Flyers GM Briere gives update on Cam York contract talks: ‘Something will get done’

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere discussed the latest on contract talks with RFA defenseman Cam York, and more.

Mar 20, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cam York (8) looks on before a game against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Flyers are going to make some franchise-shaping decisions in the coming days at the 2025 NHL Draft. Who they take at sixth overall will hopefully guide the Flyers into more serious playoff contention in a couple years; and who they take with the rest of their 10 selections are hopefully solid.

But just days after hundreds of teenagers receive phone calls from the 32 NHL teams and take that exciting and massive step in their careers, free agency opens up. On July 1, the market will be flooded with unrestricted and restricted free agents for teams to sign to deals.

For the Flyers, they already wrapped up some business earlier this summer. They signed restricted free agents Tyson Foerster and Noah Cates to respectable contracts — leaving the only significant restricted free agent without a deal, as defenseman Cam York.

There has not been much action on that front and the team has kept the negotiations fairly quiet, aside from some fans and media wondering if they are aiming to go long-term with the 24-year-old blueliner, or opt for a shorter deal. Maybe the short-term contract would give them less of a risk — since York did not have the most productive year in Philadelphia last season — but they could be missing out on some real potential of a team-friendly contract if they don’t go with several years.

In a conversation with RG Media published Thursday afternoon, Flyers general manager Danny Briere shed some light on the contract negotiation with their young defenseman.

“In Cam York’s case, we think something will get done [contractually] soon. I’m not worried about that. Cam had, maybe for his standards, a little bit of a step back last year. Not that he was bad, but we know he can give us even more. I think there’s still a lot of upside there. Defense is one of the toughest positions to master, and with young guys like him, you have to be patient. There’s going to be some ups and downs along the way. Same thing with (Jamie) Drysdale. We went through it with Travis Sanheim earlier in his career before he turned into a dominant force on defense. I think Cam York and Jamie Drysdale are going through that at this time, and we expect them to just keep getting better and better.”

Despite some rumors regarding the Flyers potentially moving on from York in a “hockey trade”, it sure seems like Briere is committed to figuring it out with the player. And nothing the Flyers general manager said it that out of the ordinary.

York didn’t have a fantastic year, but he certainly didn’t light the world on fire. In 66 games last season, the 24-year-old scored four goals and 17 points — while he didn’t help the team offensively, he also didn’t hurt them much on the other side of the puck. York had just 26 penalty minutes all season and for a defenseman playing top minutes, averaging 20:47 TOI, that is tough to do. He also took more defensive responsibility, having the majority of his shifts start in the defensive zone for just the second time in his career.

It is interesting that Briere mentions Jamie Drysdale in the same breath, as a defenseman needing to show something more and just become what he can actually be in the NHL, and then gives Travis Sanheim as an example as someone who eventually figured it all out. The team clearly sees those three as long-term pieces on this blue line, if everything pans out the way that they want it to.

Will we see a deal done before July 1 hits and York is officially a restricted free agent without a contract? We would be surprised, but it’s not impossible to finalize a contract around the NHL Draft.

Additionally, Briere also mentioned in that interview with RG Media, what the plans are for additions this summer and how they view the team heading into next season.

“Center depth, adding goaltending help, and maybe a veteran presence if it’s possible. We don’t have a ton of cap space—we have a little bit. That’s what we’ve been trying to do the last couple years, clean up that area and put our cap situation in a better light. We’re starting to see some opening in that, but we’re not fully there yet. We’re at a juncture where we might be able to help the team take a step this year, make the team a little bit more competitive than we were last year, and see where it takes us. Then it’s going to be up to the players to show us how ready—or not—we are as a team. The exciting part through all this is that we’re trying to improve the team, but at the same time, we have lots of early picks this year. A lot of our picks from the last couple years are starting to turn pro or come into the system, and some of the young guys are starting to take more of a step forward on the team. (Noah) Cates and (Tyson) Foerster have come to light, (Bobby) Brink as well, obviously Michkov, so there’s a lot there. We feel we’re moving in the right direction, but it doesn’t happen overnight.”

A center and a goalie were the obvious additions, but what is interesting is Briere mentioning adding some veteran presence. Now, he could just mean it is a veteran center instead of a swing on a former prospect like they did with Ryan Poehling two years ago, but it could also mean adding someone with experience to be a depth defenseman, for example.

This is no doubt going to be an interesting few days for this team.