6 Flyers Who Won't Return Next Season

As the 2023-24 NHL regular season ends, the Philadelphia Flyers will miss the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. It's been frustrating to watch considering how they were in the postseason mix right up until the very end.

After another disappointing year, there's a good chance that Philadelphia's roster will undergo some offseason changes. It won't be much longer until we're in the summer, meaning we've likely seen the last of several Flyers who'll either depart in free agency or get traded sometime in the coming months.

With that in mind, here are six Flyers who likely won't be in Philadelphia next season.

1. Marc Staal, D

The Flyers will head into the offseason with a handful of unrestricted free agents (UFA), including defenseman Marc Staal. The veteran defenseman joined the Flyers on a one-year contract last offseason following stops with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and Florida Panthers.

Unfortunately, Staal's run in Philadelphia hasn't been the most productive. The 37-year-old defender has been limited to less than 40 games for the first time in his 17-year career as he's dealt with being injured and a frequent healthy scratch throughout the 2023-24 campaign. It's clear that he might not have 'it' anymore.

Now that he's becoming a UFA again, I don't see a world where he's back with the Flyers next year. Staal is just going to get worse from here on out, meaning Philadelphia would be better off looking at internal options or even a younger free agent to take his spot in the lineup.

And even if the Flyers want to bring him back, it isn't guaranteed that Staal will even be playing next year. The Thunder Bay, ON native is getting closer to 40 and it wouldn't be shocking if he decided to call it a career this summer.

Regardless of how you look at it, there's no reason to expect an encore from Staal in 2024-25.