INDIANAPOLIS — After a five-year hiatus, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton rejoined the competition committee this offseason. He said he likes “our league” and having a say in the rules that govern it.
But every once in a while, his self-described “B.S. meter” spikes.
Last year’s discussions surrounding the Tush Push struck a sour note with Payton. He claimed the competition committee spent hours highlighting the health and safety risks of the push sneak, all the while introducing the dynamic kickoff in 2024 that would lead to an uptick in returns, and in turn, concussions.
Thus, Payton suggested that furthering the health-and-safety argument to effectively ban the Tush Push would be hypocritical.
“Look, I think if that ever goes away, it’s not a health and safety thing, right?” Payton said on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “We discussed that last year for two hours, and we just adopted 1,000 more kick returns. Which play do you think is more of a health risk? One thousand more kick returns. So I think if we choose to ever move on from that, it won’t be because of health and safety. It will just be like, we don’t like it, which is OK.”
Broncos head coach Sean Payton said his “B.S. meter” went off with the way a Tush Push ban was being sold last to the league last offseason.
Despite previous leaguewide critiques of player safety and aesthetics, the Tush Push could be poised to live another season. Competition committee cochairman Rich McKay told reporters on Monday that he doesn’t anticipate a team submission of a rules proposal seeking to eradicate the push sneak recently popularized by the Eagles.
While the play had been scrutinized since its inception in 2022, the Green Bay Packers were the first team to take a formal shot at a ban when they submitted a rule change proposal in March. The proposal did not garner the requisite support from the league’s owners to be adopted last season.
The past could stay in the past. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Tuesday that his team has no plans to revive its proposal, which fell short by two votes last year.
The waning ire directed at the play correlates with the Eagles’ declining efficiency in 2025. According to tushpush.fyi, the Eagles attempted a league-high 33 push sneaks while converting 21, a 64% success rate (the league average is 73.8%). By the end of the regular season, the Eagles decided against running their signature sneak in short-yardage situations.
Even in the red zone, the Eagles opted for variations of the sneak instead of calling upon quarterback Jalen Hurts to drive his legs through defenders and across the line to gain. Tight end Dallas Goedert’s success in the red zone (10 touchdowns inside the opponent’s 20-yard line) in 2025 occurred in part due to the Eagles’ struggles at executing the push play.
The Packers were nominally behind the effort to ban a Tush Push play that was also disliked by the league office.
The competition committee and the teams could still submit proposals ahead of the annual league meeting in late March. But John Lynch, the San Francisco 49ers general manager and another member of the competition committee, suggested that the crusade against the Tush Push has lost steam after defenses caught up to its dominance.
“That’s all we talked about last year,” Lynch said. “And I will tell you, it felt like there was momentum going into league meetings that it would be overturned. And then it kind of flipped, and those things happen. I think now, we went through a year, maybe people have gotten a little bit better at defending it. Maybe they’re doing it less. People aren’t wanting to put their quarterbacks in those types of situations. You’re seeing more variety. They line up in the Tush Push, they run outside.
“So maybe, just maybe, it’s kind of solving itself, but we’ll see. I think you’ve got to monitor those things over time to see the trends, and that’s something we’ll continue to do.”
The Tush Push isn’t in the clear just yet, so Nick Sirianni said he doesn’t “have to cross that bridge” until its legality in 2026 is official. Still, the Eagles coach said he is looking forward to reimagining its fit in a new-look scheme under offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.
“I think there’s some things that teams did this year that they did a good job of being able to stop it and we either have to get back to being able to be as dominant as we were at it, or we find new avenues to be able to convert on third down or in the red zone,” Sirianni said. “And so that’s the fun part about [the] offseason, is to be able to go through those processes. You go through them during the season as well. I think you saw us do some cool things off of it, and you still want to be able to do that.
“We know it took a little bit of [a] step back, and we’ve got to coach it better and we’ve got to execute it better. And looking forward to seeing where that goes in the future.”
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion played with the Seahawks in his last NFL stop.
Mannion draws praise
As quarterbacks coach with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, Dave Canales would refer to his cadre of quarterbacks as his “bullpen.” But while the starting quarterback garnered the bulk of the reps, Mannion, the third-stringer, still prepared as if he was the go-to guy, according to Canales.
“Sean wanted to make sure he got all the throws, and then he wanted to make sure he put himself in the most impossible physical positions to try to get the throw done,” said Canales, now the Carolina Panthers’ head coach. “I learned so much in our times [together]. Different progressions, different types of drills he forced himself into were things that I took with me as I continued to coach quarterbacks over the last couple of years. But [he’s] brilliant, asks the right questions, catches the loopholes in protections and different things like that.”
Those interactions over the course of their year together gave Canales the confidence that Mannion had the offensive aptitude to take on a coaching role following his NFL playing career. But his football intelligence wouldn’t be the only determining factor.
“It was just a matter of if he was dumb enough to get into the profession,” Canales said with a smile. “But I guess he is, so here he is.”
Here he is, just three years into his coaching career. After Mannion’s two seasons with the Packers — one as an offensive assistant and another as quarterbacks coach — the Eagles hired him to succeed Kevin Patullo as offensive coordinator in late January.
The precise ins and outs of his prospective scheme remain unknown, although Sirianni has acknowledged it is influenced by the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay scheme, an ode to Mannion’s roots as a player and as a Packers assistant.
New Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski (left, with fellow Philadelphia-area native and Falcons president of football Matt Ryan) had high praise for Sean Mannion.
Despite Mannion’s lack of play-calling experience, his coaching acumen is highly regarded by his peers, including new Atlanta Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski. The Wayne native and St. Joseph’s Prep/Penn product was Mannion’s offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings in 2019. They kept in touch over the years and discussed coaching opportunities, Stefanski said, but Mannion elected to keep playing.
“You could tell right away he was wired to do this,” Stefanski said. “His dad’s a coach. When you’re [in] the backup [quarterback] role, I think great coaches come from that role, because you have to prepare yourself to play, even when you’re not getting the reps. So I think he’s been really developed into it, developed by the different stops that he’s had with the different people that he’s had. But it’s always been in him to coach, and I think that just goes back to how he was brought up.”
Gutekunst said he wasn’t surprised by Mannion’s quick rise up the coaching ranks, either. However, Mannion’s departure was “unfortunate,” Gutekunst said, seeing as he hoped to keep “a young, really talented coach” on staff for more than a couple of years.
“He’s going to do a great job,” Gutekunst said. “The ability to see the game through a quarterback’s eyes because of his playing career, coming from a coaching family, there’s just a lot to like there.”
