It’s no secret the Flyers need to land a high-end center. Here are three candidates who could fit the bill.

The Flyers have been playing some good hockey lately, as the Orange and Black are 10-6-3 over the past 19 games and are firmly on the playoff bubble as the season nears its midpoint. But the recent success hasn’t papered over the elephant in the room: The Flyers still lack anything close to a bona fide No. 1 center.

With all due respect to Sean Couturier, the former Selke Trophy winner no longer fits the bill at 32 years old and on the heels of two back surgeries. Neither does pending restricted free agent Morgan Frost, who remains the biggest of enigmas and based on John Tortorella’s most recent comments doesn’t seem long for Philadelphia.

And while the Flyers have high hopes for 2024 first-rounder Jett Luchanko, we are probably at least a few years away from him potentially developing as a top-line pivot.

» READ MORE: Flyers takeaways: Jamie Drysdale impresses, but turnovers prove costly in loss to Red Wings

Stanley Cup winners are built down the middle. Just look at Florida last season with Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, and even Anton Lundell. Or Vegas the year before with Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, and Chandler Stevenson. Colorado in 2022? Nathan MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri, and J.T. Compher. You see the trend ...

The Flyers hope to contend for Cups in the not-so-distant future, but despite compiling some high-end players led by Travis Konecny, Matvei Michkov, and Travis Sanheim, the organization has major questions to answer at center ice.

President Keith Jones has acknowledged as much, telling The Inquirer earlier this month that the center position “is an area we are going to upgrade” and that “we are well aware of what we’re looking for and we have some work to do in that regard, but we’re going to do everything we can to find them.”

Top-end centers don’t grow on trees, nor do they become available often. Here’s Part 1 of our two-part series looking at some players the Flyers could consider trading for to help address their gaping hole down the middle.

For this exercise, we primarily focused on players who: (1) might be available via trade, (2) match the Flyers’ age timeline (under 30), and (3) would be potential organizational fits.

Since J.T. Miller returned from his leave of absence, there has been much speculation about his relationship with Pettersson and whether the two centers can coexist or if a trade is coming in Vancouver. Miller, who turns 32 in March, should be a nonstarter for the Flyers because of his age. But what about Pettersson, who is 26?

A three-time 30-goal scorer and a top-20ish talent when he’s on his game, Petterson would check the boxes of being a 1C entering his prime. Pettersson tallied 89 points last season and 102 the year prior and has made significant strides to become a 200-foot player. The concerns with Pettersson lie with his motivation and consistency.

He seems to disappear for extended stretches, while his confidence and body language have come under major scrutiny over the past two seasons in Vancouver. It’s hard to envision Pettersson thriving under a coach like Tortorella, and Philadelphia would represent a difficult market for a player who reportedly is very sensitive to criticism from the media. He’s also in the first year of an eight-year, $92.8 million contract, with his $11.6 million average annual value the sixth-highest in the league.

But if the Flyers are thinking about life beyond Tortorella and trying to find a proven No. 1 center, few with Pettersson’s ceiling ever become available. The creativity of Pettersson and Michkov playing together certainly is a tantalizing proposition as well.

With Vancouver in win-now mode and Konecny and Sanheim likely staying put, the Flyers would need to get creative. Vancouver is reportedly looking to bolster its roster with a defenseman and a top-six winger, and Rasmus Ristolainen, Joel Farabee, and Scott Laughton all could interest Vancouver to some extent.

That said, those players don’t get a deal done alone. Would dangling Cam York or Owen Tippett or attaching draft picks to one of those players be enough? And would the Flyers be willing to move those pieces?

The sky is falling in Buffalo, and with the Sabres having lost 11 straight games, changes are coming.

Cozens’ name has been the most widespread in terms of potential trade candidates. Cozens is a 23-year-old right-shot centerman who blends size (6-foot-3, 207 pounds), speed, grit, and goal-scoring into one enticing package. The No. 7 overall pick in 2019, Cozens has flashed big-time production in the NHL, tallying 31 goals and 68 points in 2022-23.

But Cozens’ play has dipped over the past two seasons — 18 goals and 47 points in 79 games last year and seven goals and 14 points through 32 games this one.

If Cozens is available, the Flyers should be all over this. He perfectly fits their age profile, and his competitiveness would mesh well with Tortorella. Cozens would also instantly be a fan favorite, as Philly idolizes forwards who score goals, throw their weight around, and get under opponents’ skin.

