With the trade deadline less than two weeks away, teams need to determine whether or not they are “buyers” or “sellers”. Some teams like the Sabres, Senators, and Coyotes are clearly “sellers.” ther teams like the New York Rangers while still technically in playoff contention have assessed their current rosters and have already declared themselves “sellers.” Teams such as the Bruins, Lightning, and Predators are at the top of the NHL standings and are obvious “buyers” for the trade deadline. This begs the question: Are the Philadelphia Flyers “buyers” or “sellers”?
Where They Stand: 3rd Place in the Metropolitan Division, 66 Points
How They Are Trending: Up. Record: 12-5-2 since January 1st
Draft Pick Assets (2018): 1st: 2, 2nd: 1, 3rd: 1, 4th: 1, 5th: 2, 6th: 1, 7th: 2
Total Picks: 10 Source: CapFriendly.com
Draft Pick Assets (2019): 1st: 1, 2nd: 1, 3rd: 1, 4th: 1, 5th: 1, 6th: 1, 7th: 1
Total Picks: 7 Source: CapFriendly.com
Draft Pick Assets (2020): 1st: 1, 2nd: 1, 3rd: 1, 4th: 1, 5th: 1, 6th: 1, 7th: 1
Total Picks: 7 Source: CapFriendly.com
In the Pipeline: Sam Morin (D), Philippe Myers (D), Travis Sanheim (D), Mikhail Vorobyov (C), Nic-Aube Kubel (RW), Oskar Lindblom (LW), Morgan Frost (C), Isaac Ratcliffe (LW), Matthew Strome (LW), Maxim Sushko (RW), German Rubtsov (C), Carsen Twarynski (LW), Tanner Laczynski (C), Carter Hart (G), Felix Sandstrom (G), Kirill Ustimenko (G)
Cap Space (Trade Deadline): $11,376,546 Source: CapFriendly.com
Verdict: Buyer AND Seller
The Flyers are in a relatively unique position to be both “buyers” and “sellers” as the February 26th deadline approaches. Thanks to GM Ron Hextall’s (at least to this point) ingenious and well executed plan to not only rebuild the Flyers roster but their organizational talent depth as well, the Flyers have assets that would be appealing to teams looking to add to their roster for a playoff run as well as teams looking to unload veteran talent and get younger moving forward.
Trade Assets:
Valtteri Filppula (C, LW) 2017-2018 Stats: 57GP 10G 14A 24P +1
Filppula was acquired by the Flyers right before last year’s trade deadline. Filppula is a veteran, solid two-way player that a team heading towards the playoffs could feel comfortable playing in just about any situation. He can eat up minutes at even strength, kill penalties, and can even play on the power play in a pinch; he has seen it all. Not outstanding at any one phase of the game, but can do just about anything. He is the type of player that would be a good fit for another playoff team looking to fill a hole on their 3rd line. He is in the final year of his contract ($5M cap hit) and is set for unrestricted free agency after this season. He could be attractive to a team looking for a short term plug and play type of player.
Jori Lehtera (C) 2017-2018 Stats: Stats: 39GP 0G 3A 3P -6
Lehtera was acquired, along with two 1st round draft picks, in a 2017 Draft Day trade from the St. Louis Blues. To say Lehtera has been underwhelming in his short time with the Flyers would be an understatement. He is a solid, yet unspectacular two-way forward who has been in and out of the lineup for the Flyers and has yet to find his niche on the team. Playing primarily on the wing due to the Flyers depth up the middle could partially explain his struggles. I think he is best suited for center and a change of scenery might serve him well. He has one year remaining on his contract after this season that will pay him $5.0M ($4.7 million cap hit). It might be worth it for the Flyers to move him for a late round/conditional draft pick even if they had to eat a small portion of his remaining salary. As is the case with Filppula, the Flyers have young players that can potentially fill his spot on the roster.
Wayne Simmonds (RW, LW) 2017-2018 Stats: 57GP 19G 16A 35P -8
Wait! What?! Let me explain. Simmonds is still one of the better power forwards in the NHL, but his season has mirrored that of the team; streaky. He is on pace for 28G and 51P which is solid but represents a slight drop off from his last two seasons and he still has one more year after this season left on his contract that will bump up from $4.75M ($3.975 cap hit) to $5.0M ($3.975 cap hit). He will be 30 years old before the start of next season and looking for a new contract. He is not old by any means but length of contract and money could become an issue, especially with young players like Provorov, Hagg, Konecny, and Patrick eventually due for pay increases. Unless the Flyers lose every game between now and the trade deadline I don’t expect this to even be a remote possibility. A Simmonds trade scenario would be more of something to keep an eye on at the Entry Draft (similar to Brayden Schenn last season).