WASHINGTON ― Once again, Travis Sanheim was on the outside looking in.
And as in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament a year ago, the Flyers defenseman was inserted into Canada’s lineup in Game 2 at the Milan Cortina Olympics and never left.
Maybe the doubters need to stop doubting.
Across his five games, the silver-medal-winning Sanheim averaged 13 minutes, 14 seconds, as he crept up coach Jon Cooper’s depth chart as the tournament progressed. Although it was fewer minutes than he’s used to in Philly — he plays more than 24 a night — the blueliner made the most of his ice time.
Sanheim finished the tournament tied for the fourth-best plus-minus (plus-6) among all players, despite averaging fewer minutes than 10 of the 12 players who were either tied with him or above him; only forwards Jack Hughes and Joel Armia played fewer minutes among that group.
He was not on the ice for any of the 10 goals Canada allowed in his five games and his plus-minus was up there with some of the game’s best defensemen — Brock Faber and Cale Makar (plus-6), Zach Werenski (plus-8), and Niko Mikkola, Devon Toews, and his Flyers teammate and, based on Wednesday’s morning skate, his current defensive partner, Rasmus Ristolainen (plus-9).
“I think that’s kind of why I was brought over, was the ability to kind of be a utility guy and be able to play in different situations,” he said Wednesday at Capital One Arena. “Didn’t get in the first game, and have the ability to step right in and play and give them good minutes.
“And I just thought as the tournament went along, just gained more confidence with playing each game and gained the trust of the coaching staff to earn more minutes, and was happy with how I performed.”
Sanheim also had one assist, and it was an important one. He set up Shea Theodore for the game-tying goal with under 10 minutes to go in the semifinals against Finland after receiving a pass from Tom Wilson, whom the Flyers will see with the Capitals on Wednesday (7 p.m., NBCSP). Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winner with 36 seconds left in regulation.
He was robbed of a goal by Czech goalie Lukáš Dostál in the quarterfinals, but Sanheim’s name was mentioned over and over again during the gold-medal game by NBC play-by-play man Kenny Albert. A versatile defenseman who can play on the right or the left, he skated more than 15 minutes and had three shots on goal in the finale.
Defenseman Travis Sanheim believes being around some of the league’s best players and playing such high-level hockey can help him as he returns to the Flyers.
But while he won a medal, it was obviously not the one he wanted.
“I’m sure I’ll appreciate the silver years down the road and looking back on it, but obviously right now, disappointment. Thought we did a good job of playing in that tournament and thought that we deserved better,” said Sanheim, who told Unfiltered With Ricky Bo & Bill Colarulo on Tuesday that the medal is currently in his safe.
“So, it’s hard to enjoy the silver when you think that you had a chance to take gold and you come up short. So, like I said, grateful for the opportunity and the experience and what it all entailed, and yet disappointment that comes with it.”
The experience was special nonetheless for Sanheim. He took in speedskating with his Canadian teammates, and traded pins, including swapping with Japan and Italy; however, he didn’t realize how big the pin swapping was at the Olympics and was unable to get a few he had his eye on.
And he was able to spend time with his family. As his mother, Shelly, told The Inquirer on New Year’s Eve, the whole family was headed to Italy to watch Sanheim don the maple leaf.
“Just appreciative of the support that I get. Everyone that came over has been with me from when I was a kid, and happy to be able to share that experience with them,” he said, also mentioning that it meant the world to him that his hometown, Elkhorn, Manitoba, showed its support too.
“ … And, at the end of it, showing them the medal, and them putting it on and getting pictures, you get to see the joy and what it meant for them to experience what I was going through and fortunate to have those guys.”
But while the Olympics are over and he is back with the Flyers as they begin their final 26-game sprint to the end of the season, that doesn’t mean he won’t take what he learned and experienced to the Orange and Black.
“I think how hard you have to play each and every night, the style of play that you need to play, the willingness to do anything to win a hockey game, and different roles that come up throughout the tournament, that guys have to sacrifice for the better good of the team,” he said.
“And then just the skill level that these guys all play with, and how they play, how hard they work, their off-ice training, and what they do, their preparation. There’s a reason they’re the best in their sport and lucky to share the ice with them.
“If I can bring any of that back and share that with our team and try and help the guys … and obviously, we want to continue to grow and take the next step, and being able to see that firsthand is going to benefit me.”
Breakaways
Dan Vladař (17-8-6, .905 save percentage) was the first goalie off at morning skate and is expected to be the starter against Washington. … The Flyers officially loaned defenseman Adam Ginning back to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.
AJ Brown’s future…Sean Mannion’s hiring as offensive coordinator…Jeff Stoutland’s awkward exit…the Eagles’ strategy for free agency and the draft. These have been the dominant storylines of the Eagles’ offseason. More than a month after the team’s unceremonious exit from the playoffs, its top two decision makers finally weighed in publicly on these topics. Ahead of this week’s NFL combine, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner participated in beat reporters-only interview sessions with general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni. With the embargo lifted, Jeff and Olivia discuss their main takeaways.
00:00 Roseman and Sirianni speak!
01:13 Roseman and Sirianni address the AJ Brown situation
10:26 Sirianni indicates that offense will be different under new coordinator Sean Mannion
20:15 Sirianni gives his side of the Jeff Stoutland story
26:34 How will coaching changes affect Howie Roseman’s offseason personnel strategy
unCovering the Birds is a production of The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio Original Podcasts. Look for new episodes throughout the season, including day-after-game reactions.
There shouldn’t be too much to worry about at Subaru Park on Thursday in a Concacaf Champions Cup game against Defence Force FC of Trinidad (7 p.m., FS1, TUDN), with the Union bringing a 5-0 aggregate lead into the second leg. But that doesn’t mean all is well.
Outside back Frankie Westfield, centerback Finn Sundstrom, and forward Agustín Anello are dealing with minor injuries at the moment. Westfield is the biggest concern, both because of how his absence impacts the starting lineup and because it’s a hamstring tweak.
“Frankie’s still working on the side, getting closer to the team day by day, and I think that’s his status: day by day,” manager Bradley Carnell said Wednesday. “It’s pretty much all day-to-day stuff [with the trio], and hope to have them back pretty soon.”
Although the Union have a commanding lead in the series, Carnell isn’t taking this game lightly, especially after a loss Saturday at D.C. United in the MLS opener. Another game also quickly follows this one, against rival New York City FC at Subaru Park on Sunday (4:30 p.m., Apple TV.)
