- The Flyers sent winger Devin Kaplan to Seattle for center David Goyette
- Both forwards are 22 and came out of the 2022 NHL Draft
- Read below for full details on the trade and what each team is getting
Philadelphia and Seattle swapped young forwards on Thursday.
The Flyers traded winger Devin Kaplan to the Kraken in exchange for center David Goyette. The deal came one day after Philadelphia got blown out 7-0 by the Penguins in its home opener, though both players are AHL prospects and neither was going to change that game.
Seattle announced it first:
These two have been linked since draft day. The Kraken took Goyette in the second round of the 2022 draft at 61st overall. Philadelphia grabbed Kaplan eight picks later at No. 69.
Goyette was a scoring machine in junior. He put up 282 points (114 goals, 168 assists) over three seasons with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves and led the whole league with 117 points in 2023-24.
That offense hasn’t followed him to the pros. Goyette has 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 108 AHL games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds over the last two seasons, plus three assists in 11 Calder Cup playoff games. He has yet to play in the NHL.
Last season also got cut short. The AHL suspended Goyette 20 games in February for violating the AHL/PHPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program, a first-time offence.
He’ll report to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, according to Flyers GM Daniel Briere. Philadelphia posted the move a couple of minutes after Seattle did:
Kaplan brings a different style to Seattle. The 6-foot-3 winger plays a heavy, chippy game, and he finished his first full pro season in Lehigh Valley with five goals, 13 points, 62 penalty minutes and a minus-13 rating in 49 games.
Before turning pro, he spent three years at Boston University and piled up 64 points and 148 penalty minutes in 115 games for the Terriers. Kaplan got into one game with the Flyers after his last college season in 2024-25, so he’s already got an NHL debut on his resume.
With so many young wingers added to Philadelphia’s system lately, Kaplan had been sliding down the depth chart. Goyette gives the Phantoms a center who once dominated the OHL, and Seattle adds a big, physical winger to its pipeline with the AHL season opening Friday.
