiilar, it’s because he was a Phantoms equipment manager during their years in Philadelphia. Joe also served as the backup goaltender when Brian Boucher or Neil Little were unavailable to dress for a game. Meanwhile, Joe remains a Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp regular on the equipment management crew.
Moving forward, Joe’s realty office will be the content co-sponsor for all Flyers prospect and Flyers Alumni features at Hockey Hockey Hot Stove along with Flyers Hall of Famer Brian Propp’s premium Guffaw Cigar line.
Cold War in Philly: Amazon Prime debut tonight
Joe Amodei’s Cold War in Philly documentary about the 1976 game between the Flyers and the Red Army debuts on Amazon Prime on July 12 at 9:30 p.m. PDT (12:30 a.m. EDT). Pre-orders are available now.
HHS Giveaway: Congratulations to Annie Urban
Courtesy of Carl’s Cards and Collectibles of Havertown, PA, Hockey Hot Stove gave away a limited edition autographed photo signed by Flyers legends Bernie Parent (RIP), Bobby Clarke, Rick MacLeish (RIP), Keith Primeau and Mike Knuble. There were only 50 of these photos signed by that combination of five Flyers Alumni.
As we’ve done with previous giveaways — and will continue to do — we selected a winner by random drawing. The winner: Annie Urban. She plans to surprise her daughter, Lucy, with the signed photo.
The contest drew more than 38,000 views on X and nearly 40K including Facebook. There were hundreds of valid entries submitted.
We’ll be doing two new ramdom drawing contests imminently: 1) Another autographed item supplied by Carl’s Cards, 2) our second Guffaw Cigar sampler pack giveaway personally signed by Flyers Hall of Famer Brian Propp. Best of luck to all!
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