“Tomorrow’s halftime of the series, and we have to be fully focused,” he said. “We have a lot of things that we need to work on, and we have a lot of things that we are still not really happy with right now, with our own performance and putting things in our own control. … Regardless of opponent now, we have to take the baton in the hand and really focus on ourselves right now.”
Milan Iloski, who sat next to Carnell on the podium, concurred.
“I think we’re never going to be where we want to be,” Iloski said. “We’re always going to be chasing perfection, but soccer’s a game where it’s never going to be perfect, I think we’re working every day to improve and to get better — of course, there’s still a lot of good faces, and we’re building chemistry and we’re building relationships every day.”
Carnell also said he has spoken with Ezekiel Alladoh about the striker’s red card on Saturday, and with officials who confirmed it was for “inappropriate language.”
The Winter Olympics were full of exciting moments for Team USA — from the men’s and women’s hockey teams winning gold to Alysa Liu stunning fans every time she took the ice. And one man was there to witness it all: Jason Kelce.
The former Eagles center joined his wife, Kylie Kelce, who attended on behalf of NBC and YouTube. While Kylie was there on business, Jason enjoyed his time as a spectator and had no problem with CBC Olympics labeling him as Kylie Kelce’s husband.
“I really was just there to have fun and enjoy the Olympics,” Kelce said on the latest episode of New Heights. “So, I was 100% — this was the correct way to say it. I wanted to tell them I prefer ‘ball and chain.’”
During his time in Milan, Kelce got some bobsledding experience and attended four Olympic hockey games, the short program for figure skating and short-track speedskating. Here’s everything he had to say about his experience at the Winter Olympics:
Bobsledding experience
Ahead of the games, Kelce had the chance to get some hands-on experience with Team USA’s bobsledding team at their headquarters in Park City, Utah, where he learned about their training and got to see what it feels like going down the track with Team USA member Frank Del Duca.
“The ride itself, way more intense than I imagined,” Kelce said. “Like I thought it would be like a roller coaster. I really did. The energy that you are moving down this thing at over 80 mph. And when you go into these bank turns, it pushes you into the bottom of this thing.
“And on the bottom of the sled, there’s like these metal rails and my [expletive] is so [expletive] wide, they’re sitting on those metal rails. I’m being pinched down onto these metal beams. I’m trying to keep my head up so I can see. [Expletive] is flying by. I have no [expletive] idea how [Frank] was even knowing when to do the turns and everything. Like, you have to memorize it.”
‘The most fun sport to watch on the planet’
After the men’s U.S. hockey team made history, winning the gold medal for the first time in 46 years, Kelce went to social media to express his feelings with a simple, “Let’s [expletive] go!”
“There is just something about hockey, whether it’s playoff hockey or national hockey,” Kelce said. “When guys are like going all out, it’s just the most fun sport to watch on the planet. USA, hockey capital of the world. Men’s and women’s gold medal. Best country on the planet in hockey. I don’t want to hear any arguments.”
Kelce supported both teams in Milan, attending two women’s hockey games and two men’s games — including the men’s dominant 6-2 win over Slovakia in the semifinals, and the women’s gold medal victory over Canada.
“Canada got out to a quick lead and it made it very stressful,” Kelce said. “It was an electric game and then obviously we got to see USA men’s dismantle Slovakia. And I was sitting with the Tkachuk family. Keith Tkachuk was over there on the end of it. Got to shake the hand of a [expletive] legend … We were right by the Hughes family, too. Jack Hughes, who had the golden goal for the U.S. in the gold medal game.”
“After talking to her, you realize she is from the Heights,” Kelce said. “There’s just like this humbleness but also she’s a great person and it comes across very apparent when you speak to her. … They’re a great team, man. They’re tightknit. They’re playing jokes on one another. Just so proud for all of them. It’s an incredible moment to win a gold medal, especially in a team sport like that.”
Speed skating vs. figure skating
Kelce attended the short program for figure skating and he had just one recommendation when it comes to watching in the arena.
“I would have liked to have heard Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir announcing it live,” Kelce said. “When you don’t have that, especially for someone newer to the sport, you like to hear the excitement in the announcer’s voice that they just did something difficult or they just nailed a routine or they just missed something.”
But when it came to speed skating, Kelce had no notes.
“In speed skating, it is a [expletive] party in that speed skating arena,” Kelce said. “There’s DJ’s playing music. It’s fast paced, there’s bells ringing, it is high-stakes action in the speed skating short track.”
Kelce even had the chance to meet Apolo Ohno, a speed skating legend and eight-time medalist.
“Apolo, we watched him all growing up,” Kelce said. “Unbelievable speed skater. … Speed skating was electric as [expletive]. … These things were fast paced, they were moving. They’re doing Tush Pushes because we saw the relay version where they get in there and push the [expletive] of the guy in front of them.”
I, for one, am astonished that several entitled young white millionaires were eager to capitalize on their brief moment of relevance by becoming pawns of a president for whom most of them probably voted, especially if they listened to the most popular podcasters — that is, if they even bothered to vote.
Let’s unpack that sentence.
The average age of Team USA men’s hockey players is 28.43 years, so the chance they voted is less than 50%, according to surveys conducted by CIRCLE, a research initiative based at Tufts University. Among white men between the ages of 18-29, 56% voted for President Donald Trump. If they had no college degree, as is the case with most NHL players, that number jumps to 67%. More than half the listeners of podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience are white men between the ages of 18-34, and, after Trump was elected, Dana White, the CEO of UFC and a staunch Trump ally, thanked those podcasters for getting Trump over the hump.
Let’s throw in the fact that most professional athletes are, necessarily, narcissists. And there you have the reasons that so many members of Team USA have become the latest victims of moral political outrage.
They won Olympic gold in dramatic, heartwarming fashion Sunday, but our sitting president immediately spoiled the afterglow as they celebrated in Italy. Still, most of Team USA accepted an invitation to visit the White House. They met with Trump on Tuesday afternoon and attended the State of the Union address that night.
Jack Hughes (left) and Clayton Keller react after receiving their gold medals after the U.S. defeated Canada in the gold medal game on Sunday at the Winter Olympics.
All of this set social media and TV talk shows on fire: How dare they?
Which is exactly what Trump wanted.
Once again, his theater of the absurd drew fabulous ratings. Snowflakes on both sides melted, as scripted: The left, in anger; the right, in glee.
Perhaps one day Trump’s opponents will understand that the only one who gains from this sort of performative outrage is Trump. Save your energy for the ICE attacks in Minnesota and the acts of war on Venezuela. You’re not converting anyone by attacking Connor Hellebuyck, the goalie in the crowd to whom Trump promised a Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday night.
