The Flyers did whatttttttttttt????? This time of year is very unpredictable for the sport of hockey. With the NHL Draft just days away, and the GM Meetings to be held on the eve on the NHL Draft on Thursday. Anything goes during the days leading up to the draft.
The Flyers made a move on Tuesday acquiring RHD Justin Braun from the San Jose Sharks. In exchange the Sharks receive this years Flyers 2nd Round pick (41st overall), and next years 3rd Round Pick in 2020.
Braun is a cap space clearer for the Sharks. He has one year left on his contract (19-20 season), and is due to make $3.8 million. Braun skates well and is a good stop gap Defenseman. Unfortunately, he only tallied 2 goals, and 14 assists for 16 points in 78 games played last season. If I was Fletcher I would have traded for RHD Colin Miller or RHD Jared Spurgeon, which leads me to believe that Braun (32-years-old) may be part of a bigger deal.
The Flyers already have stockpiles of Defensemen with the big club with the likes of Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Philippe Myers, Matt Niskanen, Samuel Morin, and Robert Hagg. Braun makes the 8th player on Defense. Fletcher sure was right this past weekend when he said the Flyers may not be done acquiring talent on the backend.
We shall see how this one goes, but from the looks of it right now it appears this was a lot for the Flyers to give up. There are so many talented RHD in this years draft within the first 2 rounds, and if the Flyers select a Forward in the first round…wow I don’t want to be Fletcher that’s for sure.
Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
