Jamie Drysdale is now staying back in Philadelphia for years to come. The Flyers signed the defenseman to a four-year, $26 million contract extension on Friday, July 17, carrying a $6.5 million average annual value. 

Two days after avoiding arbitration with Trevor Zegras, the Flyers locked in Drysdale. And it makes him the highest-paid defenseman on the roster, after which Drysdale shared his reaction.

"Philly's a place I love to play, and there's no secret there. I'll continuously say it, and I'm happy with four years," he said in the video as posted by NBC Sports Philadelphia on July 20. "I would want to continue that after the fact, obviously, and I'm just really excited to show what I can do and keep it going."

Drysdale continued explaining to NBC Sports Philadelphia that he's grown comfortable in Philadelphia since the trade. He said the four-year term matched both sides' initial hopes and was a relief to finalize.

The Flyers acquired Drysdale from the Anaheim Ducks in January 2024. They sent away Cutter Gauthier's rights to the Ducks in return. He set his new career highs in 2025-26 by scoring eight goals and 32 points in 78 games while playing a career-high 21:33 per night.

The deal also looks good next to recent contracts for other young players. Bowen Byram signed for $12.5 million a year in Chicago, and Brandt Clarke landed a deal with an average annual value of $7.4 million with Los Angeles. Drysdale's $6.5 million cap hit comes in below both.

General manager Daniel Briere confirmed the signing in a team statement.

"We're excited to have Jamie remain a key part of our organization," Briere said, pointing to the contributions Drysdale has made since arriving in Philadelphia.

His extension comes after a journey of six years.

Drysdale's road to Philadelphia

Drysdale's path to the NHL started in Toronto. The Erie Otters selected him as the fourth overall in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection.

According to the stats from the NHL, he earned First Team All-Rookie and All-Star honours in his two seasons there. The Anaheim Ducks then made him the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

He debuted with Anaheim in March 2021, scoring a goal and an assist in his first game to become just the third defenseman in NHL history with a multi-point debut at age 18 or younger.

In Philadelphia, Drysdale scored 20 points in 2024-25 before jumping to 32 points this past season. He also led all Flyers defensemen with 9 power-play points, trailing among the team's blueliners.

His new contract holds a modified no-trade clause, limited to six teams in the third year and four teams in the fourth. The Flyers still have restricted free agents like Nikita Grebenkin and Hunter McDonald left to sign this offseason.

With Drysdale now still under contract till the 2029-30 season, the Flyers still have their key defenseman locked in.

Do you think Drysdale's extension will pay off for the Flyers? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar