The Philadelphia Flyers can kick their rebuild into overdrive by making a play for Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel next offseason.
Eichel, 28, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season, and while the former No. 2 overall pick is eligible to negotiate a contract extension with the Golden Knights, there are no guarantees of that happening.
Mitch Marner just signed an eight-year, $96 million ($12 million AAV) contract with Vegas, and captain Mark Stone has two years remaining on his deal at a $9.5 million cap hit.
It's also worth considering that veteran defenseman Alex Pietrangelo may not play again due to severe injury, and he's got two years remaining on his contract at an $8.8 million cap hit as well.
Basically, the older and more beat up the Golden Knights get, the less likely they are to continue to contend for Stanley Cups.
And if Eichel gets the contract one NHL insider thinks he can get, the task gets that much harder for Vegas.
"We're talking mega primo money for Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights, and, man, I don't know how they can go without him. I don't know how they could move on from him, but, when looking at their cap table, it's hard to wedge in a really big extension and what that looks like relative to the rest of true market value," NHL insider Frank Seravalli said in a recent livestream for Bleacher Report.
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"I think what you're talking about with Jack Eichel is a $15+ million AAV deal. He's been that good. I think then all of a sudden, you crunch some numbers and take out your calculator if you're looking at the Vegas Golden Knights cap situation, which is never easy, and you go, 'How do they do this?'"
For the Flyers, the 2026 offseason will be the perfect time to pounce on Eichel, or any other big ticket free agent.
Players like Christian Dvorak, Nick Deslauriers, Ivan Fedotov, Jamie Drysdale, and Egor Zamula will all be off the books, and Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan Ellis, worth a combined $11.35 million against the cap, will be in the final years of their respective contracts.
If the rebuild is to go anywhere productive, the Flyers must accelerate their efforts to add talent over the next 365 days.
Eichel, one of the very best centers in the game, is coming off a career-best 94-point season, adding 28 goals and getting docked for just eight penalty minutes.
The 6-foot-2 forward has struggled with injuries in the past, yes, but that just means more opportunities for young players like Jett Luchanko, Jack Nesbitt, and, potentially, Trevor Zegras in his stead, all while raising the overall ceiling of the Flyers as a team.
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Then, from a cap perspective, the Flyers will be able to afford Eichel, even at a $15 million price point, quite comfortably.
Assuming players like Nikita Grebenkin, Alex Bump, Oliver Bonk, and Helge Grans establish themselves as NHLers, the Flyers will have a war chest of funds to spend on auxiliary upgrades, such as at the goalie position or on defense.
The continually rising salary cap further benefits the Flyers, too, as Matvei Michkov and Tyson Foerster will be due for new contracts the following offseason.
Add a seasoned Porter Martone to the equation, and the Flyers can quickly change their fortunes with Jack Eichel leading the way.