Flyers GM Danny Brière talks Trevor Zegras contract, Leo Carlsson efforts, and more: ‘I’d be very comfortable going into the season’

It may be mid-July, but the Flyers brass is still working.

On Thursday, Flyers general manager Danny Brière spoke to the media via Zoom less than 24 hours after inking restricted free agent Trevor Zegras to a four-year, $36.5 million extension with an annual average value of $9.125 million.

Of course, it wasn’t the only topic, as this was the first time he was speaking since sending shockwaves through the NHL by tendering a five-year, $90 million offer sheet to Leo Carlsson that the Anaheim Ducks eventually matched.

The Flyers still have a ton of cap space — Puckpedia has it at $20.4 million — and although Brière reiterated the mantra that they are always looking to improve the roster if it makes sense, “What I can tell you is I’d be very comfortable going into the season with this lineup.”

Here’s what else Brière said.

“Yeah, it’s a nice feeling,” Brière said of getting the contract done and avoiding salary arbitration on July 22. Had it reached that point, the Flyers would have had an option of only a one- or two-year deal set at the AAV decided upon by the arbitrator. If they had opted for two years, Zegras would have been an unrestricted free agent in 2028.

“Obviously, Trevor is a big part of our team, a big part of our future as well. Since we acquired him, it’s been extremely positive, and the way he carries himself, he’s lively in our locker room — he’s a big part of the locker room — but he’s also a big part of the community. People, they love him. So I’m glad it’s done. It’s much nicer to get a deal done, and a long-term deal done, rather than go through arbitration."

There was some give and take with Zegras and his agent, Pat Brisson. Some wonder why the New York native, who said countless times this past season that he loves playing in Philly, wasn’t locked up for longer, but it sounds like four years were “the sweet spot” and that “they gave us some things that were more in our favor on a four-year deal.”

“He’s about winning. He cares about this team,” Brière said. “Even in this negotiation, he took charge. He’s the one who said, ‘I want to be in Philly. I love it here. I want to stay there.’

“So it’s a big reason why this contract was done, this extension was done, because Trevor was really involved, and Trevor was adamant that he wanted to be in Philly.

“... He’s going to have to take a bigger part of the leadership process on this team. So I’m really excited about him and how he’s grown as an individual in the last year, especially with us. But I think it goes way back — he’s gone through a lot in his career, some ups and downs that weren’t always easy. I think that makes you stronger in the long run, and we’re fortunate that we’re the team benefiting from that."

Now the question is, while the AAV looks more like the money doled out to a center, is that where the Flyers see him? Brière wouldn’t commit, saying it’s “not up to me to decide.” He did stress that the final contract to Zegras and the offer sheet to Carlsson, a center, had nothing to do with the other. “We wanted both on the team at the time when we made the offer sheet,” he said.

According to Brière, the league, including players and agents, took notice that the Flyers not only have deep pockets but also want to be back on top.

“The answer is yes. I just can’t give you much detail, unfortunately,” he said, hinting at needing to avoid tampering. “But yeah, I mean, it was noticed. It was noticed around the league. But what I hope, too, is that it is noticed by our fans and by our players that we’re serious.

“The players did their part last year, and we’re trying to do ours, and we’re going to keep trying to improve the team to give them the best chance to just be a contender for years to come.”

Players are choosing to stay in Philly, like Zegras, like goalie Dan Vladař, who inked a five-year extension and is here for six years, and like forward Tyson Foerster, who signed an extension that will keep him around for nine more seasons. The next step is having a team that is trending to be a contender for the Stanley Cup, and while the Flyers did not get Carlsson, there were “many teams to choose from, and he selected us, which was a good sign.”

Did the massive AAV, which would have made Carlsson the highest-paid player annually, impact contract negotiations with Zegras and other restricted free agents? The Flyers still have to ink defenseman Jamie Drysdale, who has an arbitration hearing scheduled for Monday, and Hunter McDonald and forward Nikita Grebenkin.

“No, I don’t believe it’s affected our other contract negotiations. ... The marketplace changes daily. There’s new deals being given or coming out on a daily basis,” he said, noting it may have impacted players who make above the high-end threshold.

“I think, in Trevor’s case, for example, when we were working on it three months ago and six months ago, the marketplace was totally different than it was last night when we were talking. So, not necessarily the offer sheet, but every other deal, yes, they were affecting our negotiation.”

The Flyers’ power play is bad. This isn’t a new phenomenon under coach Rick Tocchet. It’s a problem that has persisted for five years and across three coaching staffs. It sounded like the Flyers wanted to take action to fix things by adding, but while they were reportedly interested in signing unrestricted free agent John Carlson, who ultimately went to Tampa Bay, and Zach Werenski, who backed down from his trade request, they did not get either.

“We took some swings there, too. I unfortunately can’t get into details because players are elsewhere, but we took some swings there,” the Flyers GM said. “We tried to improve the power play. We’re going to keep looking. At this point, most free agents are signed, so it’s more on the trade front. So if there’s a chance there, we’re going to look to improve that.

“But I also expect our guys to take a bigger bite of it. Adding a guy like [Porter] Martone, and [Denver] Barkey, and [Alex] Bump late in the season, you hope that they’re better at it with more experience. I expect guys like Trevor Zegras to improve on that. Matvei Michkov coming back and, after a sophomore — let’s call it a slump — we expect him to bounce back and have a big say in improving our power play."