2 players the Flyers wish they could have back

Mar 7, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn skates during warmups before a game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. | Ryan Sun-Imagn Images

The Flyers face two key issues: center depth and goaltending. What if they had suitable players for those roles but opted to trade them away? Would they still be aiming to strengthen both positions if they hadn't?

It's enjoyable to engage in "what if" scenarios and consider the players the Flyers might regret trading. Would such decisions have altered the outcome of their season? It's difficult to determine, as other moves might not have occurred in the interim.

The Flyers have made recent moves to improve the team. Previous transactions aimed to acquire assets, trade underperforming players, or bring in notable names. Regardless of the intent, some changes succeeded while others did not.

This is about those moves that the Flyers may wish they could reverse. We could go down a long list of players who have found success elsewhere after being moved from Philadelphia. But looking at the team's biggest needs right now, these are two players that would check off each box.

Sergei Bobrovsky

This situation still stings to this day. Despite Sergei Bobrovsky's impressive performance during his rookie season, the Flyers chose to sign Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year, $51 million contract in the offseason. This decision marked the beginning of the end for Bobrovsky in Philadelphia. The Flyers saw Bryzgalov as the future of the franchise and compensated him accordingly. Unfortunately for the team, he did not meet those expectations.

During the 2012 offseason, the Flyers decided to trade goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to the Columbus Blue Jackets—a choice they would soon come to regret in the following season. Ilya Bryzgalov played for the team for two seasons before the final seven years of his contract were bought out. Consequently, this deal will remain on the Flyers' books until 2027.

Sergei Bobrovsky won the Vezina Trophy in his first season with the Blue Jackets and later won a second award. He set franchise records and played a crucial role in their upset victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2019 playoffs. In the offseason of 2019, he signed a seven-year contract with the Florida Panthers and won his first Stanley Cup with the team in 2024. Currently, the Panthers are on their way to a second championship.

In exchange for Bobrovsky, the Flyers received a second-round pick along with two fourth-round picks. During the 2012 Draft, they selected Anthony Stolarz and Taylor Leier. The fourth-round pick from 2013 was traded to the Kings to reacquire Simon Gagne. Stolarz faced multiple knee injuries and was traded to Edmonton in 2019. Leier could not secure a permanent position on the main roster and was traded to Buffalo in 2019.

Brayden Schenn

One of the main criticisms of Brayden Schenn during his time in Philadelphia was that a significant portion of his points came from power plays. The Flyers could have benefited from that skill in recent years. He also faced consistency issues, which many players experience. During his six seasons with the Flyers, Schenn scored over 20 goals three times and recorded 10 or more power-play points in four of those years.

The Flyers traded Brayden Schenn to the St. Louis Blues during the 2017 NHL Draft after they secured the second overall pick that summer. In a move they would soon come to regret, Schenn had a breakout season with the Blues, reaching career highs. He has scored 20 goals five times and has recorded over 50 points in six different seasons. While Schenn may not be the player he once was, he still would have ranked third on the Flyers in points and fifth in goals last season. Although it's impossible to say for certain that he would have scored the same 18 goals and recorded 50 points, his track record speaks for itself.

The Blues would win the Stanley Cup in 2019 as Schenn and former Flyers head coach Craig Berube each played instrumental roles. The Blues' turnaround came against Philadelphia in January of that season. The Flyers missed the postseason, posting a 37-37-8 record. Schenn was given the opportunity to play in the Blues' top-six and earned the respect of his teammates in the process. He signed an eight-year extension in 2019.

In exchange for Schenn, the Flyers received Jori Lehtera, a first-round pick in 2017, and a conditional pick in 2018. The Flyers used the first pick on Morgan Frost and later selected Joel Farabee the following season. Lehtera played 89 games for Philadelphia, scoring a meager 11 points. However, Frost and Farabee were the real prize of the deal. Unfortunately, both were traded this past season after not developing in the way the Flyers had hoped.

As mentioned above, there are other players the Flyers moved on from that could've helped them in recent years. But based on the success Bobrovsky and Schenn had elsewhere and their careers in Philadelphia, having them back makes the most sense.