Everything Trump does is transactional: They showed up for him, he gave one of them a medal.
What, you want him to turn it down? Get real. That’s not who these players are.
You expected a group of guys like this to decline the invitation to see and be seen with the most powerful man on the planet? What planet do you live on? In what world do these guys do the right thing?
Consider Olympic hero Jack Hughes’ considered reaction Monday, after all the heat was on:
“Everything is so political,” he told reporters. “People are so negative out there, and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down, and make something out of almost nothing.”
It’s as if he was trying to define “self-unawareness.” Like most young men in his situation, he is not equipped for the moment.
Nevertheless, as America’s current Olympic hero, Hughes, 24, is the unofficial spokesman for the group that some folks think should have told its FBI director to go home and find Nancy Guthrie. The group that some folks think should have told Trump that they weren’t coming to the White House unless the women’s team came, too, and that the women would have to sit in the front row.
There’s no way a bunch of partying, exhausted, exhilarated frat bros are going to not laugh at a dumb joke from a guy who reminds them of their grandfathers.
Lighten up, folks.
I’m not MAGA. For that matter, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find a sports writer more anti-MAGA than I’ve proven myself to be. When Trump dips his toe into sports, I generally try to stub it.
However, on the Trump scale, Trump acted mildly here. He offhandedly insulted the women’s team — a team whose win I considered the apex of the Games, and wrote as much. He and his minions did far worse to Olympians who dared challenge him.
And if you think the hockey lads are bad, check out Nick Bosa, Herschel Walker, and Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton.
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: President Donald Trump was greeted by Herschel Walker and UGA QB Gunner Stockton when he arrived in Georgia coming off Air Force One.
Both have been long-term supporters of Trump and the MAGA movement.
This hockey team isn’t perfect, but it isn’t evil, either. It should not be remembered for being the victim of a controversy not of its own making.
It should be remembered as a brilliantly built roster, masterfully coached, which played a spectacular tournament. Its No. 1 goalie gave up six goals total. The penalty kill snuffed all 18 power plays.
The team was incredible.
This outrage, at best, is futile. At worst, it is performative.
Every lefty Twitter warrior knew Trump would politicize a men’s hockey win because Trump knew he and the men’s hockey team were generally of like mind. Most of Team USA appears to be Trump people, unbothered by the misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and corruption of his administrations, happy for every second in the spotlight.
Certainly, it would have been nice if all 25 players had made a different choice. Five did. Twenty didn’t. Twenty percent of a group of clueless twentysomethings is better than nothing.
This contrived controversy obscures how, for about an hour, this was a powerful Olympic tale.
The good feelings emanating from the team’s moving remembrance of Johnny Gaudreau were washed away by the Trump episode.
The facts
Hughes scored a golden goal against Canada in overtime, avenging an identical defeat handed to Team USA by Canadian hero Sidney Crosby in 2010. Afterward, with an American flag draped over his shoulders, Hughes skated around with his brother and teammate, Quinn, smiling through chipped and bloodied teeth he’d suffered during the game. Team members took victory laps carrying the jersey Johnny Gaudreau would have worn had G and his brother not been killed in August 2024. The team invited Gaudreau’s two small children onto the ice for a team photo.
What’s more, social media hyped Hughes’ advocacy of Pride Night last season, which has become a controversial topic in the more reactionary corners of the NHL.
In this 2024 interview, Jack Hughes, who just scored the game-winning goal for the US Olympic hockey team, explains why it was important for him to embrace Pride Night when many other NHL players refused to do so. pic.twitter.com/jLRy5Blqo4
Then, Trump intruded. And, as with most things, he ruined it. This was not just predictable. It was inevitable.
First, FBI chief Kash Patel, who’d said he was in Italy on official business, joined the alcohol-drenched postgame celebration, a moment of indecorum that sent J. Edgar Hoover spinning in his grave. The players partied on. What were they supposed to do? Kick Patel out of the locker room?
Then, Trump called the party and, offhandedly, demeaned the women’s team, which had won gold three days before. The players laughed. Some of them, clearly aware of Trump’s boorishness, laughed nervously. But they laughed.
What were they supposed to do? Chastise the president during his locker-room call?
Be realistic. This was the greatest achievement of their lives. None of them seems particularly woke. And, besides, they’d been partying.
“There’s so many things happening,” winger Kyle Connor told The Athletic on Monday. “We just won the gold medal and things are going on so I don’t really remember what he said. It’s such a whirlwind, just celebrating.”
The boys are getting more abuse than they deserve, especially in the cesspool of social media. Folks called the players morons. They told them they could stick their gold medals up their collective butts. Some said they’d carry the stain of this moment with them the rest of their lives.
No, they won’t. Have we learned nothing from Trump and his associations with the golf world?
American golfers at the Ryder Cup not only welcome Trump at the event, but some actually performed the ridiculous Trump dance. None has suffered.
Tiger Woods’ associations with the president do not appear to have damaged the golfer.
The fallout
You know who were the two most popular golfers before they golfed with Trump? Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. You know who the two most popular golfers are today? Tiger and Rory. In fact, Tiger’s dating Trump’s former daughter-in-law.
The players on the women’s team, bless them, declined their invitation to the White House.
Sure, I respect the five from Team USA who didn’t wallow in the Trump trough more than I respect the 20 who did. In that same vein, I respect the Eagles, such as Jalen Hurts, who refused to visit the White House last spring more than I respect Saquon Barkley, who not only visited the White House, but also went golfing and lunched with Trump the day before.
The fallout: In September, Saquon received the ultimate honor of having a Wawa hoagie named after him.
But there’s not going to be any real hangover effect from this. There never really is.
Fanatics Fest will make its return to the Javits Center in New York City from July 16-19, and with its return comes another year of the Fanatics Games.
The high-stakes, fan-inclusive sports competition debuted last year, featuring 50 professional athletes, creators, celebrities, and 50 fans competing head-to-head in different sports-themed skills challenges.
The top 10 finishers from last year are expected to compete once again in this year’s competitions, including the inaugural winner, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, UFC fighter, and runner-up, Justin Gaethje, and the third-place finisher — and reigning “fan champion,” — Matt Dennish, a health teacher and basketball coach at Red Lion High School in York County, Pa.
“When the offer was there, I couldn’t pass it up,” Dennish, an avid Philly sports fan, said. “It was an experience worth going back for. The first time around, I didn’t know what to expect, and I far exceeded expectations. So, when I go back for the challenge, whether it goes well or not, I’m just happy to be able to go back.”
