Oilers interested in Flyers star but one major problem lingers

On paper, the fit is obvious.

Tippett is 27, carries a manageable $6.2 million cap hit through 2030, and just posted 28 goals and 51 points in 81 regular-season games.

He can skate with anyone in the league. Stan Bowman has roughly $16 million in projected cap space and a desperate need to find someone who can play alongside Leon Draisaitl.

But the conversation around this deal changed dramatically over the past six weeks, and almost nobody is acknowledging it.

The Flyers made the postseason for the first time since 2018. Tippett was one of their most dynamic players in the first round against Pittsburgh, delivering a highlight-reel shorthanded setup that had Rick Tocchet calling him a home-run hitter.

Then he suffered internal bleeding that knocked him out of the second-round series against Carolina.

That sequence matters enormously. Philadelphia's fanbase just watched Tippett become a playoff difference-maker before losing him to injury.

Danny Briere would be trading away a player the entire city rallied behind during a franchise-altering postseason run.

The asking price was already steep before the playoffs. Multiple reports had the Flyers demanding a first-round pick and top prospects.

After what Tippett showed in April, that price almost certainly went up.

The Oilers were bounced by Anaheim in the first round and lack draft capital to fund a blockbuster.

Tippett's modified no-trade clause also kicks in on July 1, meaning he gets a 10-team no-trade list.

If Edmonton is on it, the conversation ends before it starts.

Bowman needs a winger. Tippett checks every box. The problem is Philadelphia just discovered exactly how much they need him too.