The Philadelphia Flyers have had two losing streaks of ten games or more in less than 45 games. Flyers leadership just recently held a press conference where they blamed COVID, injuries, etc. for the lost season(s), and the sky is falling. The Flyers players look like lost, sad puppies at the climax of a Disney movie before the hero/heroine comes and saves the day. Dave Scott doesn’t believe this to be a long-term rebuild. Chuck Fletcher said aggressive retool. So we are going to trade just a large percentage of the Flyers’ players on the active roster and some that aren’t.
DISCLAIMER: This is pure fiction. If this upsets you or your fanbase or the city you live because my valuation is incorrect, please accept this heartfelt apology (looking at you Sicko Sens fans). This is not real. This is merely a fun exercise to distract us from the Flyers’ lost season and the natural existential pain that hampers us on a daily occurrence.
Some self-imposed rules for this exercise.
- This will be broken down into 2 parts, Part 1 is Trades at the deadline and Part 2 is Trades at the Draft.
- All trades will be cap compliant.
- I am not trading Joel Farabee because he is currently on his entry-level contract and I am not trading Carter Hart because the reigning Vezina Trophy winner was literally traded for cap space the past offseason, and goalies are voodoo. Cam York stays and so does Zach MacEwen because he is my son. I do not care what Chucky Two Trades said about the core of the team, the way that this team has performed for the last two years, no one cannot be had.
- I will ignore No Trade Movements/No Trade Clauses but I will try to move players NMC/NTCs to positive teams where they would be most likely to waive their no trade clause to go.
Let’s take a look at the organizational roster, along with hypothetically some injured star players’ cap hits in the mix just for fun.
Forwards: $49.113m
Giroux ($8.275m) – S. Couturier ($4.333m) – J. van Riemsdyk ($7m)
Atkinson ($5.875m) – K. Hayes ($7.142m) – T. Konecny ($5.5m)
Lindblom ($3m) – S. Laughton ($3m) – J. Farabee ($0.925m)
MacEwen ($0.825m) – M. Frost ($0.863m) – D. Brassard ($0.825m)
Ex. N. Thompson ($0.800m), P. Brown ($0.750m)
Defensemen: $28.23m
I. Provorov ($6.75m) – R. Ristolainen ($5.4m)
T. Sanheim ($4.675m) – R. Ellis ($6.25m)
C. York ($0.880m) – J. Braun ($1.8m)
Ex. K. Yandle ($0.900m), N. Seeler ($0.750m), K. Connauton ($0.825m)
Goalies: $5.979m
C. Hart ($3.979m)
M. Jones ($2m)
AHL/Prospects
G. Mayhew – C. Bunnaman – J. Cates
W. Allison – T. Foerster – S. Tuomaala
J. Avon – E. Desnoyers – O. Lycksell
Z. Wisdom – I. Ratcliffe – M. Strome
M. Sushko – G. Rubtsov – M. Willman
L. Sandin – T. Laczynski
Uns. B. Brink, B. Brodzinski, N. Cates, G. Hain, D. Kase, C. McClennon, O. McLaughlin, J. O’Brien, M. Vorobyov, M. Westfalt
C. Zech – W. Wylie
M. Millman – A. Clendening
L. Hogberg – E. Zamula
Uns. E. Andrae, R. Attard, A. Ginning, T. Murchison, E. Samson, J. St. Ivany, V. Vasiliev, B. Zanetti
K. Ustimenko
S. Ersson
F. Sandstrom
Uns. I. Fedotov, A. Kolosov, M. Tomek
IR: S. Morin, R. Fitzgerald
Trade Deadline
Yeah, I know Claude Giroux must waive his no trade clause. For arguments sake, let’s say he does. If Chuck Fletcher does not extend and does not trade Giroux by the deadline, that should be an immediate fire able offense. You cannot let Giroux go without getting something for him. The Flyers are going to retain 50% of Giroux’s current contract to make him more valuable. Giroux is somewhat close to a point per game (0.79/ppg) player this year, he can play center or left wing, he plays both special teams, and has close to a point per game (0.86/ppg) in the NHL playoffs. Giroux is the top forward acquisition available at the deadline ahead of San Jose’s Tomas Hertl because of Giroux’s playoff performances. Nick Foligno was the top forward at last year’s trade deadline, he was traded for a 1st round pick and two 4th round picks. Foligno had 16 points in 42 games. Giroux currently has more than double the points in less games.
