It’s all happening!
Teams are moving players and assets around the league in an attempt to push deep into the postseason, create more cap room, or supplement a rebuild. At the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, the Philadelphia Flyers are sellers.
The deadline is four days away. Chuck Fletcher is hoping to recover some draft assets for veteran players on expiring contracts. Some juicy names on the Flyers roster presented themselves to the rumor mill, but the window is closing on negotiations as the deadline approaches.
James van Riemsdyk receives the most attention. Of all the skaters on a Philadelphia lineup, he is the most obvious on the trading block. Other teams could look to the Flyers lineup for depth, or in the prospect pool for a project. Here’s a tracker for all of the moves made during the week of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline:
Isaac Ratcliffe (LW)
Ratcliffe earned ice time with the Flyers in 2021-2022. Mike Yeo was the interim head coach amid arguably the worst season of hockey in Philadelphia in this millennium. In ten NHL games, Ratcliffe notched four points (1G, 3A) while contributing to his best season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL.
Appearing in the bottom-six of the Flyers’ lineup, his large frame was ideal for puck protection and establishing a general net-front presence. Ratcliffe is a physical forward who finds an intelligent shot by taking the puck away and protecting it.
Fletcher signed Ratcliffe to a ~1yr/$813k two-way extension through this season. John Tortorella did not recall him to Philadelphia. Ratcliffe has four points (2G, 2A) in 26 games with the Phantoms in 2022-2023, a critical drop off from his previous pacing, contributing to his healthy scratch statuses.
Zack MacEwen (RW)
With a few hours remaining before the NHL Trade Deadline, MacEwen heads to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Brenden Lemieux and a 2024 fifth-round pick.
MacEwen hadn’t been in the Flyers lineup since breaking his jaw on January 26th, 2023 against the Minnesota Wild. He threw hands with Marcus Foligno.
In 2021-2022, MacEwen became a sort of fan favorite in Philadelphia. He accepted the Gene Hart Memorial Award, a Flyers team award, while Mike Yeo was the interim head coach. Fletcher granted a 1yr/$925k extension on August 2nd, 2022, avoiding arbitration. Tortorella didn’t debut MacEwen until the third game of the season, after trying Hayden Hodgson and Olle Lycksell first.
Fletcher originally picked MacEwen up on waivers and eventually moved him for a 2024 fifth-round pick and Lemieux. Both players included on this deal are on expiring contracts. One asset comes to Philadelphia for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft as Lemieux finishes this season in a Flyers sweater. In 2022-2023, MacEwen totaled nine points (4G, 5A.)
Patrick Brown (C)
In the final minutes before the NHL Trade Deadline arrived, Brown moves on to the Ottawa Senators for a 2023 sixth-round pick.
Another player flipped for a late-round draft selection, Brown jumped from the waiver wire to Philadelphia in 2021-2022. On the fourth-line, he contributed mostly on the penalty kill in 2022-2023. A physical forward, Brown tallied 125 hits.
Similar to MacEwen, these players were depth pieces that found a role with the Flyers under Yeo and Tortorella. Brown finishes his season in Philadelphia with seven points (2G, 5A.)
(Photo Credit/Alex McIntyre)
