Flyers lose depth forward to Swiss league after injury-plagued season

Rodrigo Abols has spent much of the last decade playing in North America and Europe, but the Philadelphia Flyers forward is headed back overseas after signing a three-year contract with SC Bern in Switzerland on Monday, the team announced.

“Rodrigo is a strong and powerful two-way center who also possesses excellent leadership qualities,” said Sporting Director Martin Plüss.

The 30-year-old spent the 2025-26 season exclusively with the Flyers, but only suited up for 42 regular-season games due to a fractured right ankle. He scored three goals and 10 points while playing on a one-year, $800,000 contract.

The Latvian forward was still on IR during the playoffs, and was in the press box when the Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Battle of Pennsylvania before bowing out to the eventual champion Carolina Hurricanes in Round 2.

He played his final NHL game on January 17 against the New York Rangers.

Overall, Abols has suited up for 64 games with the Flyers, recording five goals and 15 points. Previously, he played five seasons with Orebro HK in Sweden, captaining the club between 2021-23.

Originally selected in the seventh round (No. 184 overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, he signed an entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers as a free agent in 2019.

He split time between the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits, but ended up returning to Sweden in 2020.

Abols returned to North America in 2024-25, splitting time between the Flyers and AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Philly’s farm team. The left-shot forward was effective for Team Latvia, helping his country to a bronze medal finish at the 2023 IIHF World Championships.

He’ll now begin his next chapter in Switzerland’s highest league, and considering he’s already 30, this move could mark the end of his NHL career.

With Abols out of the picture, the Flyers have two unrestricted free agents and two restricted free agents on the active roster. The two RFAs, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, will likely be top of mind for general manager Danny Briere this summer.

The two UFAs are 35-year-old Garrett Wilson and 37-year-old Luke Glendening.

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