Liam Jenkins (@LiamJenkinsPSN)
The important thing to remember right now is that a lot of hockey lies between this article and the expansion draft. The other thing to remember is that by the time the expansion draft rolls around, contract pictures will change.
If Nolan Patrick not only returns to the ice, but returns to form, it’s hard to see the team keeping Scott Laughton over the former #2 overall pick. If he doesn’t, as Ricky mentions, there are other paths to retaining him and they’d need to be explored as he’d be the perfect low-risk, high-reward prospect for a new franchise.
James van Riemsdyk will cost the Flyers $7M next season, that’s just $100k less than Kevin Hayes, making him the team’s fourth-highest paid player. Banking on Seattle to come in and save the day when building a franchise is wishful thinking, and Voracek’s $8.25M hit could be more appealing for them to take on. Whether or not the Flyers would be ready to risk parting ways with someone so influential to the locker room
Interestingly, both Sanheim (RFA) and Gustaffsson (UFA) will be free agents. This could be something worth watching given the shake-up that the blue-line has already seen this offseason. They have to protect all of their young talismans and ultimately, Justin Braun is the outlier.
He could well be on the bottom pairing this year and the Flyers have handed out one too many bad contracts to vets in my lifetime. He’s also a standup guy, extremely solid in what he does, and provides a reliable force on the bottom-6 for a team who may not be inundated with star options by that point in the draft. They could do a lot worse than Braun and selecting him would make sense here.
Alex McIntyre (@alexemcintyre)
In the previously mentioned protection list, most fans would agree that, like Eric said, six of the seven listed are a lock [with the exception of everyone who has “I hate Jake Voracek,” tattooed proudly on their chest]. However, this means the Flyers are able to protect only one player out of a few guys that are ideal to keep around. Here, it is important to view what each player brings to the table, including prospects.
If you remove Nolan Patrick from your considerations, the two big names that could go either way are Scott Laughton and Nikolas Aube-Kubel. Patrick has a very important season of hockey before he can be included in this conversation. As far as Laughton and NAK, you have to ask do you protect a clutch goal scorer who can transition up and down the lineup in the event of an injury? Or do you protect the younger bottom-six playmaker who is tough as nails and has untapped potential?
In a perfect world, the Flyers get Nolan Patrick back in good health, they leave one of NAK or Laughton unprotected, but Seattle still sees the value in James Van Riemsdyk. However, 2020 has shown us that the world simply is not perfect and the Flyers will really need to sweeten the deal to make this happen. As far as protection goes, I’d like to see NAK on the protected list over Laughton merely because I feel Joel Farabee can fill Laughton’s shoes and then some. I feel that NAK brings a different presence to the ice that will only benefit the Flyers as he gains NHL experience. He’s a tough player who lays huge hits, and someone that will have the opposing team looking over their shoulder.
Where Seattle may see value in a guy like James Van Riemsdyk is a big-bodied former second overall pick now veteran player with playoff experience. He has a signature move in front of the net, has a history of being a good goal scorer, and when he’s hot, he’s a tough player to beat. However, his cap hit alone is enough to turn the idea sour. Then considering his recent production and injury history, his value drops that much further.
With the idealism that Seattle will take a forward, I think it is in Philly’s best interest to make JVR look as valuable as possible and send him on the first flight out – even if it means packing up a pick or two.
Photo Credit: Alex Mcintyre
