As training camp winds down and the regular season is right around the corner, the Philadelphia Flyers are faced with a big question. Should they keep 14 forwards or 8 defensemen?

After a wave of roster cuts on Tuesday and the decision to reassign Jacob Gacher and waive Lane Pederson on Wednesday, the Flyers have just one more cut before their roster sits at 23 active players. Who will that final cut be?

Nikita Grebenkin feels like the only safe bubble player. He has been skating within the team’s expected top-six, and has even gotten power-play time in practice.

#Flyers lines and pairs at practice today:
F
Tippett-Zegras-Michkov
Grebenkin-Couturier-Konecny
Foerster-Cates-Brink
Deslauriers-Dvorak-Hathaway

D
Sanheim-York
Seeler-Drysdale
Zamula-Ginning

Luchanko came in for Deslauriers in the second rotation.

— Will James (@wmjsports) October 1, 2025

#Flyers power play lines at practice:

PP1-Drysdale, Zegras, Michkov, Tippett, Konecny

PP2-Sanheim, Couturier, Foerster, Brink, Grebenkin

— Will James (@wmjsports) October 1, 2025

Jett Luchanko and Rodrigo Abols may not have as safe a spot. Both centermen will be competing with Adam Ginning, Dennis Gilbert, and Noah Juulsen for the final four places on the team.

One would think that the simple solution is to cut one defenseman and move on. However, the choice is a bit complicated. Will it be 14 forwards, keeping both Luchanko and Abols? Or, will it be eight defensemen, sending one of the centers to the AHL (or juniors)?

Read More: The Final Push: Flyers Roster Battle

Where Do the Flyers Lean?

On Tuesday, Flyers’ head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters that the ideal move is to keep eight defensemen, for the sake of quality practices. He did not say that’s what the team will do, but it’s telling as far as where he leans.

So, if the Tocchet wants eight D-men, that would mean either Luchanko or Abols gets reassigned. Knowing that the only option for Luchanko is to go back to Guelph makes it an even harder choice. After the camp Abols had, he could definitely be scooped up on waivers. It seemed like an impossible situation to read, but Tocchet made it a little clearer.

Tocchet on Luchanko, specifically the last game, and what he needs to show to make the team: “I actually really liked his last game. He utilizes speed really well. Obviously, he’s an intelligent kid, 19 years old, right? Whether he’s on a team or not, we’ll see, but there’s a lot to like about him.”

Now, here is what Tocchet said to the media today about Abols: “He wants to be an NHL player. It’s my job to give him feedback on how to be an NHL player… I think there’s more there for him to be an NHL player. I don’t think he’s got the job with what you said, saying he’s an NHL player right now. He’s trending to that, and we had a talk today about that.”

From those comments, it seems the Flyers are leaning towards keeping Luchanko and developing him in the NHL, as well as eight defensemen, and waiving Abols with the intention of assigning him to the Phantoms.

What They SHOULD Do?

This morning as I was walking into the Flyers Training Center, I asked myself the question: What should the Flyers do? I thought about it for a moment and came to my final thought shortly after.

I was operating under the assumption that Rodrigo Abols was making the roster because, well, he absolutely earned it. So, my conclusion was that of the three defensemen fighting for the final spots – I’d even include Egor Zamula in this group – there are none worth sending Luchanko back to Guelph to keep.

So, my answer was to keep Luchanko. However, it grows more complicated. Now, I am operating under the assumption that Abols’ spot is not as secure as I once thought. It actually makes me think that it’s him who’s in the final conversation instead of Luchanko. It would truly be a shame if Abols missed out on making this team because Luchanko can’t go to the AHL, or because the team wanted to keep three sub-par defensemen.

Abols earned the right to be on this team, so the Flyers SHOULD keep 14 forwards and 7 defensemen.

Now, who should be cut? It can’t be Juulsen because he’d be one of two right-shot defensemen until Ristolainen returns. That leaves Ginning and Gilbert. You could probably get both players through waivers, so that should not be a concern. It all comes down to who played best.

Gilbert has the most NHL experience of the two, but in my eyes, Ginning had the better camp and deserves a chance to stick in the NHL. Will he do it? Who knows. Regardless, he should make the roster, with Gilbert being the final cut.

What do you think the right move is?

Read More: PhHN Daily: Flyers Roster; Big Money Kirill; Hughes Robbery