It’s no surprise that Michael Rasmussen has hit a bad stretch in Detroit. He’s out of the lineup more often than not, and fans generally seem to be out on him. With Larkin, Kasper, Danielson, Copp, and Compher, the Red Wings have their centre depth figured out, so Rasmussen doesn’t really have a spot. But could he fit on a team that is looking for a depth center? Enter the Flyers. Last season, they traded away Laughton, their depth centre, and now they find themselves in an early playoff push. With Dvorak and Abols being their current bottom-six centre-men, there might be a fit there.
Elliotte Friedman: I did hear from a couple places, Philly’s looking for another center, maybe more of a depth guy – 32 Thoughts (11/21)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) November 25, 2025
Clearing the Air:
Detroit won’t get a return for Rasmussen; they’d be lucky to get a seventh-round pick. But honestly, that’s okay. Rasmussen is holding a roster spot, one that can be used to bring up Mazur, Lombardi, or even Cossa. Why keep the veteran who hasn’t seized his spot when you can bring up a kid and give them a chance to do so? I won’t do my usual mock trade for this because, truthfully, Philly would just be taking on Rasmussen and his cap hit.
Who Is Michael Rasmussen:
For the Flyers fans out there, I’ll give you a debrief. Rasmussen is a huge centre who is best in the defensive end. He isn’t physical despite his huge frame, and his offence is limited. He can be an effective depth centre and penalty killer, but in Detroit, the offence hasn’t come. He has scored at least ten goals in each of the past four seasons in a depth role. He does show flashes of being a decent 10-goal, 15-assist, defensively minded centre, but this season, he looks poor. If Philly is to take him, it’s assuming they can get him back to that role. He suffered an injury a few years back in 2022-23, where he was finally breaking out, but don’t expect him to come near that half-point-per-game again.
A True Win-Win:
Philly gets to take a chance on an NHL centre who has been solid in the face-off dots and can give a limited boost to their offence and second power play unit if need be. Detroit gets to free up the roster spot to give someone else a chance. If Philly is looking for a depth center, I’d imagine they’d want more of a difference maker than Rasmussen, who wouldn’t. But Philly has also sold the past few seasons despite being decent at the deadline. If they don’t want to risk spending real assets, I don’t think it would be a huge surprise for them to take a chance on Rasmussen for free.
More to Read:
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.