Dennish, 40, competed in multiple events, including an NBA shooting competition, a FIFA goal-scoring shootout, an NHL slapshot accuracy competition, an NFL passing skills test, a UFC striking challenge, a golf challenge, an MLB pitching accuracy competition, and a WWE entrance challenge.
Fanatics co-founder and Sixers minority owner Michael Rubin (right) at Fanatics Fest 2024 at the Javits Center in New York City.
In the overall competition, Dennish finished in third place, earning a LeBron James rookie card. Meanwhile, Brady placed first and won the $1 million grand prize. And Gaethje placed second, winning a red Ferrari 296 GTB. However, Dennish didn’t walk out with the card. Brady offered him the $250,000 in market value for the card, a signed Brady jersey, and his trading card.
Dennish gladly accepted.
“When I came back, because I’m part of a small town here in Red Lion, my life was very chaotic,” Dennish said. “For a couple [of] months afterwards, a day didn’t go by that somebody wouldn’t bring it up. At the grocery store, I was pretty recognizable, being taller, I couldn’t hide away. So, it was a weird feeling. … And I get a lot of questions coming up for this next year.”
Some of those questions were answered by a video message Brady sent to Red Lion High School.
“What’s up, Red Lion?” Brady said in the video. “I had to send this because I got a message for one of your teachers, Mr. Dennish. Matt, remember me? Your Fanatics Games rival, Tom Brady. Yeah, last year at Fanatics Fest, I was very fortunate to beat 100 great athletes and fans to win the inaugural Fanatics Games. But, Matt, you were incredible.
“So, I hear Fanatics Games is back this July in New York City. I’m going to be there, so I’m calling for a rematch. Winning feels best when you beat the best. So, Matt I sent you something with Fanatics. If you accept, put it on.”
Accepting Brady’s challenge, Dennish put on a custom Fanatics jersey as students chanted “Beat Tom Brady!” Now, as the 6-foot-6 teacher from Red Lion prepares to compete for the second year in a row, he’ll be taking on a different role from the first competition.
“I was a no-name last year and flew under the radar,” Dennish said. “And of course, this year, there’s going to be a target on my back. But I’m okay with that. I think it just leads to a new challenge and more attention. We’ll see how it goes.”
Michael Rubin (second from left), with the top three finishers in the 2025 Fanatics Games: Tom Brady, Matt Dennish, and Justin Gaethje.
This year’s competition will introduce new and improved competition formats and a $2 million total prize pool.
There will be more opportunities for fans to qualify through a partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods, introducing in-person qualifiers by visiting select Dick’s House of Sport locations across the country — including Knoxville (May 9), Kennesaw, Ga. (May 30), Houston (June 13), and Boston (June 28).
The top three performers from each event will earn a chance to compete.
Last summer, she said it. This winter, she proved it. And now she gets to share it with her kids.
Full circle. 💛🥇
Get ready for more athlete stories like this live at Fanatics Fest this summer. pic.twitter.com/Yp9rBXLrz8
“What made Fanatics Games special in year one was seeing fans and world-class athletes compete side by side, feeding off each other’s energy in real time,” said Lance Fensterman, the chief executive officer of Fanatics Events. “That level of passion and participation inspired us to expand the Games in 2026, and partnering with Dick’s Sporting Goods allows us to make the experience even bigger and better, creating new ways that make it even more interactive for fans across the country to earn their spot in the competition.”
Fans who can’t compete in the in-person qualifiers can send a video application to the Fanatics Games website or post to social media using #FanaticsGames.
Rob Gronkowski, James Harden, and WWE superstars Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Cody Rhodes, and Jey Uso will be some of the other athletes competing this year. Additional participants will be announced in the coming months.
INDIANAPOLIS — While away during the All-Star break, Joel Embiid began to feel a sensation all the way down his right leg that he compared to an electric shock.
“It was really painful to walk,” Embiid recalled at his locker late Tuesday.
Though officially identified as shin soreness on recent 76ers injury reports, Embiid called it a stress reaction. It became the latest test in Embiid’s more cautious approach to navigating his health this season, as he missed five consecutive games with that ailment along with right knee injury management.
His return to the floor Tuesday was productive and efficient. He totaled 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting plus six rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes of the Sixers’ 135-114 blowout of the shorthanded and tanking Indiana Pacers.
“I feel good enough to go out there,” Embiid said, “and play to the point where I think I have a little bit of confidence that I’m going to be fine and hope for the best.”
The Sixers (32-26) lost their first four games during this Embiid absence before an impressive win at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday on the second night of a back-to-back. Questions about those struggles without the former NBA Most Valuable Player prompted a candid response from rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, who said Thursday, “We miss Joel. It’s that simple. He’s a walking 30 points.” Starting wing Paul George also remains out until late March while serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.
On Sunday, Embiid progressed to four-on-four on-court work. He was upgraded to questionable on Monday evening’s injury report, then participated in most of Tuesday morning’s shootaround, coach Nick Nurse said. Thirty minutes before tipoff, the team listed him in the starting lineup.
The initial minutes were clunky for Embiid and his team, which did not execute Nurse’s desired pace and movement around the big man on offense and could not get a stop on the defensive end.
Joel Embiid had 27 points, six rebounds, and five assists in Tuesday’s win over the Indiana Pacers.
Embiid’s rhythm returned in the second quarter. He scored at all three levels, including a driving finish, multiple mid-range jumpers, and a three-pointer. He was on the receiving end of a slick no-look pass from Tyrese Maxey, which he dunked.
By halftime, Embiid had 20 points.
“Kind of wanted the ball more than I did the first time around,” Embiid said of that second-quarter stint. “Just got shots and knocked it down.”
Maxey said he felt Embiid’s presence on both ends, helping the point guard flirt with a 32-point triple-double (nine rebounds, eight assists) in 34 minutes, while four other teammates finished in double figures. Embiid appeared to be moving around the court well, including while protecting the rim as an interior defender. He received fourth-quarter minutes even with the Sixers possessing a massive lead, an effort to reestablish his conditioning. And though locking back into that two-man game with Maxey was mostly seamless, the point guard added that there were still moments when Embiid wanted him to cut more.
“He just takes so much pressure off us offensively,” said Maxey, noting that opponents can no longer send multiple defenders his way while sharing the court with the big man. “They’ve got to pay attention to him. … And then when I’m second pass right there next to him, it’s hard to [double team], too, so there’s a lot of space out there on the court.”
