Lightning and Flyers make late-night trade

The Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning are both off to solid starts thus far in 2025/26, and while there's been little speculation about a deal between either team, they came together to make an intriguing trade on Monday night.

As announced by the Flyers on their official social media, they've made a trade with Tampa Bay, and in doing so they've acquired former third-round pick Roman Schmidt, who has started this season with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch.

The 22-year old finished his first full season in the AHL a year ago, posting 2 goals and 5 points across 49 games, and while he's not lighting the world on fire this season, he's been producing at a very solid level for a former third-round draft pick.

In exchange for Schmidt, the Lightning are acquiring Ethan Samson, a blue liner out of British Colombia that is also looking to make his mark in the AHL, tallying 4 assists across 10 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season.

As of right now, the move appears to be one that swaps potential career NHLers, with neither player right now showing that they have the potential to be difference makers at the NHL level.

However, a change of scenery is sometimes all that a player needs to take their game to the next level, so both organizations will be hoping that with this move, their respective players can take a jump and become key pieces of their team.