Wednesday morning, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they signed 25-year-old forward Nolan Foote to a one-year, two-way contract worth $850,000 at the NHL level.
Foote, a former 2019 first-round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning, spent a number of years within the New Jersey Devils' system, first being acquired by the organization in the trade that sent Blake Coleman to the Lightning in 2020. In his five years in the Devils' system, Foote played 30 NHL games, accruing six goals and eight total points in those appearances.
He was allowed to walk from the organization in 2025-26, when he signed with the Florida Panthers and ultimately scored one point -- a goal -- in 12 games with the main squad. In those six years, while he never really made a name for himself at the NHL level, he was always a somewhat productive minor-leaguer, accumulating 76 goals and 161 total points in 245 AHL games between the Binghamton Devils, Utica Comets, and Charlotte Checkers.
Nolan Foote gets another shot with a Devils division rival
At one point in time, Foote was regarded as one of the Devils' best prospects -- he was particularly highly touted for the first couple of seasons after he was initially acquired via trade. It never worked out, though, with his development stagnating in part due to injury and in part due to his perception being more positive than his actual on-ice value. He certainly had his flashes, though, recording a single two-goal game in April of 2022 against the Ottawa Senators.
It was then that his value was perhaps the highest, given that he scored four points in seven NHL games to end that 2021-22 campaign.
In 2026-27, it's likely that Foote will spend the bulk of the season in the minor leagues once more, given that the Flyers' organization is chock-full of young talent up front. As of right now, the Flyers have 14 forwards listed on their NHL roster, all of whom are better than Foote. Barring an injury, he'll certainly be on the outside looking in for playing time. The good news is that the Utica Comets won't be seeing him too often, given that they play in different AHL divisions.
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