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The Flyers Free Agent Signing Nobody Is Talking About
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- The Flyers Free Agent Signing Nobody Is Talking About
While the 2026 offseason was, on the whole, a disappointment for the Philadelphia Flyers , they still managed to acquire some intriguing pieces nonetheless.
Specifically, the Flyers do have a logjam on the wings, for example, but they paradoxically had some openings to address as well. What do I mean?
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Prospects Denver Barkey and Alex Bump are graduating to the NHL level full-time next season, and veteran tough guy Garnet Hathaway departed Philadelphia via trade earlier this offseason.
Plus, journeymen Rodrigo Abols and Luke Glendening were left behind, Anthony Richard signed overseas, and Bobby Brink was traded for David Jiricek at the NHL deadline.
Quietly, the winger (and center, speaking to the versatility of Abols and Glendening) position underwent a facelift in 2025-26, and that wasn't without consequence for the Flyers.
The AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who ranked just 23rd in the league with 210 goals and missed the Calder Cup playoffs as a result, badly needed help offensively, and that is especially true now without Bump, Barkey, Richard, and leading scorer Lane Pederson .
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While they may have missed out on Leo Carlsson with their aggressive offer sheet attempt, the Flyers did make some beneficial signings still, adding Nolan Foote and Danila Klimovich as organizational depth to help the Phantoms.
Foote, 25, brings some intrigue as a former first-round pick, but Klimovich is the name people need to be talking about more.
Rick Tocchet reunites with former Canucks prospect
Klimovich, 23, is still quite young and comes with the pedigree of being a former second-round pick (41st overall in 2021), but he has yet to make his NHL debut after four full seasons with the Vancouver Canucks organization.
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Sure, it is a bit of a head-scratcher that the bottom-feeding Canucks cut the Belarusian winger loose at his age before finding a role for him at the NHL level, considering Klimovich has scored 43 goals for the AHL Abbotsford Canucks over the last two seasons.
At the same time, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet , obviously, came to Philadelphia from Vancouver last year, and he's someone who has had Klimovich at his training camps multiple times over his years there.
The Flyers, with Tocchet's familiarity, went out of their way to sign this player for a reason.
Conceivably, with a big step that never came in Vancouver, Klimovich could carve out a depth role for himself at the NHL level if the Flyers' development staff taps into his potential.
The 6-foot-2 winger's game is built around his hard shot and puck skills, though he has long struggled defensively and isn't that great of a skater.
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To make a name for himself, Klimovich will have to continue to learn to impose himself physically while improving defensively; the latter is the hallmark of any successful depth forward in the big leagues.
Fortunately, the Flyers have had some success with this in the past, even with veterans.
Players like Rasmus Ristolainen , Jamie Drysdale , Trevor Zegras , Owen Tippett , and Tyson Foerster all stand out as examples--none of those guys were drafted to play defense, but they all improved considerably in that aspect upon arriving and spending some time in Philadelphia.
With his traits, Klimovich is not dissimilar to Foote, but time is on his side being two years younger.
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If absolutely everything goes right, though, Klimovich could find his path in the pros as a Foerster lite: a big-bodied winger who makes up for his lack of pace and playmaking with details, dogged defending, and a powerful shot.
The once-promising Canucks prospect is only under contract with the Flyers for one year, but with so many outgoing players at his position, Klimovich will have all the opportunity in the world to make an impact with the Phantoms, and then, potentially, with the Flyers.