Rocky Mountain Dreaming
PHI acquires: RW/C Tyson Jost, RHD Drew Helleson, RW Oskar Olausson, a 2023 1st round pick (top 10 protected) and a 2024 2nd round pick
COL acquires: LW/C Claude Giroux (50% retained: $4.1375m)
Why COL does it: Colorado needs to maximize this year because a lot of their supporting players (Nazem Kadri, Valeri Nichushkin, Andre Burakovsky, and Darcy Kuemper) are going to be unrestricted free agents in the summer. Kadri, Nichushkin and Burakovsky are all having career years as well. The Avalanche stay under the cap by sending two of their players to the AHL. Colorado does not have to give up top prospects Alex Newhook, Justin Barron or Bowen Byram (although it would be interesting if Byram was on the market because of his concussion issues). Colorado’s top six of Giroux, Rantanen, MacKinnon, Landeskog, Kadri, and Burakovsky would be second to none in the league.
Why PHI does it: Jost will be 24 by the time the trade deadline comes. He is playing bottom-six minutes with minimal power play time. He is best suited for top six forward minutes and he will get that with the new Flyers. He has already played 300 plus NHL games. Drew Helleson is a 21-year-old, right-handed defenseman that is 6’3” and has 18 points in 23 games with Boston College. Helleson was Cam York’s defensive partner with Team USA. That should set up a future defensive pairing with the Flyers. Oskar Olausson was the 28th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. He has 28 points in 28 games in the OHL this season. He is a nice piece to get. Colorado sends their top 10 protected 1st round pick in 2023 because they do not have a 2022 1st due to the Darcy Kuemper trade with Arizona. This trade also gives Giroux the best chance to win a Cup while most likely guaranteeing him to not re-sign with Colorado due to all the players they need to re-sign.
McDavid Help
PHI acquires: Mikko Koskinen, 2023 EDM 3rd round pick, and 2022 5th round pick
EDM acquires: Martin Jones
Why EDM does it: For one, it saves about $2.5m in cap space for EDM to go out and get McDavid more help whether it be a 3rd line center or a top 6 defenseman. Koskinen has a sub .900 save percentage and Jones is barely above that but the Flyers are a much worse team than the Oilers.
Why PHI does it: Jones and Koskinen are both unrestricted free agents after the season. The picks they get are like the picks they traded for Petr Mrazek in 2018, which were a 4th round pick and a conditional 3rd round pick if he resigned. The Flyers receive a 5th for taking on the extra cap of Koskinen for the rest of the year. The Flyers do not have a 2023 2nd round pick due to the Ristolainen trade and this helps recoup some of that.
Inter-Division
PHI acquires: Hunter Skinner, 2022 1st round pick (top 10 protected), and a 2023 4th round pick
NYR acquires: Rasmus Ristolainen (50% retained: $2.7m)
Why NYR does it: The Rangers get some depth on defense. They currently have two rookies in Braden Schneider and Zac Jones as their bottom pairing and Patrik Nemeth is on IR with an unknown ailment. You need 8 healthy defensemen to compete in the playoffs. Ristolainen is a hard to play against defenseman, who can log big minutes. The Rangers also have two 2nd round picks to help cushion this blow. This is less than Ristolainen cost in the off season and he is only $2.7m against the cap with the Flyers retaining.
Why PHI does it: The Flyers either need to either resign or trade Ristolainen before the trade deadline. In this scenario they trade him to a team who most likely cannot resign him in the offseason. They get a similar package to what they traded away. Skinner is a right-handed shot defenseman who has 6 points in 30 AHL games. He is a depth defenseman. The Flyers get a lower pick than the 14th overall they traded last year and only recoup a 4th round pick where they traded a 2nd round pick.
Smashville
PHI acquires: 2022 2nd round pick and 2023 2nd round pick
NSH acquires: Justin Braun (50% retained: $0.900m)
Why NSH does it: Nashville needs some depth behind Roman Josi, Dante Fabbro, Mattias Ekholm, and Alex Carrier for the playoff run. This is the exact same return that Brendon Dillon returned both from SJ to WSH and WSH to WPG, and Braun costs less in cap space. Braun is a major upgrade to Mark Borowiecki, Phil Myers, Matt Benning, and Ben Harpur. Braun can play 20 minutes a game and is extremely dependable.