This Embiid return comes after a dominant stretch, when he averaged 30 points on 52.7% shooting along with eight rebounds and 4.5 assists in 20 games from Dec. 23 to Feb. 7. During that vintage run, Embiid declared this comeback season was already a success, assuming many outsiders figured he would never return to that level of productivity (and availability) after multiple left knee surgeries derailed his 2024-25 season and caused a nearly two-month absence the previous year.
Following Tuesday’s victory, Embiid acknowledged he previously was “not familiar” with the treatment or recovery process for stress reactions. He anticipates the path forward — closely monitoring the leg, and managing his workload — will be similar to how he and the medical staff handled his knee at the beginning of this season. Embiid also reiterated that he will trust in God, and that his body will respond how it is supposed to.
Count Maxey as somebody who appreciates Embiid’s newfound careful approach. Maxey believes it gives the Sixers “a chance to be healthy when it really, really matters” in the playoffs, when Embiid has often labored through games or suffered new injuries. And it has forced the Sixers to try to figure out how to play without him, mostly with a fast-paced formula that Embiid emphasized in conversations with Nurse during this most recent absence.
The Sixers snapped out of their skid Sunday night, while Embiid was still sidelined.
And once Embiid returned to game action against the Pacers?
“When he comes back and he looks like that,” Maxey said of Embiid’s performance Tuesday, “I think we’ve got a pretty good chance.”
If he did, he certainly wasn’t sharing it on this day, doubling as a model for the Union’s new home kit, one that pays homage to America’s 250th birthday and coincides with the FIFA World Cup passing through Philadelphia this summer.
But the question last month was plain. As the Union’s new No. 10, the number generally designated for a team’s playmaker, how does it suit his strengths, and more importantly, his role on the team?
Will the move create opportunities for his partners sitting behind the forward in Bradley Carnell’s modified 4-4-2 (essentially 4-2-2-2) formation? Will it create chances for him running off them? Which would make sense given the imposing size of Ezekiel Alladoh, the team’s new 6-foot-3, 170-pound powerhouse up top?
Will it be both?
Some might suggest that two games into the regular season and a handful of televised preseason matches are still too small a sample size to determine where Iloski exactly fits and where he’ll be most effective. In that same time, however, credit him with four goals and a Man-of-the-Match award after a 5-0 rout of Trinidad’s Defence Force in the club’s Concacaf Champions Cup opener.
It is certainly not a bad thing to be a bit of an unknown for a team looking to surprise early in the season in defense of its 2025 Supporters’ Shield crown.
That continues this week as the Union have their Champions Cup return leg against Defence Force at Subaru Park on Thursday (7 p.m., FS2), followed by the team’s MLS home opener against Eastern Conference rival New York City FC on Sunday (4:30 p.m., Apple TV).
If that’s the case, one has to wonder what the coaching staff has told Iloski it’s looking for from him in the No. 10 jersey.
“I think stepping up in a big way,” said Iloski, a 26-year-old native of California. “I was brought here midseason last year to help bring a trophy. And you know, we were happy to win the Supporters’ Shield, but we fell short in other places. Now, it’s for me to be an important player on the team and really be a leader in the locker room and make sure to implement those core values and, you know, things that this club stands for.”
But the answer was a bit more complex from Carnell, who noted during a recent news conference the variety of ways Iloski can be used, with none of them sounding like a one-size-fits-all approach to the second-year Union player.
Union manager Bradley Carnell says that plans have been created that fuse the team’s attack with Milan Iloski’s skill set.
“We have a bunch of things drawn up in my [coaches] room,” the manager said. “There are different scenarios on tactical sheets of paper. We have an overload of strikers with us right now. So [we just need] Milan to build his foundation, I would say.
“We know what he brought us last year, through the summer [when he arrived] and down the stretch. He’s a real weapon in both phases, whether it’s in the possession phase or in the transition phase. … He has a bunch of things to learn even in the [No. 10] spot. But using him in the striker spot is an option as well. Right now, he’s being used in that 10 spot, and we’re confident we’ll get greater value out of him there.”
It’s no secret that Iloski provides value. His eight goals in a five-game tear for San Diego last season made him a midseason commodity that the Union pounced on. He collected four goals and five assists in just 14 games for the Union in all competitions, drilling home the fact that he’s anything but one-dimensional.
But a shift in position means a shift in mindset, and at the end of the day, Iloski is happiest around the box angling on goal. Proof came in the five shots, two on goal, from the Union’s loss to D.C. United on Saturday. It also arrived in a preseason wonder goal he scored running off the ball against CF Montréal.
It’s where he likes to be, his happy place if you will.
In his new role, Milan Iloski (left) is expected to be the creative provider for strikers like newcomer Ezekiel Alladoh (right) and others as the Union’s No. 10.
“I think in an ideal world, I enjoy being around the goal more,” Iloski said. “I came here because I enjoyed playing next to someone, that’s one thing I’ve talked with the coaching staff a lot about. I love playing next to someone up top.”
But that’s not his role anymore — at least not game over game. Which is why in the same breath, the leadership he spoke of earlier came through.
“I also know I can be that creative player who can come inside or can float underneath the strikers,” he said. “So, you know, for me, I’m open to anything that can help the team. And you know, I’m totally bought in. So whatever the staff needs from me is what I’ll try and provide.”
It’s been three years since the Flyers fired Chuck Fletcher and replaced him with Danny Brière. Here’s a look back at everything that’s happened since.
Flyers president Keith Jones (left), governor Dan Hilferty (center), and GM Danny Brière (right) have been overseeing the team's years-long rebuild.Anton Klusener/ Staff illustration. Photos: Tyger Williams, Yong Kim/ Staff Photographers; Miguel Martinez
Wednesday marks exactly 1,083 days since Danny Brière grabbed the wheel of the rudderless ship that the Flyers had become under previous captain Chuck Fletcher, and a lot has happened since.
From Brière’s use of the previously taboo term “rebuild” at his introductory news conference to the dawning of “New Era of Orange” to the arrival of Matvei Michkov to the team’s ongoing search for a No. 1 center, where do the Flyers stand three years into their process — and are they close to turning the corner?
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Ahead of the upcoming March 6 trade deadline, here’s a look at all the key moments and moves from Brière’s first three years as general manager of the Flyers.
The Flyers fire general manager Chuck Fletcher less than a week after the NHL trade deadline and name Danny Brière as interim GM. At his introductory news conference, Brière notably uses the word “rebuild” to define the Flyers’ situation.