Andrew MacDonald (D) 2017-2018 Stats: 42GP 3G 9A 12P +7
This has been a nice bounce back season for MacDonald. He has provided a steady veteran, stay-at-home presence on the Flyers blueline and has surpassed most expectations of him coming into this season. With two years remaining on his current contract which includes salary bumps up to $5.25M ($5.0M cap hit) in 2018-2019 and $5.75M ($5.0M cap hit) in 2019-2020, it can be debated that the production does not fit the price tag. At this point it seems as though he is simply keeping the seat warm for Travis Sanheim on the second pairing with Robert Hagg. It might be time to sell high on MacDonald. This might also be a situation worth monitoring more closely at the Entry Draft, but also think it is worth mentioning for the Trade Deadline as well.
Brandon Manning (D) 2017-2018 Stats: 42GP 4G 6A 10P -3
Manning has been a source of significant consternation among Flyers fans this season. He provides a cost-effective, hard-nosed mentality to a team’s third defense pairing and deserves more credit and respect than he often receives. Manning’s contract that is paying him $1.0M ($975K cap hit) expires at the end of the season. His contract situation along with the fact that the Flyers have younger, more talented defensemen in the pipeline that are ready to take his place could make him a candidate to be traded to another contender in need of depth on defense.
Team Needs:
Third Line Winger/Penalty Killer
Now that Travis Konecny seems to have found his place on the top line and Nolan Patrick has taken his inevitable spot at the center of the second line, the Flyers depth of scoring (at least at even strength) has improved significantly and no longer appears to be the high priority that is was earlier in the season. The Flyers could use an upgrade at wing for their third line and preferably a player that would also either upgrade their penalty kill or their second powerplay unit. I think adding a veteran player such as: Benoit Pouliot (BUF), Alex Burrows (OTT), Michael Grabner (NYR), Mike Cammalleri (EDM), Patrick Maroon (EDM) would fill this need and lengthen the Flyers lineup by pushing a player like Jordan Weal down to the 4th line, at least temporarily. Pouliot, Burrows, and Grabner would be an immediate substantial upgrade to the PK unit. Mike Cammalleri could potential provide an upgrade to both the PK and the second powerplay unit and Patrick Maroon would likely only be an upgrade to the powerplay. One thing is certain, the penalty kill is ranked 28th out of 31 teams and needs to be addressed.
Backup Goaltender
For the first time in quite a while the goaltending was not viewed as an obvious weakness of the Flyers as both Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth have been solid in their opportunities, but that all changed during the February 10th game against the Arizona Coyotes. During the shootout against the Coyotes, Elliott went down with a lower body injury and appears to be out for an extended period of time after core body surgery. As a result, finding a backup goalie now should be a priority for the Flyers as they approach the playoffs. It is possible that this hole can be filled from within; however Alex Lyon has seemed overmatched at this level. The Flyers and their fans would likely feel much better with a more proven commodity alongside of Neuvirth (who has durability issues of his own) for the stretch run. Some names and expiring contracts that may be available and make sense: Jaroslav Halak (NYI), Chad Johnson (BUF), Antti Raanta (ARZ), Antti Niemi (MTL).
These names and scenarios might not be enough to get everyone excited, but it speaks to how well that GM Ron Hextall has rebuilt this organization in a short period of time. It is also a credit to coach Dave Hakstol’s commitment to finding the right line combinations and is also a compliment to the young players who have improved and developed at an accelerated pace. For those that are hoping the Flyers make a bigger splash at the deadline there is good news: Hextall has acquired plenty of high-end assets (both draft picks and talent at all levels of the organization) to make something significant happen should they feel the need to upgrade scoring on their top two lines.
Since becoming Flyers GM in May of 2014, Hextall has track record of success at the trade deadline. He turned Vincent Lecavalier and Luke Schenn into Jordan Weal and a 3rd round pick (Carsen Twarynski), Zac Rinaldo into a 3rd round pick (Kirill Ustimenko – G), and Mark Streit into Valtteri Filppula, a 4th round pick (Maxim Sushko – RW), and a 7th round pick (Wyatt Kalynuk – D). These trades along with the Brayden Schenn trade at last year’s draft which netted them Lehtera, a 1st round pick in 2017 (Morgan Frost), and a 1st round pick in 2018 has given the Flyers organizational flexibility. It would appear that the Flyers are more buyers than sellers, but they have the flexibility to be both. The orange and black don’t have to be black or white in regards to the trade deadline; sometimes it’s good to be some shade of grey.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
