Flyers sign defenseman David Jiříček to two-year contract extension

Jiříček, who has played at Lehigh Valley since being acquired from the Minnesota Wild, was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

The Flyers have high hopes for David Jiříček, whom they acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline.Read moreMark Humphrey / AP

by Gustav Elvin

Published April 1, 2026, 4:55 p.m. ET

When the Flyers swapped Bobby Brink for David Jiříček at the NHL trade deadline on March 6, Danny Brière made it clear that it was a move made “to try to solidify our future.”

That future will include at least the next two seasons. On Wednesday the Flyers signed the 22-year-old Czech defenseman to a two-year, $3 million contract extension — $1.5 million average annual value — that will keep him in Philly through the 2027-28 season. Jiříček, who has played at Lehigh Valley since being acquired from the Minnesota Wild, was set to become a restricted free agent. The defenseman will be a restricted free agent again, with arbitration rights, at the conclusion of this new two-year bridge deal.

The contract is an inexpensive bet on a big-time talent in Jiříček, who was drafted sixth overall in 2022. Selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets one pick after the Flyers chose Cutter Gauthier, the 6-foot-4, 204-pound, right-shot defenseman is a player the Flyers have long held in high regard, with Brière revealing that they had serious discussions about him leading up to the 2022 draft and then again prior to him being traded from Columbus to Minnesota in 2024.

Once heralded for his booming slap shot, long reach, puck-moving ability, and physicality, Jiříček has yet to transfer those skills into production or consistent playing time at the NHL level. In 84 career games split between the Blue Jackets and Wild, the defenseman has just two goals and 13 points. He had registered 17 goals and 77 points in 139 American Hockey League games prior to joining the Phantoms.

Despite the underwhelming numbers, the Flyers still believe in the blueliner’s potential and see him as a prime bounceback candidate once he homes in on a few problem areas and rebuilds his confidence. There have been positive early signs of that in the AHL, as Jiříček has showcased his expansive tool kit and tallied two goals and 10 points in 10 games since joining the Phantoms.

“The potential is high … 21-, 22-year-old, 6-foot-4 defensemen of his caliber are tough to find,” Brière said after acquiring Jiříček at the deadline. “We know we have to work with him. We need to be patient. We need to give him a little bit of rope to develop him. But that’s why I go back to the Jamie Drysdale learning curve. That gives us hope that he can get on the same track and eventually become a difference-maker for us.”

While many Flyers fans’ minds will immediately wander to Jiříček’s shot boosting the team’s anemic power play, he has considerable work to do to clean up some other areas of his game. The towering defenseman’s skating has always been his weakest attribute, and is something the Flyers’ developmental staff will specifically target as they did with Tyson Foerster, Brink, and others. Jiříček’s decision-making with the puck has also gotten him into trouble at times, some of which can be attributed to a loss of confidence.

“David is still a young player who’s trying to figure out his game. You give him some confidence — I’ve seen him play before — when he plays with that confidence, he’s a totally different player," Brière told The Inquirer earlier this month. “There’s no guarantee, but we do believe that what we’ve seen in the past, that David has something special that can help us in the future.”

Jiříček represents the latest reclamation project for the Flyers, who have had success in recent years rebuilding the careers of young players with draft pedigree like Drysdale, Owen Tippett, and Trevor Zegras. While Jiříček might have a little more volatility to him, especially given he’s failed in two locations thus far, he is a worthy lottery ticket for a team looking to find difference-makers on the blue line and at center ice.

Whether Jiříček will get into NHL games with the Flyers this season remains to be seen. Brière didn’t promise him anything at the time of the trade but hinted he’d like to get the defenseman into games before the end of the season, if he looked ready. The Flyers being back in the playoff race and having seven healthy NHL defenseman could also complicate that scenario.

The Flyers won’t have the luxury of letting Jiříček marinate in the AHL next season, as he will no longer be waiver-eligible. With Jiříček signed, the Flyers have Rasmus Ristolainen and Jiříček as right-shot defenseman under contract for next season, not to mention prospect Oliver Bonk is expected to compete for an NHL job. They are also almost assuredly bringing back Drysdale, who has taken a significant step forward this season and is set to be a restricted free agent.

Is that too many guys on the right side? It’s worth noting that the Flyers explored moving Ristolainen, 31, at this year’s trade deadline before ultimately keeping him. They likely will revisit the market for the rugged defenseman this offseason as he enters the final year of his contract.