May 11-12, 2023
‘New Era of Orange’ begins
The Flyers make the Brière hire permanent and hire former Flyer Keith Jones, who was then covering the NHL on TV, as the team’s president of hockey operations. The moves are unveiled as part of the team’s “New Era of Orange” ceremony as the organization’s leaders lay out a broad vision and plan for the team’s future.
June 6, 2023
‘Trader Danny’ announces himself
MIGUEL MARTINEZ / For the Inquirer
Brière makes his first major move as GM, trading top defenseman Ivan Provorov to Columbus in a three-team deal. The Flyers land the No. 22 overall pick in 2023 (Oliver Bonk), defenseman Sean Walker, goalie Cal Petersen, defensive prospect Helge Grans, and two future second-round picks (from the Kings and Blue Jackets). The Flyers later traded the two second-rounders in deals to move up and select Carson Bjarnason and to acquire Trevor Zegras.
More on the Flyers
From trade bait to untouchables, here’s where the Flyers roster stands less than two weeks before the deadline
The Flyers haven't committed to being buyers or sellers, but they have some pieces they could move for the right price by March 6.
June 24, 2023
Sanheim trade falls through
Brière gets close on a trade involving defenseman Travis Sanheim and center Kevin Hayes, but it is nixed after St. Louis defenseman Torey Krug exercises his no-trade clause. Sanheim’s full no-trade kicks in the following week.
June 27, 2023
Offloading Hayes
After the larger trade with the Blues falls through, Brière ships the 31-year-old Hayes to St. Louis for a 2024 sixth-round pick. Hayes’ relationship with coach John Tortorella had deteriorated to the point where a trade seemed unavoidable.
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June 28-29, 2023
Michkov falls to the Flyers
With his first draft pick as Flyers GM, Brière takes winger Matvei Michkov with the seventh overall selection. The Flyers draft Bonk later in the first round (No. 22), as well as Bjarnason, Denver Barkey, and Yegor Zavragin on Day 2.
July 1, 2023
A quiet free agency
As expected, the Flyers are relatively quiet as free agency opens, with Brière signing only depth players Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway. Later they add veteran blueliner Marc Staal.
More on the Flyers
Flyers hit the Olympic break at a crossroads. Will they sell for the future or try to push for the playoffs?
The Flyers are eight points out of a playoff spot but have games in hand with 26 remaining. Is it time to stick or twist for GM Danny Brière ahead of the March 6 trade deadline?
July 15, 2023
The subtraction continues
Brière continues to clean house as the Flyers place defenseman Tony DeAngelo, whom Fletcher traded three picks for the previous summer, on waivers for a buyout. The Sewell native had been benched by Tortorella to end the season.
Jan. 8, 2024
The Gauthier-Drysdale shocker
Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Brière trades No. 2 prospect Cutter Gauthier, then playing at Boston College, to Anaheim for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick. Brière soon reveals that Gauthier’s camp had demanded a trade for unspecified reasons and that his camp had cut off all communication. Days earlier, Gauthier had been named the best forward at the World Junior Championship as Team USA won gold. Gauthier has never confirmed the exact reason he forced a trade, whether it was because of Tortorella, the team’s decision to send him back to college for a second year, or the Flyers’ overall direction.
Jan. 26, 2024
Tippett signs eight-year extension
The Flyers hand 24-year-old winger Owen Tippett a lucrative eight-year, $49.6 million contract extension ($6.2 average annual value). Tippett, who was acquired in the Claude Giroux trade, had 18 goals in 46 games at the time of the extension, and had tallied a career-high 27 the year before.
Jan. 30, 2024
Hart charged with sexual assault
Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
A week after taking a leave of absence, franchise goaltender Carter Hart is charged alongside four other professional hockey players in connection with an alleged sexual assault in 2014 in Canada. Hart is acquitted in July 2025 but never plays for the Flyers again.
March 6, 2024
Flyers land first-rounder for Walker
The Flyers flip Sean Walker, a salary dump by Los Angeles in the Provorov trade, to Colorado with a fifth-round pick, for a first-round pick and half of Ryan Johansen’s contract. The Flyers, who were in a playoff spot at the time of the trade, prioritize the long term in moving the thriving pending free-agent defenseman for future assets. On the same day, the Flyers extended veteran defenseman Nick Seeler, another potential trade chip, with a four-year, $10.8 million contract.
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March 23, 2024
A surprise playoff push
Having punched above their weight all season, the Flyers enter their final 11 games with a 36-26-9 record and four points above the playoff cut. According to hockey analytics company Stathletes, they have an 88% chance of making the postseason.
March 24-April 9, 2024
Colossal collapse
Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
The Flyers lose eight straight games to fall below the playoff cut, culminating with a 9-3 embarrassment in Montreal. They win their next two to push their slim playoff odds to their final day of the season, but are officially eliminated on April 16 with a 2-1 loss to Washington. They finish four points out of a playoff spot.
June 28, 2024
Jumping for Jett
The Flyers go off the board to select center Jett Luchanko with the No. 13 overall pick in the draft. Brière and the Flyers had moved back one pick in a trade with Minnesota that netted them an additional third-rounder. Minnesota selects defenseman Zeev Buium. The Flyers then trade their second first-rounder — Pick No. 32 from the Giroux trade — to Edmonton in exchange for a 2025 first-rounder. Edmonton selects Sam O’Reilly with the pick.
July 1, 2024
Michkov arrives early
After much speculation, the Flyers sign Michkov to his entry-level contract, after reports circulated in late June that he would come over to North America two years earlier than expected. He arrives in Philly on July 23.
July 25, 2024
Flyers keep Konency
The Flyers sign 27-year-old winger Travis Konecny to a massive eight-year, $70 million extension ($8.75 million AAV). Konecny, who was coming off career highs in goals (33) and points (68) and was the team’s most valuable asset, had one year remaining on his contract.
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Jan. 30, 2025
Bye-bye, Beezer
The Flyers continue to subtract as they move Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to Calgary for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a second-round pick (Shane Vansaghi), and a 2028 seventh-round pick. The Flyers are five points out of a wild-card spot at the time; Farabee has 3½ years left on his contract at a $5 million cap hit.
March 7, 2025
Laughton to the Leafs
Sitting five points out of a playoff spot with 19 games to play, the Flyers trade beloved glue guy Scott Laughton and two late-round picks to Toronto for a package that includes a protected 2027 first-round pick and forward prospect Nikita Grebenkin. Laughton has one year remaining on his deal. On the same day, the Flyers flip Kuzmenko, whom they acquired a month and a half earlier, to Los Angeles for a third-rounder.