There’s also a good chance that Cozens’ regression, at least in part, can be blamed on the poor development environment in Buffalo. How many players have flamed out with the Sabres before exploding to stardom with a change of scenery? Do Ryan O’Reilly, Eichel, or Sam Reinhart ring a bell?

That’s not to say that Cozens is a perfect player or that all his troubles are down to the Sabres’ ineptitude. Defensively, he has been a complete liability. And while the tools and willingness might be there for him to improve in his own end, Cozens needs extensive work.

There are also questions about his hockey IQ and whether he makes good enough decisions with the puck to stick down the middle — he has bounced between center and wing with the Sabres.

Flaws and all, there is a lot to love about his potential. Cozens can score from distance with his terrific wrist shot, is willing to get in and use his body on the forecheck and in front of the net, and has a rattiness to his game.

Though he hasn’t played in the postseason yet, Cozens’ skill set seems perfectly tailored for playoff hockey, and there are some similarities between him and Florida Panthers star and pest extraordinaire Matthew Tkachuk. Teams covet these types of players, especially given that Cozens is signed through 2029-30 at a manageable $7.1 million AAV.

» READ MORE: The Flyers tried to trade Travis Sanheim in 2023. Now, he’s a bona fide No. 1 defenseman and poised to make Team Canada.

Buffalo is probably open to taking roster players, prospects, and future picks in a potential trade. Armed with six selections in the first two rounds in the 2025 draft, including three firsts, and a rising prospect pool, the Flyers should have the pieces to facilitate a deal.

The Sabres are in desperate need of some well-respected veterans in their locker room, so Laughton could intrigue them in a larger package, as could Farabee, a player with ties to the region.

The other thing working for the Flyers is the Sabres are dealing from a position of weakness. The team, which changed coaches in the offseason, is floundering again, and it feels as though a major trade to shake up the mix is inevitable. Buffalo probably shouldn’t trade Cozens, but someone has to go, and the Flyers could be the beneficiary.

There’s no guarantee Cozens ever develops into a No. 1 center, but at only 23, he has traits and pedigree worth gambling on.

Rossi is no stranger to trade speculation and has been linked with a move to Philadelphia before.

A top-10 pick in 2020, Rossi finally broke through last season with 21 goals — 19 at even strength — and 40 points in his first full NHL season.

The 23-year-old has taken another big step forward this season, showcasing elite hockey sense, playmaking, and creativity while playing alongside a pair of offensive savants in Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Rossi has not looked out of place since assuming Minnesota’s No. 1 center role, racking up 12 goals, 26 points, and a plus-11 rating through 32 games.

So why would the Wild trade a young player who looks to be blossoming in an expanded role? That answer is probably two-fold.

First, Rossi is set to be a restricted free agent at season’s end and is due for a major raise on his current $860,000 cap hit. On a short-term deal, the Wild might be able to get Rossi signed for $4 million to $5 million per year, with the number probably closer to $7 million on a long-term extension, especially if Rossi builds on his strong start to 2024-25.

With the Wild finally about to get out of cap hell with the easing of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter contracts, the team could be hesitant to commit long-term to Rossi. They have already locked up one top-two center in Joel Eriksson Ek and have two potential others on the way in prospects Danila Yurov and Riley Heidt.

Given the organization’s depth down the middle, the Wild could cash in on Rossi’s value at a premium position. The Wild also have to consider Kaprizov’s next payday — his current contract expires after 2025-26 — before committing substantial money to anyone else.

The Wild’s other hesitation could be Rossi’s diminutive stature at 5-9. General manager Bill Guerin likes bigger, stronger forwards, and while Rossi plays bigger than his listed height, the reality is he is undersized. There aren’t a ton of high-end 5-9 centers in the NHL, and smaller centers tend to find things more difficult in the playoffs when the physicality ramps up and there is less offensive room to navigate.

While the likelihood that Rossi gets moved has probably decreased since the start of the season given his strong play, those in the know, including the Athletic’s Michael Russo, are still skeptical about the Austrian’s long-term future in Minnesota.

Despite concerns with his size and foot speed, Rossi’s hockey IQ and playmaking are off the charts, not to mention that he is a very responsible two-way player. Rossi might not fit the Flyers’ old archetype of big, strong centers, but GM Danny Brière (at 5-9) knows a thing or two about excelling in the NHL as an undersized pivot.

The Flyers need to upgrade their middle of the ice, and Rossi would be a young player who would step in and represent an immediate improvement over the team’s current options. That said, Rossi probably isn’t a perfect fit, as the team is already flush with smaller forwards like Konecny, Michkov, and Bobby Brink.