The Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed defenseman Jamie Drysdale to a four-year, $6.5 million AAV contract extension, the club announced on Friday. Drysdale, who posted 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) in 78 games with the Flyers in 2025-26, second among the team’s defensemen, was a restricted free agent who had filed for arbitration.The 24-year-old recently completed a three-year, $2.3 million AAV deal originally signed with the Anaheim Ducks just before the start of the 2023-24 season. Drysdale, who was acquired by the Flyers on Jan. 8, 2024, as part of the trade for Cutter Gauthier, has 57 points (17 goals, 40 assists) in 172 games with Philadelphia over parts of three seasons.NHL offer sheets are just businessSean Gentille and Sean McIndoeAfter enduring a number of injuries early in his career, Drysdale has played in 148 of a possible 164 regular-season games the last two seasons combined.
Drysdale made noticeable improvements to his defensive game this past season, in particular, skating mostly with partner Cam York in a top-four role.“I think I took a few steps this year,” Drysdale said in his final media session of the season. “I think the biggest step was just confidence level. … Just coming to the rink and believing that I was a good player and could make an impact, that was probably the biggest shift for me. That carries all over the ice.“With that being said, there’s a lot of things that I want to work on. I think I can bring a lot more to the table, as well, in certain areas.”One of those is the power play. Drysdale was third on the Flyers in power-play ice time last season — only forwards Travis Konecny and Trevor Zegras had more. The Flyers finished in last place in the league with just a 15.7 percent success rate.Flyers coach Rick Tocchet spoke in March about Drysdale needing to improve his shot this offseason.“I know he’s working on his shot. This summer’s a big summer for him,” Tocchet said. “I remember coaching Quinn Hughes; over the summer he increased his shot 12 miles per hour, which is amazing. I think (Drysdale) can get that shot a little bit harder.”In 10 playoff games last season, the first postseason appearance of his career, Drysdale recorded two goals, two assists and 16 shots on goal.Jul 17, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
