3 Philadelphia Flyers Who Won't Be Back Next Season

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson

The Philadelphia Flyers made some huge strides in their rebuild this season, making it to the second round of the playoffs (before running headlong into the Mack truck that is the Carolina Hurricanes).

The two playoff rounds of experience will be a huge boost to the team as they move forward into next season. But there are some areas to address, and some changes to be made.

Let's take a look at three Flyers who might have played their last games in Philly.

Rasmus Ristolainen

No Flyer has found himself on the trade block more often than Ristolainen the past couple of years. Now, he'll be heading into the final season of his five-year deal ($5.1M AAV), and it could finally be time to move him and get something in return for the big Finnish d-man. He'll be entering his age-32 season next year, and it's doubtful the Flyers would look to re-sign him at that point.

Could Rasmus Ristolainen finally be traded this summer?

His stock should be high, coming off a solid season, and they did receive extensive interest from teams at the trade deadline. They should look to get something for him now.

Samuel Ersson

Ersson was forced to take on the starter's job after Carter Hart left the team in the middle of the 2023-24 season. He fared well enough then, but perennial backup Dan Vladar was brought in this season and stole the starter's crease from Ersson, and deservedly so. Ersson struggled mightily this year, posting an .870 save percentage. He didn't get into a single minute of playoff action.

As an RFA, it's quite possible the Flyers will move on from Ersson and look to find a more reliable backup for Vladar. Additionally, Yegor Zavragin proved himself in Russia this season as a solid prospect who could arrive in 2027.

Emil Andrae

The pending restricted free agent went through some ups and downs in his second season with the Flyers. The good? The skilled puck-mover showed some promise, and finished with a plus/minus rating of +15. The bad? He was mentioned as a trade candidate early in the season, and he suffered through some strings of healthy scratches.

Andrae had trouble getting into the lineup in the playoffs as well, though that was partly due to an upper-body injury that hampered him in the first round, causing him to miss three games. But there he was, a healthy scratch again in the Flyers' final game of the postseason, watching their Game 4 loss against the Canes from the press box.

They could re-sign him to a bridge deal this summer, but given that coach Rick Tocchet didn't have the trust in him for an elimination game, it's also possible the team could move on from the 5'9" d-man.