March 27, 2025
Tortorella fired
Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
With the Flyers losing 11 of 12 games, Tortorella is fired after almost three seasons. The firing comes a day after the coach said, “I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we’re at right now.” It later leaks out that Tortorella and Cam York had a heated verbal exchange during the Toronto game a night earlier. Tortorella, who was hired by the Fletcher regime, leaves with a 97-107-33 record with the Flyers.
April 17, 2025
Playing out the string
After winning five of interim coach Brad Shaw’s first six games in charge and seeing several young players thrive, the Flyers lose their final three games to ensure they will have the fourth-best draft lottery odds. They finish with a 33-39-10 record.
May 5, 2025
Bad bounce
The Flyers drop the maximum two spots in the lottery and learn they will pick sixth in June’s NHL draft.
May 14, 2025
Flyers name Tocchet head coach
Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Flyers Hall of Famer Rick Tocchet is named the 25th head coach in franchise history, becoming the sixth former Flyer to hold the post. The 61-year-old arrives with a 286-265-87 career record and is a year removed from winning the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year with Vancouver. Brière cites Tocchet’s passion for the Flyers and his communication and teaching skills as reasons he is the right fit to oversee the next stage of the rebuild.
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Tocchet, who was beloved as a player in Philly for his combination of toughness, heart, and goal-scoring ability, believes he can be "part of the solution of bringing the Flyers back to dominance."
May 29-June 3, 2025
Keeping the kids
Brière extends two homegrown pieces of the Flyers’ young core, signing winger Tyson Foerster to a two-year bridge deal ($3.75 million AAV) and center Noah Cates to a four-year contract ($4 million AAV).
June 10, 2025
Michkov Mania
Charles Fox / Staff Photographer
After leading all rookies with 26 goals and tying for second in points (63) with Macklin Celebrini, Michkov finishes fourth in Calder Trophy voting. Brière calls Michkov’s rookie campaign “exciting” and says the Russian surpassed all expectations.
June 23, 2025
‘Z’ is for Zegras
After years of speculation, the Flyers acquire Trevor Zegras from Anaheim in exchange for Ryan Poehling and second- and fourth-round draft picks. Zegras goes on to post 20 goals and 49 points in his first 56 games with the Flyers.
June 27-28, 2025
Porter’s house
The Flyers draft power forward Porter Martone with the sixth overall pick, then send their other two first-rounders (Nos. 22 and 31) to Pittsburgh, moving up to take center Jack Nesbitt with pick No 12. On Day 2, the Flyers select seven players, highlighted by second-rounders Carter Amico, Jack Murtagh, Vansaghi, and Matthew Gard.
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The Flyers sign goaltender Dan Vladař, depth center Christian Dvorak, and defenseman Noah Juulsen on the first day of free agency. Brière reiterates that the Flyers are focused on “flexibility” and “short-term” deals with an eye on the 2026 free-agent class. As expected, the star-studded 2026 class that included Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and Kirill Kaprizov dries up in the months that follow as all of the top players sign extensions.
July 7, 2025
York extended
The Flyers sign the 24-year-old York to a five-year extension that carries a $5.15 million cap hit. Brière says York has untapped potential and says the organization views him as “a main piece on our blue line.”
Sept. 10, 2025
‘Not moving back’
Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Jones and governor Dan Hilferty won’t commit to making the playoffs but tell the media that the Flyers are done making “changes in order to get better for the future,” adding that “now, it would be about staying on course, which is advancing. It’s not about moving back.” Jones says they owe it to the players to add to the team after years of subtracting.
Oct. 5, 2025
Exiting the Ellis contract
The Flyers get out of the final two years of the injured Ryan Ellis’ contract by trading it to San Jose. The blueliner, who played only four games in 4½ years for the Flyers, had a $6.25 million cap hit for this season and next. The move, which cost only a sixth-round pick, frees up significant cap space for the Flyers.
Jan. 5, 2026
Dvorak’s new deal
Months after they signed Dvorak to a one-year, $5.4 million deal, the Flyers extend the center for five years and $25.75 million ($5.15 million AAV). After citing “flexibility” and the importance of “short-term” deals in the summer, Brière reverses course by signing Dvorak through his 35-year-old season, while also handing him full trade protection in the first two years of the deal. Dvorak, who was having a career season and was on pace for 53 points at the time, would have been an attractive trade chip as a rental at the deadline.
More on the Flyers
Contract grades: Was signing Christian Dvorak for the long haul the right move for the Flyers?
Dvorak turns 30 next month and is now signed with the Flyers through age 35. Here's what our writers think of the team's decision to lock up the center, who is enjoying a career year.
Jan. 6, 2026
Flying high
The Flyers hit the halfway mark in style with a 5-2 beatdown of Gauthier and the Ducks at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Zegras scores two goals as the Flyers improve to 22-12-7 and climb to ninth overall in the league standings.
Jan. 8-Feb. 5, 2026
Hitting the wall
The Flyers win just three of their next 15 games entering the Olympic break and go from two points above the playoff cut line to eight points below it. Injuries also strike as Drysdale, Vladař, and Bobby Brink all miss time.
Feb. 3, 2026
Tocchet-Michkov saga comes to a head
Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Days after Tocchet reiterates on several podcasts that Michkov came to camp out of shape, contributing to his sophomore slump, Brière calls a news conference, trying to quell speculation about the relationship between player and coach. Brière says the two “have a good relationship” and that “Matvei Michkov is not going anywhere. Let’s make that clear. … Matvei is going to be here for a long time.” He confirms that Michkov was out of shape and says this situation will be a learning moment for the young player.
Feb. 25, 2026
Stick or twist?
Sitting eight points out of a playoff spot, albeit with two games in hand, the Flyers return to game action against Washington. With just 10 days and five games until the March 6 trade deadline, the Flyers have one last chance to impress Brière. Will the Flyers be buyers, sellers, or stand pat? Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is among the players who could generate a significant return on the trade market.
So are the Flyers in a better place than they were three years ago when Brière took charge? In short, yes. The prospect pool is now top 10 leaguewide and much deeper than before, a product of several savvy long-term-view trades that netted a haul of first- and second-round draft picks. They have also added three star-level talents to the organization in Michkov, Martone, and Zegras, and may have finally solved their longstanding goalie riddle with Vladař.
On the other hand, the Flyers haven’t fully bottomed out and thus have missed out on landing top-5 picks — where teams usually land stars at premium positions like center and defense — and also were forced to trade a high-end prospect in Gauthier. With those gaping holes still to fill, Brière will need to get creative both in the draft and the trade market over the next six months if the Flyers are to truly shift their rebuild into the next gear in 2026-27.
