How does Flyers GM Danny Brière’s previous trade deadline moves inform what he might do ahead of Friday?
Could moving on from Rasmus Ristolainen be in the cards for the Flyers? Brière has a history of making trades in the hours leading up to the deadline.
Although Flyers general manager Danny Brière has the experience of just two NHL trade deadlines in his pocket, if this year is anything like the previous two, expect the Flyers to make some noise.
The buzzer will go off on the wheelin’ and dealin’ at 3 p.m. on Friday and Brière has already made one deal this week, sending Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League defenseman Roman Schmidt to Minnesota for NHL/AHL forward Boris Katchoul.
Is it the start of something? Potentially, with players such as Rasmus Ristolainen rumored to be on the move.
Here’s a look back at what Brière did in the week leading up to the previous trade deadlines.
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What did the Flyers do at the 2024 NHL trade deadline?
The 2024 trade deadline was at 3 p.m. on March 8.
March 6 at 3:48 p.m.
Brière was patient, waiting weeks before finally accepting an offer for defenseman Sean Walker. Two days before the deadline, he acquired a 2025 first-round and center Ryan Johansen from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Walker and a 2026 fifth-round selection.
The Flyers initially agreed to retain 50% of the final year and a half of Johansen’s contract as a trade sweetener, but he was immediately placed on waivers for assignment to the AHL. The forward, citing a hip injury, refused to report to Lehigh Valley and never played for the Flyers and was placed on unconditional waivers Aug. 20, 2024, “for the purpose of terminating his contract due to a material breach.” The NHL Players’ Association filed a grievance, but a source confirmed to The Inquirer last summer that an arbitrator had ruled in favor of the Flyers.
Walker played 18 regular-season and 11 playoff games for the Avalanche before signing with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1, 2024. The 2025 first-round pick was packaged in the first-round swap at the draft that helped the Flyers snag Jack Nesbitt at No. 12.
March 8 at 2:12 p.m.
In a bit of a surprise move, the Flyers acquired Briere’s old teammate, defenseman Erik Johnson, from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick.
Johnson played 39 games for the Flyers. Eventually, the Sabres traded the pick to the Winnipeg Jets, who took Kevin He, the highest-drafted player born in China in NHL history at the time.
March 8 at 2:47 p.m.
The Flyers acquired forward Denis Gurianov from the Nashville Predators for Wade Allison.
A second-rounder in 2016, Allison played 75 games across three seasons for the Flyers but never really stuck at the NHL level. Gurianov played four games in Philly and, as an unrestricted free agent, opted to sign with the Kontinental Hockey League that summer.
What did the Flyers do at the 2025 NHL trade deadline?
The 2025 trade deadline was at 3 p.m. on March 7
March 7 at 12:45 p.m.
The Flyers acquired a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL draft from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Andrei Kuzmenko and a 2025 seventh-round pick. Philly retained 50% of his salary.
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Kuzmenko was acquired by the Flyers at the end of January of that season from the Calgary Flames with Jakob Pelletier for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. He played in seven games, registering five points, and the pending unrestricted free agent looked like someone the Flyers could re-sign.
Instead, he was shipped out weeks later and signed a one-year deal on June 30, 2024, to stay in Hollywood. He has 18 goals and 42 points in 74 regular-season games and three goals and six points in six playoff games across his tenure with the Kings.
March 7 at 4 p.m.
Although it had to be into the NHL by the 3 p.m. cutoff, the Flyers officially announced at 4 p.m. that they acquired forward Nikita Grebenkin and a first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Ontario native Scott Laughton, a 2025 fourth-round pick, and a 2027 sixth-round pick in 2027.
In the deal, the Flyers retained 50% of Laughton’s salary, which comes off the books after this season. Toronto’s first-round pick is Top 10 protected; however, the Leafs are in a free fall, so, because they owe the Boston Bruins their 2026 pick from the Brandon Carlo deal, it could slide to 2027 as the 2026 pick is top-five protected.
The official announcement came well after the deal was done, as the team were taking down the banners at the Flyers Training Center with Laughton on them long before. A depth center, Laughton is rumored to be on the trade block now in Toronto — he was held out of the lineup on Wednesday for roster management — and has 16 points in 63 regular-season games and two assists in 13 playoff games with the Maple Leafs since being acquired.
Grebenkin played in the minors last season after being acquired, collecting seven points in 11 regular-season games and four points in seven playoff games for the Phantoms. He has spent the entire 2025-26 season with the Flyers and has 12 points in 46 games, including his first NHL goal, which tied the game at 4 in a 5-4 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 4.
March 7 at 5:40 p.m.
Another late announcement, but the Flyers sent Johnson home to the Avalanche, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2022, in exchange for forward Givani Smith.
Johnson finished the year with the Avalanche and has since retired.
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Smith, who was a pending unrestricted free agent, played 10 regular-season games for Lehigh Valley last season, registering a goal and an assist, and played in seven playoff games. He signed a professional tryout agreement with the Carolina Hurricanes for the 2025-26 season’s training camp, earning a two-way deal in early October.