Why PHI does it: I could see the Flyers trying to extend Braun but in this scenario they get more ammo for a big trade or just recoup the draft picks that were previously traded away. It is possible that the Flyers could get a late 1st for Braun. He is less expensive cap-wise and has double the points that David Savard had when he was traded at the deadline to Tampa last year.
Old Friends
PHI acquires: 2023 3rd round pick
MIN acquires: Derick Brassard
Why MIN does it: When Brassard has been healthy enough to play, he has been a solid addition for less than $1 million against the cap. Brassard also scores at better than 0.50 point per game in the playoffs. He could be a sneaky add to Minnesota’s forward depth.
Why PHI does it: Chuck Fletcher finally makes a long-awaited deal with his former team. Flyers add a good pick for an unrestricted free agent.
Ironman
PHI acquires: 2022 7th round pick
WSH acquires: Keith Yandle
Why WSH does it: Yandle is a depth defenseman and probably can crack WSH’s top 6 with Jensen out indefinitely. Yandle is an upgrade on Matt Irwin and Dennis Cholowski, who are indeed real hockey players. This helps him chase a Stanley Cup and keep pushing his ironman streak since Phil Kessel is about 20 games behind him.
Why PHI does it: Flyers get something for Yandle. That’s it. P.S., this allows Cam York and Egor Zamula to play in the NHL the rest of the season.
Tommy Boy
PHI acquires: 2023 7th round pick
NYR acquires: Nate Thompson
Why NYR does it: It gives the Rangers some center depth and a guy who is good on faceoffs and penalty killing.
Why PHI does it: The Flyers pick up a lottery ticket for an expiring contract and Alexander Appleyard (good follow on Twitter) doesn’t have to argue with Thompson anymore. PS. I would love to work out a deal where the Flyers acquire Vitali Kravstov from the Rangers but they want a first round pick for him and that is a little rich for my blood.
Something for Nothing
PHI acquires: 2023 6th round pick
ANA acquires: Kevin Connauton and Gerald Mayhew
Why ANA does it: Gives the Ducks some toughness and depth in their bottom pairing/extra defenseman while Josh Manson is out. Anaheim is still pushing for a playoff spot in the West. Really surprising that Kevin Connauton has more 20-point seasons than Josh Manson (please note that I am not saying that Connauton is better than Manson). Mayhew has been solid in orange and black and Ducks could use some scoring depth.
Why PHI does it: Flyers get a pick for a player they claimed off waivers and an expiring unrestricted free agent.
Flyers’ Post Deadline Roster
Forwards: $41.388m
T. Jost ($2m) – S. Couturier ($4.333m) – J. van Riemsdyk ($7m)
C. Atkinson ($5.875m) – K. Hayes ($7.142m) – T. Konecny ($5.5m)
O. Lindblom ($3m) – S. Laughton ($3m) – J. Farabee ($0.925m)
Z. MacEwen ($0.825m) – M. Frost ($0.863m) – W. Allison ($0.925m)
Ex. none
Defensemen: $20.881m
I. Provorov ($6.75m) – E. Zamula ($0.756m)
T. Sanheim ($4.675m) – R. Ellis ($6.25m)
C. York ($0.880m) – W. Wylie ($0.820m)
Ex. N. Seeler (0.750m)
Goalies: $8.479m
C. Hart ($3.979m)
M. Koskinen ($4.5m)
Retained (Giroux, Ristolainen, Braun): $7.7375m
Cap Used: $78.490m
Cap Available: $3.01m
Post Deadline Notes
If Couturier, Hayes, and Ellis are all out long term and put on long term injured reserve, the Flyers will have plenty of cap space to call up players like Isaac Ratcliffe, Wyatte Wylie, Linus Sandin, etc. The Flyers were able to acquire Tyson Jost, Drew Helleson, Oskar Olausson, and Mikko Koskinen plus two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks, two 3rd round picks, a 4th round pick, a 5th round pick, a 6th round pick and two 7th round picks for all of their expiring contracts and retaining on their biggest contracts to squeeze every possible asset out of opposing teams. Not all of those draft picks are going to be used by the Flyers.
This is going to be an aggressive retool. We need top end NHL talent to help bring a Stanley Cup to Philadelphia, and these are the first steps to righting the ship.
