Flyers Are Perfect Fit for Free Agent Sharks Defenseman

The Philadelphia Flyers have made clear their willingness to make an upgrade on defense this offseason, and while a power play quarterback is the top priority, they could go in other directions, too.

Despite the Flyers’ best defense prospects all being right-shot defenders, the most popular names linked to the Flyers ahead of free agency are, of course, all right-shot defenders.

Veterans like John Carlson, Rasmus Andersson, and Darren Raddysh all come with varying degrees of short- and long-term appeal, but two of the three would block a prospect like Oliver Bonk, Spencer Gill, or Carter Amico from an NHL roster spot for several years.

But, because the Flyers are fortunate enough to be working from a position of strength on the right, they can continue utilizing their effective strategy of drafting for value and signing for need.

And because they have very little coming up on the left side of the defense, they can sign for need without worry.

This offseason’s top dog at the position, who I have long believed to be a fit for the Flyers even before he became set to hit the open market, is none other than San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro.

Ferraro, 27, is actually one of the youngest unrestricted free agents on the market this year, and he comes with a lot of upside relative to his role and what the Flyers need.

Over the course of their rebuild, following the departures of Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson, the Sharks have typecast Ferraro as a No. 1 defenseman, a role he is not suited for but took on head-first nonetheless.

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The former second-round pick has a career-high of 23 points, set this past season, and has recorded no fewer than 125 blocked shots and 124 hits in each of his last four seasons.

So, while he is 5-foot-11, Ferraro does play the rugged game required of a player with his skillset, and that is actually something the Flyers will need more of going forward.

And with the Flyers, he wouldn’t need to continue playing the absolute most difficult minutes his coaching staff has to offer to him.

Third-pair defenseman Nick Seeler, who will turn 33 next week, is starting to slow down, and he already offers little in the way of skating, passing, and transition play.

Those are some of Ferraro’s strengths, even if the point totals don’t fully reflect that.

Should the Flyers end up moving on from Rasmus Ristolainen and/or incorporating David Jiricek into the lineup full-time, they’ll need an experienced veteran with some juice in his legs, especially to cover Jiricek’s warts as he continues to develop as an NHLer.

According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman via his “32 Thoughts” podcast, Ferraro is “likely” to hit the open market, and that is a situation that has been trending this way for quite some time now.

By extension, that means the Flyers will have other teams competing with them to secure Ferraro’s services should they be interested, even though they’ll have the requisite cap space to manage such a situation.

The only part where things get tricky is that Ferraro is coming off a four-year, $13 million contract ($3.25 million AAV) with no trade protection, and his next deal could be even longer and doubly expensive.

For the Flyers, that might effectively look like resetting the clock on Seeler, who will be 35 when his current contract expires.

Ferraro, with a six-year deal, will be 33 when it expires, and it’s important to keep in mind Seeler’s age and regression with the similar physical, shot-blocking playstyles, even if Ferraro is a better puck transporter with his legs and stick.

With that in mind, though, the Flyers have little else to spend their boatloads of cap space on, and Ferraro is a worth successor and upgrade on Seeler who can play up and down the lineup if and when called upon.

The longtime Sharks defenseman has the skills and athleticism to complement someone like Jiricek, or even Jamie Drysdale, and that should be an attractive sell to a Flyers team looking to take another step forward in 2026-27.

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